THE PIT, NEAR ELKVILLE, IL

2 to 4 July, 2004. This is quite possibly the funnest place on earth. It is a clothing-optional gay campground with a very clean lake that used to be a strip mine pit (hence the name). The water gets 100 feet deep at the bend. Hal and Billy, the owners, are good friends of ours and some of the greatest guys in the world. I used to come here when I was at SIU from 1991-1995. It was incredible how many familiar faces were here- people that I knew when I lived in the area 9 to 14 years ago. We camped here the entire 4th of July weekend for $5 each. Hal and Billy are not in it for the money, they're in it for the fun and they do a fantastic job! There's a very nice pavillion near the water and they have a very nice house here. When the guys next to us were discussing where to hang the disco ball, I thought they were joking. They weren't. They even had a karaoke machine with them. I was so happy to have a place to swim and fun people to party with. We sang songs to guitars and bongos, cooked and grilled decadent amounts of food and consumed obscene quantities of our favorite beverages. It got pretty wild at times. The women usually won the volleyball games. These are some of the most helpful, generous, considerate and all-around cool people you're ever likely to meet. We even had a delegate of The Democratic National Committee here and she's sharp as a tack. Thanks to "Peanut" and "John Boy" for a very cool fireworks display on Sunday night. There is no place I'd rather be on the 4th of July, 2004 than right here with these people. True high quality human beings who know how to party hard. We had an absolute blast! Not only did we have fun, but we were able to connect! All this and internet access too! I did get bit by a horse fly on my heel, wich swelled my foot up like a balloon.