Another beautiful large lake and recreation area, Rend Lake is managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The corps has over 400 parks across the US but many don't have full hook ups. They are always by water and always beautiful so if we can stay at one we do.
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| park visitors center |
In Illinois this is how you enjoy the outdoors in summer;) Note the fan blowing on the very nice couple whose picture I took and note the distance of the fire. Must have air movement, must have fire for ambiance but definitely don't want to feel the heat!!
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| camping Illinois style:) |
17 miles of beautiful
bike trails
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| our camp area in the forest, we are on the left |
Southern Illinois is also wine country! Yay! There are several wineries in the area, beautiful places, and you don't have to pay an arm and a leg to taste wine. The most we have paid for a tasting is $3! No California wines here but definitely some very nice ones. Grapes in this area have names like Chambourcin, Norton, Traminette, just to name a few. You have to drive miles in-between wineries but the countryside is lovely!
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| Pheasant Hollow Winery |
Blue Sky also holds events,
a big place
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| thunderstorm moving in over this winery, we were hoping for some relief |
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| across from one winery was a bison farm! |
We returned home with
6 bottles of wine
some of which we had
to find space for under the bed:)
There are still a couple we
want to go back and visit:)
You sure are good at finding wineries wherever you go!
ReplyDeleteIt is one of the many fun "jobs" we have taken on since our retirement!:)
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