We drove through rain and wind off and on all day Tuesday. Because of high waters from the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, we decided not to take a chance with taking Hwy 60/62 across the river at Cairo. It was a good thing. The roads were closed. We headed up I-24 to I-57 and crossed the Mississippi that way. The river was quite a site, spreading all over, it seemed.
Once on the Missouri side, we merged onto Hwy 60 and headed on toward Wappapello. It rained off and on, but for the most part was clear. We took Highway T north to Redman Corps of Eng. Campground. I could see the entrance to the campground, but the road was blocked. A county deputy was turning traffic around. I pulled into a gas station just short of the roadblock and walked up to the deputy to see if the campground was closed too or if only the road was out beyond the campground entrance. Sure enough, the campground was closed too. Just as I turned to head back to Pumpkin, the sky dumped on me. By the time I got back to the RV, I was soaked. I changed clothes and we called Wappapello State Park to see if they were open. They were, so we headed for it. Luckily, the gas station drive was big enough for me to turn around.
We drove the 10 or 12 miles to the State Park and just as we pulled up to the host site, it began really pouring again. Over the radio came a tornado warning for a tornado spotted on the ground heading directly at us. So, I drove on in and parked next to the shower house, ready to dive in. Once again, we foolishly waited, and once again we lucked out. As the rain began to let up, the park ranger pulled up to tell us we needed to go back and check in. Idiot. Anyway, we found a spot and the camp host showed up to collect.
The power went off about 9 pm. I ran the generator for a while. Then I noticed the neighbor had lights. The power had come back on. I shut down the generator and we went to bed.
Funny thing about this park. Last year Joyce and I were returning from a trip to NY. We decided to stop at Wappapello for the night and chore Redman Campground. When we got there it was full, in part because 1/2 off it was being renovated. So, we wound up at the State Park - like now. I'm beginning to wonder if there even IS a Redman Campground.
