28 February

I woke early at the “Inn by the Lake”, but waited until 6 to get up. There was a great sunrise visible through the back window, but little light out front. Breakfast didn’t have toast, so I had to settle for corn flakes with milk. I splurged with a muffin and took an apple to eat later.
After I had checked out, the windscreen was still iced over, so I scraped it with a foil packet to remove some, but not all. I have to remember to put the back screen heater on and the ventilator onto the inside of the screen with full heat – eventually it will melt all the ice.
Then it was off to the dam – the Kentucky Dam, so there must only be one from the Tennessee Valley Authority in the state. I was able to get some good views, but the Visitors Centre didn’t open until 9 so it was off onto I-75 and heading north still. It wasn’t that long until I entered Illinois and thus soon after I was at a Visitors Centre there and getting some information on Illinois. After that I had to refuel and continued on. The weather looked finer the further north I went, so I held great hopes for the future.
After getting some lunch further in the day, I eventually passed into Iowa. Here the Visitors Centre did have Internet access so I sent out a bulk email but there was none in. I got information on Dubuque (with a museum on the Mississippi, as I won’t be able to drive along very much of it at all, given the weather and the time left (only twenty-one days now). I also visited the post office and posted off a letter to Mike from the UDT-SEAL museum and got some cartons to order and post souvenirs back home (well, to Fran’s) before they crowd the car out.
After that the weather deteriorated. The temperature didn’t drop much and it wasn’t really low (I was able to go out and visit each place just in shirt-sleeves) but the snow started to come down. Traffic, which had all been travelling at the speed limit or higher, slowed down. Some slowed down excessively, unless they had never driven in snow before. I quickly found that the best way was to be about forty to fifty metres behind the car in front, travelling far enough behind that I could slow or stop, but not so far that snow landed on the road between us. The snow kept falling more and more heavily but speeds kept up (at least in the fast lane – in the slow lane cars were down to a walking pace).
All remained well until I went off the main Interstate and went onto a state highway with far less traffic. Here I found that most drivers were either too cautious or too reckless, so I travelled at my selected speed and found I had an entourage, but none wanted to pass. It was also getting dark so that complicated things. The wonderful part came when I had to turn left across the median and the other lane – but the snow had completely covered the left-turn lane and the median crossover. I had faith in the SatNav and so when it gave me no distance to travel I turned – and the median gap was there!
It became far more interesting as I headed into the rural area around Mount Vernon to visit a friend there. The roads had been ploughed in the morning, but there had been heavy falls since then. I could see where the road was by the banks on each side so I kept roughly to the right (correct side – I remembered). As there had been little traffic, snow was thick in some places, so I was down to second gear in spots to keep traction – braking made the front go everywhere and acceleration could take the car anywhere (why I DON’T like front-wheel drive in cars). Eventually I was down to the last road and travelling slowly when I saw my first deer – it was smaller than I expected, but moving as quickly as I expected, so it was out of the way by the time I got there. When I arrived at Lori’s place I parked and knocked on the front door – and met Paul. We spent the next (nearly) three hours chatting away like we had known each other for ages – which we had, just never met. All good times come to an end and I had to head off, so after saying goodbye, I went out to find the car – under a little snow. Very gently I manoeuvred it out of the yard and onto the road. It was first gear until I got to a trafficked road and could see where the lanes where. By the time I got to the highway I was confident enough to drive within by capability and not be pressured by anyone else. It did worry me when I caught up to a convoy of traffic and had to slow down considerably. I got into Cedar Rapids and found the (by now) familiar Motel 6 – being close to major exits and having standard facilities makes them a good choice when times are late or bookings have to be made in advance. Also their prices remain the same as quoted. The motel was surrounded by banks of snow and I was told there had been cancellations as motorists couldn’t get through. At my door the bank was over a foot high, so I had to tramp through that to partially unload the car. I must remember when I check out to scrape both screens clean before I drive out – and have both screens warm.
I rang Paul and Lori so they would know I arrived safely and also left a message with Fran. I now have about five hours experience driving in snow, but would prefer to keep it at that.
After doing my now normal computer work recording, I went to bed.