Used my brother's place outside of Chicago as a base camp for this highpoint attempt. Left his house early heading west across the top of Illinois. The day was bright and clear. The major summer heat hasn't rolled in yet, nor was it too humid. Perfect driving and highpointing weather.

Nice view at this highpoint.

North western Illinois was surprising hilly, populated with the same gently rolling hills you expect to find in Wisconsin. Quite a few farms, the whole scenery was very pastoral. I remember loosing count of the number of red wing black birds I saw perched on roadside fences and trees.

I had gotten permission from the land owner (the Wuebbels) to visit Charles Mound which is sits behind their house. After a long dusty drive up their driveway, I found a "Highpointers Parking" sign and pulled to a stop. The rest of the route is a walk (which is fairly steep for a driveway) to the actual highpoint.

The Wuebbels had furnished this spot with a few lawn chairs and a register, all set in the shade of a small tree. The hillside running north from the highpoint was cleared and you could see rolling hills stretching northward into Wisconsin. The view certainly beat my previous highpoints of MO, IN and OH.