Illini State Park
Near Marseilles, IL
September 17 - 19, 2004
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Nancy and I camped in the White Tail camp ground in Illini State Park near
Marseilles,
IL. We met up with our friends the Hartleys, whom we met at the
TrailManor Charter Chapter Summer
Rally earlier this year and subsequently at the Fall
Rally earlier this month. We had a great weekend of biking, eating,
sitting around the campfire and some great meals!
read more about this trip...
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| Entrance
to the campground area |
The
campground area as viewed from the bridge over the Illinois River |
The
great Illinois River. This is the shipping channel to the right. |
The
gates opposite the shipping channel help regulate the water depth so
boats/barges may pass |
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| Our
site had a large open area for our picnic table and our campfire |
The
campground was deserted when we arrived. We saw a couple of deer
in an open area |
A
lock on the old I&M shipping canal |
Jackson
and Tina on the banks of the Fox River in Ottawa, IL |
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| What
a pretty fire! Jackson provided the color with some vinyl tubing
and copper pipe |
The
gang biking the I&M Canal trail. Cody ran along side Jackson
the entire time |
The
Hartleys' campsite. That's Jackson! |
The
Hartley's TrailManor 2720 SL and their Envoy |
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| Our
campsite |
Jackson
hamming it up for me! |
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Last Day
We're back home from Illini State. The weather was just great and we
really had fun camping with the Hartleys. Today we biked another 8 miles
or so. We biked to Ottawa. When we stopped at a park, Cody (the
Hartleys' dog) got to swim in the Fox River. She loves to fetch sticks -
branches really. She swims pretty good with a branch in her mouth!
In all, we had a great weekend and wished it didn't have
to end - but alas, reality set in. We'd go back to this park for sure.
We'd even try to get site 5 again and if not available, then site 6.
That's a wrap for this trip. Next trip coming up is
to Sugar Shores Campground near Durand, IL in Shireland (NW of Rockford about a
half hour). We're also going to see the American Olympic Gymnastic team
perform in Rockford one evening. Cool!
First 2 Days
Today is Saturday and Nancy and I are in the White Tail campground area of
Illini State Park near Marseilles, IL. We arrived here on Friday around 11
am. We met our friends the Hartleys here. We're camping side-by-side
in sites 5 & 6. Our site is great. We're nestled back into the
trees. It's really private. We've got a nice cleared area as well. The picnic
table and fire grill is there.
Last night was our night to make dinner. We grilled
salmon, asparagus and potatoes with garlic. It all turned out great.
Jackson has external speakers for his trailer and each is connected to a 100'
spool of wire. He strung them over to our site and we had lovely music all
evening.
Today was the Hartleys' turn to make breakfast. They
made a wonderful spread of scrambled eggs, chicken sausage, blueberry scones,
multi-grain toast, preserves, fruit, juice and coffee. Wow - it was
great! Tonight the Hartley's are making dinner. I think Jackson is
grilling a pork roast. We eat better camping than we do at home!
After breakfast today, the 6 of us (Ruby and the Hartleys'
dog Cody) all went biking. Ruby road in the "Toto" basket on
Nancy's bike and Cody ran on a leash next to Jackson as he biked. Cody
keeps a pretty brisk pace at about 10 MPH. We stopped a few times to rest
and give the dogs (and owners) a drink. We biked on the I&M Canal bike
path, east from the town of Marseilles. We biked about 7 or 8 miles, then
dropped the girls and dogs off at one of the cars. Jackson and I continued
biking, this time west out of town. We added another 9 or so miles.
That on top of Jackson and my ride from camp into town yesterday puts he and I
over 22 miles thus far. My butt is sore!
We may bike some tomorrow or maybe we'll just find a
walking/hiking path.
As I type this, in the background, I hear the whining of a
nitro fueled scale model car and 4x4 truck. A couple of brothers are
camping here and they brought their toy
