Dana and Blackbeard visit Historical Gravesites in Elkville, IL

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A trip to a Homesteader's Cemetery

On Tuesday, December 4th, Blackbeard and I traveled to the rural area outside of Elkville, IL. I live a few miles outside of town on land that was originally settled by homesteaders of the early 1800's. My family continues to farm this land which has allowed for much of the original setting to remain the same. Only a half mile down the road from my house is the location of one of the original homesteader family cemeteries. Much of the area has grown up with weeds and some of the stones have fallen over or become unreadable over the many years. However, there are still many stones in which the names of those who are buried there are can still be read, along with dates of the 1800's in which they lived. I have always been very interested in these gravestones, and think it is fascinating to think of what the homesteader's lives would have been like. Some of these original homesteaders are even my ancestors whom have passed our land down through generations. During our trip, Blackbeard and I traveled a total of 32 miles in my car. The latitude and longitude coordinates for our destination are 37.93 (37 degrees, 55 feet) and -89.22 (-89 degrees and 13 feet).

Blackbeard gets a good view of So. IL

On November 9th Blackbeard took Lyndal to The Bald Knob Cross of Peace by the town of Alto Pass. Though it is falling apart now from lack of upkeep, the cross stands 111 ft tall on top of Bald Knob Mountain. Because Blackbeard had already visited the cross once this semester, he was able to tell Lyndal all sorts of information about the cross. The place where the cross stands was cleared by Wayman Presley, a postal worker, and his friends to host Easter sunrise service in 1937. The first wooden cross was built a year later. The cross that stands there today was completed in 1963. Blackbeard and Lyndal traveled the 42 miles to and from the cross in the morning and enjoyed the tree covered road on the way up and down the mountain. The town of Alto Pass is located at 37.57 degrees N. and 89.32 degrees W. The cross is 4 miles up the mountain from town. Blackbeard's total mileage is now 4,743.3 miles.

A tired little pirate

As the semester draws to a close, Blackbeard is anxious to return to Mrs. Shafer's office and rest. He has travel 4, 659.3 miles with more miles to post before he can relax. It's been an exciting adventure this semester. He has escaped the authorities many times as he has successfully navigate the 'waters' of Southern Illinois.

Cody and Blackbeard travel to the Historic Sesser Opera House

Blackbeard and I set out from Carbondale in search of a good show. We wanted more of a classic feel for our entertainment, so Blackbeard came up with the idea to go see an opera. I thought that was a great idea and I knew just the place. We traveled 70.6 miles total but it was well worth it. I drove and Blackbeard chose the music for the trip. We were both excited when we got there, but ended up disappointed. We arrived at 9:00 p.m. on December 4, 2007. We thought we'd be just in time for a show, but it turns out that the Opera House is only used on special occasions. However, that didn't stop us from taking some pictures to remember our experience and buying a little popcorn for the ride home. The Sesser Opera House is located on main street in Sesser and the current building was built in 1914. The previous Opera House was built in 1904 but was destroyed by fire. In 1982, it was listed on the National Register of Historical Places. The Opera House is located at 380530N and 0890301W. Blackbeard has now traveled 4,659.3 miles!

Megan and Blackbeard visit The Old Salt Mines

Blackbeard and I set off for the little known town of Equality, Illinois. The Old Salt Works is located 374402N latitude and 0882036W longitude. We traveled a total of 114 miles; we were both ready for a Sunday afternoon nap by the time we arrived home. Many travelers bypass Equality on their way to the Garden of the Gods or Cave-in-Rock, but they are missing out on the history that exists in the little "village" of Equality. This brings Blackbeard's journey to
4,588.7 miles.

Brad and Blackbeard travel to Old Shawneetown

On Monday November 26th, 2007, Brad and Blackbeard travled to Old Shawneetown IL. There are many historical sites in Old Shawneetown. Old Shawneetown is one of the oldest towns in Illinois. Blackbeard and I traveled by car a total 117.9 miles. In Old Shawneetown, we visited the historic Old Shawneetown State Bank. Old Shawneetown's latitude is 37. 70 and longitude is 88.14. Blackbeard's total mileage is now 4,474.7.

Lindsey and Blackbeard go the the WWII Memorial

On Wednesday, November 7, 2007, Blackbeard and I started our Journey to Jamaica, Il, 213.8 miles away from Carbondale, and there we celebrated Thanksgiving together and spent some time with the family. Then we traveled by car 17.3 miles to Danville, IL. There we visited the World War II Memorial. We we able to see the new part of the Memorial, built to remember the women who fought in the war. Blackbeard and I learned many interesting things about our veterans. Danville is located at 40.20 latitude and 87.60 longitude. Blackbeard's total mileage for this trip was 462.2 miles making his total mileage 4,356.8.