Busy Days in Chi-Town

After picking up my newly painted Winnie from Mike's Custom Painting at the beginning of June, I headed back to Chicago for my annual oasis on the prairie at Paul Wolff Campground at Burnidge Forest Preserve in Elgin.  The big summer skies did not disappoint!

Crane Vacation to Wisconsin

When I needed to vacate my favorite Chicago campground in mid-June for a week (in between my two 14-day stays), I decided to head north to the Dells region of central Wisconsin.  My goal was to try and see an endangered Whooping Crane in the wild, and that's an area where they nest in the summer.

I rolled into Juneau county's Castle Rock Park (not to be confused with Adams county's park by the same name on the other side of Castle Rock Lake!) and had my pick of a few dozen campsites on a Thursday evening-- for the bargain price of just $17/night!

Back Home-less in Indiana (& Illinois)

With Winnie at the paint shop for the entire month of May, where would I spend the month?  Well, I knew for 2 of those weeks I'd be visiting with family in Chicago (and checking in with my oncologist for my first annual follow-up visit).  The first half of May was still a blank slate, though.

I considered taking a vacation or cruise somewhere, but nothing really excited me enough to spend the big bucks.  I found a few interesting AirBnB condos to rent-- one was even one of those "tiny houses" snuggled into the trees of the Smoky Mountains.  But, just as I went to book it, I decided to check out extended stay hotels in northern Indiana first.

Winnie Prepares for her Extreme Makeover

After a delightful few weeks in southern Illinois and southeast Missouri, it was time to prepare for Winnie's big makeover at Mike's Custom Painting near Elkhart, Indiana.  I had a few Winnebago parts and other upgraded accessories to pick up at my stepsister's house in Chicago before heading to MCP, so I spent the last week of April there.

I had planned to get Winnie's windshield replaced while in Chicago, but after calling a few Safelite Auto Glass locations, no one had a workbay tall enough to fit the Winnie!  Thankfully, one call to their main call center got me in touch with a nice customer service rep who found a location in Springfield, IL (along my route to Chicago).  Winnie fit inside their garage with room to spare!

Giant T@B Cache in Southern IL

Here it is the end of August, and I'm still trying to finish my blog posts of my springtime travels....eee gads!  Well, I've been wildly busy this summer working as a volunteer interpretive ranger at Bryce Canyon NP, and the connectivity here (and spare time) have been pretty minimal.  So, I'll try to mash together multiple posts into one today, and move the backlog along a bit!

My final week in southern Illinois this past April was spent doing the 2 big things I'd come to the area to do: attend the Midwest T@B Rally at Giant City State Park, and finally (FINALLY) paddle and explore the Cache river basin-- the northernmost cypress tupelo swamp in North America.