Last Monday night we were in a forest in Michigan – Fort Custer, having our first ever night in Reg.  We reversed into the slot and Matt hooked up the power and water. So far so good. 

We had loads of sorting out to do – as you can see from the picture as all the stuff we had bought – plates, sheets and towels all had be stowed away and we had to wipe out all the cupboards as being new Reggie was rather full of sawdust. 

We were slightly like the Blair Witch Project as we walked around the campsite. Matt assured me that the loos were still open and not closed for the winter… well we walked and walked. We found that they were closed – no matter as we have facilities on board – but by this time it is pitch black. Of course, it transpires that the campsite was circular and we walked 350 degrees to where the loos are instead of just the other way around!

Second night in Granger, Indiana – our first KOA (Kamp Grounds of America). Run by a rather strange lady from Germany – but much more commercial so good practice for ‘hooking up’ as they say.

On Thursday, we set south for good, and motored all day to Springfield, Illinois. We went past an old munitions factory what is now being turned back into prairies and they have even reintroduced bison this summer to the project.  We did not see them – but by golly it needed it.  Funny that on the freeways you see the best and the worst – wonderful wide expanses and big skies and then other times the ugliest plant and yards that have ever been built.

We took Route 66 south through Illinois and stopped off in Pontiac which had a museum of Route 66 memorabilia.  The stories of people who had worked along the ‘mother road’ –  in diners and breakdown garages were interesting to read and you could get the sense of the golden age of motoring.  The road itself has even got a cycle lane for some stretches and it is fun as we were dawdling along with the new I55 hurtling along beside us.

We got to Springfield at the end of Thursday and found the best site so far – closed officially for winter but for $35 in an envelope we could stay the night and still have power and water.  This is quite common apparently.  It suits us that the site is so empty as it was so peaceful.  This was in a lovely setting and I saw a deer when running in the morning and Shaun would have loved the birds – the site seemed to be on a migratory path as there were hundreds of things chirping away high in trees and along the power lines.  I felt like Tippi Hedron at one point without the Hitchcock sexual harassment charge!

On Friday, we went into Springfield which is the state capitol of Illinois so downtown it has a lot of quite grand buildings – the capitol, the state police headquarters, the state revenue collection, etc. – but also of course lots to do with Lincoln who was their most famous resident. He was not born in Illinois, but worked all his life there until he became the 16^th president.

The museum about his life was brilliant and very inspiring.  No matter who wins the election this year – it reminded everyone of how noble and uplifting politics can be and should be.  He was born in a wooden shack and taught himself to read.  Would that ever be able to happen again?

We then went to the Dana House which was a complete contrast.  This is a house designed inside and out by Frank Lloyd Wright.  We had a guided tour for an hour as it is all so precious you cannot just wander around.  One of the lamps that Wright made for the house recently was auctioned and it raised $2m, so you can imagine the value of the entire thing and its contents.  Of course, slightly embarrassing was hearing that somehow we have a lamp at the Victoria and Albert Museum.  Illinois had bought the house and contents off the only other owner, aside from Mrs Dana – the Thomas family.  They have restored it fully and quite rightly they are very proud of it. We have become experts on ‘prairie’ style homes, but not sure we will ever need this at home as we just don’t have the space.  The floorplate of the Dana house was 12,000 square feet!  Tim would have been pacing it out for days!

After Springfield, we set off via St Louis to say in Missouri on our way to Tennessee.  We stopped at this amazing place – a UNESCO site which only got a small write up in our book – but as soon as we saw it we decided to take our time. 

Cahokia is an Indian settlement from 950-1200AD which is huge.  They had built up these enormous mounds of earth that they levelled and then put buildings on top of.  Fortified with stockades of timber they created whole cities.  Because they did not write, there is a lot of guesswork as to why they disappeared but they think that it could have been due to conflict, using up all the resources – timber for instance, flooding from the Mississippi or just general climate change.  How familiar and portentous does that sound!?

The main mound – Monks Mound contains 22 million cubic feet of earth which they carried by hand.  You can climb up it and have a great view of the area and across the river to St Louis and its famous arch landmark.  It was a good juxtaposition of ancient and modern.   We had a great walk around and it was really interesting.   

We camped in our worst site that night – we never left Reg after we had plunged in as it was definitely a site where people seem to live all the time.  We were given this tatty space on corner plot and what was described as a lake on the website was merely a puddle!  We are deep in Trump country so we battened down the hatches and had a relaxing evening inside.  We will get better at reading between the lines I hope when we are planning the sites.  It is great that we are completely self-sufficient – in terms of showering, etc. so that we don’t have to mix with any dodgy locals!

Yesterday we went back to the Mississippi and got our bikes off the back of Reg and cycled over the Chain of Rocks Bridge.  Now for cyclists and pedestrians this is the old Route 66 bridge into St Louis.  We could not believe already how wide the Mississippi is – so heaven knows what awaits us in Mississippi or Louisiana. 

We also called in to St Genieve which is a pretty French town set up in 1760’s by traders. They have made a huge effort to restore the Creole design houses – which you can identify by the outside terrace wrapping all-round the houses.  We shall see loads more as we head south.

After that we then had a very fun experience of driving Reg on to a ferry – much smaller than the Sandbanks chain ferry – but similar idea. Only Reg and one car could fit – so we got out and met the ferry crew and the other car and they took photos of us and I took a picture of their dogs!  Driving off the other side we then travelled down the Great River Road – highway number 3, back on the Illinois side until we came to Cape Giradeau where we crossed back into Missouri. 

One week down and we have been on quite a steep learning curve – but have seen already some amazing sites.  I suppose the main impressions are that it is absolutely vast, the people have been really lovely (we didn’t after all get murdered in our beds on the crummy site) and there is actually a lot of thought provoking history to be had.  Matt and I are in our element as we love a good museum. 

I will leave Matt to tell ou of some of our mishaps – in case you all thought this sounded too straightforward!!