May 30
I spent the day parked at Fred Helmuth’s place and went with Fred to Chesterville for breakfast. It was nice to meet a lot of the locals.

I then spent most of the day working on the rig, washing and cleaning, before working on my route further west up to MT and Mount Rushmore.

Fred organized a dinner at the Country Club with friends of ours from the area who I became friends with in Sarasota, Florida. Tomorrow is Fred’s birthday, so we sang and wished him a happy day! 

May 31

WE HIT 1,024 MILES TODAY SINCE STARTING IN GERMANTOWN, MD, ON MAY 10th! 

I was ready to take off and Fred came out to see me off.  As I was going north on  RT 136  through Chesterville, Fred and a group of guys were standing outside waving and wishing me well. The joke among my friends is; are they wishing me well or making sure I leave town? 

I headed west through Arthur, IL, and more friends, Ervin Kuhn and Floyd Miller were waiting along the road waving. We got some good laughs out of it.

Heading north up to Leroy, IL, the traffic was light and nice countryside to travel through. I saw my first farmer out with his corn planter ready to do some planting.
There are still a lot of empty fields not planted due to so much rain. 

I found a great campsite called Wildwood Campground and its very private and peaceful. Hopefully, it won’t live up to its name, and I will have some time to rest and think about my trip.