June 21: A Day of Detours
Roger Ebert Statue | Champaign, IL
Someone from a Roadtrek group I’m in got in touch about meeting up at her home in Wisconsin, so I started making my way up north to go and see her. On the way, I saw that the Roger Ebert statue was close by, so I stopped in his hometown of Champaign, IL to go and see it. The statue sits in front of the Virgina Theatre, where Roger held a film festival every year.
Sit with Roger Ebert, Champaign, Illinois (roadsideamerica.com)
Rockmen Guardians | Rockford, IL
Continuing my way up north, I was pretty excited to see these Rockmen Guardians were on my path…its in a really pretty park where I had some lunch and enjoyed the view of the river before heading to find it. Built in 1987, The Rockmen Guardians, made of granite boulders, guard the Rock River in Rockford, Illinois. And there’s a rock pup too that Lincoln made sure to say hello to! That’s a lot of rocks!
Rockford, IL – Rockmen Guardians (roadsideamerica.com)
Today’s Driving Stats: 274 miles, 5hr
June 22: Roadtrek Mini Meetup | Madison, WI
I pulled in later in the evening, so in the morning was able to meet up with the Roadtrekker, which was really awesome! She showed me around the area, and we walked down to the dock with a gorgeous view to sit and talk for a while. Of course I forgot my phone, so no pictures! 😠We checked out each other’s vans, and she gave me some really good ideas for mods I think I’d like to do on mine in the future. After a hot tip on a place nearby to take my van for its first oil change, which went great, it was time to head West. There was a storm brewing, so I needed to get back on the road and on my way.
Today’s Driving Stats: 123 miles, 2hr 23min