Le Claire & Davenport

After a sleep in this morning, (late night last night), we catch up on a few things and then after lunch, we head out to Le Claire and small town on the Mississippi River not far from here.

We went through here last time but did not get a chance to look around.


First stop, Buffalo Bill Museum, which includes an old paddle steamer &Chris Craft boats.

Checking out the Mississippi which is running very high at the moment...........

Some neat shops down town - very boutique style.




















Halloween is coming.....................

And some neat old homes, now a boutique spa.

This is also the home of American Pickers and so we have to check this out......................

Some cool stuff to be found in these sheds, as seen on TV..................




Around 5pm, we head over to Dave & Mimi's for dinner with them.  Another great night, great food and great company.

And the boys had to have a little trip down memory lane as well with Dave squeezing into his original Moonshine Rod & Custom Club jacket.  

Daryl has one the same in his wardrobe!

Joliet, IL to Davenport, Iowa

Moving on to Davenport so we can catch up with David & Mimi again who have just come back from England.


The weather has turned overnight with more than a 20 degree drop from the 80's into the 60's and there is a definite chill in the air but not too bad.

The way is along the I80 in almost a straight line and we have done this previously.  At this time of year the crops are all being harvested and the equipment is huge.  Maize & Soya beans mostly.

We choose a camp and make sure it is not by the river as there is flooding up further in Iowa at the moment & the Mississippi runs right through here.  Later we pick up some goods at the supermarket and head over to David & Mimi's to enjoy a great night with them and their oldest son, Luke.

Joliet to Pontiac - Route 66 Day Trip

Today we are staying in Joliet and head off north to check out the route 66 Museum in Historic Joliet, which was closed last time.

Having done this - there wasn't much there after all that, we decide to head south down Route 66 as we have not previously done this part.



We turn around and head south past the drag strip and make our first stop at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery @ Elwood.  Here, we confirm that he is not buried there!

Next stop, Launching Pad Drive In in Wilmington, where we find the Gemini Giant.

Next stop, Polk-a-Dot Drive In in Braidwood.





We stop for a photo shoot and grab a bite to eat for lunch.

Elvis was also visiting the Polk-a-Dot Drive Inn.






Passing through several more small towns and make our next stop in Dwight, where locate The Country Mansion and the Dwight Windmill.

We make it to Odell to see the Standard oil Filling Station just as it starts to rain - we were waiting for this as bad weather forecast and toss ups if we should continue on to Pontiac or not.  Turns out to be only another 11 miles so we continue.
Kerry & Jimmy Keeys recommended Pontiac as a neat small town.


Luckily the rain stops just as we arrive in Pontiac - timing is everything.

Rather ornate court house.



We wandered around the town which has over 22 murals painted in a four block area and lots of these cute little cars.

More murals around the place - very well done.  Looks like I am leaning in the doorway but it is completely flat.  Daryl checked out he gas station.

Of course he couldn't resist checking under the car............................

Some great artwork around this town.








Next stop the local Museums.

Some cool memorabilia about and lots of old gas pumps.

Off to the next Museum, past the Court House and we find another Lincoln - bit younger than previous ones.

Of course, it was full of Pontiacs!

Oh well, can't help some things....

Some more art work and me trying to fit into a model car like Jimmy Keeys - don't know how he did it!!!


This one was for Paula - Leopard skin!

We decide it is time to head back to Joliet and start our trip returning through Route 66 to catch the couple of things we missed on the way down.




The Ambler-Becker Texaco Gas Station in Dwight.

Another mural in Wilmington.



Back to camp for a relaxing evening.  Tomorrow we move to Iowa to catch up with Dave & Mimi again.

Fort Wayne, IN to Joliet, IL

Up this morning, we go to see the lady at the camp to return a book and let her know we are moving on. 

They feed these guys here and a group of them were following me around looking for peanuts.



We wandered up behind the camp to find the grave site of Johnny Appleseed.

After finishing packing up our campsite (below) and hit the road for Joliet, just below Chicago.

The latest update of our visited States, we haven't done too bad!

More crops in the fields and barns to see along the way.



And they are gearing up for Halloween...........

We stop at Costco before making camp at the casino we stayed in back in 2014.  Not much has changed!