We spent four nights at Ferne Clyffe State Park in Southern Illinois. It was nice that it was during the week, so there weren’t that many campers, and we were able to really spread out. Our site was right next to the playground, which was a pleasant surprise for the kids, and they got plenty of use out of it. I took the opportunity to get in some alone time walking the hilly landscape in the mornings, and the still lake surrounded by trees decked in fall-colored leaves was a reminder that there is still a lot of beauty in the world. This campsite was electric only, meaning that we did not have water or sewer hookups. This meant boiling water to do dishes, getting jugs of water for toilet flushing, and taking showers at the bathhouse. It wasn’t so bad for a day or so, but it wouldn’t be a first choice in the future. Lesson learned.
One afternoon, we headed over to Shawnee National Forest to check out the Garden of the Gods, the 320 million-year-old rock formations that were once covered by inland sea. This was truly a breathtaking sight to behold.
Side note: The U.S. Mint released a quarter featuring the Garden of the Gods, Shawnee Forest as part of the America the Beautiful Quarters program earlier this year.
Back at the sate park, we did some hiking. Ferne Clyffe has some excellent trails, and one really great cliff for sunset watching. It’s a favorite spot for photographers doing family photo sessions.
Now we’ve moved on to Branson, Missouri and are at a private campground that has all the hookups, so we are happy to have running water again. Tonight the cruiser (plus all of us) is in its eighth state since we started this a few months ago: Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri down. Just 40 of the continental 48 left to go!
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