The Blitz East, Part 5: Camping at the World's Largest Pitchfork

Our Blitz East had been a rollercoaster so far.

1. We had immediate struggles as we rushed to get repairs done before leaving Colorado.
   Read Going Nowhere Fast

2. We entered Kansas, and while we had some issues with trucks and wind, found ourselves in beautiful campgrounds, enjoying new sights and adventures.
   Read Part 1 and Part 2

3. Things took a turn for the grimy when our truck got stuck in mud, and we questioned whether or not we could even get out of Kansas due to the weather and road conditions.
   Read Part 3

4. After escaping Kansas by a narrow band of rain, we entered Missouri, where more problems awaited us and we lost all morale.
   Read Part 4

We needed to get this blitz moving in the right direction again, or else it would be one miserable drive home. We decided to leave our MO state park site a day early and head somewhere we weren't planning to stop: Illinois. The initial plan was to drive right through, but stopping there would mean being able to check off another state on our States RVed list. We'd also give us the gift of shorter travel days, taking three days instead of two to get through Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

I checked Google Maps first to get an idea of how far we'd want to travel. I zoomed in on Illinois and followed I-70 from west to east, until I found an area that was the correct distance away. There, I caught a glimpse of a landmark that had me scratching my head: World's Largest Pitchfork. Huh? I clicked to read some more information and discovered that the pitchfork was in the town of Casey (pronounced KZ). I had heard of that place before and recalled that its known for a whole bunch of record-holding giant kitschy items. I hadn't thought about that town in years. I read some more and discovered that the pitchfork was located on the grounds of a farm and restaurant. A farm, you say...

I wondered if perhaps this farm was a Harvest Host. If you don't know, Harvest Hosts is a membership program where businesses and private property owners allow RVers to camp overnight in exchange for a purchase or donation. It allows for some unique experiences at wineries, breweries, farms, museums, churches, private homes, and more. We've been members since before we launched full-time and have used the service various times throughout our travels. If you're not a member and are interested, you can use our affiliate link to get 15% off your membership.

I went onto the Harvest Hosts app and searched for Richards Farm and Restaurant in Casey, IL. Bingo! There it was, pitchfork and all. They had ample parking for RVs of all sizes, and they had availability. Suddenly, I knew exactly where we needed to be. I immediately requested a stay, and the hosts immediately confirmed.

I put a lot of eggs in the basket of Richards Farm. As we packed up and hit the road, I had dreams of enjoying the countryside, taking pictures of the pitchfork, and then settling into a cozy booth at the restaurant for some homestyle food. I needed a pick-me-up so bad, and a peaceful night at the farm sounded perfect.

We drove up to Casey and arrived around 4:30PM. As soon as we turned into the parking lot, we were greeted by the giant pitchfork as well as some funky cardboard cut-out photo frames, and beyond those were quaint little pathways, beautiful landscaping, green fields, a pond with a walking bridge, farm animals, and lots of sitting areas. We were told to park anywhere in the back lot and chose to nestle ourselves under a fruit tree.

In the last post, I talked about the flexibility in RV life, and how if we're not enjoying a place, we can simply move on. The sense of relief when we finally find a place that fits our mood can't really be explained. And it's not one type of place, either. When we were down-and-out because of constant heatwaves in Wyoming, we changed our plans and went to a KOA at Devils Tower National Monument. We found that there was no place we would have rather been in that moment. We needed the RV park vibe: the amenities, the tourist attractions, and the hustle and bustle. This time, we needed to get out of the city and into a quieter, quainter location. Richards Farm fit our sought-after vibe to a T.

After we settled in, we took Tanner around the grounds for a quick walk, snapping pictures of the garden paths and the pitchfork. Then we brought Tanner back inside and took a couple more photos in the cardboard cutouts before heading into the restaurant for an early dinner.

We had barely eaten all day and were starving, so we hoped the food would hit the spot. Oh, it hit many, many spots. First off, we are suckers for no-frills country restaurants. One of our favorite restaurants is the Publyk House in Bennington, VT because of its rustic charm and delicious, farm-fresh food. With any luck, Richards would remind us of Publyk House. Both have the barn, the quaintness, and even a salad bar. You gotta have the salad bar. We were led to a booth tucked away in the back of the barn. Oldies music was playing on the speaker, and you know I had a great time doing some booth karaoke while we waited for our food. We ordered a ton of food: appetizers, entrees with sides and salad bar, plus dessert at the end. The food was outstanding, as was the service. Our meal turned into a mini-celebration, as we commended ourselves for staying on our toes and always chasing our happiness. We stuffed ourselves until we physically couldn't eat anymore, packed up the rest, and took it back to the RV. And that there, in the little farm restaurant in the little town of Casey, we had one of the best nights in months.

There is very little negative to say about this Harvest Host stay. It's fairly close to the highway, so we could hear a little traffic noise, but that never bothers us much. The fruit tree we parked under was adorable, but its fruits did cause a bit of a mess when they fell on our trailer and stairs. Otherwise, we give this location a 10/10.

For the first time ever in our Harvest Hosts stays, we unhitched our truck and stayed a while. We didn't have a lot of time the next morning because we needed to get to Ohio, but we wanted to wander around town and find some of the other world's biggests. We decided to be productive. We had wet clothes from our mud/rain/more rain situation, and they had started smelling musty. We desperately needed a laundromat. So we found the only one in town and commenced our weirdest laundry date ever. (Laundry dates have sort of become our thing. We drop clothes off at the laundromat, and while they're washing, we'll go explore places nearby, taking a walk, grabbing a quick bite, etc.).

We took Tanner for a walk around downtown, finding almost all of the world's biggests. The story behind these sculptures is that, back in the 1980s and 90s, many of the town's factories were closing down, and the town wanted to entice visitors. One of the companies decided to build a bunch of random, huge "attractions." It worked. Casey has now been featured in reputable media sources including the Travel Channel, and people love stopping by to go on a scavenger hunt for all of these sculptures.

Some of the pieces are interactive, like the mailbox you can climb into and mail a postcard from, or the wind chime that you can actually ring. Besides the world's biggests, there are also tons of big - but not biggest - pieces, like the ornamental bird cage that has a swing inside.

We didn't stay out for too long because it was a cold morning, but what a unique way to pass the time while laundering our clothes! We grabbed a couple of beverages at a nearby coffee shop, ran some quick errands, got our clothes, and headed back to Richards Farm. We packed up, said goodbye to the chickens, goats, and sheep, I took a quick ride down the insanely steep slide that must have been at least a 45-degree angle, and then we set our sights on Ohhhhhh-iiii-oooooo!

I want to just mention quickly that I-70 through Indiana is horrific. The bumps were endless and at times we felt like we were going to damage our trailer. At one point we got in the left lane just to avoid the bumps that were 50x worse in the right lane, and some jerk in a pickup blasted his horn at us and gestured to us like "WTF are you doing traveling in the passing lane?" Just trying to not lose our house, sir! And then, as soon as we passed the border into Ohio, the roads were smooth as a baby's bottom. Come on, Indiana. Do better.

That night, we stayed at our second Harvest Host location in a row, an alpaca farm just outside of Dayton. It didn't instill the euphoria of Richards Farm, but the alpacas were some of the cutest we've ever seen, and we've stayed on many an alpaca farm. Ohio has proven difficult for RV travel in the past, especially in the off-season. We call the state "well-meaning" because they have a lot of resources for RVers, but many just miss the mark. We're thankful to have Harvest Hosts as an option for overnights as we travel through.

The next travel day brought us to Pennsylvania. By that point, we were all sick of drive days and needed to hang our hats for a few days. We had lots of work to catch up on, plus we wanted to get on full hookups to dump/flush/fill and charge our batteries. The weather forecast was looking a bit scary; almost every state in the US would be hitting below-freezing temperatures. With the amount of rain in the area, we needed to keep a close eye on the road conditions. Staying put would give us time to assess the situation and let any ice thaw. We were rounding home-base, literally: 1 more week to go!