One More Thing

Pleasant weekend visit with LJ & Tye. They are hard-selling Decatur, IL as a great place for our sunset years. The fact that they have volunteered to be overseers of our last years definitely makes that more appealing. So. We are always looking for a place that might be our last home. Haven't found it. Yet. LJ is also becoming quite the gardener so she lets me dig in her beds every time I show up. The fact that they are in zone 6a and Murphy is 7b means that many plants I try to transplant from here to there don't make it. But some do, so every time we go for a visit I take something, put it in the ground and say, good luck! This time it was an oak leaf hydrangea and some grape leaf hyacinth bulbs. Also dug some pachysandra (spurge) out of Linda's yard for her. The two week trip meant that all of those took it on the chin and were looking pretty puny when they finally snuggled in the dirt again. Good news is that they are supposed to have intermittent rain all week, so fingers crossed. 

Our last planned stop on this trip was Snake Road in Shawnee National Forest. Twice a year, up to 35 species of snake (think thousands) cross this road to migrate between a swamp and limestone cliffs. The park service closes the road to everything but foot traffic for a couple of months in the spring and fall to minimize snake fatalities. When we stopped in at the ranger station we were told that the masses had already passed a couple of weeks ago but that we might get lucky and see one here or there. The gravel road is between 2.5-3 miles long (one way) and was an easy, level hike before the long trek home. We saw a tiny green snake, a black racer and a cottonmouth. Plus wild delphinium & phlox and several butterflies. And a huge turtle. We were happy campers.

Found a great campground in Vienna, IL, Shawnee Forest Campground. What makes a great campground? Easy to find. Clean showers. Lots of room between camping spots. Plenty of space/land to walk the dog. Reasonably priced. This one checked all the boxes. A quick donut stop in Metropolis, IL (think Superman fame) and we were on our way home. Stay tuned; in two weeks we leave for an across-the-country-mad-dash high school graduation trip with granddaughter, Madison!

Pics here.