Three States

Good morning, my friends. We traveled through three states yesterday. I was surprised when I realized we would be spending the majority of our driving distance traversing Indiana. Kentucky has a hump on its northeast side and borders Indiana on the west. We started our journey in Kentucky, of course. I caught a few more Kentucky barns as we drove out of town.

It's always a thrill to find one with a quilt block.

We took one last look at the green, green landscape.

And here we go, my friends. We're beginning our westward trek toward home. Buckle up. We have a long way to go.

Driving through these blasted out alleyways of limestone will be one of the things I remember about Kentucky.

We passed through the town of Shelbyville, which is where Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame lived from 1960 until his death in 1980. Indeed, just down the road in Louisville, one can see the KFC Yum! Center.

Heading on down the road, we drove parallel to the Ohio River for several miles. I knew we'd cross over eventually. Okay...here we go. It was a pretty fancy bridge.

Up and over...

And here we are, making our surprise visit to Indiana. I don't even have an Indiana road map along. It doesn't matter because my Kentucky map covers the whole distance and it also covers the distance we traveled when we reached Illinois. Sometimes I get lucky that way.

We saw a few Indiana barns. We simply drove the entire southern width of Indiana from eastern border to western border.

Along the way we passed by the exit to the small town of Dale, Indiana. As it turns out Dale is the birthplace of singer and actor Florence Henderson. If you're of a ripe old age like me, you'll remember her from The Brady Bunch. Also, Abraham Lincoln was raised on a farm in what is now known as Lincoln City. His mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, died while he was young, and her burial site is located on the original farm. One could take a side trip to a replica of his boyhood home. I found this image online.

(Image credit: "Wood Cabin made out of Tulip Popular" 

by amanderson2 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.)

As we passed through Evansville, I learned about the Wabash and Erie Canal. The Wabash and Erie Canal was a shipping canal that linked the Great Lakes to the Ohio River via an artificial waterway. The canal provided traders with access from the Great Lakes all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Over 460 miles long, it was the longest canal ever built in North America. Here's another picture I found online.

(Image credit: "Delphi Wabash & Erie Canal Park [#0215]" 

by DB's travels is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.)

Just after crossing the canal, we crossed over the Wabash River...

And into the state of Illinois.

Just across the state line, we stopped at a rest area where they had some pretty mint in bloom.

I captured this one Illinois barn.

We were nearly to our final destination when we turned south at Mt. Vernon, Illinois. As it happens, Jean Kirkpatrick, the first woman to serve as United States Ambassador to the United Nations, graduated from high school in Mt. Vernon. 

Turning south, we had less than 20 miles before reaching our final destination at Rend Lake in Whittington, Illinois.

It's a very large lake, and we drove parallel to it before turning west onto the road leading to the campground.

And this is a great place for kitties. Smitty got out right away.

The first time he traveled in Illinois a few years ago, he worried it would make him ill and annoyed. Having already determined its palatability, he went to work chomping it down without hesitation.

It was a nice space for the night, just across from the lake. We walked through the tall trees.

Looking left, it looks like this:

Looking right, it looks like this:

The bank is lined with rocks called "rip rap." It helps prevent erosion of the lakeshore. It seems they're protecting the campsites here. They've left a small "beach" so campers can get out to the water. The rip rap extends down the eastern bank with a small break where you can see the erosion without it. Then, it continues on where another loop of campsites is located.

Sadie is super excited to be here too!

We're just north of Benton, Illinois, here. You might remember this was the place George Harrison visited way back in 1963. We passed by the "mural" dedicated to his memory when we came through here on our eastward trek. We're without water hook-ups here, and we will be at our next three-night stop as well. Getting some drinking water (and conserving our tank water) seemed like a good enough reason to drive into Benton yesterday afternoon to see it up close and personal. 

We first drove to their "public square" where there is a historical marker discussing his visit to Benton. He was quite busy while he was here. 

From there, we drove another half mile to stand next to the mural. Very cool. Who woulda though?

So we got some drinking water and a bag of ice, and then headed back to the RV. Along the way we passed by this structure...some kind of business...sporting a quilt block on its wall.

Also this cat who was heading off to do cat things.

Back at the RV, we had a simple dinner and then enjoyed the light of the setting sun.

The cloud cover was a little too thick for a very good sunset, but I caught the last rays as it slipped below the treeline.

Day is done. 

This morning we'll head west some more, ending our day at Lake of the Ozarks State Park in Missouri. We have nothing on the agenda there except to sit still and enjoy the surroundings. Our next stop after that will be Hamilton, Missouri. Who in the class can tell me what is located in Hamilton? I see some hands in the back. That's right...Missouri Star Quilt Co. It's coming, my friends. I'll be paying pilgrimage to this quilters' mecca. You might want to be breaking open your piggy banks because we're going to do some shopping. 

Okay, it's a second long day of driving today. My hip handled yesterday's ride with no problems. I think my seat cushion will be the answer to that ailment. If it feels good at the end of today, I'll be confident I've figured out the solution.