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.