Surprising towns

As Mindy and I drove away, Jill's family gave us "silly waves". 

(We started silly waves when the kids were little and would cry when they'd leave.  We made them laugh when we acted up silly like."

Originally, I was going to spend one more night.  Adam was going to take Mindy to Milwaukee Airport, but it seemed to make sense that I do it and be down the road 1 hour on my way back to Kansas.

After dropping Mindy off, I had no idea of where I'd go.  Where I'd spend the night.  It was a "drive by the seat of my pants" kind of trip going home.  I took a look at the atlas at the airport and decided to continue south on 41.  On Highway 50, I turned west until I got to Lake Geneva.  I'd not heard of this place before, but when I drove into town, I HAD to explore a bit!

"Famous residents who built or have owned masions on Geneva Lake include the Wrigleys, the Schwinns, F.L. Maytag, and Richard Driehaus.  After the war, the town became a resort for the wealthy Chicago families.  These families began construction of the many mansions on the lake, and Lake Geneva became known as the Newport (RI) of the West.  Visitors included Mary Todd Lincoln and Generals Sherman and Sheridan."

You can walk around the lake.  It is 26 miles so you might want to do it in segments (except for my friend Marc who would easily jog it in no time).  

I got out to walk a bit.  There were lots of people milling about or headed to restaurants overlooking the lake to eat.  I heard languages from around the world being spoken here.  How have I not heard of this place before? 

Look at that Victorian house!  It is the Historic Baker House.  I saw that you can do a tour of some of the mansions.

Such a cute resort town!

Drool.  What a cute home!

I would have loved to spend the night, but I really needed to get down the road further.  This is a "must return to visit" kind of place!

At 39, I headed south to 88.  Jill called me and asked me how far I was and how far did I expect to go.  We discussed it and she called in reservations for me at a hotel in Rock Falls, Illinois.

I went swimming in the pool - I was the only one using it!  So much fun!  Then back to the room to veg on HGTV.  During the middle of the night, the smoke alarms went off.  Luckily, there really wasn't a fire.  I was on the first floor right by the outside door so I would have escaped had there been a fire.

The next morning, I slept in until 7!  I enjoyed breakfast out on the deck overlooking the Rock River.

Before heading out, I took a walk along the river path.

I got a later start than anticipated.  9:15.  I continued west on 88 to 74 south to Galesburg.

I turned west on 34 with a stop at a town called Monmouth.  That sounds like a mouth full.  How to pronounce?  maan-muhth  

There was a sign that Wyatt Earp was born here so I stopped to check it out.  I had just visited one other place he lived when I visited Pella, Iowa on another trip.  Wyatt Earp was a sheriff in Wichita, KS, close to where I live.

Here is where he was born.  The lady on the roof told me they were renovating this home to become an Airbnb.

Monmouth is home to Monmouth College, a private Presbyterian liberal arts college.  It enrolls approximately 750 students.

From Monmouth, I continued passed a little village named Biggsville (population 280 - so big!) to Burlington. 

I came to the Mississippi River.

Village of Lomax

This is a restaurant/bar.

Then I drove to the town of Nauvoo.

I came across this huge building and had to see what it was.  There were spots for tour busses here.  It was a Church of the Latter Day Saints.

I did a little search:  

"The town was named Nauvoo - reportedly from a Hebrew word meaning beautiful place. Nauvoo was the Mormon headquarters for seven years during which time the church flourished, and the settlement quickly became one of the largest cities in Illinois."  It rivaled the size of Chicago at that time in 1844.  

"On September 10, 1846, a militia of 1,000 men attacked Nauvoo in an attempt to drive the Mormons out of the state. The Mormons had fortified the city and armed some men to fight the militia."

"Joseph and his brother Hyrum tried to hold the door against the mob, and Joseph shot three men who were rushing in. Hyrum was shot in the face and fell to the ground, and Joseph was then shot at the window. Joseph was shot three more times as he lay on the ground, and the mob dispersed after someone shouted that the Nauvoo militia was coming."  Joseph Smith is buried in this town. I did not know that he was running for president and was the 1st U.S. presidential candidate to be assassinated.  After his death, Brigham Young and his followers went to Utah.

Some of the buildings from that time.

I enjoyed the drive down 96.

There were places you could pull off.

I needed to use the restroom but they were all closed.

I crossed the Mississippi at Keokuk, where there is a lock and dam.

Took 61 south to 36 and on to Cameron and home.

My kids called and kept me company the final leg of the trip.  It was dark by the time I hit the last 45 minutes of my trip.  I watched for deer.  There was one in the ditch, but luckily he didn't jump out.  And I passed a man who was walking along the highway.  He really startled me.  Hope he gets to where he was going.

It was a long drive but what a fun day seeing new towns and learning surprising things about them!