I can’t come to Louisville and not make at least one stop at Moby Dick for that breaded fish.  It isn’t fancy but is delicious.  We topped it off with a sundae at Chillers in Sellersburg where we met Tammy to kick off family get-togethers while we are in town.

East on 64, this is farm country.

Kent and Gary Russell graduated together looooong ago. Gary and his wife Carol are hosting this summer at Eldon Hazlet State Recreation Area just east of St. Louis.  The campground worked out as a great stop on our loop south east from Minnesota. Carlyle Lake is beautiful and the guys got a chance to hang out and catch up.  We didn’t get the boat in the water this pass through but did hike a bit and checked out the local birdlife

Lots of local Wisconsin made cheeses.  We now have a pound of Mousehaus Jack and a sampling of Smoked Habanero.  It was hard to choose just two.

Four miles of the Illinois River is lined with soaring cliffs cut by numerous vertical walled side canyons.  This unexpected beauty is protected in Starved Rock State Park.  Trails follow the river bank at water level and along the top of bluffs.  It is a lovely walk among trees tinged with early fall color and with views of the river and locks below.  We cross dry channels that speak of the more dramatic views in Spring when the side canyons funnel run-off across swirling waterfalls.

The park lodge is classic CCC.  A colossal two sided natural stone fireplace occupies the center of a great room with open log structure and a soaring vaulted ceiling.  I need a mini version in our cabin!

It is quiet here this time of year but huge overflow lots, traffic warning signs, and lots of visitor behavior rules tell the story of a much different place when the summer crowds from Chicago flood this place. I’ll take the quiet days, thank you

The Illinois-Michigan canal opened navigation from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi and on to the Gulf of Mexico.  It was key in the development of Chicago as a trade center and in the rise and fall of towns along its banks.  In Ottawa we visited a canal Tollhouse and got a wonderful history lesson from a devoted volunteer we encountered on the grounds.  This small town is hoping to leverage history and historic landmarks to get their town back on the map through tourism.  They have huge projects in the work that are backed by citizens, local government and businesses.  It is great to see such cooperation.  Here’s hoping it all works out.

Yep, it is all things Western. Exhibits and displays range from fine art to horseshoes and from pre-white settler days to modern times. We spent 4 hours and probably didn’t do it justice. It is classic museum so there is lots of reading to get the whole affect and I skipped a number of videos that are available.

It is interesting to see how saddles, firearms, tac, attire, and even barbed wire evolved to meet the changing needs and desires of the cowboys/ranchers through time. They have a bit of a primer on rodeo and on making of rawhide rope. Considerable space is devoted to “The Western” as in moving picture, its inaccuracies, its wild popularity and its stars through the years.

My favorites?

Artsy-the bronze sculptures. They are magnificently detailed and are accompanied by great stories of the artists and their techniques.

Cowboyee- how the influence of the Spanish, European immigrants, and Native Americans combined to shape the Cowboy of the American West.

Take a sweater if you go. It was so cold that it was distracting. We actually ducked out into the gardens midway through our tour to warm up a bit.

Monument rescue

Critical acclaim to scrap heap to city park to Museum. “The End of the Trail” is a sculpture created by James Fraser for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915.   The plaster sculpture drew great acclaim but disappeared when the exhibition closed.   Later it was found to have been cut in half and tossed in a scrap heap only to be rescued to stand in relative anonymity in a small town park for 50 years. There is a wonderful story of its rediscovery and restoration climaxing in display in the main lobby here at the Museum.   It is an impressive piece depicting horse and rider. What is the message? Check it out at nationalcowboymuseum.org so you can decide.

Crisscrossing the country inevitably leads us to crisscrossing Route 66. In Arcadia, OK that means Pops and the Historic Old Round Barn. A 66 foot tall soda bottle out front and thousands of bottles containing every flavor and color decorating the pyramid shaped glass walls make Pops a pretty unique diner. The burger was tasty. The root beer bread pudding fabulous. We left with Kick-a-poo joy juice and HotLips ginger ale to extend the experience at home.  

The old round barn is just that, an old round barn. Locals have taken on the task of rebuilding and maintaining. It is chock full of local artifacts and factoids. It is fun to imagine what the barn dances on the second floor must have been like back in the 1890s. You can rent that space out for events even now, keep that in mind for you next big shindig.

Banjos. Their beginnings and development are intertwined with American history from their creation by early slaves to modern times. Whether it is gut strings stretched over a gourd or steel strings over highly ornate wood and brass; whether it is 5 strings or 4, this instrument creates a uniquely American sound. The American Banjo Museum has hundreds, maybe thousands on display and they were wonderful to see. Even better, the curator played for us. He has a custom-made long neck Banjo that he plays folk and blues tunes on.   Fantastic. They had a “Banjo Petting Zoo” so I got to handle one and strum a bit. Makes me want to try it! Maybe one day.