TandemFamily: Illinois to Nauvoo
20 October 2019, Sunday
Start: Illini State Park, IL End: Starved Rock State Park, IL
Miles: 20
Everyone was very helpful this morning getting packed up and on the road. We had a no-cook breakfast of yogurt, hardboiled eggs and cold cereal and were on the road by 7:45am to attend 9:30 church. As usual, church was a delight. The ward only has two young men, so Hunter and Taylor helped with the sacrament. One member told us that they biked to Nauvoo as a ward 15 years ago, that sounds like a fun ward to be part of!
The big event of the day happened on our ride after church: the odometer rolled past 1000 miles! I know it’s not far compared to most touring cyclists, but it is a major milestone for us. If I want to compare us to others I can say that it’s really 8000 miles because we have 8 people together. That sounds more impressive!
We rode to Starve Rock State Park and camped in a gorgeous site set in the blazing autumn leaves. It is a beautiful time to be traveling through this area. We celebrated 1000 miles by baking brownies inside orange peels in the fire. It worked out OK, I’m sure we’ll do better next time. As we sat around the fire Greg asked if we could have a 1000 mile talent show, of which he was the emcee. He opened the concert by strumming a few chords on the uke then passed it to others and said “Next we’ll hear from …” It was adorable.
21 October 2019, Monday
Layover day
Miles: 7
We expected about 1/2 “ of rain overnight, so last night we set up our MSR Zing tarp to shelter the tents and the kitchen. We thought we were very clever in positioning the tents so that one door was under the tarp and we could leave the fly open on that side. It probably would have worked well if the rain that came were not driven by 25 mph winds. None the less we stayed pretty dry, but everyone spent the morning inside our tents doing school work and playing cards.
The sky cleared in the afternoon so the boys went to the playground for an hour, then we rode over to the trailhead for a hike. We hiked down into St. Louis Canyon, the leaves and the waterfalls were magnificent. Sara said “I think autumn is now my favorite season of the year!” This area is breathtakingly colorful right now, and the precipitous cliffs dropping a hundred feet to the valley below are magnificent.
It is tremendously windy this evening. We’re fairly protected by the trees in our campsite, but I’m a little nervous about trees falling. We’ve heard a few trees on the ridge opposite our camp crashing down, so I studied all the trees around us. They seem pretty sturdy, I trust the Lord will protect us.
Here are some thoughts I’ve had lately:
Racoon vs Pannier: We have been warned there are meddlesome raccoons in this area. Last night Colleen and I were standing beside the fire warming ourselves after we got the kids in bed, cleaned up the kitchen supplies and closed the panniers tight, when a fat raccoon boldly ambled into camp. He sniffed around and wrestled with the panniers for a moment before deciding he had been outsmarted. He then proceeded in a circle around the edge of camp, ultimately ending at the fire pit. He sniffed his way to within four inches of Colleens foot when I finally moved and startled him away. I don’t know how Colleen could stand so still with him that close! Just like we were warned that there are troublesome raccoons looking to create mischief, we have also been warned about attacks of a spiritual nature. The world is in commotion and the evil one is lurking in the shadows, waiting for us to relax our guard. There are “spiritual crocodiles” waiting to “mutilate your souls” and “destroy your peace of mind.” (Boyd K. Packer)
Armor of God: We have successfully traveled 1000 miles without a single flat tire. I attribute that to the fact that we have incredibly well-armored tires. They have special layers of protection to shield the delicate innertube from the miles of glass, thorns and shrapnel we’ve traversed. Just like those tires, we can also protect our spirits by putting on the Armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18). The layers of truth, peace, righteousness and faith will help us “stand against the wiles of the devil.”
Scripture Study: The wireless computers on our bikes have proven to be completely unreliable. The connection between the wheel sensor and the wireless computer is and intermittent, and we can not rely on them to give us the guidance we need when we need it most. The spirit of the Lord can work much the same way. If we are inconsistent in our spiritual connection to the Savior, we can not rely on the Holy Ghost to give us the guidance we need in the moment of greatest need. “If we would avoid adopting the evils of the world we must pursue a course which will daily feed our minds with and call them back to the things of the Spirit. I know of no better way to do this than by daily reading the Book of Mormon.” Marion G. Romney
Service: We love staying with Warmshowers hosts. They have all been so kind and generous towards us, and they seem to take great joy in serving us. Thomas S. Monson said “…unless we lose ourselves in service to others there is little purpose in our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish – and in effect save their lives.” (referencing Matt. 10:39)
22 October 2019, Tuesday
Start: Starved Rock State Park, IL End: Hennepin Canal Lock 9, IL
Miles: 35.5 (?)
This morning we had a bit of rain and tremendous wind. It was windy all night and I was concerned a tree might fall on us, but the Lord protected us. We did have visits from racoons right outside our tent several times during the night. They are bold little creatures. I had a phone meeting for an hour, so we got on the road around 10:15am. The wind was tremendous and quite chilly. Because everyone was cold and tired we stopped at Mikey’s Massive Burrito’s for lunch. True to their name, they serve massive burritos and we pounded them down. While we were there another cyclist stopped in because he saw our bikes parked out front. He is heading form Washington DC to Seattle. He was fun to visit with and was very excited about both of our trips. He was frustrated by the wind and was stopping for the day even though it was only lunch time.
After lunch we fought our way West on streets and highways for about 15 miles. When we were in the trees the wind wasn’t too bad, but out in the open of the corn fields it was ferocious (25+ mph) and we moved at about 6mph most of the way. Eventually we reached the Hennepin Canal Trail. The canal systems that were built in the 1800’s amaze me. I had no idea how extensive they were and how they fueled development and trade until they were replaced by railroads and highways.
Right where we got on the Hennepin there was a trail closed sign, but we ignored it and proceeded onto the trail anyway. After a while we came to a spot where the trail was washed out but easily bypassed, and another where we were able to walk our bikes across the breach. The canal has water in it, but the locks have been cemented into waterfalls, so it is more scenic than the I & M Canal we had been on; it was mostly a boggy swamp that we rode beside.
The campground that I had seen listed on Google Maps turned out not to exist, so we set up camp cold and exhausted on the grass on the side of the canal. We built a fire and had a quick dinner then climbed into the shelter of our tents to get away from the wind. It was a challenging day and all the kids did very well.
23 October 2019, Wednesday
Start: Hennepin Canal Lock 9 End: Geneseo Camp Ground, IL
Miles: 42
Again we had a bit of rain while packing up this morning. We were also low on water because we had expected to be at a campground but were primitive camping instead. We could have filtered water out of the canal, but it was a dark tea color, I suppose because of all the leaves falling in the canal right now. We also didn’t have any food for lunch or dinner, just trail snacks. We considered detouring to a grocery store but ultimately decided to just push forward eating our snacks for lunch and get a big dinner when we got to the campground.
The wind was mild most of the day, and it was humid, cool and overcast. When I was working hard on the bike I felt hot and sweaty, but if I stopped even for a moment I felt cold and clammy. Eventually in the afternoon we had a few patches of sunshine. We rode along the canal all day and it was beautiful. The fall colors are putting on a spectacular show now and we are fortunate to be able to enjoy their beauty each day. Today we saw a water-snake, a bald eagle and a bunch of turtles and a racoon.
Tonight we are staying in a Yurt at the Geneseo campground. The campground owners are so wonderfully kind and enamored with our trip. At 8pm they invited all interested campers into the store for some entertainment. They (husband and wife) are both talented musicians and we spent the next two hours listening to them play, and each of the kids played something either on the ukulele or the piano. They played the banjo, ukulele, guitar, mandolin, and hammer dulcimer. We got to play the dulcimer, an instrument I have always loved the sound of. After playing it for a bit we all loved it and want to add that to our list of talents to develop.
3 November 2019 Sunday
This morning when I woke up I laid in bed thinking, and my mind wandered to the story of the stagecoach drivers arguing to see who could drive closest to the edge of the cliff without falling off, with the moral of the story being that you should stay far away from the cliff. It occurred to me that in real life there is not a “cliff” in the real world. Instead it is a rounded slope that gets progressively steeper. It’s not a hard, fast line of right and wrong, it’s a progressive removal from Christ-like behavior. For example, where is it acceptable for a young man to touch a young woman? The hand, arm, shoulder, back, stomach,… It’s not a sudden change from safe to dangerous, it is a gradual slope that ends in a cliff. We may stray from the safe, flat portion of the path without thinking much of it. We may even be able to run along on the steeper slopes for a time. But without warning we may encounter slippery mud and suddenly the slope that we could handle before becomes unexpectedly slippery and we slide off the edge.
This applies to all of the commandments. Chastity, sabbath observance, physical substances, care for our bodies.
Similar to mountaineering, if we are on a slippery slope we have tools to protect us. If we fall and start careening toward a cliff we can self-arrest with our ice axe, and we should be tethered on belay with righteous people who can help us, and our feet shod with crampons of (righteousness?). We can stay clipped in to the fixed line of the gospel to keep us safe.
Today Hunter and I attended the Banff Branch for church. It was very nice, but I was surprised how little reception I felt from the members. When I walked into the building one person said “Hi, are you visiting?” to which my reply of “yes” was met with silence. I sat in the middle of the chapel, and Hunter joined me during the opening hymn. They welcomed visitors over the pulpit, but throughout both sacrament meeting and Sunday school not a single person said a word to me. After the meeting the woman sitting next to me said “Have I seen you here before?” and after I replied that I was visiting she simply said “welcome!”
No one was ever rude or unkind, but I was surprised at how un-noticed I felt. If I were someone interested in learning more about the gospel I would have felt very awkward and I probably wouldn’t have come back. How many times have others come to my ward and received the same reception from me?
Sunday night was film festival awards and after-party. It was a serious party with lots of booze and dancing. I hung around for a few minutes to socialize, but the music was so loud it was hard to talk so I went back to my room and went to bed. I had a slumber party instead of a drunken party.
4 November 2019 Monday
Hunter and I wrapped up our experience in Banff today. It has been a great learning opportunity, and I’m interested to see where we both go with it. Film making is something I’m interested in but I doubt I’ll pursue it further than a single film documenting our sabbatical. That has been a long-time goal, but I don’t think I have the passion for film required to make a career of it. Hunter, on the other hand, may thrive in such an environment; only time will tell.
Today Colleen and the kids biked the remaining distance into Nauvoo and rented a house from a member. We had a long phone conference discussing weather and bike plans. To get from Nauvoo to Independence will take us 10 days of travel, so with rest days we need 2.5 weeks to get there. Based on their rides without us last week, Colleen decided last week that the stoker on the bikes can not reasonably stay warm below 43 degrees. Which is a problem because the weather forecast predicts one day above freezing in the next ten days. A major cold front has settled on the Midwest and doesn’t seem to want to leave, causing unseasonably cold temperatures that we can not handle on the bikes. To complicate matters further, all the campgrounds are closed because of the early cold, which changes our route options significantly.
So we decided that we’ll go get the van and finish our Church History route in a heated vehicle, then relocate to somewhere warm for the winter!
5 November 2019 Tuesday
The family spent the day exploring Nauvoo, and Hunter and I flew from Banff to Moline IL then rented a car and drove to Nauvoo, arriving at midnight.
6 November 2019 Wednesday
Today Colleen and I drove the rental car five hours to Joy’s house in Springfield MO, picked up the van and drove back to Nauvoo. While we were away the kids had fun visiting more historic sites in Nauvoo.
7 November 2019 Thursday
We spent time as a family exploring Nauvoo, then the teenagers went to the Nauvoo Temple and did baptisms. The had a great experience and enjoyed the beauty of the temple. It was a cold and windy day so we spent the rest of the day hiding in our house.
8 November 2019 Friday
Start: Nauvoo, IL End: Memphis MO
The weather was a little warmer (and much less windy) so we went to Carthage Jail in the morning. It was powerful to stand where Joseph and Hyrum stood when they were killed. In the past three months we have stood in attics where angels appeared, mourned in the room where heroes and prophets were killed, touched the pulpit where patriarchs restored keys, and pondered in the forest where Heavenly Father introduced his Son to a farm boy.
I am thankful for the generations that have preserved and restored these sacred sites and for the historians and missionaries that have taught us so much. The Lord truly loves us, and his church truly has been restored to bless us today.
After Carthage we went back to Nauvoo and saw the last of the sites we missed there and Colleen and I went to the temple. After that we started driving west and the temperature dropped again. We stayed at a hotel in Memphis MO. Even if we wanted to camp in the cold, all the campgrounds are closed!