Category Archives: Illinois

by | November 17, 2018 · 9:58 am

Discoveries in History – More of Illinois and St. Louis

We’ve been traveling along the route taken by the Corps of Discovery in 1805-1806.  While we haven’t traveled it in the same order that Lewis and Clark did, their history has been part of our experience.  We saw where Sergeant Floyd died from appendicitis.  We touched William Clark’s signature etched in the stone of Pompey’s Pillar.  We spent a day at Traveler’s Rest in Montana where we walked along the Bitterroot River and saw the campsite the Corps camped in exactly 200 years before our visit.  We recently were at Brennan’s Wave on the Clark Fork in Missoula, saw a memorial bridge across the Missouri River in Chamberlain, South Dakota.  And, of course, we lived this past summer on the banks of the Snake River close to the city of Pasco where Lewis and Clark first saw the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers.

And now, we saw the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.  The Arch was built to commemorate the westward expansion of the United States made possible by Lewis and Clark.

We were technically still in Illinois – staying as close to St. Louis as we could get in our RV.  And our first full day in Granite City, Illinois, we drove a few miles to see the Departure Point.  This was the campsite of Lewis and Clark at River Dubois.  There is a great museum there complete with a life-size replica of the “keeled” boat as well as the piroques used by the Corps for the first part of their river journey.

We went on a guided ranger tour to see a replica of the fort on the river – the rebuilt rustic buildings formed a small but efficient military-style post where the expedition gathered as a unit before departure.

While in that area, we took a guided tour of the Melvin Price Locks and Dam, built by the Army Corps of Engineers.  We can’t help but compare all locks and dams to OUR Ice Harbor Lock and Dam.  This dam is on the muddy Mississippi and the barge and ship traffic is much heavier then on the Snake River.  But “our” dam stands a proud 100 feet high and traffic through that lock navigate the full 100 feet while the Melvin Price lock is only a few feet high – actually only 8 inches while we were there.  But it was a thrill to see a tug push fifteen barges through the lock all at once.

A 15 barge tow entering the lock

It barely fits!

We didn’t waste any more time getting to the Arch.  The next day, Monday, October 22, we drove to a Metro Link station to commute into the city.  After a short ride, we walked to the Arch where we bought tickets for the movie, depicting the construction and history of the Arch, and tickets for the tram ride to the top.  We didn’t get tickets for the boat ride on the Mississippi River right below the Arch – we saved that for another time.  The movie was really interesting and was a good start to our visit.  The tram ride was great!  It is a very well organized attraction, obviously ready for huge crowds.  So while we waited for our tram, we took the time to wander through the museum.  It was also well organized – with separate halls showing us the construction, the history of St. Louis, and lots more.

The Gateway Arch on the Mississippi River

For the architects and mathematicians!

Then it was time for our tram.  We waited at our station for only a few minutes before a guide led us into the pretty tight space we all had to maneuver to enter the tram cars.  For those with walking issues beware – there are lots of narrow steps (which you share with many others) and then you walk a bit of a distance.  Then there is the tram car.  Picture a ferris wheel car – only it is completely enclosed.  The only “window” is the tiny glass elevator door through which you enter.  This door is 4 feet high.  So you walk up a little step, bend down and squeeze into the car which you are sharing with four other people.  The best way to handle this is to smile at each other and not mind that all ten of your knees are touching and if you are an adult your head is probably hitting the curved ceiling of the car.  You only get to look out of the car for part of the upward journey and then all you see are the endless narrow winding stairs you will have to walk down if the tram mechanism fails.  Otherwise there is nothing to see.  Until you get to the top.  Then you have to get out of the cramped car and squish past everyone waiting to get back on the car while you share the very narrow stair case up more steps to the viewing room.  We were there on a day without the usual crowds – only one tram was operating, but we were still shoulder to shoulder with plenty of other tourists.  Even so the viewing area was pretty pleasant and in a minute or so you could get next to a window to see the spectacular views.  The Mississippi River side is just as amazing as the St. Louis city side.  You could stay up there as long as you wanted – and we made sure we got our fill of a view we might not see again.  After understanding the construction and being told that a little sway in the arch is common, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in the world’s tallest arch at 630 feet high and the tallest human-made monument in the Western Hemisphere.  Another item to check off our bucket list!

View of St. Louis from the top of the arch

We walked through the downtown area of St. Louis to get to Sen, our destination for a Thai lunch – excellent!  And then cut through City Garden to see the sculptures as we walked back to our Metro Link stop.  A great day in St. Louis!

One of the sculptures in the City Park

Cahokia Mounds in Illinois, not far from our campground, was a step back into history – way before Lewis and Clark.  This site was amazing.  In 1250 CE, Cahokia was larger than London was at that time.  It was one of the greatest cities of the world covering (now) about 3.5 square miles with about 80 mounds.  The pre-Columbian Native Americans lived in the plazas amidst the giant mounds – peacefully tending crops and existing in family units.  At the height of its population, there were between 10,200 and 15,300 people living in this beautiful place.

The mounds are huge, especially when you consider that the earth was moved from nearby pits in woven baskets and then piled onto the massive platforms.    The largest of the mounds, Monks Mound, has four terraces and is ten stories high and is bigger than the largest pyramid in Egypt.  A few of the mounds are burial tombs but most of them are simply earthen ceremonial embankments.  This is truly a sight to see and now we want to visit other mounds around the country.

Monk’s Mound

We couldn’t resist one more day exploring St. Louis.  After a very good vegetarian lunch at Frida’s, we headed to Delmar Loop.  As we walked the main street we read the embedded stars in the Walk of Fame, noting the many famous people who call St. Louis home.  We took our photos with the statue of Chuck Berry.  We gave in to our cravings and stopped at Piccione Pastry Shop.  Doug’s ricotta cheesecake and my chocolate chip cannolli were worth every calorie!

Hanging out with Chuck Berry

We had another day to be explorers so we drove over to the Anheuser-Busch Brewery for one of their tours.  We took the General Tour since we weren’t interested in becoming brewers ourselves and it was free.  We weren’t prepared for the big crowds and almost had to wait 2.5 hours for the tour.  But then this nice woman gave us 2 extra tickets for the next tour.  Doug wasn’t very complimentary about this tour.  It was mostly walking outside between the massive, old red brick buildings in a group of about 40 people.  The tour guide spoke quickly into a microphone with no real interest in interacting with her audience.  In between the long walks (in the cold rain) we stopped at a few places to hear some information that was garbled into the mike.  So Doug’s comments are well taken, but I enjoyed the tour – the buildings were beautiful; we got to see a Clydesdale Horse getting a bath!; the interior of the brewery was beautiful with creamy ivory-colored intricate wrought iron and large portraits under grand chandeliers.  At one of the stops you are offered a sample (Bud or Bud Light).  Neither of us drink any more and Doug’s gluten issue is not compatible with beer, but I always liked the first sip or two of a nice cold beer so while Doug didn’t take any, I asked for a small “sip”.  Everyone else got a filled-to-the-top 4 oz. glass of beer.  I got a 3.5 oz glass – of which I took 3 sips.  As we passed through to the next stop, my almost-filled cup was one of only a couple that had any liquid left in it.  At the end of the tour, we were invited to turn in our stamped tickets to get another sample.  I found the lady who gave us her extra tickets and gave her our tickets for two samples.  She and her husband were happy to get them.  Everyone (crowds and crowds) were walking through the exhibits and gift shop with large glasses of beer.  I guess we are truly out of touch.

A Clydesdale getting a bath

I took some time to take advantage of a good laundry at our St. Louis KOA and we spent a few quiet days in the RV, while the damp, cold fall weather rolled around us outside.  We checked the forecast and found that a windstorm was heading our way on the Sunday we were planning to leave Granite City.  We changed plans and just stayed put that day.  Leaving one day late was fine with us and we didn’t have to struggle with high winds on the highway.  That left us only spending one night at Lincoln City State Park in Indiana.

This was a beautiful park – with lots of trees in fall colors and a pretty site.  It had the added attraction of being right next to Lincoln’s Boyhood Home Memorial Park.  We barely parked the rig before we headed over to the memorial park.  We were too late for the visitor center and museum but it was the perfect time of day to wander through the forest, crunching on yellow leaves and walking the Trail of Stones.  Along this pretty half-mile path are stones from homes and sites from Lincoln’s life.  We saw the rebuilt wooden cabin and farm buildings as well as the acres where crops grew during the time Thomas Lincoln made this farm his family home.

Site of the Lincoln Boyhood Home

We got up early the next day to see the visitor center and its museum exhibits.  We feel like we have gotten to know the man Abraham Lincoln was rather than the legend.  Seeing his humble beginnings, learning about his love of reading and his family values, we now have a truer picture of his greatness.  We hope to get to his birthplace in Kentucky.

The Lincoln Museum in Indiana

But our main reason for our next stop is Mammoth Caves!  The largest cave system – and one we have been wanting to see.  Kentucky – Land of the Unbridled Spirit – here we come!  Another new state for us!

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Filed under Illinois, Indiana, Missouri

by | November 14, 2018 · 10:12 am

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 33rd 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 12th, 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.

Enjoying Craft Root Beer at Moosejaw Pizza

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 15th, 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.

At the Lincoln Presidential Museum

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!

At the Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, Illinois

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.

Old Capitol in Springfield

Senate Chamber in the Old Capitol

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.

Lincoln Home

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!

New State Capitol

Looking up at the Dome

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!

The Lincoln Tomb

Lincoln’s Final Resting Place

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.

Dana-Thomas House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

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!

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Filed under Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin

by | September 30, 2017 · 12:45 pm

Corn and more

I’ve heard that it’s good to start with a joke.  So here goes:  What do you call someone who only eats corn?  A cornivore!  Ha ha ha!  Sorry for the “corny” joke but I’ve been surrounded by so much corn on this latest segment of this trip that I had to make a joke about it.  Actually, I found out that all this corn is not going to be eaten by people – instead it’s feed corn and some will become ethanol.  There really is a lot of corn growing in this country – we drive for hours and you can’t look in any direction without seeing a million stalks.

View from our campsite – acres and acres of corn!

When we last blogged, we had just left Indiana and entered Sullivan, Illinois.  We took the advice of the campground host and went to the Broom Corn Festival in Arcola.  It was a fairly large street fair with lots of food and vendors and one large tent where we watched demonstrations of broom-making.  We saw a model of a broom house and a display of medal-winning brooms.  Arcola was a nice town.  The festival was great.  We talked to some local folks.  All in all, it, was a nice day and not too much corn.

Our next stop was the Kankakee KOA in Chebanese, Illinois.  We liked the city of Kankakee and it proved to be in a good location to check out some local attractions.

The B. Harley Bradley House in Kankakee, IL

On September 12th we checked out another Frank Lloyd Wright house.  We couldn’t tour the inside of it because there were no tours that day, but we walked around the building, looked in windows and walked down to the river adjacent to the property.  One of the most outstanding features of this house are the windows.  You can see in this photo the intricate leaded designs.  The geometric patterns are a hallmark of Wright’s.

Closeup of windows on this Frank Lloyd Wright designed house

The location of this house was right on the Kankakee River and it had its own small dock – also designed by Wright.  Walking on the lawn from the house to the dock you could imagine the Bradleys engaging in picnics and boat rides along this pretty river.

From the Kankadee campground we drove to a train station called the Metra and commuted into CHICAGO!  The train was a double-decker, impeccably clean and our trip to the city was hassle-free.  We headed straight to Millennium Park to take our photo at “The Bean” – the iconic Chicago sculpture formally known as Cloud Gate.  It reflects the sky and, of course, everyone has to have a photo of their distorted self image.  It was amazing to see it and we loved listening to all the visitors from all over the world.  It was another thrill for me to see Lake Michigan.  We walked through the park, stopped to listen to an outdoor concert and then walked over the pedestrian bridge to see the lake. It was a calm day and the boats and ships in the marina gently moved in the water.  Our photos don’t really do it all justice.  We walked over to the Crown Fountain and then along Michigan Avenue.  We ate lunch at Native Foods and kept on walking and walking back to our train station.  We put 5.3 miles on our feet that day and got to see one of America’s largest and beautiful cities.  Our train rides were relaxing and helped make the day a huge success.

The “Bean” in Chicago Millennium Park

Lake Michigan waterfront

Crown Fountain in Chicago

Our next campground was Rock Island KOA where we only stayed one night.  Then we entered our 31st state, Iowa.  Iowa – Fields of Opportunity!  More corn! We really felt that we were in the west again once we crossed the Mighty Mississippi.  The Newton KOA was near the Historic Valley Junction where we happened upon an Antique Car Show.  We also drove through Des Moines.  We stopped for a walk through the city park outside the capitol dome.  There we spent some time wandering through the lavender plantings and the Holocaust Memorial.  The next day, we drove over to Pella, a little town that truly celebrates its Dutch heritage.  Even the street signs have windmills on them.  We chose not to go through the reconstructed Dutch Village but instead walked around the historic downtown square.  I couldn’t resist buying some really yummy chocolate (in the shape of wooden shoes, tulips, and windmills).  The town of Pella was quaint and we learned about the history of its original Dutch citizens.  One of the best parts of the trip was talking to Jerry in the windmill-visitor center.  His family members were some of the original founders and listening to him talk about his neighbors and the good people they are was refreshing and heartening.  You don’t have to pay the admission fee to the Village to really enjoy the heart and soul of Pella – just be lucky enough to talk to Jerry.

The State Capitol building in Des Moines

A Windmill in Pella, IA (built just for the tourists!)

On September 19, we were in Nebraska at the Eugene T. “Bo” Mahoney State Park in Ashland.  It was a beautiful park but the rain kept us from doing much exploring there.  It was nice to be back in Nebraska.  This was the first state to be revisited on this trip, although we are in a different part of the state.

After three nights, we moved to Grand Island KOA.  There wasn’t much to do around Grand Island so we just hung out in the RV.  We have been traveling all along Route 80 – a pretty good road, but lots of wind and flat landscape.  The wind was pretty strong and, in fact, we saw a sign in the campground and heard the same joke repeated – “One day the wind stopped blowing in Nebraska and everyone fell over.”

We saw lots of signs for Fort Kearny and the city of Kearney.  I mentioned before that I grew up in Kearny, New Jersey and we lived near Kearny, Arizona, so it piqued my interest to see that extra “e”.  All these places are named after the same Philip Kearny who served in the Mexican American and Civil War.  It’s confusing to see the extra “e” in the city of Kearney and no extra “e” anywhere else.  Well, a postman who kept misspelling it is the reason for the discrepancy and apparently the citizens got used to the “e” and adopted the misspelling.  But the important trivia about Kearney, Nebraska is that it is the Sandhill Crane Capital of the World, as well as The Heart of Nebraska.  The celebrity of note here is still Buffalo Bill Cody.

Buffalo Bill was pretty popular in the North Platte area we next stayed in.  Our Holiday RV Park was within walking distance of the Fort Cody Museum/Gift Shop or as Doug puts it “Fort Tourist Trap”.  There was a pretty cool exhibit of hundreds of carved miniatures depicting the whole giant Wild West Show.  One man carved the figures – cowboys, Indians, horses, tents and everything else – and his wife painted them.  The sheer number of figures was impressive.

There is an interesting attraction in North Platte – the Bailey Rail Yard and Golden Spike Tower.  We took the elevator up to the top of the 8-floor tower to look out over the largest railroad yard.  The history of the yard includes Buffalo Bill who made his home base in North Platte because of the proximity of this railroad hub and the trains that took his Wild West Show all over the states. The yard is 2,850 acres and manages 10,000 railroad cars each day.  The yard contains two humps – the system that sorts the cars so they get attached to the right trains and arrive at the right destination.

The Golden Spike Tower in North Platte, NE

Union Pacific Bailey Yard – largest in the world!

We found out that North Platte, Nebraska was also the home Henry Hill relocated to.  You remember, Henry – in “Goodfellas”?  The real life New York City mobster worked in this middle America town as a cook.  It was also the home of Glen Miller.

This morning we left North Platte and drove across more of Route 80, now seeing gently rolling hills of ranch land instead of corn fields.  It was a longer than usual trip so we parked at Cabela’s flagship store for a short rest.  Out front was a memorial to the Pony Express.

We know we are in the west now.  The flat land has changed to sand-colored bluffs.  We saw a giant metal sculpture of a howling coyote and then on top of a bluff was a statue of a Native American carrying a spear and slumping on the back of his horse – Trails End.

Not trails end for us – we’ll be visiting Cheyenne this week.  And then on and on…our journey continues.

 

 

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Filed under Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska

by | September 14, 2017 · 6:48 pm

Moving through the Midwest

(This blog was written before we heard the tragic news of our nephew Danny’s passing.  It’s hard to read this now – our hearts are clouded with grief and our easy-going happy blog exists in its own vacuum.  But life goes on in spite of pain so we decided to publish this blog today as we planned. )

We haven’t written much about our travel days – maybe because the scenery around Pennsylvania and then Ohio, and Indiana and now Illinois, was familiar – lots of green acres, farms, and two lane highways.  We left the rolling hills and softly rounded mountains when we drove west of Pennsylvania and noticed that Ohio and Indiana were flat.  It’s not that this part of the country isn’t pretty – the farms seem to be thriving and since it’s September – the crops are near harvest time.  But there is nothing remarkable about this scenery to us.  It looks just like the middle of New Jersey as you drive on the Turnpike, Parkway or Rt. 295.

But it isn’t boring.  We have passed some interesting things on this journey and here’s just a short list of them:

  • On Route 70, we drove past Xenia, Ohio, near where some of Doug’s mother’s relatives came from
  • In Talmage, PA we saw a sign advertising Lawn Chair Worship – thought that would be better than hard wooden pews at a church service some day
  • Saw a sign that said “Smile and give your frown a break”
  • I never thought about this, but Frederick the Great was the King in King of Prussia
  • Pennsylvania was a busy time for us – we met up with 29 family and friends!
  • In East Berlin, PA we sniggered (childishly) at the sign for Peepytown Road
  • We passed a sign near Hagerstown, Indiana for Wilbur Wright’s birthplace – causing us to wonder where Orville was born (Dayton, Ohio)
  • Loved the billboard on Rt. 70 in Ohio encouraging us to visit Watkins Glen, NY – just 607 miles away and then turn right

So our journey is not just looking at the highway lane in front of us, but also trying to get a feel for the country we are passing at 55 miles per hour.  Reading the place names, the billboards, the handmade signs, gives us a flavor and sense of the people who inhabit the area.

It feels like we are really on the move now.  We spent our last few days in Pennsylvania in the Madison/Pittsburgh KOA in Ruffs Dale.  From there we landed in Nashport, Ohio, our 28th state on this trip.  Doug had carefully planned this stop to get me to the BIGGEST BASKET IN THE WORLD!  We drove to Newark to what used to be the Longaberger Basket headquarters.  Dave Longaberger is the founder of the basket company famous all around the world.  The company was known for its great employment practices. The basketeers, mostly local women, were shareholders, had good benefits and enjoyed a compassionate workplace.  As the business grew, Dave created the iconic building to house his headquarters.  The building is shaped exactly like the company’s famous picnic basket, complete with two huge handles made of poured concrete.  Unfortunately, the company took a downward turn after Dave passed away and also because the demand for the baskets diminished.  So the giant basket building is now empty. But there it stands still – looking amazing!

It also seems like the factory and The Homestead is taking a downward turn.  We drove out to Frazeysburg and saw only a few cars at the factory’s employee parking lot.  Nearby is a huge complex of beautiful buildings and landscaping called The Homestead.  We parked our car in the enormous parking lot which that day held 5 other cars.  We walked through an impressive but empty welcome center and went into the main building which has 2 large floors of shopping.  I love baskets.  I never thought I would say this, but after wandering through all the rooms on both floors, I felt like I had seen too many baskets.  Longaberger baskets are known for their quality – each one has the name of the maker on the bottom.  True collectors know every shape and size and use for these baskets and they are willing to pay for the quality.  Longaberger baskets are pricey.  So, Doug and I headed to the sale floor, where we bought a small basket originally retailing for about $30, on sale for $17.  Still pricey.

But while we were on the sale floor, we found a dark corner filled with bins overflowing with the cloth liners that Longaberger sells to decorate the inside of the baskets.  This was where the real bargains were.  The signs on the table invited us to fill a bag (about 5 by 8”) for $1.00!  The liners were in all different sizes and patterns, made of really good quality material.  So I filled two bags with  lots of sewing projects in mind.  We also found 12 x 12” framed canvases for $1.00 each and some little “basket hangers” – little knickknacks for baskets – for $.50 each.  By sewing 2 identical liners together I made tote bags, shopping bags, and small Halloween baskets.  For $2.00 (including sales tax) I had a lot of fun.  So much so, that two days later, Doug and I went back to rummage through those bins again.  This time we left with five bags.  Doug got carried away with the savings and stuffed those bags way beyond the reasonable limit.  I made him go to the cashier alone.  But I now have a stash of projects, liners for our very own baskets that I can change with the seasons, and all for a total of $7.00!  Plus I got to see the BIGGEST BASKET IN THE WORLD!

We left Nashport, Ohio on Labor Day and stopped for a few days in the KOA in Richmond, Indiana (our 29th state).  Indiana was a short stay but we met some friendly people there.  Richmond is known for its antiquing but since we don’t have much need for anything else in our RV, we opted to skip the antiques and instead shopped at Fountain Acres, an Amish market.  We checked out the aisles of bulk food, a large selection of gluten free products, and some beautiful produce.  As I write this I smile at the memory of the delicious ruby red tomatoes I’ve been enjoying for dinner.  We also tried the dried kiwi – not too sweet but really tasty.  We have been nibbling the excellent cheese we bought – and now wish we had bought more!  We took home two blocks of cheese but had fun sampling many more.  I couldn’t resist a jar of sweet but spicy pickles – yum!

We drove through Indianapolis on I-70 which gave us a view of its skyline – some new construction amidst the old brick buildings.  We saw the Indianapolis Colts Lucas Oil Stadium and got a quick glimpse of the capital dome.

We are now calling this part of the country the Land of the Large because we have passed signs directing us to large things like:

  • the largest wind chime
  • the largest golf tee
  • the largest rocking chair
  • the largest catsup bottle
  • the largest horseshoe
  • the largest giant pink elephant
  • the largest covered wagon
  • and maybe not “the largest” but still impressively large – Paul Bunyan and other monstrosities

We are not stopping to see these marvels but I still hope to see the largest ball of twine someday.  No matter – my life is complete since I saw the BIGGEST BASKET IN THE WORLD!

Now we are in Sullivan, Illinois.  We are celebrating in this beautiful Army Corps of Engineer Park* – Forrest W. “Bo” Wood Park surrounding the blue crystal clear waters of Shelby Lake – our 30th state and our 100th campground since we started our journey.  We “checked in” with each other this morning and we are still excited about living in our RV, traveling the country and being the Wistful Wanderers.  So far, it still feels new and wonderful and we wouldn’t change a thing.

One of the ways we track our journey is with our map – we only put the state sticker on if we stay at least one night in our RV.  As you can see from this photo – we are filling our map in and if you read our blog, you know that our adventures fill our hearts as well as this map.

Every day is a journey and the journey itself is home.”

– Matsuo Basho

*Just a note here:  We love the Army Corps of Engineer Parks we have been in.  They typically are some of the prettiest campsites we stay at.  In this park, we have a large, gravel and grass site, 50 amps of electricity – all for $9.00 per night.  It would have cost the really reasonable rate of $18 but with my Senior Pass, we live here at half price.  Other than a free site, these COE parks are the best deals in the country.

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