August 12, 2025
Day 37 - ending at Morton, IL
I went to bed surprisingly early last night, at 8:46pm. So sleeping until 6:15am was a surprise also. It hadn't rained overnight, and the tent wasn't wet from condensation. I drank my canned coffee while I packed up. I left my campsite at 8:08am. On my way out of the campground I stopped at the site where Gary, the fellow I visited with last night, was at. I got to meet his girl Mary. She's the one who's more adventurous, having come up with this trip they're on. She's a bicyclist too, mentioning problems with goat head thorns, and the effort it takes to go up some hills. "You should never look up while you're pedaling your way up." Gary said if you're moving less than 3 miles an hour, you might as well walk. Just before I left, the two of them walked over to check out my bike. I think we could have talked for quite a while longer, but I did need to get going. They wished me well on my trip home. I hope they have a great time in Canada.
My destination today is to get to Morton where I live. But first I planned to stop by the concession building here at the state park for breakfast. I hadn't checked their hours of operation. I arrived there at 8:52am. They don't open until 9:00am. They have their menu posted outside, so I used that time to decide what I wanted.
At 9:30am I was on my way out of the park. Google Maps indicated it is 15 miles to my sister Laurie and brother-in-law Bill's house in Bloomington. I rode 1000 North Road most of the way to there. At 11:01am I was able to get on the Constitution Trail in town at the corner of Streid Drive and White Eagle Drive.
A couple blocks off trail got me to Laurie and Bill's at 11:18am. Of course they offered me a meal, but I was just thirsty. I had two Dr Peppers, then Bill made me a cup of coffee. I checked the weather radar while I was there; nothing showing yet in this area, but it's supposed to rain today, especially after 4:00pm. We kept this a short visit, with the promise to get together soon. The last thing Laurie did just before I left was supply me with three ice-cold Gatorades.
It was now noon. As my phone alarm went off, Laurie said, "Is that your noon reminder?" 15.7 miles is what I was able to write down.
My wife's uncle and aunt live just a block away from Laurie and Bill, so at the last minute I decided to drop by there also. The uncle, who was outside doing yard work, waved as I went by, but hadn't recognized who I was at first, later mentioning that it was the beard. He's just back from a fishing trip in Canada, and I wanted to hear some fish stories. He had lots of pictures of nice sized bass. The weather had mostly been good for fishing. One picture he had amazed me. The background was all washed out, like it was a very foggy day, but it wasn't. It was smoke from wildfires! After receiving well wishes, I was back to heading home.
I was back at the trail at 12:49pm. Clouds were now forming in the sky here and there. There's a gap in the trail, so I was riding some on Lincoln Street. At 1:14pm I connected back up with the trail. The trail goes underneath an overpass for Center Street. Just on the other side there is some big machinery artwork, which is cool. I didn't know this was here. At 2:12pm there were a few sprinkles, so I stopped to cover the cargo with plastic and get my rubber boots and raincoat ready. It turned out to be less than a 10-minute rain. I never did get the boots or raincoat on, since I had taken shelter under a tree.
The west end of the trail for me was at highway IL-9. I had been a little concerned about this, but it wasn't bad riding at all, and I was off the highway the first opportunity I had. That road was CR-1000E, which got me on Old Peoria Road. It was along here that another 10-minute rain occurred. Since the gear was covered all I had to do was get my raincoat on. Still, I did that under a tree. It wasn't long after I was taking the raincoat off. There was steam coming off the hot highway! Pictures I took of that didn't really show all that much, but I could sure see it.
I arrived at Danvers Village Park at 3:36pm. I've been be here before. I love how they've spelled out the definition of dusk, "When the street lights come on." That's when my mom said I needed to be home. I diverted a block off my route in Danvers to see what their downtown looks like. They have a Fast Stop gas station I didn't know about. I purchased an ice cream sandwich there. 21 miles to go.
At 4:41pm I crossed over into Tazewell County, my home county. After passing through Lilly, I was on Winkler Road, Lowery Road, and Gresham Road. Then along Coil Road. I'm not familiar with this area near the Mackinaw River, but it appears to be a wildlife refuge area. I had a break at 5:12pm at one of their circular parking lots. I crossed the Mackinaw River at 5:30pm on Tyrrell Road. During all this time I kept looking back behind me. Quite a storm had developed that was raining where I had been, but it looked clear ahead.
Tyrrell Road got me to Dee Mack Road at 5:57pm. Now I knew where I was. The next major road crossing would be Washington Road. When I got there at 6:27pm, there was a "Road Closed" sign sitting at the side of the road. I figured if the road was really closed, they'd have the sign in the middle of the road. So I proceeded forward on Robison Road. It turned out this is definitely a closed road (bridge replacement). I checked the situation out. No way across using the road, but if I followed the excavator tracks in the dirt to the side, I could walk the bike across. So I did that, which saved me a lot of backtracking. Not long after that I was at Tennessee Avenue.
At 7:00pm I was on Jefferson Street, where the Morton city limits sign is on the east edge of town. City street riding from here brought me home. I parked the bike across the street at the junior high school for a picture, and was then in our driveway at 7:16pm. The neighbors were out and greeted me back. My wife wasn't home, but she showed up later. There's lots to talk about, but I needed to get one last evening report sent.
As you know, I'm behind on updates to the journal, so there's more work to do. So in some ways, the trip doesn't feel quite over yet. But I am going to pause long enough to get a shower and go to bed. It's good to be home.
Jeff
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4 days ago
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3 days ago
Today's ride: 49 miles (79 km)
Total: 1,508 miles (2,427 km)
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4 days ago
2 days ago
I enjoyed following along on another of your tours, and it was great riding with you!
What's next? Ride across Kentucky, maybe?
Jeff
2 days ago