2023 Estelline Trip

[markiver54]

Great to see you and Maureen (and Zena!) today, Jim! It's been too long (pre-Covid) since we'd touched base.

Glad you got your tire issues sorted out and sorry I couldn't have been of more immediate help (as in: YESTERDAY), but sounds like you'll be back on the road soon!

Safe travels and Hello to all my HRF buddies!

Glad as well that you got things sorted out Jim...and a big HELLO to Evan!

[JEBar]

the news reports about the excessive heat in the area around Kansas City are dead on .... as this is being typed at 10:30PM the temp is 86 with a RealFeel of 105 degrees .... years ago when I was working in the RV industry it was said that a camper's air conditioning, insulation, general build was pretty good if it could lower the inside temp below the outside temp .... that is by no means true in every case but our experience reflects it as being a reasonable estimate ...... we've camped in ours from 8 to 114 degrees .... neither of those extremes have proven to really comfortable, rather more in the tolerable range ..... for a couple of hours today when the outside temp on our thermometer showed 103 it was 79 inside .... no doubt that some of today's more modern units could do better .... tomorrow they are projecting a high of 98 with a RealFeel of 114 and to make it worse : "The air has reached a high level of pollution and is unhealthy for sensitive groups. Reduce time spent outside if you are feeling symptoms such as difficulty breathing or throat irritation."

[JEBar]

the thermometer shows its already 82 (RealFeel 102) where we are camped in Grain Valley, MO .... they say the high this afternoon will be 98 (RealFeel 113) .... we received a notice this morning that folks who are coming to replace 2 tires on our camper should be here between noon and 2PM .... with that being the case we plan to head for St Louis tomorrow morning where we will overnight .... Maureen has adjusted our campground reservations at St Louis, MO --- Clarksville, TN --- and Asheville, N:C .... if all goes well we should be home on Friday which is one day longer than originally planned

[The Wiz]

If you get here on Friday supposed to be 105 F. Welcome home my friend.

[JEBar]

the pictures below show the bad Goodyear G614 mentioned above that we spotted while taking on fuel .... I don't believe it would have lasted much longer at interstate speed ....as this is being typed it is being replaced by a mobile tire change company .... will start another thread about that company as info for anyone who may be in this area and need the service

[The Wiz]

How many miles?

[JEBar]

How many miles?

not so much miles as years .... they had at least 5 years on them, possibly a couple more .... during most of that time we were traveling over 7,000 miles a year .... last year and so far this year that number dropped to 3,500 or more miles

[JEBar]

tires replaced .... we can now go shopping for a few groceries and bag of ice .... hopefully, we will be able to get back on the road east in the morning

[JEBar]

today's drive was a fairly short one but it was also a very hot one .... the sweat stains on the cap shown below were all formed between the time I got out of the truck and then into the camper after unhooking and getting setup .... must admit I kept a close eye on our tire pressure monitoring screen .... thankfully, no issues detected .... tomorrow's drive from west St Louis to Clarksville, TN will be a bit longer and equally hot .... the say the temp should be 99 (RealFeel 109) when we get to Clarksville tomorrow afternoon .... if the predictions hold, it will really be nice to get to Asheville, NC on Thursday and find a temp of 89

[markiver54]

Jim, even that 89 that we've had here in the mountains the last couple days has been uncomfortable to say the least. I guess it will be a bit of a relief for Ya'll though.
Safe travels...

[BigAl52]

Never would expect that from a Goodyear tire. Chinese tire yes but not a Goodyear. My trailer tires are now 2.5 years old. The Michelins on my truck are older than that. Safe travels home

[JEBar]

76 this morning in Eureka, MO .... today we are scheduled to move 296 miles east to Clarksville, TN .... per Google Maps only one section with road construction .... they say 4 hrs 45 min drive .... no fuel stop today, do anticipate at least one rest stop .... it should be around 96 degrees with very high humidity when we get there .... no desire to get on the road until well after 9AM so as to miss much of the St Louis morning rush traffic

[JEBar]

76 this morning where we are camped near Clarksville, TN ..... by the time we hope to arrive in Asheville, NC this afternoon they say the temp should be 89 (RealFeel 98) with thunderstorms around .... Per Google Maps 5 hr 19 min, 353 miles .... we do plan a fuel stop just east of Knoxville, TN .... today's drive requires climbing the western side of the Blue Ridge mountains ....

[Hatchdog]

Sure don’t envy your temps and humidity. Woke up here to 51.

[Shakey Jake]

Hope you get home safe Jim!
Jake

[JEBar]

today's drive from Clarksville, TN to Asheville, NC went well .... 1 fuel stop .... 3 rain showers, one of which was while I was pumping fuel .. .. I-40 from Nashville to Asheville is still the best of all the interstates we traveled .... first thing tomorrow morning we plan to go to the Asheville Farmer's Market and pickup a bushel of White Half Runner Green Beans to can when we get home ....

[markiver54]

today's drive from Clarksville, TN to Asheville, NC went well .... 1 fuel stop .... 3 rain showers, one of which was while I was pumping fuel .. .. I-40 from Nashville to Asheville is still the best of all the interstates we traveled .... first thing tomorrow morning we plan to go to the Asheville Farmer's Market and pickup a bushel of White Half Runner Green Beans to can when we get home ....

Sounds like a stop at the Moose is in order Jim!
I'm up at the cabin, or I might have imposed myself on Ya'll.
Continued safe travels to you both.

[JEBar]

as trip to Moose sure sounds good and we almost went there .... problem was, at meal times their parking lot is packed and my truck doesn't lend itself to winding through tightly packed vehicles

[markiver54]

as trip to Moose sure sounds good and we almost went there .... problem was, at meal times their parking lot is packed and my truck doesn't lend itself to winding through tightly packed vehicles

Oh...forgot about that. Oh well, I know you can prepare an awesome breakfast to rival the Moose.

[JEBar]

up and at'um getting ready for what is scheduled to be our last day's drive for this trip .... 69 degrees this morning in Asheville, haven't seen a morning temp that low for a while .... once again we will be driving into a heat wave .... the forecast calls for the heat wave to continue through Sunday .... after that no more 90's to be seen .... first up picking up a bushel of green beans at the Asheville farmer's market .... next stopping by a local BoJangles .... really looking forward to that