The sun arrived on time but the heavy cloud cover kept it from being obvious. Bad weather had been predicted and killer tornados would rip through southern Indiana later in the day. At the time, I didn't realize how lucky I was to encounter only a few minutes of hail mixed with pummeling rain.

The second and third pictures are of the first segment seen inside Illinois. The car in the third photo is on the current US-40 with semi-trucks on I-70 in the background. That first segment is separated from active roads by a small ditch. I walked out to it but there is evidence that others, on dry days no doubt, have driven on it somewhat recently. The last picture is of a segment a bit further west which is connected to active roads and on which I drove. The old road fragments are a real mix of isolated fragments and drivable bits connected to active roads.

Some original National Road "pavement" is among the displays at the center. The bricks are from Vandalia's Gallantin Street and the log is from a section of corduroy road a few miles to the east. A nicely done video gives an introduction to the road and includes a national overview along with the Illinois related goodies. The center's highlight is probably the volunteer designed and built interactive map that hangs on the west wall. Using a simple touch screen interface, visitors can select an Illinois National Road community, see where it is physically located, and view photos and other information. Good stuff.