POST 1142; JUNE 20, 2013; OREGON, ILLINOIS

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...and another beautiful sunrise in DeKalb as I prepare SAM for our departure from Rita's home...leaft exactly at 7:00 am, following Malta Road West to the village of MALTA, Illinois...5 miles distant from DeKalb.

Soy Bean Field...plants are only a couple inches high...

Corn, on the other hand, stands somewhat over 2 feet high...and looks great.

Old Silos on Reid Farms...

SAM arrives in the town of MALTA, ILLINOIS.

Panorama...looking Southwest toward the Mississippi River beyond the distant hills...about 90 miles distant.

Malta Road.   Here we turn North about 5 miles, intercepting Illinois 38...which takes SAM and ME West again to the large town of ROCHELLE, ILLINOIS.

Large Grain Storage operation.

Railroad Tracks...much used mail line with trains passing by about every 30 minutes.

Please say HELLO to (Mother and Son) EMILY and GRANT. 

Instead of taking the more direct Illinois 64 out of DeKalb, we opted to walk and roll the "back roads" which featured more Convenience Stores than offered by IL 64.  This added about 10 miles to our walk, but kept ME in good shape.

Last night, Rita put our water bottles in her freezer...another test to see how long we could keep ICE hard. 

Illinois 38.

Please say HELLO to SHARON...manning the Convenience Store "CASEYS" in the town of CRESTON, ILLINOIS.

Please say HELLO to MARY and TESSA...who made up a breakfast sandwich for me in the MALTA "SUBWAY".

Please say HELLO to EMILY...Reporter for the ROCHELLE NEWS LEADER. 

Emily interviewed ME on the roadside of Illinoil 38...traffic whizzing past only inches away...for nearly one hour.  We agreed to try to meet in OREGON, Illinois (Emily's home) for dinner...alas...see below.

Interstate 39...just outside the city of Rochelle, Illinois.

Please say HELLO to JENNIFER (Barrister in the Tavern of the whistle-stop village of KINGS, ILLINOIS) ... and JOHN...like me, a customer who stopped in for a cold one.

Illinois 64...unusual in that no traffic is whizzing past.

Please say HELLO to ANNETTE, of BYRON, ILLINOIS.

Annette stopped on Il 64...where she gifted me some $$..., a cold drink...and a package of chips...not to mention a few rather intimate hugs as she attempted to take a self-photo of we two.  I got several nice pics of us, but Annette...not happy with her first few, insisted we keep trying...

OK by me !

ROCK RIVER...in OREGON, ILLINOIS.

Leaving DeKalb, I calculated it would take 9 - 10 hours for SAM and ME to reach OREGON, ILLINOIS.  With the many halts to chat with all the above new friends, we actually walked into Oregon, Illinois at 8:15 pm...a full 13 hours walking and rolling under bright sunny skies with temperature pushing the high 90s.  As we checked into our B&B for the night, it was fully dark.

I telephoned Emily a couple times as we closed in on Oregon, Illinois...to let her know we were still not yet in town...i.e., our dinner date simply did not happen.

TEE PEE and MURAL alongside the roadway bridge over the - very wide and turbulent ROCK RIVER -

Cost for the B&B was $82.00 - including breakfast, which will be served in 30 minutes from NOW...as it is now 7:00 am, on the longest day of daylight (June 21, 2013).

My feet suffered on yesterday's walk.  Covering nearly 40 miles after not walking for nearly one week (our time in DeKalb), is not too cool.  It normally takes a week or more to work up to 40 miles after a few day's stand-down.

I messaged my feet for 30 minutes each before listening to the pillows...but, they are both still quite sore as I stop to post this update.

Our goal today is to reach the large town of SAVANNAH, ILLINOIS, sitting aside the massive MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

Tomorrow, we should cross the Mississippi River, walking North on the State of IOWA side North to DEBUQUE, IOWA.

Upon unloading SAM for the night, our ICE bottles, after 14 hours walking under intense Sun, were still frozen nearly solid.  We are nearing a solution for keeping water ice cold while crossing the vastness of North Dakota and Montana...coming up in a week or three.