Cumberland Calls Us Back - Part 3 - Final Episode

Hey Folks, 

Are you ready to wrap this trip up?  Okay then. This is the last installment of our cross-country trip from Salt Lake City to Middle Tennessee, so strap in and let's go.

In the last post we were just entering Missouri with clear skies and smooth sailing.  We stayed in Missouri the whole day, going around Kansas City and decided to stop short of St. Louis.  We did an internet search and came across the Lazy Day Campground at the I-70 exit for Danville, MO.  Finding a nice campground on the road is hit or miss most times.  If they have a website you can get a good idea of the quality but, as we all know, the Internet can make things appear not as they actually are.  We hit a home run with this one though.  It definitely rated as one of the top campgrounds we've ever stayed at. Lazy Day has been owned and operated by Kim and Tony for over 20 years.  The attention to detail of this place is incredible and as the pictures show they take great pride in their campground.  

Lazy Day Campground

Small recreation hall

Office and general store

Even the storage shed gets Kim's treatment

Ditto

Unique bottle edging

Bottles light up at night

Garden path with panache

"Cat" the campground cat

Large recreation center kitchen with Kim's collections

"outhouse" storage shed

We avoid fast food on the road and eat from LuLu's kitchen but after settling in we decided to go out and have a nice sit down meal. Kim suggested Oliver's in the one flashing light town of Montgomery City just down the road.  We walked in to find a quite fancy looking place, surprising for such a small town.  There were no other diners present which usually throws up red flags but as it turned out the meal was fantastic at very reasonable prices.  We found that it was not unusual to be dining alone at Oliver's as the town is so small they just don't have a large customer base.

Quite fancy for a one traffic light town

After a leisurely morning at Lazy Days visiting with some folks having a rally, and hanging out with "Cat" the cat, (yes that's his name) we headed out.  St Louis was the largest city we had to drive through and the sprawl started 30 miles out. As we approached the Mississippi River I missed the exit ramp we needed for Kentucky and had to do a little free-styling with the Garmin recalculating, taking us into East St. Louis. We certainly would have enjoyed checking out the Gateway Arch Visitors Center, but it wasn't in the cards this time.  Maybe next trip we can check that off our bucket list.  

Margo grabbed an on the move pic from the interstate

We spent the last night at a Walmart in Marion, Illinois.   Again, we got a good night's sleep and the price was definitely right.  Our total camping expense for the whole cross country trip was only $90.00 - less than one night in a hotel.

The best part of a road trip is the spontaneity.  Sure, you have a route and a destination but it's so easy to see an interesting road sign for an attraction and just go for it.  We stopped at the Harley dealership in Marion, IL.  Margo was a bit lightheaded over all the chrome and leather. 

Near Whittington, IL. we saw a sign for an art gallery just off the Interstate and went for it.  The parking lot for the Southern Illinois Art and Artisans Center was empty except for the 2 employee's cars.  We spent over an hour looking at some incredible art of just about every medium.  The regional collections, including quilts and carvings were many levels above what we've ever seen.

Back on the road we saw the sign for Metropolis, the home of Superman, so we hung a right there too.  Yes, it is a real place right off of I-24 in Illinois along the Ohio River.  Superman is still saving the day and holding down the fort with "Truth, Justice and the American Way."

Look! Up in the sky!  It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Superman!

Complete with museum and gift shop

Words to live by

Back on the road again

Passing through Kentucky we had another 'streamer experience.  I noticed another Airstream coming alongside on I-24 just north of the Tennessee border.  We waved to each other and for a few miles fell in behind for a mini caravan.  We both stopped at the Tennessee welcome center and chatted about all things aluminum.  Vince is a professional photographer and lives full-time in his brand new Flying Cloud (the upgraded model to our Safari).  He gave us a tour of his and we gave him a tour of ours.  It never ceases to amaze me how being a member of this aluminum lovin' family allows for such camaraderie - instantly.   

Back on the road we cruised into Music City before long and by mid-day were parked at the Nashville East KOA in Lebanon totaling up the stats.  A total of 6 days, 1,690 miles, 1 tornado, 1 stinging bee, 2 new 'streamer friends, 1 superhero and many memories.  

Next time we'll take you on a tour of our new digs, deep in small town America - just the way we like it.