Spring Fling 2026 - Day 9: Laurel Branch COE Camping

A short drive today, only 242 miles.  We got out of Illinois first before tanking up the VRRV and saved .76 cents/gallon for 87 Octane gasoline by buying it in Indiana!

The last 22 miles or so were on a series of narrow two lane county roads, and we got to the campground with no issues except some slight wandering around due to minimal signage.

We're in the Laurel Branch area of the Rough River Recreation Area run by the COE: Corps of Engineers.

Our site isn't waterside but just a very short walk away:

Unlike other COE sites, this is a river, not a reservoir created by a dam managed by the Corps of Engineers.  Still, pretty nice so far.  It helps that we're in a warming trend finally in the next couple of days should be nice and warm. 

While walking around checking out the area I found the Rim Rock trail, The trail header which is located really close to our campsite. 

It's just a small loop but I could not find some of it so I ended up returning the same way I went in. 

Yep, some shitbird defaced the sign but you get the idea:

Nearby the signs and directly overhead, were some colorful rocks basking in the sun-dappled shade:

We rested the rest of the afternoon away, some tourist destinations planned for tomorrow so stay tuned.

Deployed the gazebo and the RV awning to let them dry out from Tuesday's rain.

Spring Fling 2026 - Days 7&8: Rain and Chores

Tuesday, May 5

We spent the day inside the VRRV, it rained on and off most of the day and night.  I think the high temperature was 52°F.  We did get some camping logistical planning down and we have a plan for campsites and visits with friends for the rest of the month.

Wednesday, May 6

Rains tapered off towards dawn and we finally saw the sun in the late morning.  Today we drove the CR-V into the town of Centralia, IL for chores.

Laundry got done, just a small load.

Groceries were procured, just a few items.

A different doorknob was bought at the local Ace Hardware, to make it easier to open the bathroom door in the VRRV.  The common style round doorknob was proving hard to turn from the inside and in my case my knuckles would sometimes hit the door trim, painful.

Now it's a push down lever handle on both sides, much more ergonomic.  I had to do a little trimming of the existing hole in the door to accommodate the slightly larger mechanism but it worked out.

This was the sunset we got today, our last day here at the Coles Creek COE campground.

Tomorrow, we head into Kentucky!

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 6: Churchill Museum

We are now in Illinois after driving 320 mi from the Kansas City, Mo area.

Along the way we took a slight detour to the small college town of Fulton, Illinois.  British prime minister Winston Churchill made a famous speech here on March 5, 1946, a speech where the phrase: "An Iron Curtain has descended across the continent" effectively marked the startup the Cold War.

Westminster College had invited Churchill to speak there, and when President Truman endorsed the idea, the former prime minister accepted.  Truman would accompany Churchill to the event.

The church at Westminster College is the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, a 17th-century London church designed by Sir Christopher Wren. It was dismantled stone-by-stone, shipped across the Atlantic, and reassembled in Fulton, Missouri, to serve as a memorial to Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech.

The museum is located below the church: 

Martha and I toured the exhibits which were laid out chronologically ending with the speech event in 1946. The life of Churchill was covered pretty well I thought and I learned a few things that I had not known from my previous readings about him and World War II. 

These are the things that caught my eye or that I learned, there was of course a lot more information in history about the quite accomplished life of  Winston Churchill!

This is how Churchill became a known public figure:

Sir Winston Churchill was a direct descendant and the grandson of the 7th Duke of Marlborough, John Spencer-Churchill. He was born at the family's ancestral home, Blenheim Palace, in 1874.

Martha got a chance to pose at Sir Winston Churchill's desk: 

We also visited the church, which is accessible via a set of winding stairs from the museum:

Info on the church and it's rebirth in Fulton, MO:

I found this graphic interesting, it shows London in 1945 depicting all the bomb damage suffered by the city during the war. If you look for the soul spot of color you can see where the church was located back then.

Outside the church, there are five pieces of the Berlin Wall that were shipped to Fulton for the museum:

After we left Fulton, it was about 2 and 1/2 hours and we crossed into Illinois and I now camping for a couple of days or so at a US Army Corps of Engineers campground near Carlyle, Illinois.

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 5: A Truman Kind of Day

President Harry S. Truman, 33rd president of the USA came onto his post with FDR's death during that president's unprecedented 4th term in office.

Kept out of the loop mostly by FDR while the vice-president, Truman had the job of president land on him suddenly and he soldiered through to successfully prove his critics wrong.  

Martha and I visited his home in Independence, MO first.  Don't find out as we did though, you have to buy the tickets for the tour, which run on a scheduled basis, five blocks away in the visitor center.  So, we got our steps in today shall we say. 

Anyways, a short 10 block walk later, we joined a tour of a people led by a tour guide from the US Park Service.  Sorry, no pics of the inside as they were not permitted and the guide made sure that we kept to the specific carpeted path and touched nothing while inside the house. 

Here's some views of the outside:

Across the street from the Truman Home, is the Noland house, which used to house relatives of the Truman family. It is now owned by the National Park service and contain some more exhibits and you could take pictures inside. 

Since I know little about Medicare and its history, I was surprised to find out that Truman had worked on its creation but had not gotten it made into law before he left the presidency. President Johnson, who did sign the Medicare legislation issued the first two cards to the Harry and Beth Truman.

A young version of Truman and his future wife:

We then went to lunch at a local burger joint, nothing significant to report of that place, just a place to fill one stomach while waiting for the presidential library to open up at noon.

The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library had its interesting points but it wasn't as impressive to me as the World War I museum had been.  It is well laid out and plenty of history to read and view especially if you are a fan of Truman's presidency or his history. 

The museum was also hosting a special America 250 Year exhibit, with the basement level of the library showcasing photographs and descriptions of American events throughout its history. 

A pretty nice mural depicting themes of the westward migration of Americans

Vehicles owned by Truman, from a horse drawn buggy to automobiles

The president and the first lady are buried on site at the library, in the courtyard. 

A replica of the Truman oval office: 

The saying that Truman is famous for: 

Martha at the current main entrance to the presidential library. 

We think this used to be the main entrance to the presidential library before they expanded it. 

Artwork showing President Truman's house: 

The back of the above heart shaped artwork shows the three main migration routes taken by settlers as they move towards the west coast. 

We were quite done with touring by 1:30 PM so we headed back to camp.  We leave tomorrow for Illinois, stay tuned. 

I did go for about a 15 mi ride with Yagi but the plethora of forest around the area precluded much in the way of scenery.  Here are views of the dam that forms Blue Springs Lake.

Oh, and we had a visit from one of the locals at our campsite: