Sunday, September 14
The Drive
The drive from Fort Leonard Wood to Dam West Campground at Carlyle Lake was about 190 miles and took us roughly three and a half to four hours. We started out on I-44 east, winding through the rolling Ozark hills where pine stands and rocky outcrops broke up the scenery. Every so often, we caught glimpses of Old Route 66 paralleling the highway, a reminder of the historic road. As we continued east, the hills gave way to the flat farmland of eastern Missouri. Entering the southern edge of the St. Louis metro area, we crossed the Mississippi River on I-55 with the Gateway Arch just a short distance to our north. Once in Illinois, we exited onto US-50 and traveled through long stretches of corn and soybean fields that carried us the rest of the way to Carlyle Lake.
Dam West Campground
In Carlyle we entered the Dam West Campground which is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facility located on the southern shore of Carlyle Lake — Illinois’ largest man-made lake, spanning nearly 26,000 acres of water with over 80 miles of shoreline. The campground sits within a landscape of open grassy areas, scattered shade trees, and views of the expansive reservoir. Carlyle Lake is well-known for its excellent sailing, fishing, and boating, and its wide waters often attract bald eagles, waterfowl, and other wildlife. The surrounding environment blends prairie, woodlands, and shoreline habitats.
Our Site
After checking in at the front gate, we stopped by a potable water station to fill up with fresh water. It took 30 minutes to fill up our tank to 2/3. We then drove to Site #062 which was a Standard Electric site with 20/30/50-amp hookups and a paved 86-foot back-in driveway. The site included a picnic table, fire ring, and lantern pole. Shade trees provided some cover through the day, making the site more comfortable in the summer heat.
Jay’s Flamingo
We set up camp quickly and headed over to a local bar to catch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles in a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl. Joe’s Flamingo was a hometown spot, the kind of place with $2 cans and $3 bottles of beer and a handful of regulars perched along the bar. It had a large bar where most people sat, was decorated with beer posters, and had a few gambling machines in the back. The bartender greeted us warmly, asked if we were there for football, and switched one of the TVs over to the Chiefs game before handing us a couple of Yuengling Lagers tucked into foam coozies. We sat at a table with a good view of the TV, and before long, several locals struck up conversations, introducing themselves and making us feel right at home. The atmosphere was lively—loud, a little rowdy, and fueled by more than a few drinks—but it made for a fun evening. The only downside was watching the Chiefs stumble through another sloppy game and come up short against the Eagles.
Evening
We stopped by Hardee’s and got some dinner to take back with us, and relaxed at the trailer for the remainder of the evening.
Monday, September 15
DeMoulin Museum
Though the DeMoulin Museum in Greenville, Illinois, was only open on weekends, I emailed a week before, and the curator , John,offered to show us around at 10 am this morning. Greenville was about 20 minutes away and we discovered the museum in a previous Central Christian Church building. Gina, his wife, met us in the parking lot and said that she would be guiding us that day.
The museum is a quirky and fascinating spot dedicated to the history of DeMoulin Bros. & Co., a company founded in 1892 that produced regalia, uniforms, and ceremonial equipment for fraternal lodges. What makes the museum stand out is its extensive collection of unusual lodge initiation devices—contraptions originally designed to amuse, shock, or prank new members. We were able to see items such as the Bucking Goat ride, invisible paddles, lung testers, trick chairs, collapsing stairs, and even fake branding irons, all once used in elaborate initiation rituals.
Another room in the museum features various uniforms that the company had made including drum corps uniforms for the 2012 Madonna Super Bowl half-time show and the 1996 Olympic Band in Atlanta.
Third Street Antique Mall
When we left the museum, we drove a couple blocks over to the Third Street Market Antique Mall in Greenville, Illinois. This was a spacious 7,500-plus square-foot marketplace that hosts over 60 vendors offering antiques, vintage items, primitives, collectibles, and retro treasures. We enjoyed walking around and seeing all the treasures and especially those that brought back memories and the fall decorations.
Marcoot Jersey Creamery
We then drove over to the Marcoot Jersey Creamery, a family farm with deep roots stretching back to the 1840s when the Marcoot family first came over from Switzerland. Due to competition from the big factory farms, they have transformed into an agri-tourism destination. When we arrived we could smell the strong scent of the cows. They allowed us to self-guide over to a barn that held their calves which eagerly came over to us to be pet. Their long tongues kept licking the underside of my arm which made it a little nasty. We then walked over to their modern milking barn where the cows instead of being herded into a fixed routine, the Jersey cows are free to walk up to the robotic milker on their own schedule, usually two to three times a day. Each cow is fitted with a transponder that the machine reads as she steps in, identifying her and recording her health and production data. The system automatically cleans the udder, attaches the milking cups with robotic arms, and gently extracts the milk while monitoring flow and quality. Once finished, the cups detach, the cow gets a small feed reward, and she walks back out to pasture or the barn at her leisure. This setup not only ensures the cows are milked when they’re ready, but also keeps stress low and allows the Marcoot family to closely track each cow’s health, nutrition, and milk yield. The fresh milk then goes directly into the creamery, where it begins the journey into their artisan cheeses. Outside was a feed wagon that had been coverted into a basketball challenge. We both gave it a try but neither made any baskets.
We then went inside the creamery where we saw them packaging up some cheese curds. They had a viewing area where we could watch them make the curds but we had just missed it. We then got some ice cream. I got a mudslide and a black rasberry, while Lisa got a Ooey Gooey Butter Cake and Butter Brickle. We also bought some hamburger patties and cheese curds to take with us. All their products are currently only sold at the store. We enjoyed seeing everything.
Excel Bottling Co
After dropping off our meat and cheese at the camper, we drove west to Breese to visit the Excel Bottling Company, a family-run soda and beer maker with roots dating back to 1936. The story goes that founder Edward “Lefty” Meier used reward money from helping capture a bank robber to buy a used bottling machine, setting up shop in his wife’s grandmother’s old general store. Nearly ninety years later, the company is still going strong, bottling soda the old-fashioned way with pure cane sugar and returnable glass bottles. Their most famous creation is Ski, a bright citrus soda introduced in 1961 that remains a local favorite. In 2012, Excel expanded into brewing craft beers.
The retail space itself felt more like a repurposed factory floor, lined with stacks of full and empty bottles. The main bottling operation was housed in a separate building, though a few pieces of vintage equipment and conveyors were scattered around the shop, adding to its historic charm. A somewhat unenthusiastic clerk eventually approached, and when we asked about their beers, he led us to the back, where a few taps were set up. There was also a small cooler containing cold bottles of their various sodas and beers. We sampled several varieties before settling on a four-pack of their Nutty Brown and a Lager. Before leaving, we also grabbed a bottle of Ski—its crisp citrus flavor was a refreshing taste of Illinois soda history.
Taphorn’s Orchard
On our way back to Carlyle, we stopped in Beckemeyer at Taphorn Orchard, a family-run farm that has been producing apples since 1925. The orchard has remained in the same family for nearly a century and is now tended by the third, fourth, and even fifth generations. Out front, we enjoyed their cheerful selfie spot decorated with scarecrows, pumpkins, gourds, and other fall touches that gave the place a festive harvest feel. Behind the stand, the owners were busy collecting and cleaning apples, but they paused to chat with us about the season. They mentioned that the unseasonably warm weather had pushed their harvest up by about two weeks. Before heading out, we picked up a bag of freshly picked apples—crisp, sweet, and a perfect taste of autumn.
Coal Miners Monument
We then drove into the small town and paused at the Coal Miners Monument, a small but powerful memorial beside the American Legion on Louis Street. The statue honors nine local men who died in the Centralia Mine No. 5 disaster in 1947, including Joseph Koch Sr., whose family later helped make the monument a reality. Dedicated in 1997, it captures authentic details of a working miner, right down to the lunch bucket, and stands in a simple park that invites quiet reflection. Standing there, it was easy to imagine the hardship and danger these men faced underground and to feel the weight of how deeply coal mining shaped this community’s story. Nearby was a small veterans’ memorial.
Evening
That evening, I cooked up the burgers we had picked up at Marcoot Jersey Dairy while we enjoyed the beers that we had bought at the Excel Bottling Company. It was a perfect end of the day.
Tuesday, September 16
Bike Ride
We decided to go for a bike ride on the Carlyle Lake Bike Path before breakfast to try to avoid some of the heat later in the day. We rode past the dam and through town for about 12 miles. The trail was not well marked so we took a couple wrong turns but we had a good time. A highlight was the General Dean Suspension Bridge. Built in 1859, it was once the main crossing for stagecoaches and wagons. The design is classic suspension style, with towers anchoring long steel cables and a wooden deck that once carried horses and eventually early automobiles. Today, traffic flows over a newer bridge nearby, but the original still stands proudly, open to pedestrians and preserved as a piece of history. In 1953, it was officially named after Major General William F. Dean, a Carlyle native and decorated hero of the Korean War. Luckily, it seemed solid, so Lisa did not have any fear crossing it. On the way back, we came across several yards decorated for Halloween and we especially enjoyed the flowers along a portion near the east entrance to the city.
Breakfast
When we got back, we took showers and I cooked us up some blueberry pancakes.
The Milk House
After breakfast, we headed back up to Greenville to visit The Milk House, a modern dairy shop and creamery run by Rolling Lawns Farm. From the outside it still looks like the old ALCO store, but inside the space has been reimagined, with a large open area and a wall of windows overlooking the milk bottling line. Unfortunately, the machinery wasn’t running while we were there, but coolers were stocked with plastic bottles of milk in a variety of flavors, along with cheeses and tubs of their super-premium ice cream, all made on site. A friendly staff member greeted us and explained what makes their Holstein herd, just a few miles down the road, so special, before walking us through the creamery’s equipment. We were then handed over to a retail clerk who let us sample flavored milks—Cappuccino, Chocolate, Strawberry, and even Orange—as well as several of their ice creams, including a surprising pickle flavor. In the end, Lisa went for a scoop of Lemon Custard while I opted for Trail Mix.
Vandalia
From Greenville, we drove about half an hour to Vandalia to visit the Kaskaskia Dragon, one of Illinois’ quirkiest roadside attractions. Rising 35 feet long from a field just off I-70, the hulking metal creature looks impressive even at rest. At a nearby liquor store we picked up a pair of “dragon coins” for a dollar each, and when we dropped them in the slot, the dragon came to life—its eyes glowed and a burst of flame shot from its snout straight at a hapless metal knight standing guard in front. Built in the mid-1990s by a local businessman and relocated here in 2001, the dragon now stands sentry over an RV park, entertaining curious travelers with its fiery breath.
Just a couple blocks away was the “Little Arch,” a charming miniature replica of the St. Louis Gateway Arch. Built in the 1960s, it stands at about one-tenth the size of the original. For years, it doubled as a motel sign, with a billboard frame strung between its pylons, but now it’s just the arch, unadorned and nostalgic. We parked our truck underneath it and had fun posing and taking some pictures.
We then drove south down the eastern side of Lake Carlyle though we never saw the lake. Before we left town, we saw The Old State Capitol, a stately brick building that once served as the center of state government. Built in 1836, it was Illinois’ third statehouse and remained the capitol until 1839, when the government moved to Springfield. The structure is a simple but elegant example of early 19th-century civic architecture: a two-story red-brick building with a gabled roof, tall windows, and white columns framing its entrances. It’s historically significant as the last capitol where Abraham Lincoln served as a state legislator, marking the beginning of his political rise.
Jim Beasley Veterans Tribute
On our way back, we saw a sign for the Jim Beasley Veterans Tribute. A couple miles down the road we stopped at a striking memorial on the grounds of the Kaskaskia College dedicated to over 48,000 veterans from the region. Centered on a circular plaza called the Warrior’s Court, the site features tall granite walls etched with names, the seals of all five military branches, and a bronze eagle with a ten-foot wingspan. Dedicated in 2014, the tribute continues to expand with new walls and future plans for an education center. (Though it is sad to think we have to plan for expansion). It’s a solemn, beautifully designed place that invites reflection and honors generations of service.
Evening
That evening, we returned to the camper, and then a little later we rode our bicycles over to a nearby Mexican Restaurant called Los Amigos. The food and service were good. Afterwards we returned to the camper where I practiced my guitar and we relaxed for the evening.
Wednesday, September 17
Bike Ride
In the morning, we took a nice bicycle ridge across the dam and along the southern side of the lake for over 13 miles. Some of the highlights included watching the pelicans, sea gulls, and egrets along the shore line. We saw plenty of squirrels but the only other wildlife we saw was one turkey.
Afterwards we took showers, packed, and headed toward Red Hills State Park.