Today's flight was from Marion, Ohio, to Clinton, Missouri. That's about 175 miles further than I'd planned to go today - my original overnight for today was going to be Alton, IL. When I got to Alton, though, it was only noon, and the weather wasn't half bad. The rain was over Wichita and moving east, with VFR conditions predicted for early afternoon tomorrow. The further east you go, the later the clearing was going to happen, so it seemed worthwhile to go as far west as I could today before the rain set in.

The weather was perfect when I left Marion, clear blue skies and calm winds.

Much of Ohio is very Midwestern - flat, with large, square farms. The drainage doesn't follow the squares, though...


This farmer is into angles, even for his drainage.

This far seems to be growing the biggest Band-Aid you ever saw.

Indian Lake, Ohio:

Even water-treatment plants can be interesting from the air - this is Fort Henry, Ohio.

A colorful intersection in Indiana, my second state for the day.

Muncie, Indiana, seems to have discovered a love affair with the Roundabout (a/k/a Traffic Circle) - they even put them out in the farm fields.

"If you build it, they will come..." to tell you how pretty your baseball field complex is from the air.

"Go Cardinals!" - today's sports team is from Ball State University in Muncie.

I like the pattern made by this development in Indianapolis.

An interstate interchange in Indianapolis:

Here's another one of those mysterious water features I first saw in last year's trip. This time, at least I know what it's used with, if not for - this is attached to a power plant in Coffeen, Illinois.

My first stop for the day - final approach to Runway 17, KALN St. Louis Regional Airport in Alton, Illinois. Top off the fuel, check the weather, and I'm off again as the clouds start to move in.

Here's our "what does this pond look like?" picture - "head of a tiger" is my thought.

I crossed two major rivers today - the Mississippi and the Missouri.

As it happened, "as far as I could go" was Clinton - I landed in light rain which became heavy as I tied down the Skyhawk.

So, here I am, typing in my motel room and listening to it pour. I'm only two hours from Wichita, so as long as it clears to marginal VFR conditions or better by tomorrow afternoon, I'll arrive in Wichita on schedule and on the back of the weather system.