I left Memphis and headed east, along I-40, at a serious clip, stopping only to stretch and keep track of some communications that were important to me.  One stretch stop was Parker’s Crossroads, west of Nashville.

I drove around a bit in Nashville, but disquiet kept me going.  I did stop, briefly, at Crossville, to check my messages at a community college, and was reassured that all was well, with a few very important people.  Knoxville, Bristol, Radford, Roanoke and Harrisonburg came and went.  I stopped in Staunton, where Sleep Inn and Rubber Ducky awaited.

Thus, Day 4 of my current journey came to an end.

The next morning dawned cool and wet- no Shenandoah trek on Day 5, as my FB friends may recall.

I kept on going, to Lebanon, PA,

to meet the first pair of friends, and the first of two back-to-back meals, at The Gin Mill.

Here are Sandra and Natalie.

I had an hour or so of pleasant conversation with these two ladies, then headed south a bit, to Oley, PA and Glick Farm.

The meal, prepared by Beth, consisted of Caprese Salad, Wax Beans/Ham and Potato Casserole/Homemade Root Beer.

After dinner, we took a ride to Oley’s covered bridges.  One of them was sufficiently in light to be photographed.

I was fortunate to have a nice country bed in which to rest the night.  Day 5 was quite the fine one.

After the emotional and physical intensity of my spiritual quest, a day wandering the back roads of Iowa and Illinois, en route to Chicago, was a goodly treat.  After the unique experience of grooming and changing clothes in the Rest Area restroom, I found my pay deposit had gone through, and headed for the banks of the Mississippi, at Bettendorf, IA.  I was greeted by a gaggle of Canadian geese.

The next sight was that of a casino riverboat, poking up over the riverwall.

Then, there were the smaller boats, at Bettendorf Marina.

This picturesque town is the smallest of the Quad Cities, which also include Davenport, IA, and the Illinois cities of Moline and Rock Island.  I went on, though, towards a pair of towns associated with the early life of Ronald Reagan:  Tampico and Dixon, IL.

Tampico was the 40th President’s birthplace.  It has a definite “tomorrow is soon enough” feel, which may explain a few of the more interesting moments of the Reagan era.  Here, in this town park, I half-expected Robert Preston to lead a marching band onto the lawn.

The grain elevator is the most impressive structure for miles around.  The gazebo down the street is definitely decked out for a special event.

Tampico does make a strong statement about its favourite son, in a prominent place.

Dixon, a bit further to the east, is a bustling small city, and gave young “Dutch” his direction and drive.

Here are some scenes of the Rock River, at Dixon.

Downtown Dixon has a surprising variety of places to eat and relax.

I chose the Gingko Tree Cafe and Traditional Wellness Center, which offers the healthy menu items, that are supposedly rare in the Midwest.

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Before heading to Chicago, on the back road, I took a few shots of the Reagan Boyhood Home National Historical Site.

Then, there was the uniquely-coloured house.

I drove through the Fox River Valley, unable to contact a Facebook/WP friend, and on through Chicago, up to my favourite structure in the Windy City’s realm:  The Baha’i House of Worship, in Wilmette, some twelve miles north of the Chicago Loop.

I went into this great temple of the spirit, feeling queasy and uncertain of myself, despite the relatively pleasant day I had, that Wednesday, July 24.  By the time I saw the city of Chicago in my rear view mirror, two hours later, a welcome feeling of calm had set in, and carried me forward to Bloomington/Normal, my default spot for resting between Chicago and St. Louis.

Next:  Cahokia Mounds, by Day

In order to see my friends, J and S, and their son, in Des Moines, before they moved, I had to make tracks south and east, from Pipestone.  I got into DM late Monday night, staying at the Village Inn Motel.  The next day, finding myself with a cash flow issue, the day before payday, I opted to spend most of the day in the Des Moines Central Library.  There were some gems to be seen, in downtown Des Moines, as I waited for my evening visit with the peeps.

Here are the major Baptist, Roman Catholic and Lutheran edifices, respectively, in Des Moines.

Next, are some views of the central business district.

I spent about two hours with the G family, in east Des Moines, including finding out how well a little guy can ride his horsey.

When the family was ready to call it a night, I headed for the Capitol district.  Night in Des Moines can be surprisingly noisy, even on a Tuesday.  I reveled in the sounds- rockabilly and hiphop, while checking out the lighting of the Iowa Capitol Building, and its adjunct facilities.

To top it all off, I was delighted to find that Iowa’s rest areas have WiFi, which I needed that night, and are safe enough to stay the night.  So, “free” accommodations it was. 🙂

I don’t know about President Van Buren, for whom the western Arkansas city is named, but there is little boring about this comfortable, welcoming and historic neighbour of Fort Smith.  After  a classic French dip lunch at Ed Walker’s, in FS,

I made the short drive to Old Van Buren, and its Train Station Visitor Center.

The premier collection in this small museum is of fine crystal glass.

On July 21, 1985, Van Buren grabbed the attention of the world at large.  Let the National Transportation Safety Board tell the story:

“About 7:51 p.m. on June 21, 1985 a privately-owned, 70,000-pounnd tractor-semitrailer operating in interstate commerce under a trip-lease agreement with C. Maxwell Trucking Company, Inc., lost control while descending a steep 3,439-foot-grade on southbound State Route 59 in downtown Van Buren, Arkansas. The truck collided with the rear of, and overrode, a station wagon which was stopped at the bottom of the hill. The truck and the station wagon continued 84 feet forward, across an intersection, up a curb, and through a guardrail. They then traveled another 22 feet and struck two commercial buildings. A fire ensued and engulfed both vehicles and three buildings. Both occupants in the truck and the seven occupants in the station wagon were fatally injured.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the truckdriver to comply with regulatory signs and to properly use limited service brakes and transmission for speed control purposes, which permitted the tractor-semitrailer to accelerate to a high speed while descending the steep grade on State Route 59. Contributing to the accident were the improper adjustment of the vehicle’s service brakes due to inadequate vehicle maintenance; the truckdriver’s lack of experience, maturity, and training required for interstate truckdrivers; and the absence of an adequate surveillance and enforcement program for the trucking system. ”

The community remembered the fallen, and moved on, while preserving the best of its past.

It goes back to the old, one-room Pike School.

It was sweet to cap this visit with a sweet, cool latte at Coffee and a Good Book.

Finally, here’s a hint, that definitely did not come from Heloise (homemaker’s radio show, of the 1940’s).

Next up:  Little Rock’s Riverfront

I capped Monday, July 22, with a short tour of  the town of Pipestone, MN, a short three miles from the National Monument.  A tall iced tea helped me with the all-important message check, at this fine hotel, the Calumet.

A drive around town showed some fine late 19th Century churches and civic buildings.

This is no Lake Wobegon, though the women are strong, and lovely.

I am going to post about my current trip, simultaneously with the remaining segments on my spiritual journey of last month.  The purpose of this long jaunt is more about specifically connecting with people- my family and my cyberfamily.  There were critical elements of that social connection in the last trip, also, but my struggle with myself took center stage.  There will be spiritual aspects on the current trip as well, especially when I stop for some hikes, on my way back west.

I had intended, on Saturday, August 24, to attend a picnic for my American Legion Post, until about 1 PM.  Rain intervened, and while I didn’t get out of town until 1, anyway, I drove as far as Santa Rosa, NM, before calling a halt to Day 1.  Here, I found a good motel, American Inn.

Santa Rosa and its sister city, Tucumcari, are good places to rest, going back and forth from Arizona to anywhere along the mid-southern corridor.

There was someone waiting for me in Amarillo, though, so I did not avail myself of Santa Rosa’s blue lakes or Tucumcari’s dinosaur museum. I kept on, to the Blue Front Cafe, and an hour or two of banter with my old friend, Texas Tidbits, aka Wes H.

Once 2 PM rolled around, the cafe closed, Wes and I gabbed for about twenty more minutes outside, and I was on my way again.  After hearing from my Oklahoma City friends that everyone was either busy or sick, I rolled through the north Texas plains, which are rougher than you might think.  This is, after all Tejas, and nothing is all that easy, except the bantering.

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I stopped briefly at a Texas Travel Center, west of the hamlet of Alanreed, took the above two photos, and had a White Knight moment, helping a woman unlatch the hood of her Ford.  It took me about ten minutes of investigation before locating the latch release, but, one and done.  I was to cross the entire state of Oklahoma in one fell swoop, before landing for the night, at a Knight’s Inn, as luck would have it, in Fort Smith, AR.  One does, however, have to oblige the Sooner State with at least one photograph, however, so here is the Oklahoma Visitor Center, in Midwest City, where I stopped and said prayers for my sick Oklahoma friends, and for the people in Moore, who are still rebuilding.

Next:  Fort Smith National Historic Site