Starved Rock State Park — Oglesby, IL

After we got back on the road after our road debris encounter, we arrived at Starved Rock State Park on Tuesday afternoon.

However, when we arrived, we couldn’t start our Honda CRV. Dead battery? We even thought we might have towed it with the park brake on. Did we destroy the transmission? We were in a panic. But we were able to get it together and schedule the car to be towed to a local Honda dealer.

So Tuesday ended on a sour note . . . first an RV problem, now the car. Oy veh.

Wednesday I (Tom) spent the morning at the local Honda dealership in Ottawa, but found out that the only thing wrong with our car was a dead battery. So it cost $95 for a charge. Much better than installing a rebuilt transmission. Whew!

But the best Wednesday moment was watching wild turkeys walk next to our RV and through the park.

On Thursday there were no issues with any of our vehicles, but it did rain all morning.

However, after we ate lunch, we were finally able to get out and about . . .

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NEXT STOP: Johnson-Sauk State Recreation Area

Breakdown on I-80! Film at 10! — South Chicago

And now this . . .

What is this thing?

On our trip to Starved Rock State Park near Oglesby, IL, we hit a massive traffic jam on westbound I-80 south of Chicago.

We made about 5 miles in an hour. Turns out that two semis were involved in an accident ahead of us.

So after an hour or so we passed the accident site and started getting up to freeway speed again. As luck would have it, we ended up behind a wrecker that was hauling away one of the semis.

As we hit freeway speed, a big semi part fell off the wrecker and underneath our RV, and as soon as the part hit us, our Newmar began handling badly. It felt like a flat tire so we pulled over on the side of I-80 — no mean task.

Before & After

After checking underneath, the tires looked fine, but there was a rod hanging down between the rear tires, and the back of our motorhome was low — very low.

The adjusting rod that controls the rear air suspension broke. We had to get it fixed ASAP. Next stop — a local K-Mart parking lot.

We called CoachNet, our road service company, and within an hour a field service tech arrived and had us up and running in half an hour for a “whopping” charge of $121. Whew!

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Covert KOA — Covert, MI

Hot Towels

We’ve had to forfeit some creature comforts (space, king bed, enclosed yard for dogs) in order to RV, but we’re discovering others while traveling.

Hot towels after a shower is one of the newest.

Because our tiny Splendide washer/dryer is near the shower, we now throw our towel in the Splendide before showering. The towel is dry when we put it in so it really heats up.

Hot towel after a shower. Nirvana.

NEXT STOP: Starved Rock State Park.

Silver Creek RV Resort — Mears, MI

We didn’t know what to expect from this campground. We knew the coastal area in Michigan was very nice, but didn’t know much about our new campground.

However, when we arrived, we noticed a lot of vehicles with tall flags in the campground . . .

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Dune buggies.

A couple in our previous campground told us to rent one and race all over the nearby sand dunes. So we did.

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DUNE, THE MOVIE

Finally, Jan recorded a movie as we drove up a sand dune. The video is awful, but the audio . . . well, give a listen . . .

Indigo Bluffs RV Resort — Empire, MI

Well, tonight is our last night at Indigo Bluffs, and we’re going to miss this place — great location and lots of nice neighbors.
C’est la vie.
Our neighbors were from all over (Texas, Virginia, Florida, Massachusetts, . . .) and shared interesting stories of their lives and travels. One women solo RV’d for a number of years, work camped, and traveled to Alaska.
A couple of the folks bought sites at Indigo Bluffs. Jan and I were seriously considering it too, but decided not to as we’ve just started our adventure. However, there are bargains to be had here.
We did a Sunday brunch and Monday lunch with these folks. Loved it.
Here are some photos from Indigo Bluffs . . .

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Some more photos from Sleeping Bear Dunes and A Coast Guard Station . . .

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This area of Michigan reminds us of Door County in Wisconsin — great scenery, kinda “touristy” with lots to see and do.

Michigan’s Gold Coast?

Wisconsin’s Door County is smaller, but has a lot to offer RVers.

Wisconsin’s Door County