Category: Travel posts

So don’t shoot me if I get any of these out of order……this has been quite the exercise of working between the map, the guide book and a couple of different apps to find all the ‘spots’.

Then trying to take pictures on the road…there isn’t always room to pull over……and often not a lot of warning that a point of interest (POI) is coming up. (it can get quite exciting pulling over quickly with a 30ft trailer to take a picture of something….and thats me speaking as ‘ not the driver’. LOL).

Editor, usually swerving off onto the shoulder isn’t the issue…it’s rejoining the traffic from a standing start pulling an aircraft carrier behind you.

I am doing my best…and I am learning….LOL….

Now to continue the journey with the trailer…. So from our spot in Crete to Joliet…we rejoined route 66 and continued on down through several small towns as indicated by the various media being employed for this venture.

The target towns on the road…..Joliet, Wilmington, Godley, Gardner, Dwight, Odell and finally to Pontiac..

…..and of course, Romeoville….which is just before Joliet…….we did not find anything of particular note (despite the guides). I just felt the need to mention it b/c it’s a whole Romeo/Juliet thing..!!

To add to the flavour of the day …this was Memorial Day Monday…..so not a lot of traffic on the road…and most places were closed.

Joliet.has a whole bunch of Blues brothers connections…

I have to admit to not really knowing much about it (I’m either to young, too old or not North American…!!). .but there is a lot of reference to it/them in Joliet.(Editor. It’s a Joliet Prison thing)

The Rich and Creamy and the little Route 66 park was the first stop in town. Across the road was Dicks towing. The whole ancient crumbling car theme was definitely present. ( Kinda cool..!!)

We also did a quick stop at the visitor centre in town

The next town is Elwood and the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery. We passed by (remember it was Memeorial Day) as there was a police road block vetting all vehicles going into the Cemetery.

Wilmington. The stop was at Nellys (another POI) and we walked back into the downtown.(Believe it or not neither of us took a picture of Nellys or the trailer parked there)

It’s not a big town and most of the main street is antique shops…most of which were closed. The strange part here was the piped music all through town…it was a bit ‘Stepford’ to be honest….

One of the ‘must stops’ in Wilmington is the Launching Pad restaurant and the Gemini Giant in the parking lot. Unfortunately the restaurant is closed and in rough shape and the giant is gone. (there is a whole saga to this ….it’s long and complicated…!!) The Gemini Giant does make an appearance in a later post…

Godley was a quick pull over into the parking lot across from the mining museum.

Gardner…..a couple of historic filling stations converted into little museums

and The Shop on route 66……..

Super nice guy gave us the whole history of the place and some brochures for some of the upcoming ‘attractions’. (and took our picture for their facebook page … 😁)

Dwight was another filling station (I get the feeling there are going to be a lot of these..!!) Full of memorabilia and an old guy happy to chat about the history of the place.

Odell…I just plain failed to get any of the POI’s …!!

Pontiac, promised us not just a free parking spot for the night right downtown……..

…….. but a cornucopia of murals scattered throughout the town and a very comprehensive museum.

Pontiac also has a gallery of Bob Waldmire art. Bob Waldmire was an artist who did a lot of marketing graphics for route 66 and by all accounts was a big character on the road.

The Pixar movie ‘Cars’ did the character of the VW bus as a nod to Mr Waldmire though they eventually named the character Fillmore after some difficulty agreeing on terms. The VW bus he drove is also in the museum in Pontiac.

While we were there, a severe weather alert was issued and a big loud bangy crashy thunderstorm. Residents were advised to go to the lower level of the house……(not really a thing in an Airstream ….LOL……but we came to no harm)

…and after a night’s rest…….onward goes the journey ……..

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Ontario…. We do seem to keep coming back. We have made many good friends here. Every time we do come back we try to visit as many as we can. On this occasion the primary event was a wedding….much fun was had and then back on the road.

After restocking the fridge we battened down the hatches and started the epic journey west.

One quick stop at a serviced rest stop along the way to meet another friend for coffee and wouldn’t you know it…. Thump clang….. Yup we hit a huge pot hole on the ramp…. As we parked… Yup…. Water pouring from the bottom of the trailer… This time the freshwater.!!!

As luck would have it (if there is such a thing) another 30 mins along the road was CanAm RV, the airstream dealer we originally bought the trailer from. So… A quick stop…. Even though they were swamped busy… They had a tech take a look and gave us the bits we needed to do a parking lot fix… By we, I mean……

To be fair…I did hand him the screwdriver….and the screws…!!!

So with fingers and toes crossed we set off across the Ambassador bridge at Windsor/Detroit headed for an overnight stop at Maple Darling Farm outside Mason MI.

There was a bit of a debate about redirecting to the mothership in Jackson Centre, Ohio… But the water seemed to be staying in the tank…. So Chicago bound we were.

Next stop was with a very lovely couple in Crete Illinois. Another beautiful property close enough to Chicago for us to drive in without the trailer making things impossible in the traffic and begin at the beginning.

We drove in to walk around the corner onto the very, very start of the road.

……had a look around Millenial Park to have a peek at the Bean. (which was under renovation…!!)

……then quick back to the truck to catch a guided tour around the Frank Lloyd Wright House and Studio which are located in the Oak Park area of Chicago. Or so we thought…!!!

The route allowed us to actually drive that iconic corner around onto Adams and the journey has officially begun……. 😃

The day we picked to do this trip from lakefront Chicago to Oak Park was Memorial Day….and the Chicago Memorial day parade went down State St… We had to cross State St to get to Oak Park….(Argh..!!) We got to ‘park’ in traffic under the L-train for about 45 mins as traffic wove back and forth around the steel pillars and the trains rumbled overhead.

Nothing much to do but take more pictures…!!

Eventually we made it out…..and ended up only 10 minutes late for our tour.

A fascinating place…the beginning of the road also for Mr Wright it would seem..!!

This was one of the few houses that you are allowed to take pictures….

On display in the family room were the blocks that Frank Lloyd Wrights mother encouraged him to play with as a child….nurturing the architect……

The Oak Park area has a whole bunch of FLW designed houses…so a bit of a walking tour around the neighbourhood was in order……we were also surprised to discover in the area…the birthplace of Hemingway….who knew..!!

We arrived in Chicago at the beginning of the promised ‘Armageddon’ of cicadas……the three cohorts hatching this year. The noise from the trees was DEAFENING……..it must be crazymaking for anyone who lives here…..either that or you just don’t hear it after a while…!!!

Back to Americas Main Street. Having driven that iconic corner at the beginning of the road……next day…in the pouring rain we set off to sightsee a little of the outskirts of the city. Starting with a railroad viaduct (apparently its famous..!!) and then on to Castle Carwash.

I have to say…this navigating ‘the road’ is not the easiest. We have the ‘best’ guidebook, the map and the apps…….and it’s a lot of work to find the actual road….(I may repeat this statement often in the coming weeks…LOL)

A few more things in Cicero, Henrys drive through, the Steak and Egger. We stopped at the Steak and Egger for breakfast……not bad….!! Our waitress could have been the sister of the one in the “Hell or High Water” diner scene. If you haven’t seen it….check it out.

It is going to be interesting as we progress along the road to see how much we can actually stop at…… I suspect there may be many blurred pictures taken with my phone through the window of the truck as we whizz by…..LOL….. and unless it gets easier once we are out of the city learning to navigate this road is a challenge…I fully expect to be an expert by Santa Monica tho….. 😁

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Continuing across North Dakota, aiming to squeeze between the south shore of Lake Superior and the North shore of Lake Michigan, I booked a stop at the enticingly named Devils Lake. The reviews for the local state park….Grahams Island….were particularly glowing so I plumped for that one for a couple of days rest and a bit of leg stretching.

The booking site promised full hookups and it was time for a longer stop to do a bit of cooking…a bit of re-organizing the trailer closets and storage areas….and a bit of planning for the next leg of the journey.

Devils Lake ND is an incredible fishing and watersport area where the whole area is connected by a network of causeways both between the major islands and around the waterway that is Devils Lake.

Grahams Island is, as the name would suggest….on an Island.

It was still early in the season….so we were actually the ONLY ones camping in the whole park…..just us and the rangers….!!! Unfortunately this left the ticks with only 2 targets.

We hit North Dakota in mostly rainy weather, but we did get one nice sunny day. It is a spectacular park ( fishermans paradise). With a couple of shortish, family friendly, walking trails

We took the walk around the campground nature trail which was very pretty with the bright green grass of spring emerging….almost fluffy and the butterflies like confetti sprinkling around us.

Towards the end of the loop we were greeted with a cacophony of frog song. Following the sound, we found a pond off to the side of the trail. As we approached…suddenly …silence……..

If we stood absolutely still, after a couple of minutes they started again…..try as we might we could not see them, even scanning around with the binoculars. We even took some pictures just to see if by enlarging them later we could spot the frogs………see what you think (I can’t find them…!!)

The guidebook said this is also a birding area…makes sense with the quantity of water ( and mosquitos) around….

Continuing the road east…the next stop was a Harvest Host brewery. Klockow Brewing in Grand Rapids Minnesota.

Chatting to a couple of guys in the bar (as you do..!!) they recommended stopping in Ironwood…home of the Stormy Kromer…….Absolutely a must stop. (The coolest thing made in Michigan….as the sign says…LOL)

So we did….it’s literally a block from the highway we were driving…with lots of RV parking. We could almost taste Scotts next hat purchase….

But its was closed on a Saturday. (boohoo…!!)

The Bears Den mini putt….in Wisconsin was the next convenient overnight stop. The borders between Michigan and Wisconsin are weird when you drive this road as the GPS welcomes you to one, then the other…then back again……

The south shore of Superior is very much like the north shore. Thankfully the road was very quiet…. that was likely just because of how early in the season we were, but it made the journey most pleasant.

The north shore of Michigan was breathtaking

Across the Mackinaw bridge for the first time……….

…..and down the Michigan Peninsula with spring unfolding before us like time lapse photography happening as we moved first east then south.

A few days rest in West Branch MI ……..

We had a few days here, so I managed to find a local trail for a ‘shake down’ hike, our first for the new season (no water leaks on this one…..!!)

Ogemaw trail.

………then the road back to Ontario for a wedding.

This part of the journey not only involved us in a very enjoyable wedding and gathering of friends but set us up nicely for the next adventure….this summer the plan is to tackle The Mother Road…..Main Street of America….Route 66…….. stay tuned for the next exciting episode……..

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Having had the opportunity this year (2023 ) to expand our involvement in the Patricia Rodeo by making a small contribution to one of the purses, we were invited to a supporters’ appreciation event in Patricia. We were delighted to attend to gain a little different perspective on some of the faces behind the scenes, and say hi to the public faces we already knew. 

It’s a 2 plus hour drive up there so we left home early to combine the day with a side trip to Dinosaur PP….a place that never disappoints.

That breathtaking view from the parking lot by the entrance……a must stop before descending into the park itself.

It was very cold that day with a bitter wind that could cut you in half, and still a little October snow on the ground. Rather than hike we opted to take the scenic drive around the loop.

Just after passing the visitor centre, we had to stop to watch some of the locals going about their business (mule deer)

It was so quiet in the park. Very few people crazy enough to be here in this weather….

My intrepid blogtographer was braver than me and headed out to find some vistas to photograph.

Unbeknownst to the warm person in the car (me) he stumbled across a lone coyote and the two of them had a little staring match, so I am told….!!!

He didn’t last long out there |LOL)…Did I mention it was cold…..

But we did one last stop down by the river before heading back to Patricia.

It was lovely to see this place in a different season and with different light (last time we were here was in sweltering summer heat) and a great experience to lift the curtain on the administration of our favourite rodeo.

Now that we are not only diehard fans but newbie supporters…. 😁

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After another stellar Patricia Rodeo, we hot-footed it home for a month of old friends visiting…… and added bonus of having the eldest home for her first viewing of our new home.

It was busy but great fun and wonderful to spend a little time with some of our favourite people in our new location.

A return to Writing -on-Stone for yet another seasons view of this spectacular park

Before we set out…we had another visitor …viewed from the kitchen window, we think likely one of the last sightings of the hawk for this year before they migrate to warmer climes.

Writing-on-Stone is an other-worldly landscape. Even compared to other badlands areas…this one is one of the weirdest.

It’s a lovely walk with an interpretive ‘storybook’ that gives some insight into the history and geography from each viewpoint.

I picked up the guidebook at the visitor center (which has great little museum) to narrate our journey and entertain the company… 😁

It was a perfectly clear, crisp day……

If you look closely at the next four pictures you will find a small group of mule deer who wandered out from behind the rock as we stopped at this lookout point and one wading across the Milk River.

…and the sky….in true Alberta fashion gave the perfect backdrop to the landscape.

It’s such a mesmerizing place…..

The artist was understandably inspired…..

It doesn’t take much persuasion to have us visit this park, it’s just up the road from us…….perfect for anyone else who might like to visit……. 😁

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Arguably, the very best thing about rodeo is the little people. These are some of the most amazing kids you could ever hope to see. They make ’em tough out here in Alberta for sure.

I HAVE to kick this off with the mutton busting…and all the dads lined up and ready.

….and here they come….

These little guys hang on like you would not believe….

……..even when they are sliding off…they are still hanging on…..

Then we have some barrel racing,. This class ranges from tiny little people with a bit of additional parental support…….to tiny little people on huge horses just givin’er…!!!!

I offer no apologies for the number of pictures I am posting cos these guys just impress me soooo much….!!!

These kids are totally focused as they steer some pretty big horses around….

I never get tired of watching them……they are all great hope for the future of our communities.

…….and then we get the junior version of the wild horse race….the wild pony race. For this one they don’t have to saddle the horse or ride it anywhere….just get somebody on it….briefly. These kids are fearless…….!!!

…and unlike the big guys….they only have one team out at a time to further reduce the likelihood of injury for the people as well as the ponies….!!!

..I know I have said it before….but these kids have grit…. (as well as the stuff now in their boots…LOL)

This next sequence was Scott’s favourite of the whole weekend…… 😁

(Editor. Oh to have such a rubbery spine, which recovered almost instantly)

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