On the Way to Illinois

 June 14, 2022        Happy Flag Day!

painted mural in Quincy, Illinois

     Saying good-bye to Brian's mother doesn't get any easier with the passing years, but we are due in Colorado in mid-June, so we headed west.  We drove another section of the Lincon Highway and visited Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in his hometown of Latrobe, PA.

Boyhood home of Fred Rogers

park in downtown Latrobe

"You Are Special" - it is good to be reminded of this from time to time.

Bench was wet so I didn't sit with Fred.

Trolley cutout made for kids, not adults.

It was difficult to get a photo of his spot in the mausoleum.

Street signs in town with the image of Trolley

     We passed through Newark, Ohio again and explored the downtown area.  The town is well kept and some of the buildings have been restored recently.

We visited an independent bookstore in this row of shops and did a little early Christmas shopping.

Recently restored Sullivan Building with ornate concrete decorations and mosaic above.

We take many photos of murals in small towns everywhere.

Very impressive Licking County courthouse in Newark

Memorial to Victoria Woodhull ... she ran for President in 1872

What are you reading, Mr. Twain?

He visited Newark and wrote a story about the town.  I will try to locate a copy when we get home.

Longaberger building in Newark, OH

The company went bankrupt and we heard the building is for sale.

Art installation titled "Field of Corn" near Columbus.

We were camped at a state park west of Columbus when a weather alert sounded on the phone - tornado warning.   We gathered in the campground restroom - women, men, kids, dogs - until we got the all clear.

A tornado did touch down in the nearby town of Springfield.  A few hours later, the sky began to clear.

The next morning, we made a walking tour of downtown Springfield, Ohio - claims to be 

the Floral Center of the World.

 

Very colorful!

Heritage Center of Clark County, Ohio

More eye-catching murals - they seem to be everywhere these days.

What do you call soft drinks - soda or pop?   (I call them soft drinks.)

     This next section of this post includes memories Kris has of growing up in the Midwest.  Her family made weekend camping trips to Turkey Run State Park in Indiana.  I happens to have one of the oldest active geocaches in the world and is located in Parke County, known for an abundance of surviving covered bridges

Suspension bridge over Sugar Creek in Turkey Run State Park, a highlight of visits when Kris was a kid.

Of course, she had to make it sway and bounce like when she was a kid.

Hiking to the oldest geocache in Indiana.

Sugar Creek

We found it!   We have now found the oldest geocache in 19 states.

Before crossing the stateline into Illinois, we visited a few of the Parke County covered bridges.

Narrows Covered Bridge in Turkey Run State Park

Looking through window out onto Sugar Creek

Brian looking out through the window

We could actually get under this bridge to see how it is constructed.

Another trip down memory lane for Kris was a visit to Allerton Park near Monticello, Illinois.  The park was built by philanthropist Robert Allerton in 1900 and features formal gardens, sculptures, and wooded trails.

House of the Golden Buddhas

Fu Dog Garden

View of the Sunken Garden through a portal

"The Sun Singer"

"Death of the Centaur"

We spent three days in Springfield, Illinois and immersed ourselves in All Things Lincoln.  I think our experiences there deserves a dedicated blog posting and I will do that another time.