Sir Francis Becomes a Cheese Head!

Name: Sarah Kessler

Date: November 21st- November 25th

Destination: Lake Geneva, WI

Latitude: 42.5917° N

Longitude:88.4333° W

Round Trip: 1,201.4 Miles

Total Miles: 2,747.44 Miles

Sir Francis and I began our journey to Wisconsin on November 21st.  It's been three months since I've been home and I was very excited to introduce Sir Francis to my family and friends.  We left Mrs. Stearns class on November 15^th and he stayed with me in my apartment until we packed our coats and headed up to the Badger State. Seven and a half hours later, we made it to my home in Lake Geneva, WI, where we visited with my family.  He was shocked how cold it was! We spent the next day stuffing our faces with turkey and home cooked food.  We spent Friday in Madison, WI and Whitewater, WI.  After doing a little Black Friday shopping, I introduced him to my friends and he enjoyed hearing all the northern accents. 

On Saturday, my sisters, my mom, Sir Francis, and I went to downtown Chicago to see The Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theatre.  After the play, we walked around Chicago, looked at all of the Christmas decorations, and went shopping.  This is a tradition the girls in my family and I do every year and I was excited to bring Sir Francis with me!  We were very tired after we spent the whole day in Chicago.  

 As much as Sir Francis enjoyed being a Cheese Head, we had to return to Carbondale on Sunday.  At 11:00 AM on November, 27^th, we returned to Mrs. Stearns room, where we had to end our fun journey.

He had a stomach ache from eating too much cheese!

A Trip to Alto Pass

Name: Cammi Ruffino
Date: 11/19/2012-11/25/2012
Destination: Alto Pass
Latitute: 37 degrees N
Longitude: 89 degrees W
Trip Miles: 79.5 Miles
Total Miles: 7,777.46

During Thanksgiving break, Dolley and I visited the Quetil Trail in Alto Pass, IL. I enjoy hiking and walking the trails in the Shawnee forrest and Giant City, all near Alto Pass. 

Dolley and I left Mrs. Stearn's classroom and headed home to my apartment in Carbondale to get ready for our trip. Early Thursday morning we left for my hometown of Pinckneyville, IL. We ate a hearty meal and spent time with my family. They were getting ready to leave town, so Dolley and I had to babysit their dogs until their return on Sunday. Dolley had tons of fun playing with my two dogs and stealing all of their bones!

Finally, on Sunday we headed back home to Carbondale, but not without making a stop at our favorite places in Alto Pass. First we stopped at the Root Beer Saloon. Dolley and I enjoyed the best root beer float ever made. After our float, we headed out to the trails with my boyfriend. The Quetil Trail is a very scenic trail, featuring many bluffs, caves and cliffs. We climbed a few of these and Dolley had a great time.

Name: Tyler Thomas
Date: 11/30-12/2 2012
Destination: Ferne Clyffe Goreville, IL
Latitude: 37.5 degrees N
Longitude: 88.9 degrees W
Trip: 57.7 Miles
Total: 1546.01 Miles

On Friday November 30th, Sir Francis and I went on a hiking trip to Ferne Clyffe in Goreville, IL. For it being the last day of November, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Ferne Clyffe is a great place to hike, and Sir Francis and I were excited about our journey. The background behind Sir Francis and I is the highest point from Ferne Clyffe. It's a truly beautiful sight. Even though I don't know how far exactly, I do know that from this spot you can see for miles and miles. It takes a good amount of time to start from the bottom and walk all the way uphill to this point. It's a good fifteen to twenty minutes. By the time Sir Francis and I made it all of the way to the top of this point we were pretty wiped out. Luckily for us, there is a bench right next to this viewpoint. After resting for a few more minutes, Sir Francis and I walked around the park for about thirty to forty five more minutes climbing different rocks. Sir Francis and I were completely wiped out by the time we were finished. We headed back home to Carterville to rest up after an hour and fifteen minutes. Originally, Sir Francis and I were going to go to St. Louis, however those plans ended up falling through. That is the reason I decided to take Sir Francis to Ferne Clyffe. It ended up being a great trip and we had an excellent time.       Tyler

Dolley's a farm girl now!

Name: Megan Byars
Date: August 31st and September 1st and 2nd
Destination: Geff, IL and Van Buren, Missouri
Latitude:N 36° 59' 45.4994"

Longitude:W 91° 0' 53.5034"

Road Trip Miles: 769 miles
Total Miles: 7697.96 miles

To begin this Labor Day weekend trip, Dolley and I left from Carbondale and headed for my home outside of Geff, Illinois.  My mom was baby-sitting my cousin's two year old son on Friday so my sister and I decided to take him and Dolley for a combine ride with my dad.  Dolley was super excited about riding on a combine for the first time!

Once inside the cab, Dolley was entranced by watching the corn being cut, shelled, and conveyed into the combine.  

 The next day, Dolley left with a group of friends and me for a trip to Current River in southern Missouri.  We were celebrating the one year anniversary of my best friend and her husband with a float trip! On Saturday with left and drove all day until we made it to Van Buren.  Once there were set up our tents, built a fire and spent some quality time in some lawn chairs.  On Sunday, we got up early and got our raft and tubes and headed for the drop off.  We floated on the river all day and then headed back that night when we were finished.  Unfortunately, during this whirl-wind trip, Dolley forgot to remind me to take a few pictures with her. 

Name: Chad Harrell
Date: November 9th-11th 2012
Destination: Flora Illinois
Latitude: 38.67 N
Longitude: 88.48 W
Trip: 200.4 Miles
Total: 6928.96 Miles

Dolly made the short trip with me home to Flora, Illinois. On the trip, we took I57 from Marion to the Salem Exit.  We then took HW 50 all the way to Flora.  The trip there was 100.4 miles long.  While in Flora, we didn't do a whole lot other than go bowhunting for deer.  We spent over 15 hours in a treestand over 2 days!  We saw some deer but did not shoot any.  We then took the same 100.4 mile trip back to Carbondale.

Watch out Indianapolis, Dolley is hitting the town!

Name: Megan Byars
Date: October 26th and 27th
Destination: Indianapolis, Indiana
Latitude: N 39° 45.591567'

Longitude: W 86° 9.93084'

Road Trip Miles:  575 miles
Total Miles: 6728.56 miles

On October 26, 2012, my family and Dolley set out from my home for the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Dolley wondered why we would want to go to Indianapolis, so I explained to her that my brother, Matthew, was going to be receiving his American FFA Degree.  The American FFA Degree is a prestigious award that each year less than half of one percent of members of the organization receive, making it one of the organization's highest honors.  To begin the weekend, my family and I and Dolley, of course, decided that we needed to eat somewhere different while we were in town.  We decided on the Weber Grill, you can't see it in the picture but there is a huge red Weber grill on top of the sign. (I say lovingly that my mom is a terrible photographer.)

 After eating way too much wonderfully tasting food, we decided to walk around downtown Indy for a while.  This is when we passed the capitol building and couldn't pass up a photo-op for social studies class!

 On October 27th, we had to be at the Lucas Oil Stadium at 7 a.m. Indy time, which meant 6 a.m. our time.  Dolley, my sister Marissa, and I weren't very happy about the earliness of the occasion! Matthew's session started at 8 a.m. with over 3,000 recipients being named.  Needless to say, Dolley and I both took a nap, and those seats are NOT made for napping.  When Matthew was finally announced around 11:45 a.m. we were all ready to go.  Before we left we stopped to take a picture in front of the horse-shoe shaped Colts logo stage. 

 And before we headed home, Dolley insisted that Matthew take a picture with her outside of the Lucas Oil Stadium Gates.  Reluctantly, he complied.

Dolley Buys a House!

Name: Brooke Maurer

Date:  September 21

Destination: Villa Park, IL

Latitude: 41° 53’ 23” N

Longitude: 87° 59’ 20” W

Round Trip Miles: 750 miles

Total Miles: 6,153.56 miles

            Dolley and I left Wham on September 21, 2012. We met our friend Dan, and headed up to the suburbs. Dolley and I packed our favorite outfits the night before, for this was a very special weekend. Dolley helped my boyfriend and I find our perfect house. We went to several houses on Saturday, and finally, Dolley fell in love with the very last house we visited. Dolley said she liked the big back yard and cozy fireplace. Before we could make an offer on the house, Dolley had to check out the neighborhood. I showed Dolley my favorite place to eat, Portillos, and naturally, the smell of the cooking food captured her. Dolley ordered an Italian Beef sandwich that was lightly dipped and a chocolate cake shake. Then, we took a walk on the Prairie Path to burn off some of the calories we just consumed. Dolley learned that the 61 mile Prairie Path follows the former CA&E Railroad in DuPage County. Portions even extend to Kane and Cook County. While checking out the Prairie Path, we ran into the CA&E Station, which is now the Villa Park Historical Museum. Unfortunately they were closed, but Dolley did get look through the window at the various souvenirs. Since Dolley wasn't able to buy a Villa Park souvenir, she settled for a photo in front of the museum. Even though Dolley was disappointed that she could not go into the museum, she decided that she loved the neighborhood and she wanted us to put an offer on the house. My boyfriend and I were beyond excited, and we thanked Dolley for all of her help. We could not have done it without her help! Sunday morning we had a big breakfast and waited to hear back from our relator. After many phone calls back and forth, we were able to settle on a final price. Dolley helped us celebrate the good news by watching the Bears game with family and friends. After an eventful weekend, Dolley and I met up with our friend Dan, and headed back to Carbondale.