Day 37 - Friday, June 25

Goodbye Kentucky - Hello Illinois!

Even with an imperfect back, it was an incredible day on the road & river. Lucky and I did our usual morning segment of 13 miles to the Ohio River where we crossed into Illinois by a free ferry. Today, the videos and pictures tell the story…

Leaving Marion at 5:40am the donut shop wasn’t quite open

Rolling hills with tree lined streets provided perfect conditions

It felt like the road was sinking while the trees were growing out of the ground

A simple cabin on the road

And the inside

Forest ended as we approached Ohio River

And then the end of Kentucky as we ran to catch the ferry

Lucky enjoyed a minute of rest aboard the ferry

And then we crossed the half way point and end our run in Kentucky

First to get off as pedestrians - the Ferryman in the next video was an expert whipping a heavy chain to ground us

Illinois here we come!

Darlene and the grandkids Caleb and the twins Leslie and Lindsey were kind enough to give me a lift out of the way to show me why Cave-in-Rock is called that. I enjoyed my ride out with them and chatted about the history of the town.

The Cave on the Ohio River - you can walk all the way inside into a big cove where a crack in the rock above allows sunlight to stream in

Back in the day this was the place where steam boats landed and passengers took in the entertainment. Windy Oxford in the next interview is one of the primary driving forces in the town having come back with a mission of bringing the town back to life - and she is succeeding.

Talk about country roads!

Long stretches of white fences, lush forested landscapes on our way to final destination of Elizabethtown or more commonly referred to by the locals as E-Town.

On the road, I was offered rides by 5 different people - more than any other state. Trevor asked me if I needed a ride as I approached E-Town and told him i was headed across country. A mile later I ran into him and his cousin and friend at their place on Main Street so we chatted for a bit and he shared some stories in the next video.

And then before I left they kindly gave me some gifts - an arrowhead they found in the area and 3 Fluorspars that are found in the area. Fluorspars are source of fluorine which is used to make non-stick surfaces with most of the reserves in China, Mexico and South Africa.

Trevor walked me into town from his red-roofed house in the background to Main Street where he would show me a Gazebo atop a cliff overlooking the Ohio River where he told me people have jumped in. I asked him if he had done it and he told me, “hell yea” and stripped down then jumped!

We met Joe in town - he bought a beautiful old home with magnificent Magnolia tree providing shade that over looked the Ohio River and perfectly manicured gardens and lawn. He told me it was a Bed & Breakfast - he made breakfast and his wife liked to stay in bed. He shared that he bought it a year ago during COVID out of foreclosure for under $300k…Chris and I were floored!