Southern Missouri

Hard to believe half the year is already gone.

Except for yesterday, the weather has been oppressively hot and humid.  The days are in the mid-90s and you begin to melt after a few minutes in the sun.  At night, it never really cools off enough to open the coach.  Our campground neighbor said the weather reminded him of steaming clams.  I didn’t disagree.

Yesterday, mercifully, it rained and the weather cooled somewhat.  The rain also helped keep down the campground dust.

Marty doing a chigger and tick check after a long day looking at property in southern Missouri.

As usual, we spent the past few days looking at property.  Our most recent trip took us into southern Missouri.  The terrain there is generally rolling hills with pastures separated by wooded areas.  It was picturesque and land prices were reasonable — certainly an area for us to seriously consider.  By now we are getting a good idea of property values and locations.  However, driving around the countryside is getting tedious.  As I thought, looking for property would involve hard work.

We learned our chigger and tick lesson well.  On these most recent trips, we were much better protected with boots and long pants.  Alas, chiggers are persistent little devils and they would eventually find their way to unprotected skin.  We found that credit cards are efficient for chigger removal.

One night we were awakened by flashes of light and the rocking of the coach.  How come the weather always gets ugly at 1:30 AM?  A bad thunderstorm was approaching and we had to prepare.  The big awning was already up but the little ones were still out.  So once again, with lightening striking nearby I was running around with a steel rod in my hand trying to raise the small awnings.  On reflection it was not the smartest thing to do.

The campground is beginning to fill up for the the 4th of July holiday weekend.  Up to now we almost had the place to ourselves, but recently more rigs have shown up with families, kids, dogs and all the toys.  We know how they feel trying to cram as much enjoyment as possible into four days of freedom.  We also know they will be gone in a few days.  I hope the weather stays cool.