US 6: Trip 5: Day 27 (Starved Rock State Park & Davenport)

It's a little late and I have a bunch of pictures, so I'm going to keep it a bit more brief and just upload the pictures.

The rain was mostly minor throughout the day. When I crossed to Iowa though, it started pouring and it has yet to stop. I'm glad I'm not camping. I'm actually in a little, cheap motel in Wilton, Iowa, on the old (but not current) US 6. Camping will be tomorrow.

House being built in Channahon, IL


	Bridge over canal in Marseilles, IL Viewed from Illini State Park	Marseilles Lock & Dam on Illinois River


Illinois River in Marseilles, IL	Illinois River in Marseilles, IL	Abandoned factory in Marseilles, IL

I hit lunchtime in Ottawa, which is one of the larger towns along US 6 in Illinois west of Chicago. The downtown area had a square with a beautiful fountain, topped with a statue of Lincoln and Douglas. I guess this was the site of one of the famous Lincoln/Douglas debates during that senate campaign in 1858. The town makes quite a big deal out of it, as evidenced by this park. There's also a building a block away, with a large sign indicating that Lincoln had slept there.


Ottawa's Lincoln/Douglas park	Downtown Ottawa, IL

I ate at the Bee Hive, a small Greek diner in Downtown Ottawa. The early lunch crowd was mostly families, with a couple of other tables with just men alone. I sat at the counter. The server seemed overly smiley and the cook behind the counter, who may have been the owner, kept looking at me. I wondered if this was the sort of place where everyone knew everyone, and no one from outside the small town came in.
These Greek diners are everywhere in the Midwest. The food is typically good, quick and exceptionally cheap. They have light Greek food, like gyros and Greek salads, but also diner standards, like burgers, patty melts and chili. This was really cheap. I had a "Denver sandwich," which is just a Denver omelette between two pieces of toast, that came with pickle chips and potato chips, and cost $6 with tax.
As I left Ottawa to move on to Starved Rock State Park, I saw more people coming out, perhaps on their way out from church, or perhaps just waking up. I don't usually see that many people walking around in a small town like Ottawa, so that was really nice to see. Quite a few people had gathered at the little movie theater, but others were going in and out of shops.
There was what looked like a really nice coffee shop, Jeremiah Joe. It had a really large space, and was open on Sunday at noon, which is a huge plus to me. I didn't need any coffee though, so I didn't stop in.


A mural: "Ottawa celebrates the 1950's; a great decade" There are 0 non-white people in the mural	LaSalle County Courthouse in Ottawa, IL

Starved Rock State Park:

If you look closely, there's an eagle at the top of the tree on the right side of the island. It sat atop the tree while it's baby flew up and down, up and down, practicing flying. Baby eagles are black until they're about 3 months old.
Eagles nest (the nest is not seen here, but is on the left side of the island) here rarely, it seems, though there are hundreds of them in January, when they come to fish. The dam just upstream means that the river does not freeze in this immediate area, leaving a good supply of fish in the otherwise scarce month.

Wildflower tour: