The last State Highpoint to visit during this trip was actually the one that we had to plan the entire trip around. Charles Mound (elev. 1235′) is located on private property and they only allow access 4 weekends a year (supposedly …) The closest town in IL was Galena, IL, but as this is a huge tourist mecca with associated price gouging, we opted to stay about 20 miles north in Plattsville, WI. A refurbished Super 8 with a Mexican restaurant next door that has $0.99 Margaritas, what more could one ask for?

As we had managed to hit two highpoints in one day at the beginning to the trip, we were a day ahead of schedule when we arrived in IL. En route we made an “out of the blue” call to Joel’s Aunt and one of his Cousins in WI and managed to meet them for lunch as we flew through the area.

The next day we were able to amuse ourselves in Galena and do significant financial damage in short order … Good thing we didn’t get there 2 days early! Probably the most fascinating shop we visited was the one that sold what seemed to be every hot pepper sauce known to man. Pretty overwhelming, actually … Once we shopped until we dropped, we decided to take the river walk down to the Mississippi. A mere 12 miles, we only lasted for about 6. Again, the BUGS and HUMIDITY were oppressive. No Thank You. Definitely another area to visit in the fall!

The hike the next morning up Charles Mound was uneventful. You park at the end of the lane and it is about a 3 mile roundtrip stroll up to the top. It was a little overcast so we really couldn’t see much but the lush green rolling hills and trees were beautiful. On the way down we met several other “Highpointers” including a man that had driven up from TN and a couple that had driven up from NM. See, we are not the only crazies …