May 26 - Mayor of Chester

Jen, Ken and Simon visited with Joe Eggemeyer, Mayor of Chester, IL.  Joe's sister died and they weren't able to use her heart and lungs but her corneas were donated to a teenager.  More photos by Galen and Photoshopped by Karen with her new CS5.

May 24 - Chester, IL

Chester is perched on a hillside overlooking the Mississippi River.

May 23 - Church

 

We went to Sunday school and church at the Methodist Church in Chester.  They were so nice to us and not only gave us permission to stay in their parking lot and hook up to their water, but even gave us the key to the kitchen!  Unfortunately, we couldn't get our rig in the parking lot.  We tried, but when our fiver and truck started sliding toward the building we decided it was time to move on.

 

Galen and Popeye at the new Visitor Center

We couldn't find a place to stay in Chester so crossed this bridge over the Mississippi River to an RV Park in Perryville, MO.

May 22 - Ferne Cliff SP

Jen and Simon heading for their campsite in Ferne Clyff National Park.  Galen and I picked up salads for all and met them in the park for a late lunch.  We returned to Marion about 6:30, hitched up and went to Chester, IL.

Popeye and his friends are everywhere in Chester thanks mainly to the couple who after years of living somewhere else and saving Popeye memorabilia opened a store in Chester.  People told them they'd never make it but they have and have done wonders for this town.  There are statues all over town and more on the way.  There is a Popeye picnic in the fall and thousands of folks come from miles away.  Even people from other countries love Popeye and he is everywhere in Chester, even on the mayor's business cards.  How much nicer to think of Popeye when you think of Chester instead of thinking of John Wayne Gacy who was imprisoned at Menard Prison in Chester for years before being put to death by legal injection.  Gacy, the Killer Clown, murdered about 30 young boys.

May 20 - IL DOT

Somebody in Marion, IL is sure mad at Illinois DOT! One of the signs said they weren't saying IDOT lied, but that they didn't believe anything IDOT said.  Apparently a stoplight was promised for this area and IDOT didn't install one.

May 19 - Geocaching

We took KD on her first geocaching expedition.  There wasn't a geocache here, but I photographed this Catholic Church on the way to or from a cache because it was so unique.

One of the caches was near this little chapel in a cemetery.  A man came by, said we looked like visitors and opened it for us.  It was beautiful inside.  They have to keep it locked because of vandals.

 

It cost $27,000 to repair this one window after a vandal tried to destroy it.

March 18 - The Cave

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This cave has a long, infamous history.  It was once a hideout for murderous pirates on the Ohio River, but today is a state park.  Jen and Ken are staying in the campground at Cave In Rock State Park tonight.

Jen, Ken, and Simon inside the cave.  The light on the floor comes from a split in the rock.

April 18 - Cave in Rock State Park

We decided to surprise Jen and Ken and drive to Cave In Rock State Park to meet them and kidnapped KD and took her with us.  We waited at the ferry for them and then decided to cross the river into Kentucky.  It didn't take long to find them pedaling toward the ferry.

We stopped at at Amish store called Yoders.  These four bikers from Ontario saw Jen and Ken's trikes  and stopped for a visit.

KD at Yoders.  She was happy to see Jen again for the first time in years and to meet Ken and Simon.

Jen and Ken and Simon waiting in Kentucky for the ferry across the Ohio River.

Coming off the ferry into Illinois.

May 16 - Marion First UMC

This is the wonderful church we attended this morning.  Everything about the service was uplifting, the music was energetic instead of dragging, the people were warm and welcoming.  I've been reading a book about how believing in a benevolent and loving God physically changes your brain for the better and how believing in a vindictive God hurts you.  The minister gave a sermon about a guy who could have gotten off on a technicality but stood up and said he did it and was prepared to take his punishment.  The judge put him on probation for 10 years and as the law breaker walked out of the courtroom everyone began singing, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow..."

Stuffed animals sat in most pews. 

I liked this cross made of crosses that hung on the back wall of the sanctuary.

May 15 - Glass Necklace

This is the necklace Jen gave me for Mother's Day.  It is made of glass and bought at a glassblowers shop in Berea, TX.  You don't find an image of a dulcimer in a glass necklace just anywhere and I love it.  I wore it to church this morning.

May 13 - Jen and Ken and Simon

Simon has succumbed to our charms.  :-)  He jumps on the loveseat and cuddles with Galen and he has let me hold him since we we were in Berea.  He even fell asleep while I was holding him so I'm glad he's little.  We found dogfood that he likes,  too!

Jen, Ken and Simon left this morning before 10am!  Not much before though.  :-)  They have been with us the last couple of days waiting out a 95% chance of rain that never happened.  We'll meet up with them in Chester, IL in about a week.  Chester is the home of Popeye, Olive Oil, Wimpie, and Bluto.

May 10 - Clothesline Quilts

There are 50 of these "Clothesline Quilts" around Grayson County, KY, mostly on the 700 miles of back roads.  These were all in Leitchfield.

This is not a back road.  It is Rt 259 and it goes to our home in Laurel Branch Campground, a Corps of Engineers Campground on Rough River Lake.  Except for the hosts, we've had the campground to ourselves since Monday but that will change on Saturday.  No problem.  We are leaving for Marion, IL on Saturday.

May 9 - McDaniels, KY

We are staying at a Corps of Engineers Park on Rough River Lake outside of McDaniels.  This is some of the traffic we encountered on the way to the campground.

I don't know what it is with us and flooded campgrounds lately, but half of the Laurel Branch campground is closed due to flooding.  Our half is pretty, peaceful and quiet.

 Is this sign really necessary?  It is expected the road will remain underwater for several more weeks.

May 5, TerraTrikers Move On

Jen, Ken and Simon leaving Berea.  We'll meet up with them again in Bardstown in a couple of days.  We had one last dinner and jam session with Brent, Joaquina, and Brianna that night, took our time getting back into mobile mode on May 6, and left first thing on May 7.  We were in Berea for nearly a month and loved it there.

May 3, After the Rain

This is how "home" looked the morning after.

May 2, Rain

Kentucky has been experiencing drought conditions for some time, but now the problem is too much rain - as much as 8" of rain in the last two days.  We saw two vehicles in the ditch on the way to Richmond this afternoon and three more on the way home.  The road at exit 77 was closed because it is completely covered by water.

 Our campground is at exit 76 and this is what we came home to tonight.  The water outside our front door is literally over my ankles.  Galen was so sweet and waded into the house to get my Crocs so I wouldn't ruin my Birkenstocks.

There are RV sites hiding under all this water making a lighthouse in Kentucky seem perfectly natural.

April 27, Ale 8