In Le Mars

OK, so up river of the MO River they had record snowfall this winter, then record rainfall this spring, and more rain this summer...all this means is that all 7 dams along the river between here and the source of the river have to let out more water than they have ever had to do or North Dakota becomes a giant lake. So instead all the farms along the Mo river from ND south get turned into lakes. That includes parts (big parts) of interstate 29 along West side of IA. As a result what would have been a 4 hour drive up from St Jo, MO to Le Mars turned out to be a 6 hour drive along hwy 71, a rural hwy...which is in reality a network of roads where sections are called hwy 71. We got to see the heartland and lots of corn and soybean fields....lots of fields!!!

On top of the flood warnings that were constantly popping up on my smartphone there were high heat warnings (normal for summer in IA). The humidity really puts a drag on the engine...no engine likes 100 degrees and 70% humidity. And to make my RV mad at me I put BP gas in it. BP 89 octane has ethanol and my RV hates that stuff. Dumb me put it in and my "service engine" light came on again. No power loss or noises, it has happened many times before. But it is just disconcerting to see that light on. Especially since it has been handling so well after having the rotors replaced in KY.
All together our 13.5 hour drive turned into a 17+hour drive. I hope we can keep those hours down as we drive the 900 miles back to KY for the fair starting Monday...we finish her 9pm on Sunday night and start there Monday eve. Wooo-doggie that is going to cut things close...Nick, CC and I will sleep very little Sunday-Monday!

Titus tipped his chair over, he likes to do that. But this time he hit the edge of the nightstand at the hotel in MO this morning and like all head cuts it bled pretty good. It was only a tiny cut, thank God, but it was not the way I wanted to start the day.

I feel bad about something. As the kids loaded the cars for the trip this morning I strolled out to the main road by a gas station and a coffee shop. A man and his teenage son had a gas can and drove a beat up RV asked if I could help them with gas...even just a little. I said no. I gave a lame excuse and went on. Most the time I do that...OK all the time. But this time there was a gut feeling that maybe I should've helped......"When did I see you hungry, or thirsty, or naked, or without gas?" I went back only in time to see there old worm out RV pull away. I called after them but they couldn't hear me. I felt bad about that. Sometimes it is prudent to not help because it really isn't help (I've met to many cons) but this time it felt different.

Tomorrow we will go to the fairgrounds early to set up the show. The shows aren't until 4 6 and 8 and we are using their platform (which will help not having to pack up ours on Sunday rush load). So far all the people we have run into have been pretty nice so I anticipate a great show. The fairboard loves Jim and he had a fond reunion with them. He had met them at the convention in January.

We will have old friends from Oroville who now live in Council Bluffs, IA visit on Friday. Tomorrow our friends from Waterloo will visit and on Saturday Midori's friends will visit. So we have fans and friends coming in....exciting.