Illinois to Knoxville















 9/30/25:

We left Wallashuck with no specific destination in mind.  We rolled through Pella again, it’s really cute.  We got back up to the 80 and headed east.    The temps were rising fast and we took on a little fuel thinking our next stop would be the ticket for low fuel prices.  


We hit the Worlds Largest Truck Stop on I-80.  It’s 67,000 square feet and has been open everyday since it opened in 1964.  Due to the heat, we put the dogs in the trailer, opened the tops and turned the fans on.  We wandered around a bit, took some photos, bought some snacks and pressed on.  This place is pretty cool, but one stop is enough.  We didn’t check out the museum as it was too hot.  


So much for cheap diesel…$4.16/gallon.  We put in a half tank and pressed on.  As we were pulling out, one of Eric Church’s tour trucks was pulling out.  It wasn’t too long until we pulled into Illinois.  Just a bunch of windshield time and we decided to stop at Kickapoo State Park near Danville.  


Late in the afternoon we were behind a semi that was hauling ears of corn.  It kicked up a rock and cracked the windshield right on the edge.  By the end of the day we had two cracks about 8-10” long.  New glass in our future.  Of course it happened in Illinois, not on the two trips to Alaska or the Arctic Ocean.  


Bravo to Illinois State Parks.  Kickapoo is very well cared for and we wound up with an extra large pull through site with electric for $20.  The site was 130’ long and had to be 40-50’ wide.  Katy defrosted the fridge and I ran a fan up the back of it to cool it faster.  We had leftovers and watched some movies.  The defrost and fan worked quickly.  


10/1/25:  

How is it October already?  We rolled by 8:30 as we were going to lose an hour, crossing back into the Eastern time zone.  There wasn’t much to report as we’ve been down a lot of these roads.  Lots of windshield time today.  Speaking of the windshield…


The windshield cracks got worse and we called our insurance.  Good news is we have glass coverage.  We had a few fuel stops having been in 5 states.  Illinois, Indiana, a sliver of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.  By the looks of the foliage, we are going to get another fall.  


About 30 minutes from our destination, Duncan decided to throw up in the backseat.  He got the seat cover, the washable floor mat and Maggie.  That capped off a long day along I-75, north of Knox.  We made it to our site just before 6, dumped tanks and then got set up.  We made meatloaf from the meat market in Pella, which was really good.  The rest of the night we just relaxed.  The campground is pretty meh, in the section we are in.  I don’t think we’ll extend.  


Job hunting/interviews this week.  

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