#5: [13-Jan-21]

#4: [22-May-18]

#3: [01-Apr-07]

#1: [02-Sep-00]

20-Nov-2004 -- On a 540-mile drive from Chicago to Mississippi, my traveling companions and I took the opportunity to break the monotony of the trip by visiting our second Illinois degree confluence in two days. Although the similarities between this site and yesterday’s 41N 88W were striking, there were a few differences: here in southern Illinois, the landscape was a little more rolling; the nearest road was graveled rather than paved, and the CP itself was 500 feet instead of 50 feet away from the roadway. The sky remained overcast, and the rain of the previous day had left the ground saturated, but we were up for the challenge of a ten times longer hike.

As we made our way to the CP, deep tire marks revealed the field had been recently cleared following the growing season. Overhead a flock of Starlings covered the sky before noisily settling into the woods to the north of the road. Satellite coverage was excellent and we were able to zero out the GPS in no time at all. The excitement of my now veteran confluence hunting companions was even greater than the day before, if such a thing is possible. We congratulated ourselves, snapped the required photos, and still having miles to go before we slept, with great difficulty we pulled ourselves away, and sloshed our way back to the car.

As we headed back to the Interstate, from the nearby hilltop we discovered it can truly be said many people are dying to get near this confluence point.