Liz Travels: Route 66

… you find yourself sleeping and canoodling with Lincoln.

It’s called the Land of Lincoln for a reason. There isn’t a town that doesn’t claim some connection with Abraham Lincoln as a youth, a circuit rider, a candidate or as president. (Even Oregonians can, apparently, claim him. The guide at Lincoln’s tomb told us that Lincoln had worked on soon-to-be-president Zachary Taylor ‘s campaign so diligently, that he offered Lincoln the governorship of the Oregon territory.) As a result, images of Lincoln and stories about Lincoln are just about everywhere. From places you’d expect them, like his tomb in Springfield, to places you wouldn’t, like, well, just about everywhere else.

A small sample…

You should be able to swipe the images above to see what comes next, or find a small arrow in the right and left margins of the picture above to see others. This is only a fraction of the plaques, pictures, bronzes, and associated Lincolniana that we’ve seen. You could spend a week seeing it all.

The Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum

Oh. My. Goodness. This is an impressive facility with a remarkable use of technology to enchant and teach. The combined use of audio and visual techniques to present the turbulent years of Lincoln’s presidency are used to breathtaking effectiveness.

There is a room with one wall covered with images of people who played a part in the Civil War. Using a touch screen, you can learn who they are and what role they had. Another section is set up as the cabinet room during the discussion of when to announce the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln is surrounded by his cabinet and the life-sized figures, in active poses around the table, the cluttered room, make you feel like you’ve walked into a tense and turbulent conversation.

A series of rooms lined with pretty vicious political cartoons, in in ever more distorted frames, creates the feeling of the kinds of nasty distortions of fact, and the personal assaults on politicians and their families that have become so much a part of political life. Voices surround you with more nasty comments.

But it’s the jaw-dropping presentation by a “historian,” who explains the importance and value of a presidential archive such as this, that will leave you mesmerized. The museum has pulled out all the technological stops on this one. It was the fitting cap to our stop in Springfield.

Liz

P.S. For newsletter subscribers, a reminder that Chapter 7 of The Illinois Caper, first book in the Route 66 Steal series, is now online.

And it is in Lexington, Illinois

Sharp-eyed Dash spotted this glorious piece of community-built folk art as we rolled by it in the rain. So cool we made a U-turn down the road about a half mile, came back, and took pics in the rain. There was no information on why it was there, or how it was built, but if you enlarge the images, you’ll see names and messages written on the individual pieces of recycled metal.

And look at the sheer number of pieces of scrap metal in this creature. Chains, hubcaps, pipes, and other bits of unidentifiable plumbing. I could have spent a half hour looking at this, but it was very wet, and we had an appointment down the road.

Please enjoy.

Liz

Correction: When I first posted this, I assumed, from the comments written on the elephant and the names, that this was a community project. I’ve since had a moment to do some research, and I was wrong. This was made by metal scrap hauler Kasey Wells, from Lexington, to promote his write-in campaign for president. You can see the story here at the Chicago Tribune. Obviously the elephant is outliving his ill-fated campaign. Thanks, Kasey! This elephant is literally a traffic stopper for travelers on Route 66.

Begin at the beginning…

Today Dash and I actually took the first steps on Route 66. And we started, as of course we must, with breakfast at Lou Mitchell’s, a classic diner on Jackson. It was packed and with good reason: Great food. And we got free donut holes. I haven’t had donut holes in…well, a really, really long time. They were scrumptious. I would have been happy to have just a box of those for breakfast.

You can’t drive Route 66 and not stop at the “begin” sign. So we drove down to Michigan Blvd, parked only slightly illegally, dashed to the sign, got a kind Chicagoan to take out picture, and dashed back to the car before we were ticketed. As you can see from the picture, some people can’t help but leave a “sign” of their own that they have been on the Route.

The next destination, for two admirers of the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, was the Wright home and studio in Oak Park. But of course, we first had to get lost.

Lost under the CTA

You see it in every movie filmed in Chicago, practically: the car chase under the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) “el”–the elevated train. We got ourselves trapped under the “el” on Lake Street. If you’ve seen those movies, I’m here to tell you the rattling and banging of the “el” overhead is actually louder, and the space under the “el” is narrower. Thank goodness we weren’t being chased. And thank goodness we weren’t driving the 1956 Buick convertible that stars in The Route 66 Steal.

By time we got out from under the track we were utterly confused, but somehow mostly on the right track. With only a few more wrong turns–and only a few expletives for the dispassionate electronic phone voice that wouldn’t talk to us when we needed her, we got there in time to take a walk around the neighborhood and see a bunch of Wright-designed houses. I’ve only included one here–no need to torture you.

Neighborhoods

I haven’t spent a lot of time in Chicago before, so have been awed and delighted by the vast variety of neighborhoods, and the dramatic way the city can change from block to block. I visited Chicago Costume, in the Lincoln Park area, as research for The Illinois Caper, and passed through a tunnel of old trees in front of old shoulder-to-shoulder homes of stone and brick, some of which were almost gothic. Then, cross a street, and it was all slick brick-fronted and boring buildings.

When planning this trip, Dash found us an Air B&B in the Pilsen neighborhood, an area once populated by my genetic “peeps”–Bohemians. (Those from Bohemia, not those who like to live a madcap lifestyle, though I guess I fall into both categories.) Over time, it shifted to a more diverse, though largely Latino population. The walls are covered with murals, and there are a bunch of restaurants within walking distance. We tried La Luna, and had great fish tacos. Pilsen is a neighborhood that has seen some hard days, but is now filling with carefully updated and cared for homes.

Returning downtown from Oak park, we avoided the “el” by taking Chicago Ave. A great choice, because it introduced us to a a variety of other neighborhoods, leaving us wishing we could stay in Chicago longer so we could move from one to the other and get to know each.

Fighting our way to Navy Pier

We had a great drive until we got close–we thought– to our destination of the Navy Pier. On a Sunday. A beautiful, sunny Sunday when apparently everyone in Chicago had the same idea. (We will not even discuss the cost of the parking…) We got stuck in horrific traffic, and then it was all worthwhile when Dash spotted the bunnies on the bikes–and managed to get a picture of them!

Having gotten to the pier, we took a ride around the harbor of the enormous and gloriously beautiful Lake Michigan. I was raised around the Great Lakes so this was coming home. I’m afraid I only heard part of the description of the city skyline of Chicago. I was steeped in amazement that we all travel thousands of miles to see inland seas like the Mediterranean, when we have these unparalleled bodies of fresh water snugged in between the US and Canada. I have promised myself I will come back and spend more time on the lakes.

We followed our google map-lady (once again speaking to us) out of the Navy Pier area, which was fortunate because the path out, as native Chicagoans well know, flows under the city through a maze of subterranean versions of the streets above. It was, for those of us used to Oregon, a bit of a scary experience. Just very glad I don’t do it every day.

It was a full day. And I’m sure we could spend many others here, but the road beckons, and we are off to Joliet in the morning.

Liz

P.S. For subscribers following the adventures of Kat and Tish (definitely NOT modeled on Dash and I), another chapter of The Illinois Caper has been posted at The Route 66 Steal site.

Drive or Rent?

One of the first decisions my traveling companion, Dash, and I made when we discussed driving Route 66 was take a car or rent one in Chicago. Taking a car won. But that meant ferrying the car across 2000+ miles from Oregon to Chicago. Dash was committed elsewhere, so that meant a long drive with me talking to myself. (Books on tape are too distracting especially in Montana mountains during a downpour.)

Along the way there was incredible scenery…

But there were consolations. One large one being…Montana.

Yes, I was assured by residents that I was seeing Montana at its best–freshly watered and green. But jiminy. Mile after mile of gorgeous mountains, valleys, rivers and that famous “big sky” was almost more than I could absorb. And who would have thought that any state could harbor a bird as exotic looking as the black-billed magpie with its extraordinary long tail. (The photo at the Lyric Bird Food website is superb.)

And massive sculptures…

North Dakota can’t help but know that, for those of us driving in from the west, Montana is a tough act to follow. So sculptor Gary Greff came up with the Enchanted Highway–thirty two miles of gigantic welded metal sculptures. Worth the detour.

After 1500 miles of easy but very looong driving, I took a welcome break in Fargo (yes, Fargo) where the tendency to giant sculptures continues with a large wooden chair just crying out for a selfie. I resisted.

Then time to move on to the source of the Nile, so to speak, the head of Route 66, and time to get this show, as they say, on the road.

Liz

And P.S. for newsletter subscribers…

For those newsletter subscribers following the adventures of Kat and Tish, the second chapter of The Illinois Caper, in The Route 66 Steal series, has been posted today.