July 23, 2023
On July 17, 2023 (Monday), we rode to the Wagon Wheel Restaurant in Mineral, Illinois.
Mineral is a small town and didn’t seem to have a lot of businesses there.
The food was bar food and I had a good hamburger. Bruce wanted fried chicken, but the kitchen was so backed up, he would’ve had to wait 50 minutes to an hour. He thanked the waitress for the information and had to figure out what he wanted. (I don’t recall what he ordered. He seemed satisfied with it.)
After dinner, we stopped at Lock 22 on the Hennepin Canal Parkway. It wasn’t to far out of our way.
We pulled into a flat gravel lot. They allow camping here, so staying in the flat gravel lot would work for a class B (van) or a small class C. There are no hookups. The water spigot is in the middle of the campground. There didn’t seem to be any tent pads or well defined spots for camping. There are no showers and only pit toilets.
As we walked towards the canal, we could see a lift bridge. It appears they consistently used this design when they needed a bridge.
We walked over the bridge and could see the lock just a few feet away from the bridge. I took some pictures from the bridge.
Bruce happened to notice the bridge was not in the best of shape. We saw other holes on the bridge as well.
We heard rushing water and looked for the source.
I don’t know what the post in the water were used for. We saw the same type of post at every lock on the Hennepin Canal we visited.
We walked towards the end of the lock away from the bridge. We could see a well kept farmhouse and barn.
You can walk right up to the lock and even turn the old crank that at one time would open the gate. You could see that the gate had cable attached to it and the cable ran through the crank.
We noticed the metal wall holding back the water so you could see the workings of the lock, was leaking.
We walked over the bridge and looked at the redirect. We also turned the crank handle. It was interesting to see the large and small gears turn as the crank handle turned.
We then rode home to a happy Nox.
Blackberry Homestead 
We love exploring canals and locks. The barn quilt in the background is very pretty.
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We do as well. This is an area that you could camp easily and enjoy the trail.
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I enjoyed the industrial aspects of the lock. I do love gears and cables!
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We were thrilled to be able to get a good look at the gates and the mechanics for the lock. Even better, it was fun turning the crank and realizing it took two people to open and close the gates.
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Would campgrounds like those be suitable for hikers?
(I secretely liked the end of your story the best!)
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Yes, they would. People ride their bikes on the Hennepin Canal Trail and camp in the campgrounds along it. If you wanted to backpack, you could definitely stop at the campgrounds. The trail and campgrounds are designed to work together.
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