We crossed the mighty Mississippi for the second time this morning, this time heading into Illinois. We had headwinds ALL day, but it wasn't so bad as there were overcast skies which took care of most of the heat while we rode. Our original destination was Wolf Lake, but while speaking with one of the locals, Andy discovered another campground that, while further down the road, had showers... SOLD!
However the towns in this area seem to have no convenience/grocery stores of any kind, nor any restaurants... so we stopped at a produce "store" at the junction of two highways and loaded up on fruits, veggies and some damaged boxed and canned goods that they were also selling. When I asked to fill my water bottle, the owner graciously gave me a large bottle of imported sparkling French mineral water... that was a bit odd to drink while biking, but much appreciated just the same!
We ended up staying at the "Devil's Backbone" campground directly on the Mississippi River. When we rolled in it was beautiful! Nice facilities, scenic views, etc. However, once I had my tent set up and was napping, there came an omen of things to come in the form of a freight train on the Missouri side of the river rumbling by with it's whistles blowing wide open... I was not to be disappointed either, since they came through regularly during the night and when there was a freight train lull, then a "majestic" river barge would slowly pass by gunning its deep throaty engines and sweeping the campground again and again with it's multi-billion candle-power spot lights. A full sensory extravaganza lasting all night, and all that for only a $5.00 camping fee!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment