PNW Week 1 June 17 to June 23

Greetings and thank you for reading our blog. We embarked upon our Van life adventure to the Pacific NorthWest (PNW) on Tuesday June 17. Working steady in the weeks leading up to our departure was a lot so pulling out of the driveway was celebratory and a big relief. Unlike boat life, we'll be able to literally stop anywhere we want for anything we need so whatever we may have forgotten will not be a problem.

8 am and its off we go on our Van life adventure to the PNW.

Bella has found her preferred spot between the two front seats on the floor while we're underway. It's an odd space to us because she can't see out the windows but she insists on it so we try to make it as comfy with her bed and a fan.

June 17 & 18 - Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky a Unesco World Heritage sight with over 400 miles of mapped continuous passages making it the longest cave in the world is our first stop. We have reservations for 2 nights in the campground because there is much to see and do here. After 7 hours on the road we pull into our campsite (B20) and settle in. There is still plenty of daylight so we walk to the visitor center to get a trail map and take a well deserved hike. We also sign up for the 2 hour guided tour of Domes and Dripstones, which is the most strenuous of the tours. Having now done it we think they oversell the difficulty to discourage those with questionable abilities because it was not that hard. It was an incredible 2 hours.

The campground is quiet and we slept well. On the second night some bands of severe storms moved through. The van is solid and with the tree canopy above the rain was muffled. There are a lot of tent campers here and they had a rough night for sure. In the morning everyone was trying to dry out their belongings and we saw many tent campers had abandoned their sights completely or were sleeping in their cars. We feel so fortunate.

Two retired steam engines that were used over 100 years ago for transportation and getting supplies to and from the area.

A beautiful turkey hen and her poults.

This turned out to be an excellent 4-5 mile hike. It was hot and thankfully shady.

The view of our camp sight taken from inside the van.

Domes and Dripstones tour stars in a sinkhole and passes through huge domes and narrow passages with hundreds of stairs and steep inclines and declines.

This is the spectacular Crater Lake down at the deepest part of the cave.

This tour features the natural cave formation and is focuses on the science and geology. The Stalactites and stalagmites were striking.

This large room features a dome ceiling and is the perfect resting spot for Q&A and information about the history of the cave and how it is mapped etc.

June 19 - Indianapolis, Indiana is our next stop where we will visit our long time friends, Steve and Alli. We'll also be mooch-docking which is where campers plug in at a friend's house. Shortly after our arrival we went down to the Broad Ripple arts and dining district for a happy hour drink before dinner. Afterwards we went to the favorite local Italian place, Mama Corolla's. Chef's kiss! https://www.mamacarollas.com/

Everyone in Indy is a die hard Pacers fan so after dinner we went back home to watch the game. The Pacers won and shortly thereafter we retired to the driveway to settle in for the night. Too short of a visit but they had things to do and we had places to be so in the morning we had an early departure.

That's Bella Vato Mooch docking!

Alli, Steve, Jonathan, and me.

This bar features about 30 different LI Ice Tea drinks and comes in a mini pitcher for only eight bucks. One and done!

I love these beautiful hydrangeas!

June 20 - Kickapoo State Park, Vermillion County, Illinois is our next stop and only about a 2 hour drive according to Google maps. We're starting to learn that with our comfortable top speed being about 65 mph we run 10 to 15 percent slower than the ETA provided by maps. We don't have a reservation but when we pull up to the gate we're told that they have a nice pull through shady spot for us with electric for $25.00. Sold! Once we got settled, we set out on a hike located within the park. It went along the Vermillion River and Bella had a nice swim or two and plenty of water to drink. I guess I should mention here that this region of the country is under extreme heat warnings and let me tell you. It's HOT!

We made an easy but delicious quick and low kitchen impact dinner of a delicious Trader Joe's bag salad with peanut dressing and crunchy noodles topped with some blackened shrimp. At dusk the fireflies were super active and shortly thereafter we turned in. Being that today is the summer solstice it was barely dark!

Our camp site at Kickapoo State Park in Illinois

June 21 & 22 - Starved Rock State Park, Utica Township, Illinois is our stop for the next two nights. We don't have reservations so we needed to get up and out early to secure one of the few first come/first served spots in this very popular state park. As we rolled into the entrance there was a big sign that read "Vacancies." Whew!! There were other options around but we wanted to be sure to have electric with this heat wave. Running the AC is crucial right now.

After securing our site we drove to the State Park Visitor Center to get on some trails. Within proximity to the Lodge and Visitor Center the trails are very crowded. Not our jam but we suffered through some of the high points of interest which include the site of the namesake of the park, Starved Rock overlook, where legend has it that in the mid 1700s two indigenous tribes engaged in battle over the killing of a great warrior. The Patawatomi chased the Illiniwik up to the top of Starved rock where they were trapped without food and water. Only a few made it out and the rest died hence the name. When we were on the Great Loop we came right past this very spot on the Illinois River and through the Starved Rock lock. There was a barge locking through that was so big, it had to be split apart. The lock master gave us the opportunity to transit the lock after the first half of the barge went through. It was a super tight squeeze In and out of the lock around the huge barge but it saved us about an hour or two. Good times!

In these crowded situations the farther you get from the parking lot the fewer people you encounter. All in all we got about 3 miles before the hordes of people coupled with the intense heat had us retreat back to the campsite to crank the AC, hydrate, relax, take naps, and read. We had an easy one pan dinner of Trader Joe's Lemon Pesto sauce with chicken, broccoli, and pasta and turned in early for a little TV and lights out by 9 pm.

The next morning we get up early to drive to the LaSalle Canyon trail head a few miles from the main park. It's around 8:30 and we're delighted to see only two other cars in the lot. Even at this early hour the temperature is already at 79 degrees. The hike takes us along the Illinois River and down into Owl Canyon and LaSalle Canyon. They are both stunning and the temps are noticeably cooler as we descend down into them. We finish the 3 miles about 2 hours later. The temperature is now up to 89 so we take the opportunity to do some laundry in nearby Ottawa and stop by a local brewery for lunch. Then back to the campground to fire up the AC, read, and take naps. It's the only way to survive in this suffocating heat.

We made it and there are Vacancies!

The view of the Starved Rock lock and dam on the Illinois River from the trail

This picture is from October 2019 and is the view of Starved Rock from our boat.

White pelicans dot the shore line.

The Legend of Starved Rock

French Canyon, Starved Rock State Park

One pan meals are easy and can be just as big on flavor!

Down into the first canyon we go. The difference in temperature as you descend is delightful!

Owl Canyon, Starved Rock State Park

The spectacular LaSalle Canyon. In the foreground you can see Bella lounging in a cool pool of water while in the background, if you look closely, you can see Jonathan checking out the waterfall.

We settled on the Lone Buffalo restaurant at the Tangle Roots brewery in Ottawa, IL. Nice cold beers after our canyon hikes and laundry were well deserved.

Sunday brunch BLT on sourdough with a fried egg and tater tots hit the spot.

Ottawa's claim to fame is the Lincoln and Douglas debate of 1858 at the now historic Washington Square where it is reported that 20 thousand people attended.

Lincoln depicted here in the foreground with Douglas looking on.

June 23 - Rock Creek State Park, Kellogg, Iowa is our next stop as we head west. We get a fairly early start because we want to make a stop in the Davenport/Bettendorf area. For many years we went to a mini Gorham reunion there that coincided with the Bix Biederbeck Jazz Festival and the Bix 7 Mike walk/run. Jonathan's mother and Aunt Jane were both born in Davenport and his aunt was still living there. Great memories but is it ever really the same when you go back years later? There was a great breakfast place, Ross's, that after 80 years closed down just last year. Disappointed, we head to the Hy-Vee grocery store to grab the iconic Iowa fried pork cutlet sanwhich. It's kind of the Pub{lix) sub of the Midwest! It's Monday and they're only available on Tuesday. Foiled again! We then drive by his aunts house to evoke some memories. Mission accomplished. But the cornfields that were just across the street from the house gave way to an Aldi and a small strip mall. Big sigh.

The next stop is the Future Birthplace of Capt. James T. Kirk in Riverside, Iowa. It's practically the only thing this town has to offer but they have a fun little museum along with a monument in a small park next to city hall. After we toured both it was definitely time for lunch since to this point we've been denied food. Unfortunately it's Monday and the only restaurant in town is closed. But we're told there is a little town about 10 miles down the road that has a pork cutlet sandwich so off we go. By the time we get our lunch at JW's Foods it's 2 pm. Not as good as we hoped but perfectly edible! And we're experiencing small town America, which is the whole point of being on these roads less traveled.

We get to the campground a bit after 4 and we have a scinic campsite right on the lake. We take Bella for a walk on a short woodsy trail and we get back to Bella Vato in time to button everything up for some storms that are coming our way. We welcome the break from the heat at this point.