2021 Midwest DIS Meet- May 14-16, 2020 Starved Rock State Park

Great pics, Ed.

I'll add a few more.

We got an early start on the 3 hour drive up. Pulled out of the driveway at 0830. It would have been 15 minutes earlier, but it took that long to get Donna 's laptop to hot spot off a phone. 3 phones later, I finally discovered she had the Cap lock on (no light on the keyboard) so the laptop wasn't putting in the correct password.

We arrived about 1140. No one else was here, but Tigger92662 and friend Tim showed up about 15 minutes later, so great timing.

Here is Ian enjoying the ride up.

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We made some lunch and soon after Ed and his lovely DW pulled in. It didn't take him long to get setup. He was representing his home state well, although I think most of it was lost on the northerners here.

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Tigger92662 is right across the road. I am just a site over and Tim is next to me.

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It was a beautiful day. Sunny, upper 60s/ low 70s. We drove over to check out the lodge and visitor center. Really pretty views.

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Had a great dinner with everyone and hung out around the fire as the temps dropped into the 50s.

Rain overnight and this morning. Nothing heavy or severe. Radar looks like it might stop later this afternoon.

Off to make breakfast now and we'll see what the day brings. There are a couple of small towns close. I'm sure they will have some small places for DW to shop.

j
 
Kris,

I had to take pics of the hiking trails. Really interesting geography here. Many small erosion canyons along the Illinois River. Except for the several hundred stairs to get you from the river to the visitor center in the pic above, not as much elevation change as you like.

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We were planning on hitting a few of the trails today, but the rain may hamper that.

j
 


Yep as Jim said it's drizzly today and cool.



Gonna look for a local take-out pizza place for dinner tonight. Gotta be one around.

Ed

Sams Pizza in Oglesby is the best in the Illinois River Valley, take out or dine in, he doesn't open until 4:00. Call right at 4:00, its saturday night, he gets very busy
 
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Afternoon update since it's still drizzling off/on here (and it feels like all the campers are using their hotspots - the internet speeds are CRAWLING [were good yesterday]).

About 11am we piled into two cars and headed into the nearby town of Peru (15 minutes away) where DIS Friend Tim had recently purchased a beautiful brick building from the 1910s that was built as the HQ of the Peru Brewing Company. The brewery was done in the valley near the river but up the hill from the plant is where they built their HQ. It is being restored. I was some amazed that I didn't take pix but hopefully Joe or Jim did and can post them. The wood walls, 14ft ceilings on the main floor, the wood floors, and the old payroll vault were all very cool (and in relatively good shape to start with).

At 1230pm we rode down to lunch at the Riverfront Bar and Grill in Peru (the Illinois River runs through town).



As I often do when in a new place, I asked our server to recommend some favorites. She did and I chose the Horse Shoe (not the only one in our group who did either). It is a piece of Texas Toast with a half pound burger on it, then french fries piled on that covered in beer cheese and sprinkled in bacon bits.



I hated every bite. :teeth:



We stopped at the local Historical Center and walked down to the bridge over the Illinois and Michigan Canal which opened in 1848 which has its western end in Peru. It connects the northern most navigable reaches of the Illinois River and runs northeast into Chicago and the Chicago River which flows into Lake Michigan. The Illinois River flows into the mighty Mississippi River so the I & M Canal connected the Atlantic Ocean and Great Lakes to the Mississippi and the interior of the Mid-West.

As I said its western terminus is in Peru and extends 96 miles to Chicago (Lake Michigan is higher so there were 14 locks along the canal) for the towboats pulled by horses or mules that carried cargo and passengers. Here is the canal looking toward Chicago:



Here is the Turning Pool (end of the line) for the canal boats where they would offload people and cargo to be transferred to steamboats who would ply the Illinois River.



The Canal also runs near the state park we are in (in Utica) and to the west is the town of LaSalle and next to that is Peru. It's an interesting bit of history. Although trains later came parallel to the canal and siphoned off most passenger and some cargo traffic, the Canal remained in service until 1933.

Finally, when returning to our campsite, someone was eagerly waiting for me. You see, @tigger92662 is camped across from me now but he also was across from me at the October 2020 DISMeet at Fort Wilderness, "Rendezvous at the Fort". That's when my little buddy Elsa developed a strong bond with me. She's little but she barks and growls constantly and shows her teeth like a big dog who is happy to see me :sad2: whenever I walk out to the road.

Sure 'nuff, there she was.



(Imagine the sound of barking muted by the front RV windshield.) I'm not scared of her. Much. :scared:

Time to let lunch digest. Thanks for the pizza tip, @team bradfield.

Bama Ed
 
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So let's backtrack some. Arrived Friday about 11:30 am. @Teamubr was already here. We and neighbor Tim (for those who don't know, Tim is my next door neighbor) got set up and then relaxing. @bama_ed and DW arrived around 3. Dinner at our site and then camfire at Teamubr site. Wonderful evening of relaxing and company.
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Rain and cool all day yesterday, but the rain stopped late in the afternoon and we had another fire with friends.

Today we woke up to sun and nicer temps. 50s this morning, but up to about 70 this afternoon. We took the opportunity to go out and see some of the natural features the park is known for.

French Canyon.

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St. Louis Canyon

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Probably hiked about 2 miles in all. Fairly easy, but pretty.

We packed up and headed for home about 2:30. Made it to Sam's to fill up the fuel tank for next weekend at 5:40. The coach and trailer did great and it was wonderful seeing DIS friends again. I can't wait for the Meet in the Smokies in 3 weeks.

Home now and heading out for dinner.

j
 
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We headed out this morning about 930am for church in Utica (the local town here) and afterwords headed up into Chicagoland to visit an aunt and uncle of mine. It was a cloudy but dry day and hit about 73F. Coming back the sun was going down and was nearly down when we pulled into the campground. @tigger92662 and DIS Friend Tim were still here having paid for tonight but they wanted to leave later after today's check out time. So we did get to say goodbye before they pulled out at 8pm leaving only their tail lights to watch go around the corner.



It's a sad thing closing down a DISMeet and looking at the empty sites our DIS buds had occupied. :sad:

We did stop and get a take out pizza in Utica tonight. @team bradfield, Sam's had a one hour wait last night when some of our crowd went over there. I think they saw Sam himself. But the local was good.



Thin crust supreme (pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, black olives). Not a shred of it was left over.

Rain has begun to fall again tonight.

Tomorrow planning to run down to Springfield to see the Abraham Lincoln sites there, mainly the Presidential Museum and Memorial at the cemetary. Two other sites I wanted to see are not available: the Old State House (where Lincoln served as a state legislator and argued cases as a lawyer at the State Supreme Court). The building has been closed for about 2 months for repairs.

Also the Lincoln Home that he lived in is still closed apparently due to the Pandemic due to its tight interior spaces.

So we will see what we can.

More rain due down in Springfield as well (about 2 hrs each way).

Bama Ed
 
Sunday was sorta lazy day. Earlier in the week we decide to book Sunday as well so as to take our time leaving. We snacked here and there. Chatted with @Teamubr before they left. Neighbor Tim's girlfriend came by in the afternoon and we finished up the burgers and sides. Chatted with bama_ed a bit before we left. Hit the dump station and pulled out right around dusk. Light rain on the way home, in the driveway and unloaded by 10pm. Even with the dismal weather, we all had a great time.

This is the 3rd Illinois State park we've been to in past couple years. The sites at all 3 are mostly level, plenty deep and very widely spaced apart.
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On Sunday a motorcycle gang rode through
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Can't wait to see everyone in Pigeon Forge
 
Rainy day for a Monday up here in Illinois today. But we were in no rush so we left out about 8am for the state capital city of Springfield and the 2-hr rainy drive. But about 30 minutes before arrival, the rain stopped and it was in the mid 60sF so we went first to Lincoln's Memorial and Tomb in Oak Grove Cemetary.



Inside they have quite beautiful wood and marble walls but it's a very simple design. There is a bronze small replica of Lincoln Memorial statue in DC just inside the front door (you enter at ground level).



The hallways form a square with Lincoln's tomb at the end opposite the entrance. His tomb is 10ft below the level of the floor beneath the big headstone.



The immediate family members (Mrs. Lincoln and 3 of his 4 sons) are in a crypt opposite this headstone. (the 4th son is buried at Arlington National Cemetery)

On the outside of the memorial, the stairs to the upper level are blocked off but we did walk around the memorial and there is a metal gate outside behind the headstone with the family name on it.



You can see that people have left pennies (which have Lincoln's portrait on one side) in memory.

From the cemetery it was less than a 5 minute ride to the Lincoln Museum in downtown Springfield. The library is across the street and not really a tourist destination but for scholars, researchers, and Illinois archival record needs.

The museum is well done and leaves you wanting more. It has two walk through exhibits which convey TONS of information with multimedia, artifacts, maps, and life-size figures in a full-sized diorama. An example is the Cabinet Room where Lincoln read the Emancipation Proclamation to his Cabinet and asked when he should announce it.

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Little signs explained who each man was and his position on the EP.

Another example is the story scene of Abe courting Mary Todd.

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There were two theaters, one was very reminiscent of the American Adventure Theater at Epcot.

The two walk-throughs cover first his early life up to his election as president:



and the second the presidential years and events after his shooting at Ford's Theater.



There is more plus an extensive gift shop.

All in all I thought it was very well done and worth the cost/effort to go see. We spent 2.5 hours there and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. If I had one complaint it is that the section of the museum called The Treasure's Gallery was small and had few treasures. I guess I expected more Lincoln artifacts than were on display (rotated I'm told but still not many at one time).

Only a mile away from the Museum was the Lincoln House that the family lived in for 20 years before leaving for Washington DC. It is a complex of period houses/buildings along a street that stretches for two blocks and the Lincoln house is in the middle on a corner lot.

The Visitor's Center was sadly still closed as was the house but we could park and walk around.



Here is the house.



There are pictures of Abe and the kids in front of the house at the Museum and then you can go there and see it and say to yourself, "Yep, that's it all right".

The rain stopped on the way back to Starved Rock SP. A late lunch at Cracker Barrel hit the spot. We've packed up the outside stuff and are ready to head south tomorrow morning.

Bama Ed
 
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Glad you enjoyed your time in my "neck of the woods" (or my neck of the corn field). The Lincoln Museum is pretty neat, but agree, it could always have more. I look forward to seeing you and the DW in a few weeks. Have a safe trip back south.

j
 
Glad you enjoyed your time in my "neck of the woods" (or my neck of the corn field). The Lincoln Museum is pretty neat, but agree, it could always have more. I look forward to seeing you and the DW in a few weeks. Have a safe trip back south.

j

Thanks Jim.

It was good for me to get out and see part of your state (mostly the middle running north-south). It is SO much more agricultural than I expected. Huge flat expanses of black earth with newly budding corn plants sprouting up.

We said goodbye to Starved Rock this morning over our shoulders as we rolled out of the campground.



We had rain for the first hour on I39 down to Bloomington then 50/50 rain/non-rain till lunchtime (Logan's Roadhouse ::yes::).

After lunch it was rain free but cloudy back to the CoE campground near Paducah that we stayed at on the way up. Back in the same site - and my posse was there to meet me.



I counted 14 of them old men sitting on that log.

It was a fun time this past weekend. I encourage ya'll to join any of the regional DISMeets and camp together. If one's not near you, how about encouraging your closest DIS Camping Board neighbor to start a DISMeet with you?

Now we have the big annual DISMeet coming up in Pigeon Forge. Lots of stories will be told there.

Some of them might even contain a kernel of truth. :rolleyes: Grab a folding chair in the evenings and come join the fun.

Ed
 

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