CAMPGROUND: Oak Point Campground at Lake Glendale in the national forest. Electric and non-electric sites. We chose non-electric @ $6/ night with senior pass. Beautiful, large wooded sites. Decent grills. Nice new bathroom with showers in central area, but too far away to use. The one near us is being torn down or reconstructed. Men's side is locked; women's side is war zone. 3 stars out of 5. Nice dark sky, and very quiet, as we have this loop to ourselves.
LOCATION: Southeast Illinois near Kentucky.
WEATHER: Rain, rain, rain. Highs about 60
It rained all night in Evansville, and we hooked up and got ready between the rain showers. Our destination was Shawnee National Forest which is spread from the western to eastern border of Illinois. It was recommended in our guidebook. The terrain is supposedly unique here and there are lots of hiking trails that lead to springs, canyons, waterfalls and lakes.
It was a short drive of about 90 miles. We needed to buy groceries. As we were driving through a little town, we spotted Big John, with bags of groceries in his hands. Answer to our prayers!
It wasn't much of a store, but I got some bargains. I needed mint for a recipe, and they had the $2.50 containers on sale for $.19! Hummus was marked down to $.99.
We got set up in the rain and hunkered down inside. After awhile, we got cabin fever, so bundled up and took a hike in the rain.
George found some mushrooms and read that they may be edible. (I will pass).
This leg of the trip has focused on the Midwest. Starting in Ann Arbor, Michigan at our daughter's wedding in mid-September, we went north to the Upper Penindula, then south through Wisconsin and Minnesota. On to Iowa to see friends and relatives, and to attend my high school reunion, then east to Illinois and Indiana. It seems we have done a lot in that one month period. From here, we will continue south and east.
The rain will just not stop. Everything is damp. George built a fire, but it was hard to get the wet wood and moist paper going. The fire got hot enough for him to sauté the mushroom he foraged. (He said it tasted good, and he hasn't died yet!)
DINNER: Since we had a heavy lunch of leftover BBQ brisket on a sandwich, we decided to eat a light supper. I made a delicious and easy salad from a recipe I had picked up. I just mixed these ingredients and let them marinate: 1 can drained chickpeas, 1 diced tomato, 1/2 cup chopped mint, 1/2 cup chopped parsley, 1/2 cup kalamata olives, 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, 6 T olive oil, 3 T red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. George finished some leftover cheesecake he bought at the Evansville BBQ restaurant, as a splurge.
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