Headin' for Texas, Y'all!

Hi all, Dianne here.  We actually have just crossed the Texas state line (still only about half-way to Mission),  but due to some lovely, tree-filled RV parks along the way, we are way behind in our blogs.  We finally have a clear sky, so today's plan is to write several catch-up blogs.  We'll post them one at a time over the next week, so check back soon for updates!

As we drove through Indianapolis heading west on I-70, I snapped a quick shot of Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, and what Roger terms as the "Finest stadium in the U.S."  It actually is pretty impressive, with its retractable roof.  We were able to attend a high school football exhibition game there when it first opened, and even got to sit in the VIP section.

We've been in the Midwest for months now, and having both grown up in this area the scenery wasn't what we would term breathtaking, so we resumed our trusty auto "bingo" game.  We had just finished the last game (which we started a few months ago), having kinda-sorta cheated on seeing a grist mill.  (It was a fake one at a wedding chapel in Indiana).  The photo above shows the easy sides of the cubes.  Later on, there are things such as drawbridges, teepees, totem poles, and passenger trains, that aren't as easy to spot.

It's such a long drive to our winter home in Mission, Texas that we decided to make our way slowly southwest, making multiple stops and side trips.  We spent our first several nights in site #61 (a non-reservable site) at Rend Lake Corps of Engineers campground near Benton in Southern Illinois.  Huge, beautiful, wooded sites.  It is right next to a lovely resort area and golf course.  Definitely a place we'd like to revisit.  Next time, we'll make reservations ahead of time and choose one of the open spots we noted on our map so that we can get satellite and Direct TV.  Then it will be perfect!

We rode our bikes on a 6+ mile (3.8 miles out and back) section of paved bike trail through wooded areas, around a lovely cemetery and next to corn fields.

More bike trail scenes:

The weather was perfect during our visit.  Each time we returned from our bike ride, here's the scene that awaited us back at the RV:

"Awaiting our Return." 

Bandido wasn't totally deprived, though.  While walking around the several loops of the large campground, we happened upon a very cute female Blue Heeler and her proud owner.  Bandido thought she was quite a dish!  The female is a pure-bred blue heeler, and with the two of them side by side it was easy to see the differences.  

(Ears and tail and size, among other things).  I guess we're actually "Traveling with Blue Heeler" now instead of "Traveling with Whippets," but the memory of our two dear friends, Jasper and Chaplin, is still very fresh, so for now whippets it will be.  I will probably change our header photo next time around.

The pet photo of the day is a pretty picture of Bandido looking out over Rend Lake.