Well, we’ve survived day 1. After 1279kms, 3 fuel stops and 1 quick re-planning session, we arrived further than originally planned in Des Moines, Iowa.

The morning started as planned, except I woke up at 3:30am and couldn’t get back to sleep. I finished loading the car, and got ready and was out the door by 6:30am. I met Ravindra at our pre-determined spot, and off we went around 7am.

The trip went very well. Traffic was very light, and the weather was perfect. The border crossing was a breeze, which was one worry I had given 2 guys and a bag with lady’s clothes in the trunk. I didn’t want to have to explain that.

My original plan was to drive for around 8 hours and arrive in Joliet, Illinois. Joliet is known for it’s state prison (the one Elwood Blue was released from at the beginning of “The Blues Brothers”). We arrived in Joliet early, and headed for the Homestead Suites hotel. As we were checking in, the nice lady mentioned the 2-6″ of snow they were supposed to get tonight. Well, with summer rubber on the car, I felt this was worthy of a change of plans, and Ravindra and I quickly agreed to keep pressing west.

This was a great new plan, and I’m happy to say that the weather forcast is clear for tomorrow, and we’ve cut our stint to Denver tomorrow to just under 8 hours.

The Beltronics Sti Driver radar detector worked brilliantly today. It’s a great relief to be driving on an Interstate at a reasonable and safe (but over the limit) speed, and not have to worry as much that you will be the victim of the revenue generation unit of some state police force. I had several warnings with plenty of time to safely reduce my speed. I think these devices, when used properly, allow you to focus more on the road and the cars around you. That’s a plus. It’s too bad that the governments in Ontario sees all speeding the same way, and treat it as a lucrative source of revenue.

Crossing the Mississippi was fun. Seeing it from ground level is certainly different from 37k feet. There was already some flooding, and the weather service says it’s only going to get worse. I hope that doesn’t become a factor on our return drive.

Well, that’s all for today. The next update will come from Denver!
mJm