Two more things before we head off this morning.  << No Photos This Post>>

Harvest Moon Eclipse

Kim “reminded” us that there will be an eclipse of the moon this Sunday.  The moon will be a red harvest moon.  Don’t miss it!

Lazy Day Campground, Danville Missouri

We are up early this morning.  One RV was leaving and two gals were setting up to go.  We will not be the first ones on the road today.  Sunrise was welcome with clear skies of a wonderful pale blue.  I heard the unmistakable call of a raptor walking back to The Beast.

Last night the crickets were riotous.  I think the occasional frog threw a croak into the cacophony.  It would be fun to explore the state park and to stay another evening for the cricket concert.  I would rather spend a day in Dayton and Yellow Springs.  We’ll push on.

Ray and Ellen

Yesterday we stopped at a home depot; I wanted to get a kneeling pad like the one Jim loaned me at Woodland Park.  Walking back to the RV, there was an SUV pulled right up to our rig and a couple engrossed in conversation with Ellen.  Ray and Ellen saw us pull in and are thinking about touring the country.  Ray would be gone already, but wanted to show his wife what an RV is like.  They had all sorts of questions about Li’l Beast, but mostly wanted to get our impression of life on the road.  A bit embarrassing, we’re having an issue with the stair motor.  Sometimes it refuses to extend.  A few swift taps with a rubber mallet is enough to bring it back to life.  Ray was amused.  His wife climbed aboard and spent some time getting a tour while I spoke with Ray.  Ray said there’s no reason a Jake Brake could not be added to the diesel.  He had worked as a boat builder in Mendocino Ca,, then as a mechanic, and is now working as a respiratory technician.  We left with Ray more firmly convinced he’ll tour the US in one and I think we went some distance to assuring his wife it would be fun and not misery.

It amazes me how talkative the people we’ve met on our trip have been.  I think the pace of life in the Bay Area is messed up.  It feels like everyone has so much to do in a day, they do not have time to simply “be”.   I feel that the people in the states we’ve visited take things much more slowly. The first few days this was annoying.  Standing in line at Safeway or Home Depot waiting for people to check out was frustrating.  It took “too long” as they slowly loaded up the conveyor or spent that extra four minutes talking to the clerk.  After a while it dawned on me that it’s not so bad to take time to “be with” other humans.  Slowing down and cramming less into a day makes for much more courteous and fun exchanges with people.

I think of my conversation with Charles at Woodland Park RV Campground as we prepared to leave.  It was a good twenty minute conversation and it was FUN.  I learned a bit about Charles, more about the campground and local politics, and he learned a bit about me and our travels.  He is a believer.  I am not.  We found common ground in disparaging televangelists and the like,  We both share similar beliefs in how to live life:  with god in his case, without in mine.  We were not all that different, though I’ll never be able to talk as slowly or as convincingly as Charles, a true Texan.

Everyone has a tale to tell if you simply listen.