Coon Creek COE, Lake Shelbyville, IL

The electric company came to the park in the morning to replace a transformer and upgrade it.  The power was spotty there and we had to keep track of what was on while the two a/c were running.  It wasn't a problem like we had in Three Forks, MT so that was a good thing.  It did delay us leaving the park for an hour or so.

We had a short 63 mile drive today but there were more left & right turns than it took to drive from Seattle, WA to Sioux Falls, SD.  That is what happens when you take old state highways, county roads and drive through small Illinois towns.  We must have made 8 turns alone in Pana, IL and it's only 2 miles or so through the town.  It felt like we were in a maze at times.

I would hate to have to give directions and keep straight all the turns and stop signs in these towns.  It took us over two hours for the trip, however overall it was a nice drive.  Traffic was light and we only had to avoid a couple combines, farm tractors and the various vehicles out here.

We managed to snag a full hookup site that is about a 1/2 acre in size.  Since it is a reservable site we can only stay until Friday, but that works for us.  We don't have a set schedule for the next week and plan on just moseying along the highway.

The Corp Of Engineers (COE) parks have reservable and walk in campsites.  As as result, the weekends are reserved a long time in advance and then sit vacant during the week.  That works for us during the week but makes it difficult to grab a site for the weekend.  Of course if push comes to shove we can always boondock in at Walmart, Cracker Barrel and other large parking area for a night.

We really enjoyed seeing everyone back in the Gillespie area.   Always nice to go back home, but home changed so much that it was almost like being in a strange city.

That was our day, how was yours?

Chattachoochee, Florida

I was waiting for a part from Delorme to arrive and we hung around Ft. Clinch until  the mail arrived at noon.  The part finally came in and we headed out of Fernandina Beach around 1:30pm.  We had a 240 mile drive ahead of us and it started out fine until we ran into some stormy weather about halfway to Chattahoochee, FL.  Nothing serious, but it slowed us down a lot.

We pulled into Eastbank COE Park in Chattahoochee around 7pm and checked into our campsite after dark.  We were assigned site number 13 and I hope it brings us good luck.  We plan on being here for three days and leave on Sunday for Gulf Shores, AL.

On the way through Chattahoochee we saw the restaurant we are going to on Friday for dinner.  It is called "Butthead's BBQ & Grill".  I kid you not, that is it's name.  We heard they have super Prime Rib on Friday nights and it is drawing us in.  I will let you know how good it is.

The campground is on Lake Seminole which straddles the FL/GA border.  It seems to be a popular place as most sites are taken or reserved for the weekend.  The lake consists of 37,500 acres of water, 376 miles of shoreline and over 22,000 acres of surrounding land.  The area around Lake Seminole has been occupied by man for over 10,000 years.  Pictures to follow.