Day Twelve – Henry IL to Home - Miles: 417
It was going to be a hot one today and we were going to lose an hour so we hit the road before before anything was open and followed the river south for several miles before stopping for breakfast in El Paso. Woody's Family Restaurant was a good choice and the Skillets were a nice change of pace. We had our first stop at the IL-IN border rest stop on US52 which doesn't have much to offer. We stopped here one other time so we knew what we were in for. We were only 131 miles from where we started but it felt like the right time. In another 80 miles we would be at the Grissom Air Museum. Here we looked at some of planes parked out behind the fence but the view was adequate. Nearest to us was an F-4 and F-105, and a little further out we could see a KC-135 and a B-47. It was hot and I think we really just wanted to get moving. Our final stop was Fort Recovery in OH. We had never been here despite it being less than a 100 miles from our home. The fort is the site where Arthur St. Clair led a campaign up from Fort Washington (Cincinnati) but was defeated by Indians in what remains the greatest loss by the US Army to an Indian force. In retaliation Mad Anthony Wayne led a group of 300 soldiers and built the fort at this site in 1793. More battles were fought there but Wayne came out victorious and finally put an end to the fight with the defeat of the Indians at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. The 101 foot obelisk that serves as a monument to the men lost here was dedicated in 1913. We walked to take some pics but mostly stayed under shade at the church across the street. 87 more miles and we were home.
