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Day 48 - July 25 - Chester, IL to Goreville, IL (Ferne Clyffe State Park) - 70 miles Click on the thumbnails to view larger pictures.
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| The Adventure Cycling maps show two different routes cyclists can take from
Chester to Murphysboro. One goes through the hills and has moderate
traffic, the other is called the Mississippi Levee Alternate and is flat
with almost no traffic. The description on the map says the two are
about the same distance. While looking at the map we noticed a road, SR 3,
that goes to Murphysboro and looked to be shorter than the two suggested routes.
We talked to some folks yesterday and they said SR 3 is used by trucks and it can get busy as the day goes along. We decided to get an extra early start and use this shorter route, hoping to beat the traffic and save a few miles. We got started at 5:00 AM and SR 3 turned out to be a nice alternative to the suggested routes. It was flat, had little truck traffic, and saved us 6 miles. The ride today was a lot like the roller-coaster ride in Missouri. One west bound cyclist we talked to called the hills in Illinois the Little Ozarks. We'll agree with that! We arrived in Goreville, our destination for the day, early in the afternoon and decided to camp at Ferne Clyffe State Park. The park was 2 miles out of town, but offered a quiet, scenic setting for our tents. While we were setting up camp the park ranger came by to collect the site fee. Carol asked if there was a soda machine in the park somewhere. She said, "No, but I have some in my truck. I'll drop them off in a little bit." A few minutes later she came by with the cold sodas and wouldn't even take any money for them. That's Carol's Mojo at work. We rode back into Goreville to have dinner. The Late Bloomers Restaurant looked inviting. It turned out to be a great place to eat. We had an excellent grilled chicken salad, french fries, and apple pie a-la-mode. The pie was home made today and free for cross country cyclists. What a nice gesture! |
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