Week 4 - visit a state park you've never been to before

    Dad has been wanting to visit Lincoln Trail State Park just outside Marshall, Illinois.  He has heard the radio ads about the restaurant on the lake.  This morning we drove to Marshall.  The area is named after the trail Abraham Lincoln's family followed en route from Indiana to Illinois in 1831.  The park, however, is just west of the actual Lincoln Heritage Trail.  The Lincoln Trail Lake was created in 1955 using federal monies.  It is a pretty park and lake and very well maintained.  We took a walk around the boat dock and walked a trail before stopping at the restaurant for lunch.  Before the place filled up, we were able to get a table by a window overlooking the lake and could watch boaters come into the dock and tie up their boats so they could have lunch.  As we were looking out the window, we saw 

something swimming toward the dock.  It reminded me of our crocodile in Port Charlotte.  But as it got closer, we realized that it was a big snake.  Dad has had nightmares about snakes, so we were glad to be inside on the second floor.
     We actually drove around the whole park and saw the campers and all the picnic areas, but there wasn't much there unless you wanted to camp or boat or fish.  And there were plenty of people doing just that.  It was a nice, peaceful place where you could be alone if you wanted, or with other people if you preferred.  On the way home, we stopped at a few historical markers that we had noticed in the past but were too busy to investigate.