New States – Minnesota and Wisconsin; Plus the Land of Lincoln

We only spent one night in Minnesota but it was special for us since it marks the 33^rd state we’ve overnighted in.  It has been almost exactly one year since we last visited a new state on our trip.  Last October we stayed in New Mexico for the first time as full time RVers.

After our quick stay in Minnesota, we arrived in Wisconsin – State number 34!  We pulled into Stand Rock Campground and then realized we were in for bad, bad weather.  Rain, hail, ferocious wind, and a tornado warning less than 10 miles from us!  It was scary, but we made it through the night safely.  We kept an eye on the nearby rivers which were at record highs.  We learned that some of the folks in our campground were there because their homes had been flooded and the campground hosts were letting them stay there at very reduced rates.  Again – nice to know that people help each other.

It was cold and rainy, but we wanted to venture out to the waterpark capital of the world – Wisconsin Dells.  It’s kind of like Branson, MO – huge resorts with even huger water features and all kinds of family-style attractions to go along with them.  We were off season so no crowds and free parking.

We were in Wisconsin – had to buy cheese!  And the cheese did not disappoint, especially the aged cheddar – yum!  We had lunch at Mac’s where Doug got a skillet of potatoes prepared like mac and cheese and I had a creamy traditional mac and cheese with chipotle chicken – a delight!  After a very cheesy and filling lunch, we went to another cheese store and bought more cheese.

On Friday, October 12^th, the weather improved so we went back to Wisconsin Dells for Moosejaw Pizza – they make their own gluten free crust and brew their own root beer.  We wandered through an antique and craft mall, went to a second-hand store to donate a few items and shop for new shirts, and then did some food shopping.

On Saturday, we dropped stuff off at the Post Office for the grandkids for Halloween, went back to Wisconsin Dells for another trip to a cheese store for, yes, more cheese and even a little candy.  The campground had a good laundry, so I even caught up there.

After leaving Wisconsin, we spent one night in the La Salle/Peru KOA in North Utica, Illinois.

On October 15^th, we got to Double J Campground in Springfield – the capitol of Illinois.  I came down with a stomach bug and lost two days of my life confined to bed, but Springfield and Abraham Lincoln sites await!

I did recover and enjoyed our days in the Land of Lincoln.  We stopped at the Visitor’s Center which turned out to be a good first stop.  With a good city map and a helpful guide, we plotted out our days of checking out the many Lincoln sites.  Plus, the guide gave us a guest pass to park any where in the city for free.  It is a good city to walk around and the weather was cold but sunny.  So, we had a busy schedule – first stop – The Lincoln Presidential Museum.  It was amazing!  Worth every bit of the $12 entry fee we paid.  It is an extensive look at Lincoln’s life – starting at a reproduction of the log cabin he was born in and lived in as a child.  One guide mentioned that Disney contributed to the design of the museum and you could feel that in the excellence, imagination and technology throughout.

Walking into the first section of the museum, we heard Obama’s voice.  It was a special presentation that highlighted the four Illinois presidents – Lincoln, Grant, Reagan and Obama.  Reagan and Obama’s taped speeches were broadcasted while you read the Lincoln and Grant speeches.

There was another section – the White House – with a beautiful display of Mary Todd Lincoln’s and her friends’ gowns.  So lovely!  It was really fascinating to sit in a small theater section and watch Tim Russert (now deceased) on a simulated TV news broadcast relating the election of 1860 – with descriptions of each of the four candidates’ platforms and bios.  Very cool!

There was a corridor filled with strangely-framed political cartoons showing how harsh were the criticisms of Lincoln.  A guide told us that after the Museum was dedicated, President George W. Bush toured through it and liked this display the best – reveling in the fact that the press treated Lincoln with more disdain than they treated him.

The movie – Through the Eyes of Lincoln – was a portrayal of the small and major events that formed the life Lincoln lived through.  It was moving, personal and new insight into his life and personality.  Walking through a long corridor with holographic images of men and women yelling their diatribes about the Emancipation Proclamation, made you aware of the difficult road Lincoln’s vision had to go through.

We ate lunch at Café Moxo – gluten free mac and cheese with beans for Doug and a wonderful chicken salad sandwich with pasta salad for me.   We saw the art displays in the Lincoln Library and then visited the Old State Capitol building.  It was a good day of lots of walking and seeing interesting stuff.

On Thursday, we toured the Lincoln Home – the one he lived in for 17 years with Mary Todd and his sons.  Springfield was supportive of his law practice and the children and his wife had a good life there.  The home is lovingly preserved and the tour itself was great with the added advantage that the original neighborhood has been refurbished too so we walked along the streets checking out the other homes also.

We made sure to see the inside of the new State Capitol Building.  The outside dome is beautiful – silvery – which turns out to be zinc.  We immediately were happy we stopped in – the first floor with its intricate, French-inspired décor takes your breath away and looking up at the magnificent stained glass inside the zinc dome was incredible.  We toured with a very informative guide, Cassy.  She took us up and around the rotunda on the upper floors and gave us details about the construction of the building as well as the business that happens within it.  While walking through one of the side halls, we were unexpectedly met by a small contingent of official-looking men.  One of them was Jesse White, the current Secretary of State.  He greeted the 3 of us on the tour, asked where we were from and then invited us into his office – the largest, most ornate office we have ever seen – and the largest office in the building.  Secretary White is quite a character – took over the tour (which astounded Cassy) and showed us walls and walls of memorabilia of his very active life.  He showed us his photos of when he was an airman and jumped from planes, his career in baseball, his political life and his current passion – a charity aerobic team.  He showed us the art work in his office – spectacular! – and was just amazingly hospitable to us.  We thanked him for his time and service and walked past his many secretaries and body guards who were not too sure what had just happened.  We thought Secretary White was by far the highlight of our day!

We stopped at Lincoln’s Tomb – a beautiful monument to him.  Walking through the tomb and then through the cemetery on such a nice fall day was just perfect!

Our last day in Springfield was spent touring the Dana-Thomas House built by Frank Lloyd Wright.  We’ve seen a few of Wright’s homes but this one was bigger and more elaborate than some of the others.  It had 16 levels with over 40 separate “spaces” (not really rooms) and the features had touches of oriental influences combined with Wright’s nature-centric designs.  The tour was free (donation suggested) and lasted about 40 minutes.  This is one Wright house not to be missed.

We will still be in Illinois technically for the next week – but we will be touring through St. Louis, Missouri.  I’ve never seen the Arch or been in St. Louis so there is much to look forward to!