212 miles via I-74 and I-39. Cumulative tow miles: 2079. Truck miles: 260. Cumulative truck miles: 2823. The extra truck miles were due to refueling and dinner out.
This was another easy hop, with no problems with the rig. In fact, the mileage was suprisingly high: almost 9 mpg. There was a little rain, but just sprinkles. The odd thing is that the RV GPS, despite being set to “avoid tollways,” routed me on the toll road through Rockford IL. I can’t get too upset about that as it was a small segment. I have no idea what the toll was, but I will probably find out eventually. In any case, that GPS failure made for a fast trip: almost exactly 3 hours.
I was surprised that I did not recognize I-39/I-90 as it approached Madison from the south. I have traveled this road dozens of times, but it seems to have been completely rebuilt since my last visit. It is a beautiful road, both in terms of the countryside and the roadway itself. Wisconsin has put a lot of effort into beautifying this road (and, as I was to discover later, all major roads around Madison). The signage is on pillars of faux stone rather than metal trusses and the bridges all have the same stone motif. As do the sound barriers. I think this is the most beautifully engineered road that I have seen in America. Kudos, Wisconsin!
My one night in Carlock was at Kamp Komfort, a very nice park with lots of pull-through sites. A good overnight stop. It is next to a railroad track, but no trains went through at night, so that wasn’t a real problem. I mentioned the horrible cowpath that I took to get there, so if you use this RV park, approach from the south!
I had to travel 10 miles to fill up at a reasonable price but it was worth it – $3.09 per gallon in Bloomington rather than $3.35 in Carlock. I also dined out at the Busy Corner in Goodfield IL. This was on the recommendation of my dear Florida neighbors (thanks, Mark and Pat!) and it turned out to be every bit as good as they said. I had the fried chicken plate (two pieces of very fresh and perfectly cooked chicken), hash browns (maybe the best I have ever tasted) and a salad, plus a piece of rhubarb strawberry pie (the strawberry was more a mousse than pieces of strawberries but very tasty). Even with a nice tip this very satisfying comfort food meal was under $20.