Oregon, IL Sculpture Trail
Once the other RV ladies headed home, I stayed at Lowden SP for an additional night to bring Colt to the dealer for winterizing and warranty work. I spent some of the day looking for the sculptures located around Oregon and just some other wanderings thru parks.
Makin' Hay by Daniel Ingebritson The Bountiful Bench by Christine Murphy
From the Waters Comes My Bounty by Ray Kobald located on the Rock River.
Paths of Conviction, Footsteps of Fate by Jeff Adams. One side shows Abraham Lincoln, the other side shows Blackhawk.
The Soldier's Monument by Lorado Taft (dedicated in 1916) honors veterans from the Civil War, Spanish-American War, War of 1812, Mexican War, and WW I.
The second picture of the little fountain was not part of the sculpture tour, but it was cute, showing 2 children hugging fish.
Solar Reef by Andrew Langoussis representing the sun. Around it's perimeter are embellishments of landscape elements such as fields, hills and structures.
The empty campground. My site is just right of center near the shower building.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2015
Halloween Weekend at Lowden SP, IL
One more camping trip for the maiden year of Colt. Two of the ladies from the women RV forum and I met at Lowden SP, IL. Friday, October 30, 2015 was arrival day. After we were all settled in we did a short hike in the park, following Heckman Train down to the Rock River.
Eileen (left) and Kathy (Right)
The museum also had a small version of The Blind by Lorado Taft. The full size statue is located at the University of Illinois. The woman at the museum said all of the figures in the stature are blind except for the child being held up by the woman in front.
Us with Sam the grizzly and other things in the museum.
September 18 - 22, 2015
Shipshewana, Indiana
On to the second get together of the same week with the Women RV ladies. All of the ladies in Rockville Lake Park headed up to Shipshewana Campground South to meet some of the other ladies from the forum for another few days.
Back row L-R:
Nan (Gentleladybear), Eileen (beazle), Sarah (bluepinecones), Sue (Colliemom), Carol (carolinagal),
Roberta (bertk523), Claudia (Wings), Tina (BirdbyBird), Kathy (gingerK)
From row L-R:
Liz, Brenda (Sue's friend), Cheryl (IrishIroamed)
The site were a little closer together than I'd like, but it made the visiting easier.
Zorro and I experienced our first thunderstorm in Colt (the trailer) and I kept an eye on the radar. If any tornado warnings were announced I was planning on getting us to the shower building, even though dogs weren't allowed. I would guess the campground folks would have understood. I think Zorro had a good time, he was enjoying playing with all the other dogs. Here he is looking for Howdy to come out.
But, other than a river or lake, what better site to have across from you than these beauties.
On Sunday, Sarah, Claudia and I went to breakfast in Elkhart (everything in Shipshewana is closed on Sunday) and then toured the Ruthmere mansion.
Shipshewana is a very large Amish and it was fun to see all of the different carriages and bikes, including hearing the clip-clop of the horses hooves on the street. Seemed like I never had my camera with me to take a picture of a carriage going down the street, so the best I can do is a weather vane.
Nan offered her rig one night for a pot luck dinner.
Sue's Molly & Sarah's Nikki
Claudia's Howdy
September 15 - 18, 2015
Indiana Covered Bridges
I had a chance to meet some of the ladies from the Women RV forum which was a lot of fun and nice to put real faces to the names. A group of us met down at Rockville Lake Park in Rockville, Indiana.
L-R: Roberta (bertk523), Sara , Claudia (Wings), Liz, Sue (Colliemom), Carol (carolinagal), Brenda (Sue's friend)
We did the Black route driving tour of the covered bridges, unfortunately, at the second bridge, Sue discovered her hitch had been stolen off of her truck. We back-tracked to the campground with the hope that is just fell off, but it was definitely stolen. Sue and Brenda then went to an RV dealer to get a new one, and the rest of us continued on the tour.
I was a little disappointed. I don't know why I thought the bridges would all be different, but they were all the same. The first bridge is where we think Sue's hitch was stolen.
We (Liz, Brenda, Sue, Roberta, and Claudia) were on the lake side of the campground where there was an upper and lower level. The majority of us were on the upper level with Sara and Carol on the lower level.
SATURDAY, JULY 18, 2015
No Such Luck ~ Scoping out campgrounds
I've been looking at campgrounds in Illinois, trying to decide if I want to go there or not, and am not having much luck. Putting lots of miles on Mar-E, with little results. Since campground reservations are booked well in advance, 6 months or more, some are already booked for the summer / fall season. So if I find one that may have a opening at some time, I've been making a reservation, checking it out and then, mostly, cancelling it.
There are a myriad of reasons, why reservations are being cancelled: to far to go on a Friday after work, tricky sites for a newbie to try to back into or some other reason. I am defiantly spoiled by my first trip to Coles Creek with full hook-ups on a lake and nice big sites, but I know not all campgrounds are alike. So I wonder if maybe Illinois is just not the best place for camping. Anyhow, here are some of my opinions about the campgrounds, I've visited in my search.
Coles Creek COE, Carlyle, IL ~~~n 4 Stars
Large paved spots, loop with full hookups other with electric only. Group sites available also.
Illini SP, Marseilles, IL ~~~ 2-3 Stars Depending on the loop
Great Falls loop has some sites on the river, electric only. Some sites are very narrow. Other sites on this loop are more rustic for tent camping or small towables. The White Tail look has no view of the river. No hookups.
Fisherman's Corner COE, IL (Mississippi River Pools) ~~~ 2 Stars
The sites are very close together. Those on the river are right on the river (5' -10' maybe?). Some with electric.
Starved Rock SP, La Salle, IL ~~~ 2 Stars
Mostly in the trees, hard back-ins. Very dense woods so some privacy.
Shabbona Lake SP, IL ~~~ 2 Stars
Some sights in trees, some on the lake. Electric.
Prophetstown SP, Prophetstown, IL ~~~ 1 Star
Might be OK, but seemed a little spooky. On the Rock River. Sights were on grass that I saw.
Nauvoo SP, Nauvoo, IL ~~~ Zero Stars
Very small campground for RV, no big rigs, road was bad (lots of potholes), no amenities. Tent camping area looked much nicer than the RV campground. Sites very close to trees also. Tough back-ins. A really bad experience.
June, 2015
Illini State Park, Marseille, IL
Been trying to get out camping. Booking the little amount of sites I can find that are not already reserved for the season. Leaves time to take a day trip to check them out. So between bad weather, iffy campgrounds, or tricky back-ins (for a newbie). I've cancelled most of them.
Was watching the temps for this weekend, but thought I'd give it a shot anyway. Picked up Colt to fill the tank, and seemed to only want to register 1/2 full, but figured that would be OK for 2 nights. Had a site reserved that I'd seen before, on the river, nice and shady, so I took a chance on the heat. BAD IDEA!
Due to all of the rain, I got stuck in the mud (site was very narrow) but I was able to get out. All of the practicing I've been doing with my BIL helped some, but not enough. Nothing like the real thing to bring your confidence level down.
Another lady camper who was waiting for her DH ended up backing it in for me. Not a dry spot on the site. Everything was mud. Left Mar-E running for over an hour while trying to get set-up, with the AC on so at least Zorro was staying cool (after he went rolling in the mud to get cool ~ yes my always clean dog got actually dirty ~ bad dog! ). I was standing in the mud to get to the basement stuff, the electric kept tripping, and couldn't get the AC to work.
After 2 1/2 hours in 100+ feels like temps, decided to give up and head back home. Picked up my friend Kimm to help spot me in the lot, took quite a few tries but I finally got Colt backed in. Luckily the pickup truck & plow that are usually next to me were gone, so I had a lot of room.
Plus Mar-E seemed to be struggling. Wasn't sure if it was the heat or what. But when I got back to the storage lot, the bolts on the battery on Colt seemed pretty hot. Something dangerous I'm thinking, so need to find someone I can ask about that too.
A little disheartened right now, but not giving up the fight yet.
Wednesday, May 18 - 22, 2015
My first actual vacation in the camper was to Coles Creek campground by Carlyle Lake in southern Illinois. Great first vacation. The campground is a Core of Engineers campground, which means full hookup at the sites (sewer, water and electric) and paved sites.
The nights were very cool and I couldn't get the furnace to stay on. It would turn on once, heat up the TT and then shut off, never to turn on again. Even though it was the end of May and no place would have space heaters in stock, did find a plumbing supply store in Carlyle that had some. In the fall I learned the circuit board for the heat & AC was bad so it was replaced (another warranty item).
Since it was the week before the Memorial Day weekend, the campground was pretty empty. Only 5 other RVs (my site is in the middle of the first picture) and looking across from the campground loop to the manmade beach.
A look back at the campground from the beach and Zorro enjoying his vacation too.
Some of the wild life around the campground. Both of the turtle's shells were about 6" front to back.
The same blue heron, just moving around.
And what should be Illinois' other state bird, the turkey vulture.
The General Dean Suspension bridge and the Kaskaskia River near Carlyle, IL
Carlyle Lake is the largest manmade lake in Illinois created with the dam.
How great is it having a camper? It's great! Nothing like having your own B&B on wheels. Having Colt gave me the chance to go to Cahokia Mounds State Historic site. It's too far for one of my usual day trips, but it was within an hours drive from the campground.
I could have spent all day here, walking around the grounds, doing all of the trails, and spotting all of the wild life, but the weather was not cooperating and continued with a steady rain all day.
Artist rendering of the grand plaza. Cahokia is the largest Mississippian city found to date and was almost lost because of highway construction around St. Louis.
The story of this area is a boy stealing his little sister's corn husk doll. She is chasing after him and the family (wild) dog is barking at them. Kids haven't changed much.
The grand plaza with one of the twin tomb mounds in the back.
Part of a re-built stockade fence that used to encompass the entire settlement and a replica of Woodhenge (not in original location).
Monks Mound ~ where chief lived and where meetings and worships were held. View from the top of Monks Mound with St. Louis and the Arch in the background.
SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2015
The First Adventure of Mar-E & Colt
Anyone who may know me, knows that for the last few years, I've been looking at RV's with the thought of RVing full-time when I retire. I'd like to see the national parks, national monuments, and whatever else I may find along the way.
With the purchase of my F150 Mar-E (Moving And Roaming Everywhere) last year, it was only a matter of time before Mar-E got her Colt (Cheryl's Own Little Trailer).
I've been spending the last few weekends moving things inside as well as getting some backing up lessons from my BIL (brother-in-law) Ken and Mark, my friend Kimm's hubby. Getting better but not quite there yet. The weight control / sway bars are a bear to get on and everyone, including the dealer, seems to have a problem with hitching / unhitching. May 1st is a planned trip to the dealer for dewinterizing and to look at that to see if the ball size matches the coupler size.
The Maiden Voyage ~ or Should I Say Camp
Time to jump in and give it a shot, I took a ride to Illini on Thursday to scope out campsites and on Friday, Ken helped me hitch and then we went to Illini SP. Ken came with to back it into the site (thanks Ken!). He stayed for a night, helped with a few things then he left the next day to go to work.
Got a great spot with view of the Illinois River, and basically boondocked. The electric post was on the wrong side of the site and too far away to run the cord. One minor annoyance was the carbon monoxide detector started to beep & show a fault on Friday night right at the time we were going to go to sleep. It wouldn't reset, so we muffled the beep for the night. Got in touch with the dealer on Saturday, and they said to just disconnect it because they are known to go bad after a while. Geez!! this is the first trip! Warranty work #1.
All in all, everything went well. Drove home by myself and Ken met me at the storage lot. Took an hour to get the ball to release. That was longer than the drive home from Illini. Ah, the fun begins.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015
Eager for Eagles at Starved Rock SP, IL
Early rising today and decided to check out the bald eagles at Starved Rock SP again. Thing were looking up. Saw a bald eagle sitting on a tree on I-80 around Seneca IL. So close! but no chance or place to stop to take a picture. He must have been looking for field mice or rabbits.
As soon as I pulled in the parking lot, 3 were flying on the river right in front of me. There was only one in December (the resident eagle), but this time out, found about 7 including 1 juvenile. Less than last year but ... yea!
It was foggy & overcast, so some pictures have been lightened and cropped to post more.
Am I the only one who gets emotional seeing our national symbol?
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2015
McKinley Woods, Channahon, IL
Went to Channahon with one of the ladies from the RV ladies site to look for bald eagles on the Des Plaines River. We saw at least two juveniles and one adult, but unfortunately no pictures of them. Hard to tell if these were American White Pelicans.
On the I & M Canal (a little camera shy) we saw this on in flight and originally thought it was a Red Tailed Hawk, but once he rested on this dead tree, he's too light colored and even though it's a cloudy day, he could be some type of owl also that is in the area. Basically, no clue.
Mute swan, Common Mergansers, Coots and Mallards (male and female)
A group of American Coots. Missed them running on the water, but got a sequence shot of a couple of them diving.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2015
Will County Winter
Mild mid January day and needed to get outside. Went to the tiny Isle La Cache Museum in Romeoville, around the little trail.
Small branch of the Des Plaines Rivers with some flowing water
Then went across and down the street to Centennial Trail and the I & M (Illinois & Michigan) sanitary and ship canal. Sanitary & Ship Canal Bridge no longer in use, but is now part of the Centennial Trail.
Then to Lake Renwick and the heron preserve (zoomed pic of the heron nests).
New Year ~ New Look ~ New Roamings
Starting 2015 with a new look for the blog, just for a change of pace...purple & flowers from the May 2014 visit to Chicago Botanic Gardens.
What will 2015 bring? Sure hope it will not be as sad as 2014 with the loss of my sister in December and my heart dog Molly back in February.
Not quite sure where I'll roam this year. Where can I roam so that I don't repeat some routes, but that may be unrealistic in some sense. Wonder if this will be the summer for buying a 'learning what the heck I need to learn' RV. Hopefully seeing more of the Mississippi, southern Illinois and many places in between. Wish me luck!
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