We departed the Covered Bridge RV Park in Fenton MO this morning at 0933 hrs and headed around St Louis and north on Highway 61 to Iowa and my home town of Mount Pleasant! After driving 213 miles with just one stop we arrived at Crossroads RV Park at 1328 hrs.
We picked up our packet at the office door since they do not open until later in the afternoon, and made our way to site #4, They have 36 sites here with 24 of them 90 ft pull throughs. The other 12 are a bit shorter but would still have been long enough. The sites and roads are gravel but the grass is manicured and the utilities strong. Spacing is a little close but it will be fine. 
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As I write this there are very few sites open. Many appear to be occupied by short stay "snowbirds" headed back north. Lots of license plates from northern states.
They have a nice little playground area with a cool old 1950 John Deere Model A tractor there for the kids to sit on. The John Deere Model A was built from 1934-1952 at the Waterloo, Iowa factory. The "A" was John Deere's first true row-crop tractor, replacing the GP and also the first Deere tractor to come from the factory with rubber tires. So now you know!
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A short time ago Doreen was out walking Liberty and got in a conversation with a couple sitting by their Class A. Turns out they are good friends with Jack and Karen Switzer who winter in Donna TX not far from where my sister lives. Jack Switzer worked in Vehicle Maintenance at the Des Moines Air Guard base and I served with him for many years. From here this couple are headed to the Des Moines area where they will meet up with Jack and Karen. Small world!
This is our last stop during Phase 1 of our summer travels. Our next stop after this is home for granddaughter Hailee's high school graduation. Then we head out on Phase 2. So we had some time to kill here and so we are here for six nights.
Mount Pleasant is my birthplace and where I lived until I was three or four years old, and where we returned to many times to visit our grandparents while I was growing up. My grandfather Clark Linch worked at the mental health institute and my grandmother Mary Ann cooked for a fraternity at Iowa Wesleyan College. This is also where my mom and dad first met. My mom worked in the Henry County Assessor's Office. My dad started his Iowa Highway Patrol career with his first assignment at Fort Madison, then to Mount Pleasant, Denison, DeWitt (K-Freshman for me) and finally Cedar Falls (Sophomore-Senior high school for me) where I met Doreen.
So Doreen and I plan to take our time and walk the steps I took here many years ago. Most of the stores and shops I remember are gone, but there is still a lot to see. My grandparents on my mom's side are buried here along with and aunt and uncle and some other relatives. Our Linch family farm is still here. The house we lived in when I was born until we moved to Denison IA is still here. Then there is the Old Threshers and other places. We plan to go east and visit New London where my aunt, uncle and cousins lived. We will go further east to Middletown and see if the Army Ammunition Plant has a museum to visit. We plan to see Burlington again, on down to Fort Madison where my parents started our family and my sister was born, and then to Keokuk possibly. My mom graduated high school at Oakland Mills nearby. So, again, lots to see and lots of time to see it!
Stats: This is campground #10 of 43
# States Traveled Through So Far This Trip, in order: 6 (IA, MO, KS, OK, MO, IA)
# States left to visit on this trip: 21 (IL, IN, MI, WI, IA, MN, SD, ND, MT, ID, OR, ID,NV, UT, CO, NM, TX, OK, KS, MO, IA )
Baseball Parks Visited So Far This Trip: 0 ( )
Lighthouses visited: 0 ( )
Lighthouses climbed: 0 ( )
Point to point travel miles: 1778 miles
- Avg point to point travel miles between campgrounds: 162 miles
Vicinity miles: 857 miles
- Avg vicinity miles: 86 miles
Total miles driven: 2635 miles
Total point to point driving time: 34 hrs 25 minutes
Total diesel fuel purchased: 252.068 gals
Total diesel fuel cost: $799.18
Average diesel fuel cost/gal: $3.196
Max diesel fuel cost: $3.499 (Ankeny IA)
Min diesel fuel cost: $2.879 (Yukon OK)
Avg MPG: 10.32 miles/gal
Cost/mi of operation: $0.37
# Nights at end of this stay: 44 (Includes Griff's start)
Total lodging cost: $1862.26 (includes Griff's start)
Average cost/night: $42.32
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