Mississippi Palisades State Park, Illinois

   Leaving Fort Wayne, IN on Sunday, May 18th, I drove to Elkhart, IN where I stopped overnight at the Mor-Ryde Axle company (free, with Electric hookup) in preparation for what they call their “driveway inspection.”  A Mor-Ryde person contacted me the next morning at 7 AM, told me where to move the rig onto their driveway, and then one of their senior maintenance men came out with a dolly - a “creeper” that he used to slide under the trailer to inspect the Mor-Ryde axles, which are made from heavy, heavy rubber.  After several minutes, he emerged to say that all looked well, and the axles were good for at least another year.  So I left there about 7:45, and without any fee!  For those who hope to visit Mor-Ryde, they have expanded greatly - at least 3 times larger, and their location on Moyer must now be approached from the west - the street is permanently closed off at the east end of their offices.

   I then headed just a few miles NE to White Pigeon, Michigan, where I had called ahead to the factory for the Quadra Mfg. BigFoot automatic levelers on my trailer; they said to bring it on up for their inspection of the sensors for the leveling system.  Once there, they started work on it immediately, and found three of the sensors were shot.  They were quickly replaced and I was ready to leave after about 40 minutes - but only after paying a significant fee - mostly labor charges.  But the system works correctly now.

   I was back on the road at 10:30, heading west toward the Mississippi Palisades State Park, just north of Savanna, Illinois.  I stayed here for several days, including the Memorial Day weekend, just to enjoy the area and to stay off the roads.  I had a very pleasant, peaceful and quiet site with good electrical hookup, access to the hiking trails, and to the nearby Great River Trail for biking.  

Tremendous lightning display the first night I was here, with a good bit of rain here but no flooding.  In Iowa, however, it's a different story.  One of their nearby parks closed the next day because of flooding - and it seems all their clients came *here*!  Suddenly, I had lots of new neighbors, whereas before I had *none*!

   Still, I could get out on my bike for 5 miles of paved roads, all within the park.  And that Great River Trail is nearby, with trailhead in Savanna.

   On another note, when I set up here, I noticed a bolt at the front of the trailer was loose, and checking it, discovered it was completely loose and came out freely.  Somewhat distressed, I called New Horizons about this 2" X 1/2" bolt, and they said, "Well, it's actually it was a 6" long carriage bolt," but evidently has been broken!  Hardly encouraging..., but they gave me information on how to remove and replace it, work that I was extremely leary of attempting myself.

  I asked the CG Hosts if they knew anyone in this remote area around Savanna who might work on it and they gave me the name of a local welder who also works on autos; I contacted him and he's to come out tomorrow.  He was swamped that day, working on police cars.  I sincerely hoped that was a good sign...

I went out one day, riding from Savanna south to Fulton, a distance of about 15 very pleasant miles, then turned around and wasn't too sure I'd make it back too readily, particularly with a significant wind from the NE.  But it was amazing how those 15 miles just flowed away, one right after the other, until I was suddenly back at my truck.  I was able to maintain my usual 10 mph rate for the three hours.  Great exercise and most welcome too, after being off the bike for so long!

   While here, I’ve taken one picture that will give you an idea of what the area looks like in May.  This is taken from Lookout Point in the Park, looking south toward the US Highway 52 bridge over the river and into Iowa.  And yes, the river is a tad high, but not flooding.

   

   

    Later, the welder/auto maintenance man came with all necessary tools and parts, cut a 6"X6" hole in the underside of the 5W overhang, removed the remaining 4" of that which formerly was a 6" carriage bolt, installed the new one and all was well.  I paid the reasonable fee, then patched up the hole using the square of fiberglass that had been removed and set aside, plus that incredible tape for all things RV, EternaBond.  I was very pleased with the man's knowledge, expertise and quality of work.  His shop is East Savanna Welding & Repair, Savanna, Illinois.  
                             See:  http://www.eternabond.com

   When I leave here on Tuesday, I plan to drive about 130 miles north to park in the village of Wilton, Wisconsin, just a couple blocks off the historic Sparta to Elroy bike trail, the first rails-to-trails route to be designated in the U.S.  

   Wilton is just about equidistant from both Sparta and Elroy, so it’s a good site to pick, plus the camping fee is quite low, reputedly about $7/night, plus $3 for Electric.  

   The trail runs through Wisconsin’s “Driftless Area”, the part of the state that was never glaciated, and hence, is still rolling to hilly.  Beautiful country.  The hills also permit tunnels!   I rode this trail back in about 2007, and really enjoyed the trail and its three long tunnels and their large wooden doors!

                             See:  http://www.elroy-sparta-trail.com

      The doors at each end of the tunnels were kept closed during the winter to maintain a constant 45 degree temperature, and there was a man on duty at all times just inside each door; when a train approached, the man would open the doors, then go back inside the tunnel to jump into a man-sized cut-out j-u-s-t big enough to allow the train to pass without hitting him!  Then he had to jump down to close the doors back up again.

   I hope to have more pictures of my ride on this trail next week.  In the meantime, I wish all a good holiday weekend. 

- Bill -