Travel Across Illinois

We started off this morning from Terre Haute and drove almost completely across Illinois, making a couple of stops along the way. The first stop was to see the Cumberland County Covered Bridge, which spans the Embarrass River near Greenup, IL. We have been traveling the Historic National Road (in preference to I-70) because we hope to see more of the country than can be seen from the interstates. The bridge is new, built to handle modern traffic, but is a reconstruction of an earlier bridge on the site. Some say that Lincoln may have helped to build it, and he probably swam in the river here while arguing a court case nearby.





Our second stop was in Vandalia. We wanted to visit the old statehouse there, but it was closed on Mondays, so we wandered across the street to visit the small "Lincoln Park." A statue of Lincoln as a young legislator seated reading a newspaper is the central attraction of the little park. We then asked a local citizen what else we should see, and he directed us to the city's museum on the next street over. The museum is located in the lower hall of an old Presbyterian church and is full of 19th century memorabilia, including much related to Lincoln. The curator pulled out for our inspection their pride and joy, a froe which once belonged to Lincoln and which has the initials "A.L." inscribed on the handle. A froe is a tool used to make shingles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Froe), and we both got to hold it.




































Our final stop for the night is a small campground at Horseshoe Lake State Park on the outskirts of St. Louis. There are no hookups, so we are running our generator for a bit--it needs regular exercise to keep it in condition, and we wanted to charge our computers.













We seem to have a talent for finding campsites near rising water. As we drove to the campground, Ken pointed out some partially submerged picnic tables. We heard on the radio that the river is expected to crest on Friday, so we should be safe tonight.


Tomorrow we plan to visit the Gateway Arch before continuing on towards Branson.

Here's some inspiration: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain