Off to Ames, Iowa

July 12
Odometer at start-up this morning: 1214 miles (that might be about 1/4 of the trip, not sure...)

Big storm last night in big sky country (I know that’s Montana, but to me, this is also big sky country...). Lightning, thunder and this morning lots of floods near the hotel. Also, yet another tire problem - this time with the spare attached to the trailer. Robert spotted a bulge which meant we had to go down the road to a local tire store and replace it. Once again, we were blessed that they had the right size tire and that they were able to balance it. All within an hour.

We passed over the Mississippi which I expected to be bigger - maybe it is farther down - at a place called Quad Cities. There are two cities in Illinois and two cities in Davenport which comprise the quad.

By the way - we’ve been making great use out of the satellite radio. As well as having interesting music as we motor along, this morning we were also able to access the weather. Bad storms were brewing in Chicago and south, and even though the sky is threatening, we’ve only had a little rain.

We’re on our way to Ames, Iowa where we’ll stop and see my friend, Paula. She and I met at Camp Beaupre, a ballet camp in the Berkshires in 1976. We lost touch for about 20 years but then reconnected when we moved to Cape Cod. Originally from Boston, she’s happily liviing in Ames now.