The weather finally broke for me. Nearly perfect temperatures in
the 70’s during the day and 50’s at night. I settled in for a couple of
days at the Oak Point Campground, which I used as a base to explore
other areas and for its own sake.
The campground sites were well-spaced. The cost was $20/night
including electric, dump station, on-site water, and no artificial light
at night. There is a trail leading around Glendale Lake, which Callie
and I both enjoyed. Hot showers were available, and firewood was cheap.
I’ve always been hard on Illinois. Part of it goes back to the
Packers-Bears rivalry, which interests me much less than it did at one
time. Part of it is the ugliness of the Illinois interstates and much
of the Chicago area. After spending a couple of days in the Shawnee
National Forest, I began to really enjoy myself and the terrain. It
wouldn’t be the worst place to live—Southern Illinois.
People
may not know that orange trees grow here, kinda sorta. This is the
only place where I’ve seen Osage oranges–also known as the hedge apple.
These
fruits are literally as big as softballs. Osage oranges are not fit
for human consumption, although they aren’t really poisonous either.
Fortunately,
they grow on short thorny trees that don’t grow above trailers like
hickory trees do. The firewood is incredibly full of BTU’s–even more
than oak or hickory. Great for wood stoves, if you could split the
wood.
Besides reforming my views about Illinois, I’ve always been working
to reform my diet. Julia has gone all in on eating almost entirely
vegetables with very little red meat. I haven’t gone that far, but I am
limiting my red meat intake by eating smaller portions and less often.
Here’s my take on a healthier diet:
You’ll
notice that the vegetables outnumber the small steak, and some of the
vegetables have green elements. Specifically, the jalepeno peppers.
The rest is onion and potato. This reformed diet thing is a work in
progress.
