On to Kankakee

Petoskey and Harbor Springs were in our rear view mirrors. We were moving on to the Kankakee South KOA where we meet the Adventure Caravan Rt 66 tour. To be honest, neither of us was really excited about the trip. The cost of fuel certainly paints a pall over the trip along Rt 66. 

We experienced light rain most of the way through the Michigan "mitten", and when the rain stopped, near the coast of Lake Michigan, the fog moved in! Traffic grew progressively heavier as we neared Chicago, but there were few delays. 

Near Grandville, MI I spotted this huge building along the Interstate Wow....was it a northern version of Disney Land?! 

Not Disney, but the Grand Castle Apartments. This 15-story building was designed to emulate Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle. Having seen the castle at Neuschwanstein, I feel that Germans might take offense at the suggestions that this monstrous building, housing over 500 apartments, is any comparison to the beauty and majesty of the original. 

Neuschwanstein Castle

The next awe-some view was this "canyon" near Thornton, Illinois. I read that this is often called the "Grand Canyon of the Midwest" The landform is not natural. It is the Thornton limestone quarry.  The highway crosses the 1/2 mile wide quarry on a land bridge, created when limestone was quarried on either side of the road. 

We made it to the Kankakee KOA in the afternoon, having driven 399 miles. Luckily, the additional hour we gained by crossing into CDT was welcome. We pulled into the campground and discovered that we had a "Paw Pen" site....the girls aren't so sure that they like their private yard! 

But, they adore the attention they get when we walk around the grounds. They were practically 'mugged' by eight kids on one of our circuits of the grounds!