And So It Begins
Oh, the humanity… The Mighty Furd jams awkwardly in between the normal cars like a bratwurst among franks.
Day two of the cross-country trip, putting in an easy couple of hours after hurting myself at the Thanksgiving dinner table with family. The Comfort Suites I stopped at in Normal, Illinois at end of day was nearly a clone of the Comfort Inn in Crystal Lake. Today’s 6-hour drive took me to Kearney, Missouri and an Econo Lodge Motel. No pool or fitness room here, but it’s more affordable and the final walk was to get to the Family Diner for some meatloaf and mashed ‘taters.
Oh, the decadence! The inside of the Econo Lodge. Looks like I’ll have to rough it with a queen-sized bed. You can’t see but a sliver of the wall-mounted 52-inch TV to right.
I was churning for distance today at about 350 miles. Felt pretty good at the end. The only notable thing I observed was that crossing the Illinois border to get to Hannibal, Missouri netted me a percentage of people with gen-you-wine Missouri accents. You get so used to media people speaking only the Approved English dialect across the nation that it’s nice to hear folks speaking in a regional language. Of course, to them, I have the accent.
Tomorrow will be a bit of a test to get the 390 miles to Meade, Kansas. Now and then, the preferred mileage puts you nowhere, and you either badly short the trip or keep rolling. This is one of those times. Not that it matters to anyone, but the 70 MPH fuel mileage yesterday was 12.2 against a 10+ MPH headwind. Today lacked the wind, pretty much, and the mileage popped up immediately to 14.4, which is pretty darn good for that speed. The Mighty Furd is quite sensitive to air drag.
No great insights today, except perhaps to mention my theory that it’s a bad idea to speed or otherwise break the law in front of cops that have to work on holidays, because they will be pissed that it’s their shift and everyone else is home enjoying life. Many cars pulled over today, many flashing lights, and many speed traps. Sure, it’s the day after Thanksgiving now, but I’ll bet those that got yesterday off have today off too, at the least. Maybe the weekend as well. Best not tease the lion.
Strolling Amok 
And here I am kvetching about being stuck in a regular commercial campground until Sunday. The old Dodge/Cummins Airstream 25 combo nets me right at 15mpg doing 65 and my meager cruising kitty much appreciates the effort to get me cross country on a budget. I’ve done a lot of flipping in and out of rigs trying to find the sweet spot of compromise and as much as I’m forever tempted by other rigs I think I’ve found one that makes too much sense to flip out of. Seems to be about midway between your big box and the pop up. Best of luck in your travels, road wise and health wise.
Yay, a gearhead! That’s spectacular mileage for a 25-foot trailer. My average pulling the Defiant is 10 MPG, so you have both space and economical travel. Glad you found a rig that fits the balance of needs. Thanks for the well-wishes!
Fuel economy. …
My F-350 dually gets 10.5 pulling the 20k plus pound toyhauler.
The 1999 36 foot 20,879 pounds
( I used Pilot’s scale )
454 big block Chevy with fuel injection got 18 mpg….I thought 8 mpg would be about as good a a big motorhome would get….
When the emissions regs hit, Navistar’s emissions gear pretty well chopped fuel mileage and put the motor at more risk. I once had a 1974 Corvette 454 (carburetted), and I sure never saw even close to that kind of mileage!