We hate to complain, but we've had some really hot weather here in Illinois. We've heard the weatherman saying that we're experiencing temperatures that are 15-20 degrees higher than they should be for this time of the year. So we're wearing shorts and short sleeves on this 80+ degree day for a bike ride. The trail started on a pleasant down-hill section, and we didn't break a sweat because we didn't have to pedal for the first mile. Even though that's fun for now, Denisa's mind is sweating that long up-hill section to get back to the car at the end of this bike ride.
Today we have made the 20-mile drive in the car to get to the nearby city of Decatur, Illinois. We keep giggling every time we say we're "in Decatur," because it sounds just like "indicator." We laugh out loud when we say things like, "This heat is an indicator that it's unseasonably warm in Decatur." (We're pretty sure that you're laughing too, right?!?) The falling leaves and changing color of the trees around us seem to be an indicator of fall.
We are riding the bike trail that starts at Rock Springs Conservation Area. It's a 7.5-mile trail to Fairview Park, and a lovely ride through the trees and beside the water.
Even though we were in Decatur, the deer along the trail was an indicator that we were in the country. We saw a little wildlife on our ride on the Fairview Trail.
It was a little warm, but the breeze from the bike ride kept it pleasant. Then we hit that last section, and it was up-hill the entire last mile. Now we're sweating!
Adjacent to the nature center is a historic old farmstead, where visitors are welcome to walk around the house and the garden. The fall garden crops are still producing.
That includes sweet peas, one of Denisa's very favorite crops.
Then we spotted this wispy crop in the corner. We recognized it as the same crop we had seen growing in large fields in Michigan. Just like then, we didn't know what this mystery crop could be.
So we were certainly glad that the gardeners here at the Rock Springs Nature Center left an identification marker. It was a whole field of asparagus that we had seen growing earlier!
The picture below is an indicator of what it is like driving in Decatur. This city has lots of railroad traffic and we drove under many overhead train crossings. It is a motor home driver's worst nightmare to see these low crossings. We must hurry to read the numbers indicating the height, and hope it's over the 13-foot height of our coach.
Sometimes it is not. This seems to be a bad indicator in Decatur. The sign below was particularly worrisome as we were in the motor home at the time, and this bridge would surely sheer off our air-conditioners. But if you have time to read the entire pole, that low clearance is actually on a road to our right, and we were going straight. Whew!
Our campground host had told us all about the Staley Company, a major manufacturer in town. All the smoke in the air is an indicator that this is a big employer in Decatur.
We also watched as more than a dozen big trucks were lined up to unload their corn. Even though the old-timers still call the company "Staley" it was actually bought out by another company years ago. They are one of the U.S.'s biggest producers of high fructose corn syrup. So that's where all that corn was going!
As we left town that evening, their company headquarters were just lighting up in shades of pink and purple as the sun was setting. The volunteer at the nature center had talked about this company too, including the very distinct smell that comes from cooking up so much corn. He described it as a burnt-french-fries-smell, and the wind can carry it many miles over central Illinois.
So as we left town, we purposefully drove north over the river bridge with our windows down. That warm south wind was carrying the mill smells north, and we both smelled it at the same time--burnt french fries.
So we have learned more things about life in Illinois today. We got some exercise biking in anticipation of consuming some of that high fructose corn syrup that is mass-produced here. But our favorite new piece of knowledge is that the smell of burnt french fries is an indicator of corn cooking in Decatur. (Doesn't that just make you want to giggle out loud?!)
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