Since my last post, our journey has been challenging. We traveled from Thorntown, IN to Elgin, IL, a day that undoubtably will stand as one of the worst in our RV traveling experience. The trip should have taken us about four hours but instead was nearer seven. Why you ask? Because of road conditions and the route itself. I suppose the challenge for the various DOT groups in this neck of the woods is keeping highways that suffer from snow and ice in the winter and heavy 18-wheeler usage in good order. The general condition of the roads has been quite poor. Yesterday our route took us smack dab through the center of Chicago, yikes! We had road construction and repair, rough road surfaces, tons of 18-wheelers, heavy traffic causing stop and go conditions AND tolls. The I-90W becomes a toll road south of Chicago and continues to be a toll road close to the Wisconsin border.
In our experience of traveling through West Virginia, we have encountered toll roads. The cost was set at $2.50 per toll booth. Here, it was all over the place in cost. It ranged from $1.90 to a whopping $24.40! I stopped counting cost when we topped $30.00. Okay, okay, I know I am venting so I will just say, at the end of that day we were played out! Fortunately, our overnight campground was delightful. We stayed at Burnidge Forest Preserve in the Paul Wolff Camp. Our site was shaded and the surrounding area was beautiful and peaceful. It was just what we needed after a hard day. As much as we would have enjoyed exploring a bit, the only thing on our minds was a beer and to sit and relax..
We headed out yesterday morning early, hoping the journey would be better and it was much better. We sailed along at a good clip on roads that were in good shape. The scenery is beautiful if a bit boring. There are miles and miles of corn for grain with a scattering of soy beans. Never knew there could be this much corn but we learned it is the primary cash crop in this next of the woods. The temperatures were in the mid to upper 70s with clouds that threatened rain but did not deliver.
We crossed into Wisconsin mid afternoon — land of Cheese Heads and Packers! We were still surrounded with corn but here and there we began to see lovely rock formations. Our home for the next two nights is Country Villa Motel & Country Camping. From the road, all we could see was the motel part and it looked deserted, mmmm perhaps we might move on? Undaunted, we went to the office and rang the bell to be admitted. We were greeted by a nice lady who was very helpful and gave us lots of ideas for things to do today. Turned out that the camp was behind the motel set back in the trees. It is small with only 22 lots, but our spot has plenty of room and is a pull through. As we were setting up, the promise of rain finally materialized but was short lived. Once we were set up and had a chance to rest a bit, we headed out to a family restaurant for a bit of dinner. It was a no frills sort of place and the food was good. For desert, we decided a DQ would fit the bill and it did for sure. As we started back, another shower passed through leaving in its wake the most beautiful rainbow I have seen in years. It was a double and I counted eight bands of brilliant color! Alas, I had no camera of any sort to take a picture but I can tell you, it was wonderful. A great way to end a good day.
Today we have a list of things to explore. I promise to have pictures to post now that the corn is not the only thing I see.
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