Trip To Illinois
Aug 28, 2024 So…this has been in my drafts for a very long time and after just now reading it, I think it’s good to go as a part one. Another post will be my “adventures” in IL and then the return trip. I shouldn’t have waited so long, since memories have slightly faded.
Well, greetings from Illinois. I’ve been visiting and staying at a friend’s house. I thought I was going to take a ton of photos and videos along the way but traveling alone makes that difficult. That’s only partly an excuse. I’m going to try to do better on the return trip.
I didn’t finish moving out of the house. I would have never gotten out of there and I had campground reservations. When I return I’ll have to get my sons to help me finish that job. I’ll have to re-arrange the storage unit first.
The RV did great throughout the whole trip. Before heading back, I’ll get it an oil change, etc. Same with the car. While visiting at my friend’s house, I’ve been trying to get the RV better organized and clean.
Towing the car? Piece of cake! The base plate and wiring and stuff was supposed to take three days to install but it took longer. I found out later, there’s just one guy there that does that stuff, and he got sick…just before the weekend…hmm. Anyway, I got my demonstration, paid the huge amount of money for the setup, and was on my way, car in tow.
I got all my reservations made with hardly any problems. Because I was running so late, I skipped Vermont, which was going to be a moochdocking and visit with cousins. I had planned a Vermont trip in July as well, so it was a good buffer and I will still see them.
Skipping VT, my first stop was at Rondout Valley RV Campground in Accord, NY. It took me about five hours to get there. This is a Thousand Trails campground. I wish it was for more than one night. I had a nice, quiet river as my back yard.
Most of my stops were for one or two nights. When I can, I’ll plan for longer stays. Number one, there’s very little relaxation time (and de-stressing for Mila). Number two, staying put will save gas. Since I had a timeline to keep, I had to keep moving. In the future, if just wandering, without a timely destination (or leaving more time to get there), I’ll stay longer at these places. It will give me time to explore and enjoy the area, and give Mila time to unwind.
My next stop was at Lake Bluff Campground in Wolcott, NY, my first Passport America campground. The drive there was kind of miserable. It rained most of the way and I81 was very unpleasant, although some of the views were great. My stay was ok. Because of all the rain, the site – the whole campground, from what I could see – was very wet…swampy wet. The site was pretty muddy but the gravel road was solid with no risk of getting stuck. I think normally, it’s probably a nice place. That was a LOT of rain.
At Kenisee Lake RV Campground (Jefferson, OH), I finally got to unwind. It was a three night stay. This is another Thousand Trails (TT) campground. While here, I visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. If I had a bucket list, this would be on it, so I had this all planned out ahead of time.
The plan was to stop at Niagara Falls as I passed by the area, but I just wanted to get to the next stop. I realized the time estimates I had, based on Google Maps, were not entirely accurate. My car, while being towed isn’t supposed to exceed sixty-five MPH. I didn’t check on that till later, but I was keeping it at around sixty and continued to do that after looking into it, just to be on the safe side. At times, the cruise control would creep up to 65, for example on hills, etc.
So of course, the Garmin* adjusts the ETA based on my speed and other factors, but the initial estimate obviously couldn’t predict that, plus road construction (everywhere!) and occasional pit stops, so my trips all took longer than the ETAs.
*Google too. I use Garmin for navigation, and Google Maps for planning. Another possible factor, as there may (or may not) be discrepancies between the two.
After three nights at the Ohio campground, I am convinced that staying more than one night is the way to go. Even the two nights at my next stay in St. Clair, MI was much better than one overnight stop. For this first trip plan, I reserved two to three days at a place if I had an agenda, ie someplace to go or someone to visit. I did have a few hopeful meet ups tentatively planned with only one or two night stops, however. That’s not enough of a window to plan, and I know now, not enough time. Those meet ups didn’t happen, sadly…for that and other various reasons.
From St. Clair, I went across to Fountain, MI. Timber Surf Campground which was my second Passport America (PA) site. Coincidentally, both PA sites were chosen for two of the hopeful (but failed) meet ups mentioned above. It is nice to have that 50% discount from PA but generally I try to stick with TT, as it’s free (well, membership isn’t cheap but the stays are free after that).
I know I should be saying something about these parks. In some cases, they were overnights and I really don’t remember much about them. But I’ll try to think back at each one and at least say something about them. Looking at their websites might jog my memory as well. In the future I’ll try to remember to take notes and photos, maybe videos. Time time time. Slow down, Wayne.
From Fountain, I made a third stop in Michigan. Bear Cave RV Campground, in Buchanon MI. Then on to Clinton, Indiana, Horseshoe Lakes RV Campground. I planned to stay two nights because I figured I would be in need of a little unwind time. I was right and it was a nice break.
After Clinton, I was on my way to my friend’s house in Illinois.
My friend had a nicely landscaped and graveled area in front of her house where I could park the RV off the road. However I usually parked it in front of her sister’s house next door, same kind of landscaping, really a continuation of it, but kind of closer to my friends driveway, and I parked the SUV in the gravelly part in front of the house.
First long trip was a success!
To be continued…