Delayed in Mississippi

Thursday, March 26, 2020

We are still at the Quality Inn in Corinth, Mississippi. It seems we were a little optimistic about leaving here on Friday. Tom got a call to come over to the diesel shop this morning. When he got there they showed him our manifold and the several cracks that are in it. Tom made the decision to replace versus repairing. At this point we feel this decision will be less stressful. So there is a chance we will be leaving Saturday but the part arriving will dictate our departure. 

We had the opportunity to see and talk with our grandchildren on a video chat today and that  certainly brought brightness into our day.

Sunday, March 22, 2020 (Catch up post)

Another rainy day but we decided to take a ride.

Raindrops on the front windshield. It was raining when
we started the ride.

This is were we turned around today.

The rain had stopped and with no one around
we decided to take this walk .

Wildflowers along the path and a new tree. (Upper Left)

This is a damp area and there is a lot of moss on the trail.

Clicking on the picture will enlarge it to read about this spot.

Just liked the look of this very large tree.

More views as we head home on the Natchez Trace.

This dome house was near the Natchez Trace RV Park
we were staying at.  We did see several of these in the
area . Googling the only thing I could find is that this
shape of a house is safer in a hurricane and a tornado.

We are so glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

Sixty Miles and Things Came to a Screeching Halt Or In Reality a Whistling Stop

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

When we arrived at the Natchez Trace RV Park in Shannon, MS we had planned on staying a week on Sunday we decided to leave a day early. The internet signal at this park is poor at best and inconsistent. With everything going on in our country right now because of the Coronavirus we felt the need to be in a place were we could get the latest news and keep up to date. Fortunately, we did have cellphone service, along with the ability to text and messenger was working. Sunday we were able to secure a place in Hanna Indiana for two weeks so our goal was to take three days and arrive on Friday.

It was cloudy and wet when we took off early this morning. For about fifty-five miles things went really well.  Then we saw the Mississippi Welcome Center and stopped to eat breakfast around 9:30.

A nice perk for RVer's we noticed  a place to get water
and on the way out a Dump Station.

For the first ten miles we were on the Natchez Trace. The plan is to come back this way in the future and next time we plan on checking out the entire 444 miles. Between the weather and so many things being closed this was not the time to do it.

Top Left: The Bridge we are about to go over.
Top Right: Looking back at where we spent the last six days
as we drove over the bridge. The trees are starting to bud and
the fields are filled with golden wildflowers.  

Merging on to US-45 we noticed three things.
First there is not as much traffic.

Secondly, the semis are definitely still out there.
The third  thing was that several of the rivers have gone
over their banks. 

Back to what happened after about sixty miles. We pulled out of the Mississippi Welcome center and as we merged into the traffic we could hear a distinct whistling sound coming from the engine. Tom pulled off at the weigh station, While he got out to check things out I did a search for a nearby diesel repair shop.

When I stepped out to see what he had found a Patrol person from the weigh station came over close and personal to see if we had an issue and could he help. So much for social distancing. Not being able to see any issues and there was no smoke Tom decided to start back up while the young man watched to see if he could see anything unusual. Still no smoke and while we were not moving no unusual noises so we slowly took off.

Merging into traffic he immediately knew there was definitely something wrong. I pulled up the directions to the diesel shop, we took the next exit, and headed back three miles to the repair place. The closer we got the more he noticed we were losing power.

We pulled in and the two gentleman immediately said it sounds like there is an issue with your turbo. We unhooked the Jeep and they got us pulled into their garage where they could take a better look. After checking things out they showed Tom with their Snake Camera just how bad it was. A hose had disconnected and something, probably gravel, had gotten inside and all the blades on our Turbo were "chewed up". It sounds like we were lucky to have gotten there and this is going to be one of our more expensive weeks.

The  New Turbo is on its way and should be here Wednesday and they will be replacing our air filter. He showed Tom the air filter and his guess is the shop that has been doing out servicing has not changed the air filter ever. Tom will be addressing that issue with the diesel shop when we get home.

That was our morning. We are presently at a Quality Inn  in Corinth, MS and the Stinger "B" is in a garage at Pro-Fleet Truck & Trailer Repair. The estimate is two to three days before we are back on the road.

If it is true things happen in threes we should be good. The refrigerator, then the fan belt and tightener, now the Turbo.


FYI:  "a Whistling Stop" that was the sound, a loud whistling sound the Turbo was making.

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from hearing you.

Vicksburg to Shannon Mississippi

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Tom and I are sitting in the parking lot of Elvis' Birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi. It is a grey cloudy day and we have just finished walking the grounds. Nothing here is open because of the Coronavirus and there are at the most 10 people here and everyone is keeping their distance. I will be posting pictures at some point when we have better internet service where we are parked.

We are presently staying at the Natchez Trace RV Park in Shannon, MS. This small park is located just off the Natchez Trace about 8 miles south of Tupelo, MS. The internet service here is very slow and inconsistent.  We are able to send and receive calls, text, and messages so that is good. After finally getting the blog caught up it is not looking good for keeping it up to date.


Wednesday, March 19, 2020

Up before the sun this morning we wanted to pull out of the Shaw Performance Parking Lot before they were open for business. Tom had turned the Stinger "B" around the night before so her nose was pointed out. Our initial plan was to head towards a Mall down the road to hook the Jeep up. As we were getting ready to leave we decided to see if Tom pulled ahead would it be level enough to hook the Jeep up and as luck would have it was. After hooking up the Jeep we were on our way by 7:20.

Starting this blog post with a little sunshine these are outside 
our door where we are presently parked. These little flowers
say spring to me and I think they are beautiful.

We are on our way.

We were on I-20 heading East for  about 45 miles today and during that time I started to take pictures of the semis passing us in each direction. I certainly did not capture them all but I took quite a few. You will notice a theme in today's blog. Things in our world have changed and I do not need to repeat it here you are living it just like we are. 

As we were riding along it was hard not to think about the women and men who are driving these trucks. They put in long hours as many of the workers in our country and the two countries that border us do on a daily basis so we have what we need to live. Things that up to just a couple of short weeks ago we just expected to be on the grocery and pharmacy shelves when we needed them.

Making our way along the outskirts of Jackson to I-55 North.
Did you ever think you would see a sign telling you to wash
your hands as you drove down the interstate? 
I know we did not.

We stopped for an early lunch at a rest area
just south of Winona, MS

We are on US-82 heading East.

After about 70 miles we turned north on US ALT-45

Driving through West Point, Mississippi

Then we were turning onto MS-41.

Then we saw the sign for the Natchez Trace.

We were only on the Trace  

for about 5 miles today.

After 5 miles we turned off of the Natchez Trace at County Road 506 and made our way to the RV Park which I need to take a picture of.  While we were driving today we heard from Shirley and Ken. They had been north of where we are visiting Ken's brother. I had mentioned where we would be earlier in the week hoping they would decide to possibly head this way as they made their way home. I am happy to say this morning they decided to do just that. They arrived a couple of hours after we did just in time for Happy Hour.  Tom and I were so happy they made the decision to travel a southern route home and we got to spend another evening together.


Thursday, March 20, 2020

We had a chance to see the new truck that is pulling their Mansion this morning before they headed off.  There was only time for a short visit and a couple of pictures and it was time for them to be on their way. Even though it was a short we are glad they made the stop. Until next time we wish them safe travels as they make there way west and north to their home.

A picture in front of the new truck, a selfie, and they are off.

After they left we took a short drive into Tupelo to put gas
in the Jeep and a quick stop for a couple of groceries.

Driving back we went past our turn and checked this out.

Our hope while we are here is to be able to take a ride a ways back south on the Natchez Trace and then check out Elvis's Birthplace in Tupelo.


Friday, March 21, 2020

Today it rained and rained. We did take a ride into Tupelo to a Walgreens to pick up a couple of prescriptions. On the way back we stopped at the turn out pictured below.

We also took a quick ride over to Shannon, MS.

As I mentioned above while here we are planning on taking a ride south on the Natchez Trace and make a visit to see Elvis's Birthplace. We want to enjoy where we are but at the same time not ignore what is going on. So we are, also, thinking about where we will head next. Our plan is to get closer to home and yet try to stay in weather that is a little warmer. Like a lot of our friends with everything going on we do want to be by family but at the same time we need to be realistic about the weather we return to. The other thing we need to think about is where will we park. Now that we no longer own a house in Escanaba the "when" we get there depends on a park being open. For the most part parks in the area we are from do not open until May 1st and that date could change if the ground has not thawed. These are all things we need to keep in mind as we travel North and that is the direction we are now headed. For now we are safely parked and when we move the goal will be to be in a place we can say the same thing about.  None of us know what tomorrow will bring and what is going on in our country is something most of us have never experienced before. What steps our government and the various states take to control the spread of the coronavirus we have no control over. What we do have control over is what we do and our decision is to use common sense, plan our trip North knowing where we will stay next, and not dwell on things we have no control over.

To our family and friends we hope and pray you are staying healthy and safe. If you are reading this as you travel we wish you safe travels and dry roads ahead.

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.