Travel to Madison

We started out a bit later than usual--it was 11 a.m. before we hit the road north from Iowa City on our way to Madison, Wisconsin, to visit Lee's niece, Michelle, and her family.

We had decided, in the spirit of the Red Roads, to avoid the interstates, so our travel took us along Iowa highway 1. All was well until Ken spotted a sign "Road closed. Local traffic only." We continued on a bit, since we didn't see any actual evidence of road closures, but then saw another sign. This time we pulled over to the side of the road and put on our flashers to consider our options. Ken got out the truckers' atlas and looked for a phone number for road conditions in Iowa.



Just then, a pickup truck pulled up and a man walked over to greet us. He explained that he owned a farm up the road and that there was actually an easy way around the closure, involving just a short jog over to the old highway. The alternative would take us at least 40 miles out of our way, so we continued on. Ken decided to call to verify the road conditions and was told that the road was closed a bit north of our location. When he asked how long it would be closed for, the reply was "until it's fixed." Fortunately, just as our good samaritan had said, it was easy to get around the closure. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers.

We planned to stop in Dubuque for lunch and to trade drivers--and to visit an Excel dealer who had advertised a lot sale. We got to tour five Excels, ranging from a 28 foot RT to a 36 foot Limited. The extra length does get some amenities we might like to have--but of course entails more weight. I am continuing to drool over the new keyboard drawers Peterson is putting in the 2008 units with the rear entertainment center/desk like ours, since working with the laptop at countertop height puts extra stress on my wrists and shoulders.

We arrived at Lake Farm Campground in Madison around 5:30, but we had to fill up with fresh water before we set up camp. After supper we set up the TV and internet dishes in about an hour. That's a world's land speed record for us--and the first time that we actually set up the internet dish on the day we arrived. Progress!!