Land of Lincoln

Sharing our campsite for breakfast.

 

After being awake most of the night worrying about the truck and whether we were going to be stranded somewhere mid-trip, it was a slow, groggy morning.  We were still on the road by 0800, so I guess we didn’t do too bad.  I was anxious to get somewhere to find oil, and purchased a quart when we reached the interstate.  I put most of the quart in the engine, and checked the level again so I would have a reference point for checking it again later.  We both had frayed nerves, and driving in rain again until after noon didn’t help.

 

We pushed to make 414.1 miles over 12 hours, which put us in Illinois.  Our stop for the night was Fox Ridge State Park, between I-70 and Charleston, IL, which put us ten miles off our route.  On the way to the park, we passed the site of the Lincoln log cabin.  It was then 8 p.m., so the historic site was closed for the day.  By this time in his life, Lincoln was an established attorney living in Springfield, but he visited his father and step-mother, Thomas and Sarah Lincoln, here as frequently as able.  The Reuben Moore home, also preserved, and located a mile north of the Lincoln farm, is where Lincoln had dinner with his family in 1861, and said goodbye before traveling east to assume the presidency.  Thomas and Sarah are buried at Shiloh Cemetery a mile west of their farm.  More information on this historic site may be found at: http://www.lincolnlogcabin.org/index.html

 

The day ended with a sigh of relief.  The engine oil level had not changed during 12 hours of running and pulling a load, so I poured the rest of the quart in to bring the dip stick up to the full mark.  Whether the worker servicing the engine was simply not paying attention to what he was doing, or the dealership was trying to maximize their profit margin, we had just been shorted a quart of oil.  The good news was that the engine appeared to be fine.