Whenever there is a gap between travel times I make plans for the next trip or future trips. My next known adventure will be in February, and the home base will be St. Louis. With shorter daylight hours, I anticipate using two days of travel. There is a remote possibility of a longer trip this summer, so I have about 7-9 day trips planned. My hope is to get some pictures in Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri, but I haven't yet finalized plans. A second trip would include a county in Iowa and one in Arkansas. Some places I just won't get to see--including Rock Island County, Illinois, whose old courthouse faces demolition any day now.
At this point, it looks like I will keep to a multistate tour, and one south of St. Louis that will stretch into Arkansas. I might nab a few close to St. Louis as well, time permitting. Should a second trip be forthcoming, I will spend a day in Illinois, a day heading upriver toward Iowa, and back down the opposite bank of the Mississippi. I will then venture further west and probably end up seeing a quarter to a third of Missouri's courthouses by the time I have finished.
Using a couple of books by Dennis Weiser, I have compiled power points for both Illinois and Missouri. My efficiency has be greatly enhanced by John Deacon's website as well. I have prepared these for Virginia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia as well, and when I plan a trip, I have an easy resource to copy and paste into a current touring format. I also will visit covered bridges as a part of my itineraries.
As I am completing my Vermont and New Hampshire covered bridge treks, I have my sights set on New York, Pennsylvania, and even New Brunswick in the next couple of years. For courthouses, my summer plans include two trips into New York, one of which will involve a few Pennsylvania counties. The next long trip to North Carolina in April will see me finish that state, and take a good bite out of Virginia. I hope to add a few in Maryland and a couple in New Jersey, along with a handful in Pennsylvania. For me, planning is a good part of the fun. Providing pictures online for others to enjoy is another segment of my pleasure. And, visiting places I would never see otherwise rounds out the trifecta.
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