Lincoln’s New Salem

Posted on September 29, 2018 by Phoenix 2552

September 29, 2018

Lincoln’s New Salem, an Illinois State Historic Site puts a different spin on Abraham Lincoln’s life. It’s here where you can see him as a human being, not much different than other people living in New Salem, and indeed in the rest of the country. New Salem was where Lincoln “grew up.” He was 22 years old when he moved here, a young adult trying to find his way in life. He left six years later with a firm direction, although at that point his rise to the presidency was wasn’t even a germ of an idea.

Lincoln’s New Salem Visitor Center

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Lincoln Home National Historic Site

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Phoenix 2552

September 28, 2018

Visitor Center

Visitor Center

The Lincoln Home National Historic Site provides a unique look into the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. The National Park Service has four city block preserved and is restoring the houses to the way they were at the time Lincoln lived there. The visitor center has informative displays, a film about Lincoln and a gift shop. Tours of the Lincoln Home are on a first come first served basis with tickets being issued with the time of your tour. The tour guides do an excellent job of imparting historical information about the Lincolns, the Lincoln Home and the neighborhood. You can walk the neighborhood free of charge but there is a fee for the tour of the inside of the house.

In 1837 Lincoln arrived in Springfield, all his belongings in two saddlebags, ready to practice law. The newly designated state capital had a population of 2,500. The city quickly became the center of Illinois’s government and society.

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Effigy Mounds National Monument and Pikes Peak State Park

Posted on August 3, 2018 by Phoenix 2552

August 3-4, 2018

Effigy Mounds National Monument

Compound Mound – Conical mounds connected by Linear mounds (like barbells)

Another short hop south took us to Effigy Mounds National Monument. We rolled right into the visitor center with the rig and had no problem parking. It was a wickedly hot day once again. We wanted to do the 4 mile round trip hike to see the Marching Bear Group which has a lot of bear and bird mounds but the heat and steep trail were too much. We opted for a shorter, ranger led, 2 mile round trip hike to the Little Bear Mound Group and Fire Point overlook.
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Historic Fort Snelling, St. Paul, MN

Posted on August 1, 2018 by Phoenix 2552

August 1, 2018

Fort Snelling has a long, and occasionally ignoble, history. The fort is located on a high bluff at Bdote, pronounced buh-doe-tay, a Dakota word meaning “where waters come together.” Specifically it refers to the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. Initially called Fort St. Anthony it was renamed Fort Snelling after its first commanding officer. It was originally built to keep the British out of the Northwest, allow the exploitation of the area’s resources, and to protect Native Americans. That last one was a surprise to me but the protection didn’t last long.

The old fort was beautifully restored. In the image below, the house in the middle distance was the commandant’s quarters.

Fort Snelling

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Wabasha, National Eagle Center, Lark Toys and Big River Resort

Posted on August 1, 2018 by Phoenix 2552

August 1-2, 2018

National Eagle Center in Wabasha


National Eagle Center

Our next stop was a short drive south along the Mississippi River to Wabasha. This is a cute little town where the National Eagle Center can be found. Another claim to fame is that it is the town that the movie Grumpy Old Men was set in.
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St. Anthony Falls Lock & Dam/Mississippi Queen Riverboat Cruise

Posted on July 31, 2018 by Phoenix 2552

July 31, 2018

St. Anthony Falls today

In 1680 Father Louis Hennepin was the first European to see the falls and named them for St. Anthony. The village of St. Anthony, later part of Minneapolis, was founded on the east bank of the river because the falls provided energy for sawmills. Continue reading →

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Interstate State Park (MN)

Posted on July 31, 2018 by Phoenix 2552

July 31, 2018

potholes 1

Multiple Potholes

I spotted Interstate State Park while checking on the National Park and talked John into stopping (it was right there and Chloe needed some more activities for her Minnesota Naturalist Patch). They also have a small but nice visitor center that explains the “glacial potholes” along the river as well as giving an excellent snapshot of the history of the St. Croix River. Continue reading →

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St Croix National Scenic Riverway

Posted on July 31, 2018 by Phoenix 2552

July 31, 2018

St. Croix River

What had been planned as a somewhat relaxing day driving into Wisconsin to visit the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway Visitor Center so Chloe could earn her Junior Ranger badge became another jam packed touring day. I’m blaming that helpful Ranger at the Mississippi River Visitor Center. He suggested the added activities. Continue reading →

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Minnesota Zoo

Posted on July 30, 2018 by Phoenix 2552

July 30, 2018

Baby Takin

The Minnesota Zoo was amazing. We spent the entire day there from opening to closing. They had a full schedule of feedings and keeper talks so we got online ahead of time to plan our day. Chloe chose which activities we were going to try to hit and we worked out a not-too-killer schedule… or so we thought. It’s a big zoo! Continue reading →

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Mall of America (MOA)

Posted on July 29, 2018 by Phoenix 2552

July 29, 2018

I hate shopping. I hate malls. I had NO interest in hitting Mall of America… but it was one of those “you HAVE to” locations and we were passing it just about every day. So to appease those that felt we would be missing out, we went. We had already toured two museums that day so it was a quick run over to the mall to do a quick walk around and grab dinner. It was a Sunday and the mall closed earlier than we expected so we had just a bit over an hour to spend there. That meant no sit down restaurants so we were stuck with food court food. Chloe was totally good with that. John and I, not so much.

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