Four states in one day

I didn't think about it before I set out yesterday morning, but as I briefly drove through the bottom tippy-tip of Illinois yesterday, I realized that this is the first time I've been on the ground in four states in one day whether or not there was an airplane involved, and no airplane was necessary.

I really wish I could have photographed the frozen Ohio River with barges passing through big chunks of ice as I passed by, but I was on a bridge approach with no place to stop and take a photo. So today I am finally motivated to get a dash cam. This photo isn't seasonal, but it shows the two bridges I crossed, first over the Ohio from Kentucky to Illinois, then across the Mississippi from Illinois to Missouri.


The second bridge I crossed was really high to accommodate commercial vessels, and opened in 1929, so it is the older of the two bridges. The first bridge is not quite as high and not quite as old -- it opened in 1937. Let's just say I was really glad to be well under the posted weight limit as I crossed.

Driving South through Missouri, I kept seeing signs announcing that a "pay ferry to Kentucky" would be available via one of the freeway exits. If I retrace the same route on my return trip, I want to ride the ferry! I hunted up its website here: http://www.dorena-hickmanferryboat.com/tolls.htm

I kept seeing white stuff along the side of the road that didn't quite look like ice or snow, although it was certainly cold enough. It didn't look like litter -- it was too consistent and widespread. I kept seeing it and I kept wondering and I finally got my answer when I saw a sign announcing that I was in a cotton growing area. It was escaped cotton balls!

A little further down the road, I noticed a sign as I approached a small town:


Sheryl and the band weren't there as I drove by the sign, unfortunately. I found that photo online. From what I could see driving through, she comes from cotton growing country and there is some kind of military base nearby (although a quick internet search didn't shed any light on what it might be).

I had the urge to stretch my legs and the urge to let someone know that I was in Sheryl Crow's hometown, so I pulled into a parking lot and whipped out my phone. Just as I was thinking about who to notify, I saw that my cousin Charlie had called! I called him back and told him everything I knew about Sheryl's home town (which I have now shared here also).

I finally got to my fourth state of the day when I crossed into Arkansas just about as close to the bottom of the boot heel of Missouri as you can get. Arkansas now makes the 37th state I have visited. Thirteen more to go!




Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 9, 2018 at 11:33 AM

    I like these states you have "visited". My brother lives in Kentucky along the Ohio river; I grew up in Missouri; my dad retired to Arkansas and I went there when he was in the hospital and when he passed away; my father's family all live in Illinois and I spent many wonderful summers there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. vanishingpointkmJanuary 9, 2018 at 4:37 PM

      Hi Nancy! Glad to see you here. I knew about your Kentucky connection but not the others. Where in Missouri, Illinois, and Arkansas?

      Delete

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