We arrived at Milloint Park in Peoria, Illinois after driving hundreds of miles along side cornfield after cornfield late on June 30th. Peoria is the oldest settlement in the state and is known as The Corn Belt (no kidding). We were greeted by the owner and his son and was given site 102 - which overlooked Lake Peoria, the widest part of the Illinois River. The park is situated on 100 acres along the river/lake. We found out that the lake is only about 2-3 feet deep in most parts, except in the channel (mid lake) and 5 feet of mud under that. Everyone we talked to warned us not to get into the mud because you would sink deep into the muck. With that information, we opted not to kayak the waters.

Dan decided to go home since the rest of the activities were docile and uninteresting so on Monday, July 2nd I took him to the airport. On our way out of the camp about 05:00am, we saw a golf cart parked in the middle of the dirt road. As we approached in our loud, diesel truck, we noticed the man sitting inside didn't move. Dan got out of the truck and we recognized him as the owner's son; Dan asked if he was OK... no response, he gently shook him, still no response. I knew we had come across a dead man but Dan spoke louder and shook him harder, he got a stirring reponse. The man was confused and obviously rattled by the fact that he had fallen asleep or passed out sometime during the night. When he finally acknowlwdged that he was OK, we preceeded on our way. Both of us had a heart-racing moment when we thought that he was dead but laughed all the way to the airport at the incident. As I said my good-by to Dan, I asked him if he thought me staying at the camp with all these good 'ol boys was a good idea; he said, "I think they can take care of themselves".

As if the previous incident wasn't funny enough, when I returned to camp, there were two young men preparing to cut down a large sycamore tree. I tried to grab my camera in time as one of the men was actually trying to push it over while the other one cut a notch in the bottom. I quickly checked the height of the tree making sure it wouldn't hit our RV then suddenly it fell taking out a post, firepit and knocking one of the men to the ground... goes to show that maybe they can't take care of themselves.

With Dan back home I plan to go see Abraham Lincoln's Presidential Library, hike Galena Trail (once used by American Indians, fur traders and run-a-way slaves), visit some of the local attractions and watch the fireworks from a river-side view.

Later in the week, the trip will continue to Minnesota and I will pick up the travel adventure there.