Kissing the Southern Tip of Illinois (5/13/25)

 Looking for new places to explore along the way to North Carolina, the name Cave-In-Rock caught our attention. It’s a state park in the southern part of Illinois with camping. The added bonus is the  nearby park called Garden of the Gods ( not the one in Colorado) where there is also some great hiking.

We booked 3 nights here but the weather forecast was not great. Because of that, when we arrived to dry conditions, we headed out immediately to the cave.  The ranger was happy to tell us that we arrived at a great time- by tomorrow he expected the river to “show up” which would make the cave inaccessible-and since the river had “ just left” he thought that maybe we would be able to get there. We wore our boots for the two mile walk.

Turns out that on the way back the trail passes by a restaurant with homemade pie- so yeah we stopped there and relaxed with some dessert on the way home.

Although damp, we were able to walk down to the river and into the cave.  It was ok, especially if you hadn’t seen a cave like this (we have). It certainly fell into the “ we are easily entertained” category, but that’s fine. The weather was not great so we weren’t really looking for a long hike or anything.

For the first time this summer we set up our new screen tent. It has screen sides but also has solid sides to keep the wind and rain out-We thought maybe the weather would be rainy but fun, so we would sit out there. It was rainy, but not so much fun- so we sat out for a while and then the tent just got wet all by itself.

Taking care of the cave on day one left us two days to explore and hike other areas.

Our first hike was to Mantle Rock. To get there, we had to cross the Ohio River.  There is no bridge but luckily there is free ferry that runs all day.

Of course with all the rain, the trail was a bit of a mess, but we ran into someone who hikes it all the time and he gave us some pointers.

This trail is part of the Trail of Tears- the path that the Cherokee took in 1838-39 when they were forced to leave their ancestral homes in the east for new homes further west. During that winter, thousands of Cherokee camped in this area while they waited for the river to thaw enough for the ferry to take them across. Hundreds of them did not survive the trip.

Mantle Rock itself is the largest free standing arch east of the Mississippi River. You can see there is a tree that has grown up on the other side of the arch. Pretty cool.  It started raining again just as we got back to the truck. For perspective, Paul is in this picture.

Our second day we drove further afield and managed three (short) hikes. The first was a 2 mile loop called the Rim Rock Loop in the Rim Rock National Recreation area. Apparently there were stairs that led to interesting rock formations but they are gone, so there wasn’t much to see.

The second trail was less than a mile long but had Lots to see.

There were plenty of boulders to climb on …

and several pathways that led to pretty good views…

The final trail was just under two miles, called Indian Point trail.

 It had some interesting rock formations but my favorite part was seeing my first ever Summer Tanager..

(corrected from an earlier version which identified it as a Scarlet Tanager- that one is in the next post)

Iowa- don’t Blink (09-12-13)

Before leaving for Iowa, we spent one incredibly hot afternoon in Shipshewana (or Shopshewanna, as my friend says).  As many times as we have been to this area, we've never made it to the huge flea market. We finally remedied that, but with record high temperatures, we didn't walk the whole thing.  After all, we don’t buy much anyway.

We took two days to drive across Indiana and Illinois, into Iowa. This is the view we were greeted with when we arrived:

Acres and acres….and acres….of corn fields.  Mile after mile.  Of course, there were some acres of soybeans in there too, but farming is clearly  the main business in Iowa. I searched the internet looking for something to stop and see that wouldn't be too far out of our way as we crossed the state.  I found “The Kellogg Museum” nearby and thought it would be pretty cool to see where Corn Pops are made.  But when I looked further, I realized that this Kellogg had nothing to do with the cereal.  Oh well.  We skipped the museum.


We decided to spend a couple of nights at the Core of Engineers  Park on Lake Red Rock, near the small town of Pella. 




Our interest in Pella was a sports bar-the Sports Page- that was showing the Patriots football game on Thursday night.  We used it as an excuse to go out for dinner, and watch the football game.  Dinner was actually really good, but we were the only customers left by the time half time arrived.  We left a little while before the end of the game and listened to the last bit on the truck radio on the way home.








The next day we took off on the nearby bike trail. We had a pleasant 12 mile ride, and saw a fair amount of wildlife along the way. At least the weather has cooled off and it was only in the mid 70s.



This deer is barely visible in the picture, but he carefully watched us as we stopped to take his picture.  Before I could get a clear shot, he decided he’d had enough and took off.

Along the shores of the lake we saw pelicans, great blue Herons, and a young bald eagle.

  

And, last but not least, the Monarch butterfly migrates through this area on the way to Mexico.

One of the things I've really enjoyed since we left Michigan is the price of the RV parks we've been staying in.  Paying $35-$55 a night for a spot for the trailer gets pricey after a while.  It feels great to pay $12-$20 !!

Rend Lake, IL



Sunset over Rend Lake



    Sadly it was time to leave Jessica and Muncie Indiana.  Next time we go to visit the kids, we'll have to do it at a time of year that is warmer, so we can stick around longer.  We had a great visit with her, and made some decisions about the wedding, including the DJ and the venue (Waldenwood, for those of you familiar with it).

    After driving 300 miles, we landed at Rend Lake in Illinois, which is a really pretty area.  Since the weather warmed up a little and the sun was going to shine,  we decided to stay an extra night and spend a day biking.  It was a cool but beautiful sunny day. We spent most of the day biking but we checked out the local artisans shop as well. I was really impressed with everything they had for sale there, so I guess its a good thing we have no room for anything!  Once we got back to the trailer we built a huge fire and watched the sunset. 

We closed up the campground on our own.  We were the only ones there, and they closed for the season the day we left.  Today we drove the 250 miles to Southaven Mississippi, just outside Memphis TN, and we'll be here for a few days.