Thursday, May 16, 2013

SMI and Henderson, KY to Rantoul, IL

Rantoul, IL.

67 deg. partly cloudy, N. wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast = Today: Partly cloudy with scattered storms. Highs around 81°F. Northeast wind to 5 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 45%.
Tonight: Partly cloudy with scattered storms. Lows around 61°F. South southwest wind to 6 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 45%.

Wow!!! I didn't think we'd end up in Rantoul yesterday, but here we are!!!!! But, let me tell you what all happened.

We left the John James Audubon State Park in Henderson, KY about 8:25 and drove the 12 or so miles up to Evansville, IN and to SMI Mfg., arriving there just before our scheduled appointment at 9:00. Once there, Jim went in and told Jason that we were there and then came back out and unhooked CLT from the back of Bobbie T.

Soon, Jason came out, checked out the wires on the back of Bobbie T, made a little modification to the wires and then took CLT into the building to install the new brake kit. By about 11:30, Jason brought CLT back outside and pulled him up behind Bobbie T.

After some testing to make sure everything worked, Jim went inside, paid the bill, came back outside and hooked CLT back up to Bobbie T, and by 12:05 we were pulling out of SMI's lot.

While Jason was working on CLT, Jim and Linda were discussing what they wanted to do when we left SMI. They both decided that depending on when Jason finished would determine how far they wanted to travel. Well, when everything was done by noon, they decided that we'd at least head part way towards Rantoul and then decide if they wanted to stop for the night, or continue all the way to Rantoul.

So, from Evansville, we headed North on US 41 and up to just South of Terre Haute where we pulled into a gas station to get Bobbie T another drink of 87 octane. While there, the decision was made to continue on up here to Rantoul. While at the station, Jim called Louise here at the CG and told her that because of our change of plans, we'd be coming in yesterday, instead of Saturday, if that was OK. She told Jim to come on in, and she'd be waiting for us. : )

When we got up to Terre Haute, we turned West on I-70 and followed it into Illinois and to Rt. 1 where we turned North. Rt. 1 brought us up to Danville where we turned West on I-74. 74 then brought us over to the Champaign / Urbana area where we turned North on US 45 and took it up here to Rantoul.

Being that we would be staying in Rantoul for quite awhile, Jim wanted to have Bobbie T's gas tank full, so we went into town, to a Casey's gas station, before heading back to the South edge of town and to the  Prairie Pines Campground.

It was 5:00 when we pulled into the CG, so from Henderson, KY we had traveled 239 miles, got the brake kit installed and stopped for fuel twice in 8 hours and 35 minutes. A very long day for Jim and Linda!!!

But, we're here and today both Jim and Linda can just kick back and relax.

Oh, by the way, the new brake kit worked very well and even I could tell that CLT was helping to stop us when we had to stop quickly a few times. : )

Did you know that the city of Rantoul was named after Robert Rantoul, Jr., a U.S. representative from Massachusetts, and a director of the Illinois Central Railroad?

Woof!!!


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