Visiting Tampico, Illinois, the Birthplace of President Ronald Reagan – Part 3

July 28, 2023 We toured the restored 1920’s bank downstairs from the Reagans’ apartment. The bank failed during the Great Depression. The bank’s paperwork, books, and furniture was carried into the basement and forgotten. When the building was being renovated to be a museum, the bank’s paperwork, books, and furniture were discovered in excellent shape […]

Visiting Tampico, Illinois, the Birthplace of President Ronald Reagan – Part 2

July 27, 2023 The next part of the tour was through the beautifully restored bank. We then climbed the stairs to the apartment Ronald Reagan was born in. It was a three bedroom apartment, heated by wood stoves. There was no running water, so water had to be carried into the apartment. There was an […]

Visiting Tampico, Illinois the Birthplace of President Ronald Reagan – Part 1

July 26, 2023 On July 15 (Saturday), after breakfast, we rode the motorcycle to Tampico, Illinois, the birthplace of President Ronald Reagan. Tampico is a small village that is very proud of its native son. They have an excellent museum dedicated to Ronald Reagan. We parked the motorcycle outside the museum and birthplace of President […]

Thunderstorm Pictures

July 25, 2023 On July 17th (Monday), there was a lovely sunset through the trees. The storm had already started rolling in. You can see the clouds in the picture below. A short time later storm clouds rolled in. A low constant boom or growl started up as lightning strikes went from clouds to clouds. […]

Nox Discovered a New Love

July 24, 2023 While we stayed at Hickory Grove Campground and RV Park, Nox discovered a new love. Our new friends Jerry and Connie took us around the campground in their golf cart. Nox came with us and had a blast. This was the first time she rode in a golf cart. we had multiple […]

Lock 22 of the Hennepin Canal Parkway

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, […]

Buffalo Rock State Park in Illinois and Dinner

July 20, 2023 After our stop at the US Army Corp of Engineers Rock Island Visitor Center, we headed on to the Buffalo Rock State Park. It wasn’t crowded like the other two state parks. There was a birthday party going on in the pavilion, so I didn’t take any pictures of it. We were […]

US Army Corp of Engineers Rock Island District Visitor Center

July 19, 2023 After our visit to the Matthiessen Waterfall, we decided to visit Buffalo Rock State Park. On the road to Buffalo Rock State Park, I noticed the US Army Corp of Engineers had a visitor center for the Starved Rock Lock and Dam. We pulled into the parking lot and got out of […]

Starved Rock State Park in Illinois

July 18, 2023 After seeing the beautiful sunflower field at Matthiessen State Park, we decided to try Starved Rock State Park along the Illinois River. While this park was also packed, we were able to find a spot to park in the visitor center parking lot on the far edge near the Illinois River. Nox […]

Matthiessen State Park in Illinois

July 18, 2023 We decided to go see the waterfall at Matthiessen State Park on July 8 (Saturday). It turns out that going to the state park on a Saturday was not our best idea. The parking by the visitor center was full. There was a significant walk from parking in a field to the […]