Tag: VRAIL

This stage marks an important milestone: after crossing over half of Illinois from west to east, this is the first time crossing an Interstate highway. I-55 runs from Chicago (just south of the city center) to I-10 west of New Orleans. Here, I’m crossing it just outside the city of Lincoln (more on this city later).

You’ll see on the map that today’s stage just stops short of Historic U.S. 66. Route 66 is probably the most famous U.S. Highway, formerly running from Chicago to L.A. before it was largely replaced by the U.S. Interstate system. This map actually shows quite well the multiple bypasses typical of even small towns along this route: the original city center, laid out along the railroad, was bypassed by the U.S. highway in the 1940s as long-distance road traffic began to increase in volume. Other land uses that require a lot of space and good access, such as the county fairgrounds, are often built along roads like these. Then in the 1950s/1960s, the Interstate was built at some greater distance from the city center, with a string of gas stations and fast-food restaurants connecting the exit to the built-up area. Lincoln has about 15,000 people, but it reflects the typical spatial development of a U.S. city along the interstate quite well.

Today, Route 66 survives as a unique kind of tourist destination: one you have to drive to experience. Historic gas stations and diners exist all along its length, deliberately drawing on a 1950s-era nostalgia that works well to attract older tourists and Europeans, but is maybe less attractive to younger travelers.

This stage was about three and a half miles, through the town of Greenview. I mentioned last time that the streets are named for the U.S. presidents, though not in order. It also appears that Adams is the main street, not Washington; I base this on the location of the village hall, as well as this beauty of a bank, built in 1908 and sadly empty:

So it’s been a while. I have been having calf pain ever since my last half marathon in November, off and on. In early July, I was running kind of gingerly, but I stepped up onto a curb as I was also kind of moving to the side, and my calf went, “OWWWWW!” I rested, iced, stretched, and slowly started running again, but it kept hurting. Finally went to the sports clinic in town and was diagnosed as having a knot in my calf. That was it. Had some massage therapy in August, and I am finally back on track. It feels SO GOOD to be running again, even if it’s for short distances. I wasn’t keeping track in here because running was making me miserable, but now that things appear to be better, it’s time to catch up!

Stage 23 was almost to the little city of Greenview, climbing the arduous hill from the Sangamon River crossing, from about 516 feet above sea level to 541. Phew!

Greenview has an interesting set of street names: the Presidents out of order, with Douglas and Lincoln tucked in at the bottom. Interestingly, Adams and not Washington (the one between Jefferson and Adams) appears to be the main street…but more on that next time.

This stage brings me up to 98.85 miles; almost a hundred miles under my belt this summer!

Today’s four miles involve the most serious altitude increase so far: 100 feet over 4 miles. (I know, right?) The topographic map below shows another kind of evidence for the unnatural form of the Sangamon River in the northwest corner: the county border between Menard and Mason Counties follows the original course of the Sangamon before it was channelized.

The town of Oakford with population 300 is on the Illinois & Midland Railroad, which carried coal from the southern Illinois coal fields to the Illinois River to be shipped by barge to coal-fired power plants around Chicago. Based on the pics below, they prefer simple names for their commercial establishments in Oakford. Also, I love the tiny false front on the Oakwood post office.

Combining stages again, one of 5K and one of 10K, since the scenery doesn’t change much along the way! These stages are along the very edge of the Sangamon River Valley, pretty clearly delineated in the terrain. Given the width of the floodplain, do you see anything…unusual about the Sangamon River?

In a previous post, I talked about all of the drainage that had to be done to get this part of the state ready for agriculture, via tiles beneath the surface that direct water into ditches and rivers. As we can see from the Sangamon, even the rivers themselves were sometimes heavily modified to maximize the agricultural land available–and to make the rivers navigable. No other than Abe Lincoln (he had to appear at some point, this is central Illinois!) had a history of difficulties getting up and down the Sangamon from the state capital of Springfield to the Illinois River and parts south. In fact, he advocated channelizing the river to make it easier for boats to use (though that didn’t happen until 1949), and he even invented an inflatable device to help ships get unstuck from sand bars, based on his experience traveling on the Sangamon. More details can be found here.