Smith Reunion – Liberty, IL

Wednesday, July 25:

Tomorrow, Nancy and I are headed out to Siloam Springs State Park near Quincy, IL (west of Springfield, IL and north of St. Louis, MO).

We’re attending an annual family reunion in Liberty, IL and we like to take the RV and park nestled amongst the tall pines of Siloam Springs.

Thursday, July 26th:

The trip from Marengo to Siloam Springs State Park was uneventful. We route we took was not the one we normally do. This route was a bit more scenic. It rained much of the way. Then we hit some back roads as we neared our destination that had just been re-graveled. Which means a nice layer of tar underneath. We’ve got a lot of nice tar spots on the truck and trailer now and boy were they both dusty.

Upon arrival at the park, we filled out fresh water tank. There was a long hose with a sprayer on the potable water faucet so after I filled the tank, I used that hose to hose all the white dust from the fresh gravel, off the truck and trailer.

The camp site we used last year was already taken so we took the one next to it. Just as scenic but a bit shorter. And the angle into the site was not as good.

I took a bike ride through the campground and found a few camp sites whose last campers were nice enough to leave us some firewood. Perfect! Brought the truck back through later and did the firewood harvest thing. They’re some huge chunks though. 8 to 12 inch diameter pieces. Hope I can start a fire with them. If not, I’ll leave them here for the next camper.

It was hot, muggy and buggy out so we decided to watch a movie in the trailer with the A/C on. We watched Capote. Good movie.

Friday, July 27th:

Nothing really planned for today until this evening. After breakfast, we took the girls for a walk, then we took a short bike ride. We then saddled up and took the beast into Liberty for some diesel, then on to Quincy for a little shopping.

We had a taste for Maid Rites so we did a “phone a friend” and found “the place” to go. Maid Rites on 12th at Broadway. Oh man – yumo!

No trip to Quincy is complete without a stop at Deter’s for ice cream. Deter’s changed hands since last year and has a new name now. Still the same ice cream though and Nancy’s cousins still work there. Dogs loved their kiddy cup of vanilla too!

Got groceries at the SuperWalmart and we were back to Siloam Springs.

At dinner time, we met up with the rest of the Smith reunion clan in Quincy at Gem City, a local restaurant. Each year, before the reunion, we meet here for dinner. It’s a good time to get caught up with some of the relatives.