The World's Largest Railsplitter Covered Wagon

 When I was looking for a stretch break attraction, Shannon suggested the world's largest covered wagon. I was like "meh". However, I changed my mind and decided to stop on our way home from Springfield. 

The World's Largest Railsplitter Covered Wagon is located in Lincoln, IL. It is a just on the edge of town if front of an old Best Western Hotel and a VFW post. There is a small parking lot so you can park and get out and check out the wagon.

The wagon is 24 feet tall. Abraham Lincoln is seated in the driver seat of the wagon. 

If you need a stretch break, check it out otherwise keep on driving. I didn't see much else in town that was worth seeing. There is supposedly a giant watermelon statue in town. I may have to go back and check that out on our next trip to Springfield. 

2251. See the Sugar Creek Covered Bridge in Glenarm

 Part of the Neenah Library summer reading program was to read a travel book/guide. I don't really use those any more. Everything is online. So curiosity got the best of me and I found one on Covered Bridges of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois. It was not a great book but I found some more covered bridges to visit. One of them was Sugar Creek Covered Bridge. 

Sugar Creek Covered Bridge is located about 11 miles south of Springfield. It is relatively easy to get to from the interstate as Googlemaps has you get off one exit and get back on the interstate at the next exit and just use the frontage road to get to the covered bridge. 

Sugar Creek Covered Bridge was originally built sometime in the 1800s.. no one is sure if it's 1827 or 1880. The state of Illinois bought it in the 1960s and refurbished it. Until 1984 you could drive across it. It crosses Sugar Creek.  Sugar Creek Covered Bridge now sits in a small park. 

Sugar Creek Covered Bridge was a nice quick stop on our way from Springfield to St. Louis. Even though it is not far form Springfield and a stretch break wasn't needed, it was still a nice, quick stop. It was definitely worth checking out. Now I just need to go check out the other 4 remaining covered bridges in Illinois.

2211. Go to the Beyer Stadium in Rockford

 When planning our trip to St. Louis, I was trying to find a stretch break attraction for the hubby between Madison and Springfield. There is not much between Rockford and Springfield to begin with. I checked the bucket list. I checked Roadtrippers app. I checked Roadside America site. I checked Atlas Obsecura website. There I finally hit jackpot. I found Beyer Stadium in Rockford.

Beyer Stadium was the home of the Rockford Peaches, a team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team was also featured in the movie A League of Their Own about the Rockford Peaches.

The original entrance gate is still there and so are the dugouts.

The field itself is not in too bad of shape.

There are signs along the side of the field highlighting members of the team and the history of the league. There are also monuments about the league. It is very well done to highlight a mostly forgotten piece of history.

You want to park on Seminary Street as there is no parking on 15th Avenue. It is not a great area of town but then again it is Rockford. Just be aware of your surroundings and don't go after dark.

I was amazed to find this little piece of history and glad we stopped. Someone mentioned the field in Racine is still there too. I may have to check that out if that is the case. I love old baseball relics and so does the hubby. The field where the Rockford Expos played is also on 15th Ave the hubby believes as we drove by it. 

Hiking the Kettle Moraine State Forest

 Last year Heather sends me a message that we can get our Ice Age Trail stamp for National Parks Passport at the Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest Visitor Center. Well because of COVID, the visitor centers were closed until summer this year. We picked a date that fit in both of our busy schedules took a road trip down to Campbellsport.

After stopping at the visitor center to get our stamps and a map, we drove over to Butler Lake and Flynn's Springs State Natural Area which included a section of the Ice Age trail. We actually ended up hiking the Butler Lake Trail. It was fairly easy to follow between the yellow Ice Age markers and purple Butler Trail markers.

I forgot when we decided to do this hike we were in the Kettle Moraine -- where there was a lot of glacial activity. It is name this because of the kettles or ponds that were filled in from melting glaciers. Because you have a kettles, you also have hills. We climbed a lot of hills. Up one hill, down the other side, repeat for three miles. At one point I thought of rolling down a grassy hill because it looked like fun until I realized I'd probably roll into the woods.

The first half of the trail is on the Ice Age Trail so it is wooden, rugged terrain. We had to climb over a lot of trees. It is not always very well maintained. 

The second half of the Butler Lake Trail is more open and you are walking on grass. The path is a lot wider here too. And the colors were just beginning to turn. It was a gorgeous day for a hike.

There was only one point we were unsure which way to go but using my trusty (rusty??) map reading skills, I figured out we went straight because the path across the trail was the horse route. Sure enough we saw the Ice Age and Butler Trail markers just into the woods again.

It was definitely a hilly challenge but it was a great day for a hike. I would love to hike more of the Ice Age trail or even more trails in the Kettle Moraine State Forest. Too bad the hubby isn't much of a hiker. Sometimes I just want to get out and explore nature.

5314. See the Wizard of Oz statues in Oconomowoc

 I was not a big fan of The Wizard of Oz growing up. I found it scary but as I got older I have enjoyed the movie. It helps to have friends that love the movie.

When I heard that Oconomowoc created statues to honor the 80th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz debut in their town, I knew I had to get down there to see them. Even though we are down in that general vicinity a couple of times a year, we never actually get to Oconomowoc. I informed the hubby we were stopping on our way from Cedar Rapids to Milwaukee.

Oconomowoc was chosen as to show the movie debut of The Wizard. Kenosha and Cape Cod were also test markets for the movie and despite what Kenosha claims, the first official showing was in Oconomowoc on October 7th, 1939.

The statues are in a plaza between two buildings -- the a municipal building and a restaurant. If you are not looking for it you will miss it. I was expecting a large open plaza and we missed it when we drove by. We actually found it by driving in the parking lot behind the restaurants and municipal building and saw one of the statues.  We parked on the side street and walked to the plaza.

Out in front of the police station, is a plaque commemorating the movie premier and the mayor in the Wizard of Oz. 

Then you follow the yellow brick road into Oz Plaza. Dorothy, the lion, the tin man, Toto and the scarecrow greet you. 

The wicked witch is behind Dorothy and her friends facing the parking lot. You actually walk past the outdoor seating of the restaurant to see her. There is also a large mural on the side of the restaurant building. 

It was nice little stretch break even if it was a bit hard to find. If you are any sort of fan of The Wizard of Oz, it is definitely worth the drive to check out Oz Plaza. Then take some time to explore downtown Oconomowoc. It looks to have a lot of cute shops and restaurants plus there's a lake.

AP US Mini Golf Tour 2021: Cedar Rapids, IA

 Mini golf is one of the hubby's and my things. We try to get mini golfing at least once a year and usually at a new course or especially if we are in a new state. I do want to play mini golf in all 50 states and we are slowly working towards this goal. I have played mini golf in 14 states and I've played in 11 with the hubby. So a long ways to go.

Since we had an evening to spend in Cedar Rapids, we opted to try a new mini golf course that opened this year. We played at a different course two years ago when we stayed in Iowa City. We decided to check out Mini Pines Miniature Golf. It turns out that it is part of the Twin Pines Golf Course which is owned by the city. Cedar Rapids owns and maintains three golf courses in the city and this is the only one with mini golf. It is $8/adult to play 18 holes of mini golf which I thought was very reasonable.

Being new this year, it is still in pristine condition. Par is 46. The hubby shot 43 and I shot 50. This is about normal for us.. the hubby usually beats me and it's at least by 5 or 6. Rarely do I beat him or does it come down to the final couple holes. The hubby got a hole in one but only one.

Like most new mini golf courses, it uses rocks, hills, and turns to make the course difficult instead of windmills and drawbridges. I prefer the old school courses to these "boring" courses. I get it though. These new courses are easier to maintain and they do still have water hazards.

I did like both Airport Mini Golf and Mini Pines Mini Golf. I would recommend either one if you are ever in Cedar Rapids and looking for family fun activity. I'm sure will go back to either one or both when we are in Cedar Rapids in the future.

2021 Baseball Stadium Tour -- Veterans Memorial Stadium

 Last year we had plans to get to a Cedar Rapids Kernal game. We all know how 2020 turned out. This year when I saw that Cedar Rapids was home Labor Day weekend, I told the hubby we were going to Iowa for Labor Day. 

Cedar Rapids Kernals play at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The stadium was built in 2002 and the field was re-named Perfect Game Field in 2009. It holds about 5300 fans which is on the higher end of capacity for minor league baseball. Cedar Rapids is the Minnesota Twins High A affiliate. Parking is free. 

Inside the gift shop, the Kernals Store, there is the Cedar Rapids Pro Baseball Hall of Fame. It is not very big but it honors past players who have done well. There is some memorabilia and plaques of all of the inductees.

The field is a nice. The hubby was annoyed on how busy the scoreboard was. I really didn't need to know all of those stats. 

We did not eat at the game so I can't tell you about all the yummy ball park food.

It was a typical high A baseball game. The Kernals tried to make a come back against Quad Cities but fell short. Typical of the games we went to this year where the home team lost. 

Outside of the stadium is a nice veteran's memorial. 

We definitely we keep Cedar Rapids on the list of places to return to. Honestly the only minor league ball parks we've been to so far that we really haven't enjoyed was Beloit, who got a new stadium last month, Burlington, and Kane County.. the last two are no longer minor league affiliates.  It is a nice stadium and a nice town. We will definitely be back.

2427. Go to Effigy Mound National Monument in Harpers Ferry

 Being the geek that I am, I have a National Parks Passport. I'm trying to collect as many stamps as possible and trying to knock off the close ones. Effigy Mounds National Monument is in Iowa. I tried to figure out how to get there when I dropped off (or picked up) the hubby from Iowa earlier in the summer but it wasn't going to work. I figured we could stop on our way to Cedar Rapids.

Effigy Mounds National Monument is located in Harpers Ferry or literally about 10-15 minutes from Prairie du Chen across the Mississippi. It was not hard to get to. 

Inside the visitor center is a small museum of the area and Native American culture.

When we went in the visitor center, I asked about the hike up to the first set of mounds. There is only one small mound cluster near the visitor center. The rest are up on the bluffs that surround the visitor center. I heard the hike to the top of the bluff is steep and not very easy. The park ranger informed us that it is relatively steep the first third of the way and then you have switch backs the rest of the way. When you get to the bench, you are about 2/3 of the way up. The hike is about a mile. The hubby and I decided to try it. 

I'll be honest. Devil's Lake and the trail from the lower trails to the higher trails at High Cliff, I thought were harder. Yes it was steep but it wasn't that bad. We even did it in flip flops. Sure we stopped and rested a few times but it was nothing the hubby couldn't handle. I was worried about going down in flip flops but it was not a problem. I would recommend wearing shoes though. Do not wear flip flops. People will look at you like you are crazy.

We only checked the first Effigy Mound -- Little Bear Mound Group. If we walked another 650 feet we could have seen another mound group. 

There are longer hikes as well. To reach Hanging Rock, it is a seven mile round trip hike. Due to time constraints and the hubby's hiking ability the hike to Little Bear Mound Group was fine. 

We also checked out the view of the Mississippi from the top of the bluff. 

If you are ever in Iowa or even southeastern Wisconsin take a drive over to Effigy Mounds National Monument. It is a great piece of Native American History. There is no cost to visit and there is a hike for every ability. I would definitely go back and hike even farther and check out more mounds.