Chicago to Rochelle via Milwaukee

Chicago Botanical Gardens

We left the housesit on Monday morning, Smokey safely re-united with his owners. En route to Chicago city we stopped at the Chicago Botanical Gardens, a 385 acre living plant museum situated on nine islands and featuring 26 different feature gardens. Being limited by time we didn't get to see everything but what we did see was stunning, particularly the impressive vegetable gardens complete with bee hives, the amazing collection of Bonsai, and the tropical glasshouses.

Returning our rental car to O'Hare airport we rode the blue line "L" train (an abbreviation for eLevated) into downtown Chicago, a couple very kindly giving us their day pass tickets that they no longer needed which saved us a few bucks. Cities being expensive to stay in we were fortunate to find a good deal on an older style motel which has seen better days but was clean and perfectly located in easy walking distance of the central downtown area. First stop was the John Hancock Center, a 100 story, 1,127 feet tall (344m) skyscraper with spectacular views over Chicago. Many people pay the entrance fee for the Observatory on the 94th floor but we opted for the Signature Lounge on the 95th, where for the price of a cup of coffee you get the same stunning views plus a hot drink. The Ladies restroom also enjoys this spectacular view, but alas not the Gents.

Panorama of Chicago from John Hancock Tower

The other best way to view the city is by river boat, and we took one of the many river tours to learn about the brief but intense history of this city and see the diverse and wonderful architecture from different angles too. Back on foot, the Magnificent Mile with its mix of upmarket retail stores, restaurants and hotels was worth walking along but we preferred the buzzing and lively atmosphere of the Navy Pier, stretching out into Lake Michigan and from where we took another short boat tour on the lake to see the skyline.

Buckingham Fountain with Chicago skyline behind

Uniquely, almost all the waterfront remains as open public space, which truly makes this city feel bright and airy. In particular, Grant Park, home to the Buckingham Fountain which is one of the largest in the world and has hourly water shows, and The Cloud Gate, a stainless steel sculpture nicknamed The Bean which made for some fascinating photos with reflections of the buildings.

The Bean. Can you spot us in the reflection ?

Chicago is the starting place of historic route 66, not that there is much to see of the "Mother Road" anymore but we did take a selfie by the sign, to go with our picture from the end of the route in Los Angeles. Chicago is also famous for deep pan pizza and it would have been rude not to have had one, plus the leftovers made for an unusual cold breakfast the following morning.

Two days were probably not enough in Chicago - we could have stayed longer to see much more in this city that pleasantly surprised us by everything it has to offer. On our way out after having picked up another rental car we stopped by the famous Wrigley Field to get a brief glimpse of the ivy wall at this unique and historic baseball ground which is home to the Chicago Cubs.

Harley Davidson bike no 1

Sel with the Bronze Fonz

A few hours drive north took us into the state of Wisconsin, and the city of Milwaukee where Harley Davidson are headquartered. Their museum opened here in 2008 and houses an impressive collection of motorcycles, artifacts and exhibits from the company's 110 year history. Plenty pictures taken that day, and nearby we also saw the Bronze Fonz, a bronze statue of The Fonz from the series "Happy Days" which we both remember from our childhoods and which was set in Milwaukee.


Backtracking slightly West we re-visited a place that was closed when we came by three weeks earlier - the sculpture park of Dr Evermore where everything is made from scrap metal. The centrepiece is the Forevertron - you'll have to read the link to get a better understanding of it, but we are glad that we came back when it was open as it is all a bit eccentric and slightly bonkers.

Dr Evermore's Forevertron

The Infinity Room at the House on the Rock

Dr Evermore also created much of the art at our next stop, which was the House on the Rock, a complex built by Alex Jordan with many unique features like the infinity room with over 3000 windows. Again, there is too much to describe here so please click the link to find out more about this fascinating and unique place.

Stopping for the night in Dubuque, at the junction of three states (Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin), we picked up some fresh fruit at the Farmers Market, and took in the view from the top of the Fenelon Place Elevator, claimed to be the steepest and shortest funicular in the world.

The front of Antique Archeology

Driving south along the banks of the Mississippi we called into the small and pleasant town of Le Claire, Iowa, which is home to Antique Archeology, and the base for the reality TV series American Pickers. Having watched a few episodes both at home and in the USA it was great to see the place and browse some of the picks that we have seen on TV. Le Claire is also the birthplace of Buffalo Bill and there was a great museum dedicated to him here.

Tampico, IO - birthplace of Ronald Reagen

Finally, and on the subject of birthplaces, we stopped at the small village of Tampico, IL, which is the birthplace of Ronald Reagan. The small apartment where he was born is now a museum and we had a guided tour of it, along with the restored bank underneath. Filled with pictures, artifacts, documents and clippings it shows that you don't need to have years of history to be interesting. We also stopped briefly at Dixon, the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan, though we only got to see the outside of the house there.

So as you can see it has been a very busy few days for us already, sorry no new pictures on Facebook this time but we will need to do something soon as our camera is running out of memory ! Please do click on the links to read in more detail about the things we've seen, and we'll post again very soon.

House sit near Chicago and future plans

Smokey and Craig in the forest preserve

So here we are again, rapidly approaching the end of another great house sit. We have thoroughly enjoyed the break from our travels and having the lovely Smokey the dog to keep us company, though we are also excited to continue on our adventures again. Smokey has been really good with us, very chilled out and easy going, and spoiled rotten by us with treats and affection. As well as walking around this quiet and delightful neighborhood, he loves riding in the car with us and there is a great walk nearby around a forest preserve which we've all enjoyed several times. He's been our shadow at all times in the house, loves his food (and ours too), and has slept quietly every night at the foot of our bed.

Cranes in the garden

The house here has been lovely too - all the properties in this area are set on enormous (by Jersey standards) plots mostly laid to lawn, which makes for great wildlife viewing. Watching the red squirrels in the sunshine running between the trees and burying their nuts ready for winter, and Cranes walking in two and threes through the large open lawns has been very therapeutic, and we've even seen chipmunks on the decking. No deer or coyote this time, though one evening when we opened the front door to let Smokey out, there was a pungent odor of what we think was a skunk. Fortunately there was no trace the following morning so we presume it had just passed through the front garden, but phew what a unforgettable stink.

Where are my nuts hiding ?

Having access to a fantastic local library means we've been able to borrow films, documentaries and tv series on DVD to fill some evening time, but more importantly we've researched and planned the next leg of our journey. When the home owners return this weekend we have one more night with them before heading into Chicago city itself for a few days, then we backtrack slightly to visit a few places that we missed on our way here. Our plan is then to continue east, stopping at Niagra Falls on the USA side, and we are looking forward to meeting and catching up with a friend - originally from Jersey - and her family in their home city of Rochester, NY shortly afterwards.

One of our goals is to see the foliage and colours of The Fall, which is just starting in Maine. We've signed up to receive weekly foliage reports by email from the Maine Department of Agriculture, and subject to timing we hope to hit the peak season in at least two of the regions, maybe more. There are no firm plans beyond that at the moment but we are aiming to be in New York City by the end of October.

Not many photos this time but we have finally got the map page on our blog to work properly - it is interactive so you can zoom in and out, and click on markers to see more. Red markers are the places (town or city) that we have stayed in, and green markers are the points of interest we have seen or visited. We will update the markers as we progress and will also add more detail, so please keep checking back and give us some feedback too.

Wyoming to Chicago, IL

Beartooth Highway

Most of Yellowstone National Park is in the state of Wyoming, so we crossed the state line from Montana for the last time, through the National Park entrance and onto US Route 212. Peaking at just under 11,000 feet (3,300 metres), and better known as Beartooth Highway, the pass is usually only open from May to October due to heavy winter snowfall, and has been called the most beautiful drive in America with magnificent views over one of the most rugged and wild areas in the lower 48 states. The big blue sky certainly looked surreal at times, though we were brought back to reality at one point when a huge and hairy lone bison strolled across the road in front of us. It made for a very long day, only 500 miles or so but over 12 hours behind the wheel, but it was well worth the trip and would be a great ride to do on a Harley. 

Devils Tower National Monument

The following day we visited Devils Tower National Park, to see a natural igneous intrusion standing over 1,200 feet above the surrounding terrain. Most likely this volcanic plug was created when magma cooled and set solid in the neck of an ancient volcano, after which the surrounding sedimentary rock eroded away leaving this magnificent column. Although in a National Park, the site is sacred to the Native American peoples and once again we read of many conflicts, including a few recreational climbers who purposely choose to ignore a voluntary ban on climbing during the month of June. 

This is the geographic centre of the USA - well its very near here anyway !

Moving on and crossing into South Dakota, we spotted on our road map that we were close to the geographic centre of the USA. Guided by GPS we reached the waypoint but could see nothing special. Just 20 miles south in the town of Belle Fourche there is a tourist marker but we discovered later that we had been very close to the actual point, which is located in a field and involves climbing over a barbed wire fence and across a ditch. Being short on time this picture is the closest that we got to it, not very exciting as you can see. For anyone looking at a map and thinking that South Dakota is too high to be the geographic centre, you are partly correct -  this is the geographic centre of the entire 50 states which includes the two remote states of Hawaii and Alaska - the centre of the contiguous lower 48 being in Kansas.

Mount Rushmore

Next stop was the iconic Mount Rushmore with its bust sculptures of four presidents - Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln - carved from the granite face of the mountain that gives this monument its name. Attracting well over 2 million visitors each year, it certainly had the desired effect of boosting tourism to this region when it was completed in 1941. Just 50 miles north from here is the town of Sturgis, home to the annual Sturgis Bike Rally. Its one of the largest in the world and is held in the first week of August every year - it would have been good to see but we were just a few weeks late for this one.

Driving west to east through South Dakota felt long, on arrow straight roads between enormous fields of corn and soy, and as we crossed the state line into Minnesota the flat plains continued. It was here that the 80's tv series "Little House on the Prairie" was set, and it felt like not much had really changed - the tractors were bigger, but many of the side streets are still rough gravel, giving a distinct and quaint rural feel.

Minneapolis Skyline

Reaching the city of Minneapolis with a full day to spare and under stormy thunderclouds, we visited the "Mall of America", a huge indoor retail complex that receives over 40 million visitors annually. It was an attack on all our senses, the centre piece being an indoor theme park with roller-coasters, funfair rides and attractions. Currently this is not quite the largest mall in the USA, but it boasts an aquarium, adjoining hotel, many restaurants and bars, two huge food courts and of course plenty of retail stores, and is the perfect place to spend a rainy day.

Capitol Building, Madison.

The last big day on the road took us over another state line into Wisconsin, and into its capital city of Madison. Being a university city, it felt like it would be young and vibrant, however arriving on the Labor Day public holiday the streets surrounding Capitol Square were very quiet, and we struggled to find somewhere to eat. The empty streets made for easy parking though and we got some great shots of the Capitol Building before sunset.

A short trip over yet another state line into Illinois found us arriving at our house sit on the outskirts of Chicago, where we received a warm welcome from Smokey and his human parents. Once again we have been very lucky in every respect - a lovely pooch, a wonderful and friendly couple, a beautiful home and a great neighborhood.

Smokey our furry foster dog.

We wont be doing much, if any, sightseeing here but will spend the time relaxing a little after our time on the road, researching and planning the next phase of our trip, and catching up with various administrative tasks such as sorting out our photos and updating this blog. It is also a great time for us to catch up with family and friends and we will be on Skype most days for anyone that wants to chat with us, plus we'd love to hear from anyone by other means such as email or blog comments. Our Facebook friends will have already seen our latest batch of photos and for those of you not on Facebook you can view them here by clicking this link.