Delayed

I added my upcoming calendar on the right side of my blog sometime last week I think. I know people were having trouble keeping track of my plan :). The big trips are to Sweden and Peru during the month of August. The rest of July is a road trip to visit friends and some day hikes to try and get myself in shape. 

Tonight I'm in Peoria. You will note I'm already a day behind the calendar :). But it was a very fun Saturday at the Cubs' game and I needed Sunday to recover. So instead of Sunday night in Peoria, it's now Monday night. 

There are several positives though. I was at my parents' this morning in time for the delivery of my new motorcycle boots. Then on the drive down, the shop in Pekin where I ordered my jacket and gloves called and those were in too! So now I am geared up for the bike and ready to go. To be honest though, I'm still pretty nervous to ride on the road. And I need to continue my road trip (in the Edge) in order to get in practice hikes and still make it to Memphis on time! So I'll have to leave it for another time. Here is my new gear though. 

I'm headed to Harrisburg, IL in the morning - almost five hours. I hope to get there around noon at least, so I have some portion of the day left. There is a park office in town where I can get maps and you don't need permits to camp and it seems that you can set up your tent almost anywhere. I'll head to the Garden of the Gods first as I've been seeing that one come up on my searches the most. My biggest fear/worry.....snakes. There are copperheads and a couple type of rattlers. I think as long as I stay on the trail and look down, I'll be okay. Definitely on the list of questions for the park office though :).