Lesson Re-learned

 Location: Clark's Ferry Corps of Engineers Campground; about 25 minutes downstream of Davenport, Iowa

This is my second time to be in the Davenport area but the first time in this campground. The Davenport, Iowa/Moline, Illinois is a very interesting place to explore. I was here back in July of 2021 and have re-read my post from back then. It was pretty detailed, and I'll let it stand on its own with the link being here (if the link doesn't work search the archive on the right for July 31, 2021). Here's the link >> https://gozatravels.blogspot.com/2021/07/old-bridges-dams-and-pows.html

Northwestern Illinois

 

My campsite. Electric only, on the river's edge. $13.00/night

My view out the back window while sitting at my laptop.

Looking upstream while walking around the campground

I came here for three reasons: 1) the campground looked good on google earth and recreation.gov plus I was able to score a campsite "pert-near" the water's edge. I sure do like being able to be right on the river without a levee in the way. Just for reference's sake, the Mississippi River levee system general begins at Cape Girardeau, Missouri in the southeast corner of the state. I'll actually be camping near there in a few days. They go all the way down to Venice, Louisiana (if interested, I've been there too and if you search for Venice in the search bar of this blog it should come up). 2) and this is where the re-learned lesson comes into play. Last time I was here, I took a riverboat tour of the Davenport area of the Mississippi River. I enjoyed it so much I thought I would repeat it since I would be camped nearby. That was a mistake. I keep re-learning this lesson; Do not try to repeat good things (wow moments) on the road. Chances are they will never live up to the first time and will therefore taint my memory (silent echo) of the event. But the good news is it was only $20.00 for a 1 1/2-hour boat ride. The boat ride was worth it but did get boring in the later half. I've made this mistake a couple of times over the years but forget it sometimes. I think in a way it applies to life in general as well as to traveling spots. 3) I wanted to see the world largest roller gate dam. There isn't a place where you can get a good view of it, but I got as close as I could. In fact, I'll be using a picture of it from my old post since it turned out better.

From the riverboat approaching the I-74 bridges. They were under construction during my last visit four years ago.

 

Two things in this picture. The apparatus right under the deck can move so inspections can be done from underneath and not require a machine sitting on the deck and reaching under. This is just on the main span. 
Also, do you want to know why some bridge are so expensive to build? Notice the "twisted columns" in the background. Yep, they are definitely more expensive and more difficult to build. Somebody wanted a unique design instead of a standard design. 

The Isle of Capri Casino. It looked to be the only large one in the area. 

The world's largest roller gate dam. The water passes under the long red rollers which helps keep the siltation from building up downstream. The black roller, called a skimmer gate, allows debris and ice floes to pass over the top of that roller. There is another black roller on the opposite end of the dam.

I also bought some sweet corn from a large farmers market in Davenport. It wasn't as sweet as the ears I got while attending the RV rally. Microwaving them is the best thing I've found in a while. I tried it at the rally, and it worked great. Easy, no mess. 

Tomorrow is moving day, and I'll be crossing into Missouri to camp at another COE campground. This won't be a repeat campground but will be near the same lake. The weather has been great the last couple of days. Highs in the mid 70's and lows in the lower 50's. In fact, I've had to break out a small space heater to take the chill off in the mornings. It's great.

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.  

  

Hello From The Mississippi River

 Location: Thomson Causeway Corps of Engineers Campground; Thomson, Illinois (about halfway between Dubuque and Davenport on the banks of the Mississippi River)

It was a nice tow on some descent roads in Illinois to get to this campground. 

Lots and lots of soybeans and corn.

I saw this tree far enough away so I could grab my phone. I thought it may have been trimmed due to the power line, but nope, it was just the way it was. 

It's good to be back in a COE campground. This one has recently been reconstructed and is looking good. The only drawback is the water near my campground is slow-moving, almost like backwater, which has promoted the growth of a lot of water lilies. Besides it not looking really good, I thought for sure there would be an overpowering organic smell and be infested with lots of mosquitoes. Surprise, surprise, no smell and no skeeters. I'm not sure why there isn't a smell but the reason for no skeeters is there is an unusual number of dragonflies. I didn't get a close-up view of the dragonflies, but they must have some full bellies since I've only seen one skeeter.

Campsite 87. My surge guard protected me again when the 30 amp breaker went out in the middle of the night. It turned the power off but I could tell there was still power in the campground, so I used my 50/30 amp dogbone and plugged into the 50 amp plug. Problem solved.  

Nearly empty campgrounds are nice.

While waiting from Liberty to cool down I ran back into Thomson (10 minutes away) for what I hoped would be a great cheeseburger from a 67-year-old drive in. 

I was close enough and the weather was nice enough so I could eat my burger at my picnic table. Lunch with a view. 

The exploration for this area was a sawmill museum. The museum was so-so, 5 out of 10. But there was a unique and spooky display in the museum. There were four animated busts of the founders of the local timber dating back to the mid 1800's. Apparently, Clinton, Iowa was the hub of the timber industry back then. They were telling the story while their heads and lips moved. Kind of eerie, but interesting. Definitely a memorable moment.

This is the four talking heads. Very unique but weird.

 I thought I was going to strike gold with a Reuben Sandwich from a local deli, at least from the google reviews but it turned out to be only a 3 out of 10 sandwich. The search continues. Just for the record, the number one Reuben is from the Whistle Stop Cafe in Hinckley, Minnesota while the number two is from Sweet T's Diner in Freeport, Texas. All other locations don't have a ranking. I need to think about why I feel the need to rank museums and Reuben's. Besides an occasional woman, I don't rank anything else. Oh well, I guess it is just one more thing on my list to figure out. I'll start work on that as soon as I solve the time travel problem.

This is one of the other reasons I wanted to come here. It was to see this dam. It is a combination of roller gates and Tainter gates. To me, that is unusual. At my next campground I'll explore the worlds larger roller gate dam. 

Today is my 3rd and last day at this campground and it has been a nice one. Most of the time there has only been one other camper in this loop of the overall campground. It has been peaceful and quiet with one good sunset. It's been a while since I've seen a good sunset or sunrise so I soaked it up as best I could.

I liked this picture with the reflection in my door. Yeah, I planned that. :)

Same sunset. 
Night Ya'll

 Tomorrow is moving day and I'll be headed to another COE campground just south of Davenport. I have reservations for a riverboat tour around the Davenport/Moline/Rock Island area. I took that tour a few years ago but am looking forward to doing it again.

I'm still 887 miles from homebase and plan to be there around the 6th of September. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.  

Small Things; Big Impacts

 Location: Illini State Park; Marseilles, Illinois (about 45 minutes west of Chicago)

I stayed at this campground in July of last year while on my way to the 2024 RV Rally. I explored the area pretty good and posted about it. I don't plan to repeat those explorations this time but if you want to know more about this campground and the area, here is a link to that post  https://gozatravels.blogspot.com/2024/07/peaceful-state-park-mostly-pictures.html

Campsite #18. That is the Illinois River in the background. It is a surprisingly clean and pretty river. The dam is about 1/4 mile to the left in that picture and it looks like they are releasing a lot of water. 

This is right behind Liberty. Nice looking river uh? You don't hear much about the Illinois River, but it was very important in opening the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. 

My view out my back window. A much more peaceful view than at the rally. It's been great to glace out the window while working on the laptop. 

My purpose for stopping here was to visit an old home place. It is located in Streator, Illinois which is about 30 minutes south of here. I lived there for about 3 months back when I was around 11 years old or so. I decided not to visit it last year because I wasn't feeling too good, but yesterday, I was feeling fine and was up for a slow drive through soybean/corn fields to find an old house I hadn't seen in close to 60 years. I think I found the house but am not 100% sure. The correct house isn't important. What is important, is what happened when we lived there and how it took me 10 years to find out.

It was a nice drive to Streator. The road had almost zero traffic and the fields where full of nearly ripened crops. As usual, the houses are spaced about a mile apart and each had we groomed yards. You could easily feel the pride they all had. It was a good vibe ride.

I was taking this picture to show the modern windmills in the middle of corn fields when this flock of birds flew up. 

I don't know the actual year we lived in Streator but am guessing somewhere in the mid-1960's. Fast forward to the mid-1970's and I'm in the Navy stationed onboard the U.S.S. Manitowoc (LST 1180). It's been a rough day and I'm tired but need to eat supper before "hitting my rack" early (going to bed early). So, I have my plate of food and while eating I'm listening to the conversation at the other end of the table. It must be a new guy since they are asking him where he's from. It is the most common question asked of new guys. He said he was from Illinois. The caught my interest because in my childhood travels, I lived in two towns in Illinois. I calmly asked, "Where at in Illinois". He replied, "Streator, about 45 minutes west of Chicago". I said, "I know where it's at because I lived there when I was a child". He asked for the address which I couldn't remember. I told him I didn't remember the address but said there was a golf driving range where you turned into the neighborhood. Once you turned in, you then took the next right turn, and the house was somewhere down on the right. He quickly replied, "It was the third house on the right". Wow, that blew me away and I asked him how he knew that. His reply was that he saw my name on my shirt, and he remember the name. He also said that he remembered my mother specifically. Apparently, on a hot summer day she had picked up some fresh beans and peas. She rounded up some of the local kids and bribed them with fresh cold watermelon if they would help her snap the beans and shell the peas. He said that was the best tasting watermelon he had ever had, and it may have actually been his first. He said he remembers that day every time he eats or even sees watermelon. Now picture this, in northern Illinois, a few pre-teens are sitting on a patio, in the middle of summer, snapping beans and shelling peas while listening to a woman with a slow southern east Texas accent talk about growing up poor in the "thicket". Then when the work was done, eating some cold watermelon and letting the juices drip down their chins while spitting out the seeds (no seedless watermelons back then). My mother gave those kids a memory that lasted a lifetime and I didn't even know about for 10 years. When I called my parents after hearing the story, she remembered doing it and apparently, it wasn't the first time. She had done it at some of the other places we had lived. It makes you wonder what other great true-life stories are out there that we just haven't heard about yet.  

There are a couple morals to the story. One, you never know the impact on someone by what you think is an insignificant act (snapping beans and shelling peas). Two, it really is a small world, and everything happens for a reason.

I think it is the second house but not for sure. I also drove around town thinking I may be able to conjure up some old good-vibes. It didn't happen, at least not in town. I did feel a ripple as I drove down the street, but it may have just been gas. My mother is the one who always found the house we rented while I grew up. Since I've been RV'ing, I've visited several of our old home places. She did a great job at finding the perfect places. I miss her but will see her again one day. 

Tomorrow is moving day, and I'll be headed to a COE campground on the Mississippi River between Dubuque and Davenport.

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.         

Forest River RV Rally - 2025

Location: Elkhart County Fairgrounds; Goshen, Indiana

My obligatory road picture for you know who. This is some of the backroads in either northern Illinois or Indiana. Towing on these roads worry me in case I have a blowout and not much shoulder to pull over to change a tire. I still believe in my hard fast rule suggestion that I will tow on Interstates or roads with shoulders and explore on the backroads without Liberty.

That's Liberty in the middle. There were only two other Rpods at this years rally. It will be nice to get to a more open campsite. 

I arrived last Saturday, August 9th which was one day before the official start of the rally. This is my sixth time to attend this annual rally. Besides meeting great people, the main draw for me is the chance to get things repaired or replaced on Liberty (new readers should know my RV is named Liberty and she is towed by my truck, Freedom). This year, Forest River, specifically the Rpod division, graciously replaced my refrigerator which quit working a couple of months ago. They also replaced my door that wasn't sealing/shutting properly. To give an indication as to how great the technicians are, the one who climbed the ladder to check the refrigerator vent also noticed the sealant around my skylight was cracked. They are not allowed to climb on the roof but this guy was tall enough where he could reach it from the ladder. He went and got some sealant from their trailer and quickly cleaned and resealed around my skylight. A little above and beyond is always nice. I also mentioned that I was trying to order a new shower curtain from the manufacturer since mine hadn't been properly cleaned since I got Liberty. I'm still waiting to find out who the person is that is suppose to clean that thing. I'm afraid it may be me, but I'm still in denial. Anyway, the next day, the techs showed up and handed me a new curtain that should fit my curved shower. More above and beyond. Just a rough estimation of free work I've received at the six rally's I've attended would be close to $20,000.00. A few rally's ago, I asked someone in charge how they could afford to do all this free work. She told me that Forest River doesn't do very much advertisement and relies on "word of mouth". I've paid that price many times over through the years and am doing so again by mentioning it in this blog post. It's harder than you would think to read the future but I'm pretty sure I'll be back next year.

Besides free work on Liberty, the other great thing is the people you meet. I won't remember their names but that isn't a new affliction for me since I've had a hard time with remembering names over the years. But I will remember the people and the conversations. Like the guy who had recently lost his wife but was attending the rally in remembrance of her. Or the guy with a limp and shaking hands I meet when getting coffee in the dining hall. I asked if he needed help and his answer was, "No thanks, it just takes me longer". After I got my food and sat down to eat, I noticed him at another table with his coffee but no food. I walked over and quietly asked if he would like me to get him a plate. Our eyes met and I knew I hadn't offended him. I fixed him a plate and sat it down in front of him. He said thanks, I said your welcome and I returned to my table. It wasn't anything dramatic, just one old man helping another old man. Or the "Vegan from Iowa" which I probably went overboard at kidding about her "veganism" (is that even a word?). I was genuinely interested in her views about being a vegan since I don't think I've ever talked about it with an actual vegan. I received a little education plus she sparked my interest and curiosity. I did a little research and found that a large part of their reasoning for being vegan is compassion. That may sound strange but it just means they are compassionate about most living things. Her husband kind-of summed it up by saying they don't eat anything with a face. Hmmmm, that will make you think. I don't think I'll become a vegan but if I do, I'll know who to blame (I just won't know her by name). Or the Canadian mother/daughter team that I met last year and again this year. They are still traveling strong. Once Canada become a state, they won't have to worry about crossing the border, right Rhonda? I guess that will go for Grant and Orit too. She is another one that I probably kidded too much. Or the full-timing couple from Texas that I met at breakfast. As full-timers, we sometimes speak a different language than other RV'ers. It was a good visit while eating the Yankee version of biscuits and gravy. There are many others but not enough time to mention. 

This picture will remind me of the Rally. I walked by it 2 to 3 times a day going to the dining hall, vendors building or Ice cream trailer. I've averaged over 1 1/2 miles per day which is another big benefit of the rally.

This is just a small representation of the people at the rally. This was from one of the dinners. I think they said there were about 300 RV's here so that would mean almost 600 people. Sadly, the food wasn't up to the standards set by years past. 

Tomorrow is moving day and I'll be heading west for a repeat visit to the Illini State Park (Illinois). I'll be there for three days and will make a short trip to an old place I lived as a pre-teen. We were only there for a few months, but later in life it showed me how small the world is and how one person can have an impact.

Instead of going the backroads to avoid tolls and Chicago like I did coming here, I will instead risk my life and drive I-80 through Chicago. Big cities never used to worry me but things have changed a lot over the last several years. Tomorrow, I'll just turn on some music, crank the volume up, not stop for anything unless it has flashing lights and when I get to the campground I'll check for bullet holes.  

This was from the first evening before other RV's were parked behind me. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.   

Another "2-fer" (2 for the price of 1) Post

#1 Dam East - McNair Corps of Engineer Campground; Carlyle, Illinois (about an hour east of St. Louis)

#2 Kankakee River State Park-Chippewa Campground; Kankakee, Illinois. (about an hour south of Chicago)

This is the last of my two-day moving marathon to get to the Rally in Goshen, Indiana. Tomorrow will be moving day, and I'll arrive at the Rally, albeit one day early. My plan is to get there, get set-up, get checked-in and then get some nice Chinese food from a place I know in Goshen. With these two day moves, I've confirmed that my normal three day moves with an occasion four day move thrown in is the best moving strategy for me. I like being able to move on day 1, explore on day 2, rest up on day 3 then move to the next campground and repeat the process. I'll get back into that groove when I leave the rally on the 16th.

I thought long and hard about where to go after the rally. I toyed with the idea of going north thru Michigan or east towards Pennsylvania but didn't get any good vibes when checking those places out in my mind. I've been to both of those places so it would be a repeat trip. So, I decided to head west. I'll intercept the Mississippi River about half-way between Dubuque and Davenport; Iowa then follow the river downstream to the boot-heel of Missouri. I have a couple riverboat cruises in mind along the way. Unless I extend my trip, I should be back in Louisiana around the first week or so of September. There will still be a couple weeks of low 90 degree days, but they will just make me appreciate the fall weather when it arrives.

My confidence level is high that I'll get a new refrigerator installed during the rally. The R-pod representative has called me twice and I would guess the chances are in the upper 90's. Did I mention it will be free of charge too. The cost including installation would run at least $2,000.00 so it's a good deal and worth the trip. 

I'll finish the post with some pictures. I've had a lot of "thinking time" with these 2-day jumps but not quite ready to post about my thoughts.

This is my campsite at McNair Campground. The site is steep at first but flattens out nicely. I was able to get a strong Starlink signal 

In the heart of Illinois with corn fields growing tall.
 

A nicely re-built suspension bridge near the McNair Campground. 

Looking down the suspension bridge. I couldn't help myself and did some cursory inspections. 

The Carlyle Reservoir is a very pretty lake

They even provided some thinking benches to rest your body, soul and spirit. 

The Effingham Cross along the intersection of two interstates in central Illinois. When it was built in 2001, it was the tallest cross in America. However, it became the second tallest in 2018 when a taller one was built in Missouri. 

My campsite at Chippewa State Park. The campsites are large, level and separated. For $23.00, it's a bargain for electric only. So many state parks have raised their prices sky high. Shame, shame. 

For my last move, I'll be taking several county and state highways to avoid the bad parts of Chicago as well as to avoid paying roadway tolls in Illinois and Indiana. I will avoid such toll roads when possible based on principals. We should not have to pay tolls and gas taxes to drive on an Interstate highway. By the way, the price of gas in Illinois is about $0.50 higher than Missouri. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.   

Two Campgrounds, One Blog Post

 Willow Beach Corps of Engineers Campground; just east of Little Rock.

Redman Creek Corps of Engineers Campground; a little northeast of Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

These moving days every two days are strange to me. This trip has a weird feeling from the beginning. I haven't figured out the "weird-ness" yet. Both of these campgrounds are old places I've stayed in before. They are conveniently located for this trip to Goshen and since I'm traveling quickly, without any major exploration, they fit my schedule just fine. The towing distance is longer than normal, but not too bad. 

Since I'm not exploring, I don't have anything of interest to report so I'll let the pictures make up the rest of this post.

Tomorrow is moving day, and my next campground is near Carlye, Illinois which is about 200 miles or so away.

A travel view from Louisiana. This is I-49 in northern Caddo Parish (county). It's from a high point along the road, which in Louisiana means a bridge. 

This is the campsite number 8 at Willow Beach. When I come back through here again, I need to remember, not to pick sites, 8, 11, 13 or 15.

It's a nice, peaceful and well-maintained campground at Willow Beach. This is the view out my back window when I'm working on my computer. 

Road picture from North-east Arkansas or possibly south-east Missouri. 

It was a pretty travel day with great weather on the trip from Willow Beach to Redman Creek. 

My campsite at Redman Creek. The entire campground was rebuilt a couple of years ago. It is also full hook-ups (ya'll non-RV'ers get your mind out of the gutter). Full hook ups mean sewer, electrical and water connections. This is rare for a COE campground. Most of the time it is water/electric only and sometimes, just electric. I'm sort of sad that I don't need to use the sewer connection but I think it will be better for me to wait until the last campground before arriving at the Rally.

This is the dam that created Lake Wappapello. My campground is about a mile or so on the other side of the lake. 

It's a very pretty lake on another great weather day. I spent about an hour visiting with the volunteers working at the visitor's center. They were a great couple. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.