August 30, 2015
Day 7 still near Goreville, IL
Today was a scheduled day-off. I can't believe I'm still on route, and on schedule!
Sleeping was great last night. It rained off-and-on. I had the alarm set for 7:00am, and was reluctant to get up when it went off. However, I wanted to get registered, and had heard that the park official drives by between 8:00am and 8:30am. When I saw him he said the Campground Host now had the registration book.
At 9:05am I had breakfast. My food bag is getting low. There was a hint of sunshine at 9:25am. It was an hour later before it was really out.
At 10:35am I walked over to the Campground Host and paid for last night and tonight. A kid rode by on an old Schwinn similar to mine, but more beat-up. He said it is 55 years old, and goes fast.
Worked some more on yesterday's report, but at 11:20am I was falling asleep, so took a 35-minute nap on the picnic table seat. Back at it until 1:20pm, when the BlackBerry needed charging. Lunchtime.
I went for water and met an older guy named Keith, who lives in the Quad Cities area. He likes my bike, and the fact it has its original paint. He has toured and done RAGBRAI several times with another older fellow. They tour-ride 'loaded' the week before to the start and also during the event. During RAGBRAI they're know as 'baggers'. I'd never heard that term before (related to bicycling), but it makes sense. A relative of one of them thought they needed tee-shirts, and provided them. The shirts were lettered "Team Depends"! We talked some about the 'Crazy Guy on a Bike' website, but Keith had his wife waiting, so I let him go.
Back at my site, I got busy with a couple of maintenance tasks. First, my DeLorme GPS mount had come loose (actually off). I'm ditching the lock washer for a lock-nut set-up this time. Second, my battery voltage monitor is indicating an over-charge, and I wanted to know if that was truly the case. It is - the batteries are somewhat over-charged. Not a big deal, I guess. I went ahead and checked the generator's diodes - they are OK (I haven't blown them yet going down a hill). The rest of the bike is holding up well, including the tires.
Back to report writing, which I finished. Time now to tour the park. I started hiking on Blackjack Oak Trail at 3:55pm. It follows along on a bluff. Nice long-distance views. The trail brought me back through the campground to Waterfall Trail. That one is downhill and connects with Big Rocky Hollow Trail. Big Rocky Hollow Trail ends at the waterfall. It's an intermittent waterfall, and today it was off. Near there, a guy was impressing the girl he was with by climbing a tree to get to the ledge above. He made it while the girl video-recorded. I headed back on the trail, ending at a parking lot. Two girls and a preschooler passed me. One of the girls was saying to the preschooler, "I can't believe you left your shoes all the way back at the waterfall."
I crossed the parking lot to the trail-head for Hark's Cave Trail. It goes to one of the largest shelter bluffs in Illinois. It is impressive. Hard to get good pictures, though. Back at the parking lot, I went on one more trail: Rebman Trail. There's a plaque along that trail telling about Emma Rebman, the woman who owned this land before the state did.
I hiked back to the campground, arriving at 5:52pm. My PN-60 reported that I'd hiked 3.4 miles. Ate supper at 6:00pm. I'm out of food now, except for Clif Bars and peanuts. Talked to my wife on the phone at 6:20pm, then started work on today's report. The hardest part today is selecting from all the photos I took. I'm about there and am determined to get this report done before I fall asleep. Success! Good night.
Jeff
Spent: $20 (campsite).
+ plus signs indicate pictures added after returning home from the trip +
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 2 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |