Did I mention they have Popeye?

Short stay in Illinois

Okay, I can't see the pictures, but I'll try to comment on what I remember.
Spent our 2nd night & a day off with Sharon's folks who came down from Chicago to see us. Little lake (with ducks) at Fernclyffe State Park.
Some beautiful lakes & farmland on the way to Chester..."Don't mess with IL !" They have Longhorn cattle & Popeye! Oh, & the Mississippi River.

Rate the state-
Roads- poor
Drivers- okay
Hills- manageable
Best birds- more Indigo buntings & 2 hummingbirds

Welcome to Illinois

Made it to our third state. Whoever named this the prairie state never came this far south...more hills!
Not sure of the sequence on the photos, but there's one of a coal barge on the river.
We camped Thursday night at Cave in Rock. Pitched our tents in a picnic shelter because of heavy rain. This morning walked along the riverside cliffs to the cave where pirates used to hang out & ambush river travelers. Also a photo of the swallows that nest by the cave entrance.
Last, but not least, a photo of the current traveling posse...
Sharon & me, plus Dan from NC, and Klaas & Gosse from the Netherlands.

And a post script on fauna in KY I forgot yesterday- lots of reptile road kill (I hope turtles are not an endangered species).
and an amazing number of Indigo Buntings & Meadowlarks.

Finishing KY

Dodging thunderstorms as we finish up KY. We passed through Amish country -Yoders, Millers, buggy marks on the road...just like home.
Crossed the Ohio on this ferry- a very pleasant ride.
Rate the state-
Roads- generally good.
I'll call this the land of the unpredictable shoulder. Some places- wide & clear as a bell or littered with debris. The next minute a little one (with or without rumble strips) that drops off a cliff. Sometimes the shoulder & road both disappear into the chasm!
Drivers- varied from extreme caution to flip you off road hogs, but were generally courteous.
Hills- Eastern KY was really tough, but the central & eastern farm country was a joy to ride.

Staying with the Feltus'

Our hosts in Caineyville KY- Garry & Beth Feltus at the new house, the cabin we stayed in (where they lived for a while), & a barn quilt in progress.
In KY many of the barns have large quilt squares painted on them. Beth is actively involved in the project. The first one was painted on a barn so a woman's mother who was a quilter & was bed ridden could see it. It caught on & now has become a county tourism project.

Near perfect day

Gorgeous weather and nearly flat riding (till the last 20). Stopped at an Amish farm for fresh strawberries. Discovered more flavors of Baptists- Independent, United, Missionary, & United Mssionary...wow.
Tonight we're staying with the Feltus' on their 75 acre farm. It's beautiful & they are treating us like royalty! What gracious hosts!!!

Regional denominations

We haven't seen an Episcopal church since Eastern VA. This is decidedly Baptist country! In eastern KY we encountered- Baptist, Freewill Baptists, Regular Baptists, & Old Regular Baptists...How many flavors are there? Now we're in a little pocket of Catholicism- St.Josephs protocathedra.& th Trappist monastery- Our Lady of Gethsemane. My personal favorite though was Our Lady of the Clawfoot Bathtub.

Lincoln country

Stayed Sunday night at the Lincoln Homestead where Abe's parents began their life together. Beautiful place & we had it to ourselves, but only cold water & no showers. Tonight we're in Hodgenville near Abe's birthplace (Sinking Spring Farm) at a county park & rec center- baseball, tennis, Zumba, & camping. Hmm. Our favorite though- HOT SHOWERS!!!

Just the rolling hills we wanted!

A beautiful, sunny, hot day with a little breeze. Another long one- 72 mi, but finally rolling hills instead of escarpments!

Recent accomodations

First it was weather whiplash, now it's camping whiplash.
One night we stayed at the Knott County Historical Society B&B and campground- a wonderful warm welcome complete with food, classical music, a chiminea fire, & laundry service- all presented by David our host!
The next night was in a churchyard with a port-a-jon & cold water.
Here in Berea KY we're staying with folks from WarmShowers.org. They are the nicest folks. Into sustainable agriculture -working at a restaurant that buys as much local as possible. Tonight was gourmet pizza night with a band, & kids & families out on the patio. So cool.

Whole lotta lickin' goin' on!

Well, you got towns & roads named- Buck lick, Elk lick, Sand L, Gravel L, Lower Red Lick & Red Lick...but I guess it's nothing nasty since there's the Red Lick Holiness Church!

Kentucky hills

As you can see, we can mess anything up! Going through coal country in eastern KY.
Lots of loose dogs as we were warned, but nothing ferocious- just annoying.
Lots of contrast between pockets of poverty & relative wealth. No starter castles or developments along our route.

Welcome to KY!

Well, beyond the mountains, there are indeed more mountains! Terry says we climbed about 4000 feet & my odometer says 72 miles. Our biggest day.
Taking a break with the Oregon bound crew at Sunshine's...nothing like the one one Nevis but local color none the less.
One more spate of showers...it's better than than hot & humis I think. I guess we'll find out some day.

More hills

Not many miles today, but wild weather swings again. We hit our 500 mile mark & finished Virginia though, so it was an accomplishment.
It reminds me of the Haitian proverb...Beyond the mountains there are more mountains.

Rate the state-
Good roads, great signage, polite/smart drivers, BIG hills.
We'll see what KY brings.

Milestones

All our maps show us passing through little towns no one evre heard of, but we're really quite near some civilization. Williamsburg, Richmond, crossed 220 by Roanoake, Christianburg & Radford. Even if you look on a big map you can find I-81 & I-77.
Today's milestone was Mt.Rogers (no photo- my phone tanked) & the oh so famous (at least to A T hikers) Damascus VA.

Oddities

Lots of rocks hill- gotta love it. That dawg's for you Donna.
And the cool old PO in Christiansburg. Unfortunately, they only process general delivery packages at the new facility- out by the mall (wherever that is) The postlady called Wand Lou over there and had them forward our mail to Meadowview. Hopefully it will be there Monday when we pass through.

Whythe County (named for George Wythe, signer of the Declaration of independence) poor farm.

And the tractor pull and antique tractor competition held at the fair ground near our May 15 camping spot.