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Before my 01/06/2003 open heart surgery, the lady who had been hired temporarily to do my job while I was out gave me an Illinois Atlas & Gazetteer. She’d spent a few weeks with me, learning the parts of the job my bosses wanted her to do (they didn’t give her all the “keys to the castle”). During that time we chatted about life & interests, etc. She, too, loved the open road & the temporary job she would be doing in my absence would be her last; she & her husband planned to do some road tripping after I returned. So, imagine how surprised, but not surprised, I was to open her gift at the “sendoff” surprise party they had for me during my last day of work prior to the surgery. That 2003 “driving season” (spring-summer-fall) was spent in my then-family of vehicles exploring some area roads I’d not driven before. I had such a blast that I continued that exploration the next few years.

After a few years of no exploring due to circumstances, etc., that same IL Atlas & Gazatteer, along with an urge to just drive, sparked 2 recent exploratory “road trips” in my 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis LS to drive some roads I’d never seen before.

The 1st of which was to celebrate the 1st day of June 2017 & the gorgeous, sunny weather we were gifted with that day. I left my part-time Office Manager job ~3:40p & turned west onto Bowes Rd from Elgin IL’s Longcommon Pkwy. I followed Bowes to Muirhead Rd, then turned to Plato Rd. At the intersection with IL RT 47 (which “connects” US RT 20 with the Lincoln Highway & Route 66), I turned left (south). I then turned right (west) onto McDonald Rd. After crossing Burlington Rd, I was on roads I hadn’t driven.

I continued on McDonald Rd to the intersection with Thomas Rd, where I turned right (north). I then turned left (west) on Middleton Rd. While I’d driven the section of Middleton Rd between Peplow Rd & McGough Rd, I continued west. After the odd intersection with McGough Rd, I was once again on road I hadn’t driven. Middleton Rd then becomes Swanson Rd, which ends further west at IL RT 23 in Sycamore IL.

Back on road I’d driven, I turned right (north) onto IL RT 23 & took that to Plank Rd, where I turned right, taking that to Lindgren Rd, headed back east. A few miles later, Lindgren becomes Marcy Rd. I then turned left (north) onto Lukens Rd to start another stretch of new-to-me pavement. I quickly wished I hadn’t decided to try that road. When it turns to head back west, the road is increasingly thinner & obviously not well maintained. A stretch of it is gravel. It eventually winds around back to meet Plank Rd; luckily, by then, Lukens Rd is nicely paved. I crossed Plank Rd & continued to Base Line Rd.

At Base Line Rd, I turned right (west) & drove a few miles along a road I knew all too well. Then, soon after Base Line Rd becomes Lenschow Rd & before the intersection with Walker Rd (Burlington IL’s Main St), I turned right (south) onto Engel Rd, another stretch of pavement I’d never seen. I followed that to Plank Rd, where I then turned left (east) & drove back to Elgin. While I’d taken pics along the drive, these 4 along Engel Rd are the only good OC,SH original images.

Taken nearly halfway between Lenschow Rd & Burlington Prairie Forest Preserve Dr:

Looking west down the railroad tracks that cross Engel Rd:

Looking east down those same railroad tracks:

[FYI: To the west, these RR tracks cross Lukens Rd (which I’d driven earlier in the day), Moose Range Rd (which I’ve driven MANY times since 2003) & Base Line Rd (another favorite road of mine to drive). To the east, these RR tracks cross Plank Rd, Burlington Rd & IL RT 47, & travel at the rear property line of the place where I used to store my cars.]

Taken after I’d crossed the tracks on Engel Rd, headed towards the Plank Rd intersection:

The 2nd mini, exploratory road trip developed from a failed attempt at a long Memorial Monday drive. I’d planned it, but since “life happens”, wasn’t able to go that day. So, when I realized the weekend of 06/04-05/2017 was virtually wide open (well, with the exception of crafting the next 7 days of this website), I had a choice. I could either start-continue long-waited projects, OR I could take a nice, long drive. Obviously, the projects continue to wait. I left town ~1:20p (just in time for the start of the St Louis Cardinals & Chicago Cubs game on Chicago’s WSCR, 670 AM). I arrived back in the area, specifically South Elgin’s Beef Villa for a cruise night of sorts, ~5:05p.

I had an absolute blast, further loving my current driver & “calling” a certain grand slam home run, literally seconds before Pat Hughes started to describe the fate of the 1st pitch Schwarber saw with “…a high fly ball”. Talk about goosebumps. Even so, the solo journey reminded me of how much I NEED to be “home” (“on the road”, both exploring roads around here & road tripping across the country); wish I knew how to make that happen financially. The drive also reminded me of past summers on the road &/or with people.

My drive generally followed this path, leaving Elgin IL:
[new-to-me roads marked with “*”]
US Rt 20 (west)
Plank Rd (west)
Peace Rd (west)
IL RT 64 (west)
Old State Road (west)
Esmond Rd (north)
Lindenwood Rd (west)
…stopped briefly to see the “castle” house, which is in further disrepair
* Mulford Rd (north)
…encountered a brief downpour
IL RT 72 (west)
…I stopped in Monroe Center to visit the classic car dealership you see in the photo below (which is also the featured photo for social media publication of this post); the sign in the building window claimed the place was open, but I didn’t see anyone there.
IL RT 2 (south)
…After a brief stop in Byron IL to see if a friend was home.
IL RT 64 (east)
…After a stop in Oregon IL to decide if I wanted to go farther west or make a new path back to Elgin.
IL RT 251 (south)
…Upon returning to where I sleep, I discovered a road I’ve never driven but have crossed on Rt 64 would’ve made a perfect jog south: Chana Rd, then over to Flagg Rd, back to 251 … will have to drive that some other time
* Twombly Rd (east)
* Woodlawn Rd (south)
…I’d planned to drive Twombly all the way to Dekalb, but a stretch of “gravel” started at County Line Rd & progressively got worse, so I turned around & “re-calculated” my path
IL RT 38, Lincoln Highway (east)
* Somonauk Rd (north)
…To drive through “my” town, Cortland IL
* Cortland Center Rd / Pleasant St (east)
* Airport Rd (north)
…Tho, upon returning to where I sleep, I should’ve taken Pleasant to County Line Rd.
IL RT 64 (east)
Peplow Rd (north)
Chapman Rd (west)
* Waughon Rd (north)
Plank Rd (east)
Burlington Rd (south-east)
Plato Rd (east)
Tower Rd (north)
Rohrsen Rd (east)
Muirhead Rd (south)
Bowes Rd (east)
Nolan Rd (south)
Hopps-Spring St (east)
…To stop at Beef Villa, S Elgin IL, for a sorta cruise night; arrived ~5p & left ~7:40p

Most of my route was planned, but some developed based on road conditions or other on-the-spot ideas I had while driving. Yes, I took pictures, but I must’ve hit a setting on my phone because dang near every photo was blurry. This picture at the classic dealer in Monroe Center IL is the best of the bunch: