Midwest Guest

Midwest travel links for July 2010

Here are a few interesting Midwest-related stories I've read online this past month:

• A Visit to Round Island Lighthouse-This little gem of a lighthouse near Michigan's Mackinac Island opens to the public one day each year, so is a special treat when Jennifer shared these photos of her recent visit to the lighthouse with her friend Bree on Bree's Mackinac Island Blog.

• The J.W. Wescott II mail boat-A boat with its own Zip Code? Read about it at Sweet Juniper as Jim writes about the Detroit River Post Office aboard the J.W. Wescott II, the only boat in the world dedicated expressly for mail delivery to vessels along the Detroit River.

• Cincinnati's Dramatic, Multi-Billion Dollar Riverfront Revitalization Nearly Complete-Urban planner Randy Simes details this Ohio city's riverfront $3 billion transformation from an aging industrial space into an exciting mixed-use district at the Urbanophile. We visited completed components of this revitalization like the Great American Ball Park and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center during our last visit to the city.





• Milwaukee, A Walker's Paradise-Andrew takes readers on a tour of walkable Milwaukee at Urban Out, checking out some downtown bars, eateries, shopping districts, and residential neighborhoods.

• Chicago's Grocery Store in the Sky-Wayne takes us to one of Chicago's most exclusive stores, a grocery store on the 44th floor of the John Hancock building called the Potash Gourmet 44. Visitors must pass a lobby security checkpoint, pass the 44th floor lobby receptionist, and be a building resident (or with a resident) to go shopping there. Or you can enjoy this virtual visit with Wayne.

• Wayne County Treasures: The Levi Coffin House-We learned a bit about Levi Coffin and his role in the Underground Railroad in Ohio when we visited the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, so it was especially interesting to me to learn a bit more about his earlier days with the Underground Railroad in Indiana. Check this story by Andrea on the Indiana Insider Blog.

• Flint Portraits: Lloyd Copeman-Next time you fill up your glass with ice by flipping ice cubes out of your flexible ice cube tray, you can thank Flint-area inventor Lloyd Copeman. The flexible plastic ice cube tray earned this prolific inventor an astounding $500,000 during the late 1920s. Gordon writes about Copeman and his many inventions at Flint Expatriates.

• Jolly Green Giant Statue-Beth and her family visited the big green guy in Blue Earth, Minnesota. Read about their visit to this 55-foot-tall landmark and roadside attraction at The Vacation Gals blog.

• Two Miles an Hour-Did you ever wonder what it was like to cross the prairies in a covered wagon? Join Andrea at Horizontal Lines as she takes on a day-long trail ride in northwestern North Dakota to relive her immigrant ancestors' experiences as they settled into a new land.

© Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for April 2010

It's time again to share some links to some of the interesting Midwest blog posts I've read online in the past month!

 

• Alexander Calder's 'Flamingo'-I've written about Alexander Calder's stabiles in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Toledo, Ohio, so it was especially interesting to read Lee Bey's story about Calder's "Flamingo" stabile in Chicago, Illinois.



Calder's 'Stegosaurus' in front of the Toldeo Museum of Art


• Gulo Gulo: The Wolverine and Why Michigan is the Wolverine State-I always wondered about Michigan's designation as "the wolverine state", especially with the recent death of Michigan's only known wolverine existing in the wild. Andrea shares a bit of information about this animal and shares some possible reasons for our state's nickname at Michigan in Pictures.

• Highland Park's Craftsman Bungalows-I love reading about Charlie's two-wheeled explorations of the Detroit area at his Bikes, Books & A Little Music blog. I enjoyed reading about his bicycle ride around Highland Park, Michigan. That city was home to Ford Motor Company's manufacturing plant, the factory where Henry Ford first offered the then-generous $5-a-day wage in 1914 that drew scores of workers seeking a better life for their families to metro Detroit. Charlie tells us that Highland Park is home to one of the largest concentrations of Craftsman Bungalows outside of California, and he includes photos of some these beautiful Highland Park homes with this story.

• Ruins, Revitalization and Rust on the Riverfront-Regular readers of Midwest Guest know of my fascination with bridges in general, and the Cincinnati, Ohio, Roebling Bridge in particular, so it should come as no surprise that this post by Gordon (a.k.a. Ronny) of Queen City Discovery intrigued me. Did I ever mention that I also dig alliteration?



John Roebling Bridge


• COSI: The hands-on museum for kids-Join this Kentucky family of five as they enjoy a great day at Columbus, Ohio's COSI (Center of Science and Industry) Museum on their Backseat Traveler site.

• Background!-Visit Cindy LaFerle's Home Office as Cindy throws the spotlight behind the scenes of Michigan's now-starring role in the movie industry. Cindy tells us about her experience as a background extra in feature films and the hard work required to score that "15 seconds of fame" on the big screen.

• Fighting Crime, One Doughnut at a Time-Check out Kath's story at Great Lakes Gazette about a group of cops in Clare, Michigan, who saved a bakery that served the northern Michigan community since 1896 by purchasing the business to keep it from closing down. The cops obviously have a sense of humor, judging from the T-shirts they offer for sale in a shop next to the bakery.

• Visiting the beauty of Traverse City & its wine-I always try to keep a bottle of Michigan wine in the house, especially my favorite Late Harvest Riesling from Chateau Grand Traverse. I've visited many of the wineries along Michigan's Old Mission and Leelanau Peninsulas over the years, so I enjoyed Marcia's story about some of these Michigan wineries at Wine and Spirits Travel.

• Hiking Trails of Northwest Indiana-Join Jonathan at the Indiana Insider Blog as he shares five of the most-loved, and possibly least-known, nature walks in northeast Indiana.

• Hormel's SPAM Museum-So, "spam" often gets a bad rap online these days, but readers should enjoy joining The Vacation Gals' Beth as she visits Hormel's homage to the real deal at the SPAM Museum in Austin, Minnesota.

• Fargo-Moorhead's Unusual "Celebrity Walk of Fame"-I love quirky roadside attractions like this "walk of fame" just outside of the Fargo-Moorhead Convention & Visitors Bureau building. Join Brian for a quick video tour of the walk, which features hand prints and signatures from luminaries visiting the area that include Bill Gates, Weird Al, the guys from Metallica, and Bert & Ernie (What? No Grover?)

© Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for March 2010

Here are a few Midwest stories I’ve enjoyed reading this past month:

• Detroit History Tour: Woodlawn Cemetery-I love prowling around old cemeteries, taking photos and learning more about the history and people of a particular location. Amy takes us on a tour of Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery at The Night Train. (Regular Midwest Guest readers may remember this cemetery as home to a special Motown tribute to Michael Jackson!)





• Driving Around Detroit-I'm quite familiar with some of the idiosyncratic ways of the roadways in Detroit, but for those who aren't familiar with driving in the Motor City should check out this handy guide at Detroit Moxie. Becks explains peculiarities like the "Michigan Left" and our unique pronunciations of some place names around here.

• Made in Cleveland! Clips from Cleveland Film History-We hear a lot about the film industry in Michigan after state incentives meant more film projects got the green light to film here in recent months. Meanwhile, the crew at Cleveland Area History takes a look at some familiar films that include scenes filmed in, and around, that Ohio city. ("Light of Day" was a always a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, and I'd love to see that Joan Jett/Michael J. Fox film again one of these days)

• Back From the Future-Gordon (a.k.a. Ronny) of Queen City Discovery discovered an online cache of vintage 1987 photos of various Cincinnati locations. He gained permission from the photographer of those images to pair them with his own taken in the spots more than 20 years later. (Again, regular readers of Midwest Guest might remember my fascination with the Roebling Bridge spanning the river between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky)





• The Chamber of Secrets-I love seeing those secret little places a lot of tourists don't seem to think of visiting. Justin's post at The Windy Pixel about ascending the spiral stairways to the top of Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago makes me want to take that tour next time I'm in Chicago.

• A Souvenir from Prison-Most families might not think of stopping at prison to pick up souvenirs, but one of Kath's fond childhood memories of visiting Michigan's Upper Peninsula involved her family's stops at the state prison in Marquette and its gift store. Check it out at Great Lakes Gazette.

• 25 Interesting (and Odd) Chicago Facts-Andrew, a.k.a. The Brooklyn Nomad, shares this eclectic list of fun facts about the Windy City. Twinkies? Who knew?

• In the Wright Frame of Mind-Terri checks out "the most famous neighbor in my hood" with this post about the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park, Illinois, at the Enjoy Illinois blog.

• Wright's Treasure, or Preserving the City-Read about this Frank Lloyd Wright gem in the city of Detroit and the owners' dedication to preserving this 4,000-square-foot, plus check out a little video footage of the ongoing restoration at Time magazine's Detroit Blog.

• Scandinavian Heritage Park in Minot, North Dakota-It's no secret that I'm a big fan of posts about unique architectural buildings, bridges, and other structures, so Linda's post about a traditional Scandinavian Stabbur or Stave Church definitely caught my eye. Check it out at Travels with Children.

• South Dakota Cave Explorations-We loved the Black Hills area of South Dakota and hope to return there soon. Reading Mary's post at Travel with Teens and Tweens about exploring Wind Cave and Jewel Cave makes those two day trips definitely worth considering next time we travel that way.

© Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for February 2010

Here are a few Midwest stories I’ve enjoyed reading this past month:

• Those of you observing Lent may still be savoring the idea of that last taste of sweets until Easter. Join Becks Davis of Detroit Moxie as she travels to Hamtramck, Michigan, for the traditional Polish Paczki on Fat Tuesday.

• Sarah went Wandering Off and found this cool art installation on the University of Kansas campus. What do you think? Bewitching, bewildering, or bedazzling?





• I love visiting those funky and largely unknown museums that are unique to a particular city or destination. Check out this great list of unusual and unexpected museums in Cleveland, Ohio, at What Locals Like About Cleveland Plus—a list that includes Lake View Cemetery, which Midwest Guest readers may remember reading about here.

• Amy of A Closer Look at Flyover Land invites readers to join her for a perfectly civilized afternoon in St. Paul, Minnesota with an up-close look at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

• Aimée takes readers of the Indiana Insider Blog on a tour of Bloomington, Indiana. Check out Indiana University, do a little shopping, and have a great meal to round out your day in Bloomington.

• Kath takes Great Lakes Gazette readers on a tour of Marquette, Michigan. See what makes this Upper Peninsula city a Distinctive Destination, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Northern Michigan University, Lake Superior shoreline, cool architecture—no wonder Marquette came in first among online voters among the Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2010.

• Check out these ornate Lombard Lamps in Chicago, Illinois, on the Chicago Architecture Blog. The massive lamps are familiar to residents of Hamburg, Germany, where similar lamps have lined the famous Lombard Bridge in that city since 1869.

• Regular readers of Midwest Guest know that I have a special interest in unique bridges, so I have to include this story by Linda at Travels with Children about North Dakota’s Fairview Lift Bridge.




• Christopher of the Cleveland Area History blog began compiling a list of what he judges as the 100 most important Cleveland, Ohio, Landmarks and asks readers to help complete the list. There are some great places on this list, including Lake View Cemetery’s Wade Chapel (thanks for linking to my story about the chapel, Christopher). I can’t wait to get back to Cleveland to explore some of the places on this list.

© Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for December 2009

Check out some of these Midwest-related blog posts from other writers I've enjoyed as we bid 2009 adieu:

• A Transformative Trip to Hocking Hills-We love visiting the Hocking Hills area in Ohio, and while autumn is long past at this point, these photos from Kristen were just too amazing not to include on this list of links.

• Following Foodie: Columbus, OH-We've driven through Columbus a few times on the way to, or from, Hocking Hills. Hockey? A great bookstore? Good eats? I'm thinking should check out some of Jessica's suggestions next time we're down that way and make a couple of stops in Columbus!

• Cleveland? A Whole Lotta Love for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-I've visited the R&R HOF+Museum many times (I've had a charter membership to the museum since before it opened), so it was a lot of fun to read what Wandering Educators' Julie thought about her first visit to the museum.

• Christmas Delights in Frankenmuth-This Bavarian-theme Michigan town, home the incomparable Bronners Christmas Wonderland and the subject of Laura's story for Moon Travel Guides' blog (thanks for the shout out to Midwest Guest, Laura!).





• The Guardian Building: Detroit's Beauty-Take a tour of one of Detroit's Art Deco-style gems. Detroit Moxie's Becks takes us on a tour of The Guardian Building, built for a banking company in 1929, and includes photos of many of the building's grand architectural details. I know this tour will be on our calendar of things to do in 2010!

• Santa and the Ren Cen: Tour the Best of Detroit- The sleek and modern Renaissance Center, like the venerable Guardian Building, offers free building tours. Join Jackie and her son at Free is my Life as they tour another Detroit landmark and visit Santa.

• Old Main and Wayne State University-Visit Michigan's only urban research university (and my alma mater), Wayne State University in Detroit, at the Michigan in Pictures site. Old Main, built in 1894, looks pretty magnificent here-it would make a great postcard! Be sure to click on the slide show link for more great architectural photos on Wayne's campus.

• Chicago: Comparison + Opinion-This Build Blog article is a great comparison between the new addition at the Art Institute of Chicago by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and the Pritzker Pavilion by Gehry Partners. While Frank Gehry's design of the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, wowed me, I found his Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago far less impressive. Interesting to see that the team at this architectural firm in Seattle, Washington, seemed to share my opinion about these Chicago landmarks.





• Minnesota Tourism's Top 20 Wackiest Requests-Check out this fun post at eJourna where Ron shares some of the strangest requests for information received by folks fielding questions at Explore Minnesota's call-in and state highway travel information centers. Queries about snowmobile rentals in July and whale watching tours in Minnesota are only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

• North Dakota's Enchanted Highway-This state seems to corner the market on Big Things. Linda finds more out-sized roadside attractions along this stretch of highway between Regent and Gladstone, North Dakota. This group of outdoor metal sculptures lures travelers away from the I-94 expressway to explore some of the state's small towns.  

© Dominique 2010 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for October 2009

Check out some of these Midwest-related blog posts from other writers I've enjoyed reading this past month:

• Ode Lo Toledo-Author Brian Fies writes about visiting the Toledo Museum of Art for the opening of the LitGraphic: The World of the Graphic Novel exhibition, which features pages of original art from his book, Mom's Cancer.

• 40 Things to do in Detroit before you're dead-Becks celebrates her 40th birthday with this list of must-sees in the "D"  





• Where's Tyler?-Forget about finding Waldo and check out Tyler's travels in western Michigan.

• Adventures in apple picking-Follow Farsighted Fly Girl into a northern Indiana apple orchard for the quintessential autumn experience of picking apples in the Midwest.

• 3-Way-That's chili, people! I'm not a fan of chili with beans, and I usually can't get it without beans in restaurants in the Detroit area. I acquired a taste for Skyline Chili when visiting southern Ohio and always try to keep a few cans of it in my cupboards at home, so I can appreciate this story about this Cinci specialty.

• Ohio's best inns and B&Bs-I love small bed & breakfasts and country inns. I've stayed at a couple of places on this list (Inn at Cedar Falls and Inn at Brandywine Falls), but it looks like there are plenty of other great places I'd love to stay at on future trips to Ohio.

• Museums of northwest Indiana-We've visited the fab Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum several times, but this list has several other great-sounding small museums in the same region. Northern Indiana has museums dedicated to art, autos, outlaws and more!





• Milton House Museum in Milton, Wisconsin-Learn about this stop on the Underground Railroad as Linda and her family travel through an underground tunnel leading to a cabin used as a secret hiding place for slaves on their way north to freedom.

• Must-see museums: The Louvre in Minneapolis-Angela at The Gypsy's Guide previews what looks to be a great exhibit, The Louvre and the Masterpiece, playing at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts this fall and winter.

• Books with North Dakota and Norwegian roots-Minot, North Dakota, hosts the annual Norsk Hostfest, North America's largest Scandinavian festival. Annika checks out the Scandinavian Heritage Bookstore at this year's festival, makes some recommendations for readers, and shows off her traditional Norwegian costume.  

• Somewhere in Time, a cult classic filmed in Michigan-Well before the recent flurry of filming movies in Michigan, fueled by state incentives, Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour starred in this romantic late 1970s movie filmed in large part on Michigan's Mackinac Island. Check out Part 2 of this story here.

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Food for travel giveaway and more Midwest links

My father's good, Jack, had an April birthday, but Jack pretty much celebrated his birthday for weeks leading up to the big day--and for weeks after the big day.

Perhaps Jack's influence explains why I'm still celebrating the first anniversary (August 1) of Midwest Guest!

Besides, I had a lot of fun giving away my BlogHer kids' swag bags last month. Congrats again to Tracyn and Beth!

This month, the theme is food.

Pasties in Michigan's Upper Peninsula? Skyline Chili in Cincinnati? Fried whitefish livers in Wisconsin? Crawfish in Louisiana? Grits in Kentucky? Fried catfish in Arkansas? We love eating in the little local joints and eating local specialties when we travel.

When we're not on the road, we love watching shows and reading books about great regional road food finds.

Planning a road trip this year? Here's your chance to win a two-book package that should help you find the best eats from Maine to California--and everywhere in between.

I'm opening this giveaway up to U.S. residents who leave a comment on this post telling me about their favorite road food or roadside "joint" by 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Standard Daylight Savings Time) on Friday, October 16.

The winner receives two books: Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives by Guy Fieri and 500 Things to Eat Before it's Too Late and the Very Best Places to Eat Them by Jane & Michael Stern.

Fieri's book is the New York Times best-selling companion to his fun show of the same name on The Food Network. The Sterns' book includes tips on side trips as you're eating your way through the country, and mail order resources for some of their food finds.

Both books look like just the thing to whet your appetite for travel!

Only one entry per person. Midwest Guest reserves the right to eliminate entries that are rude or spam comments.

Meanwhile, check out some of these Midwest-related blog posts from other writers I've enjoyed reading this past month:

Minnesota Music Hall of Fame in New Ulm, MN-Linda starts us off on a musical note at Travels with Children as her family learns about Minnesota's musical history and an eclectic group of musicians with Minnesota ties that include Bob Dylan, Judy Garland and Whoopee John!

The Dequindre Cut: An Urban Gallery-Becks takes us on a tour of one of Detroit's newest greenways and recreational paths for walkers, runners and bicyclists and tells us about the cool graffiti art along the way.  Check it out at Detroit Moxie!

South Dakota's Black Hills Buffalo Roundup-James takes a look at the world of cowboys with this Man Tripping story about the annual Buffalo Roundup in Custer State Park, where experienced wranglers help thin the park's herd to a level the park can support over the winter.

Oh Dakota! Update on My Tour of the West-Reading about Gary's travels around the globe at Everything Everywhere is always fascinating, but I especially loved seeing his take on the Dakotas. Make sure you click on the Theodore Roosevelt National Park link in this post to see Gary's gorgeous North Dakota wildlife photos.

The Apostle Islands-Visit the pristine wilderness of Lake Superior as photographer Ian Plant of Mountain Trail Photo Blog explores the Apostle Islands in northern Wisconsin via sea kayak. Ian shares some stunning images of sea caves and Superior shoreline.

Kayaking at the Pictured Rocks-Move east into Michigan along the Lake Superior shoreline to check out northern_latitudes at Michigan in Pictures and click through to Tim's beautiful Pictured Rocks kayaking 2009 Flickr photo set.

Wandering on a Water Taxi-Join Farsighted Fly Girl Rosalind and her family as they explore Chicago via water taxi.

The Tiltons-Canadian photographer Sandi Wheaton embarks on a trip traveling the length of Route 66. Follow her adventures on pictureRoute66, especially through the initial leg of her journey as it takes her through Illinois and she meets the hospitable Tiltons.

Kansas Underground Salt Museum: the tornadoes can't get you here-Sheila of the Family Travel Guide takes us on a tour of a working salt mine 650 feet below Hutchinson, Kansas.

Ernie Harwell and the moment-I'll leave you with a particularly poignant goodbye as Billfer of The Detroit Tigers Weblog shares the moment when beloved baseball broadcaster Ernie Harwell thanked Detroit Tigers' fans and bid them adieu--and the fans, in turn, thanked him for many years of joy and expressed loving support for Ernie as he faces a foul ball of a health challenge.  

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Thirteen is a lucky number: Midwest Guest gives back

Regular readers of Midwest Guest know that this blog reached its first year anniversary on the first of August, just as I returned from the big BlogHer and TBEX conventions in Chicago.

So, I decided to wait until now to have a little celebration!

Folks who went to BlogHer know that we got bags and bags of swag. I brought home a lot of nice kid- and parent-oriented swag, but not having kids, I decided to pass some of it on.

This is my first giveaway, so I'll to try to keep it simple.

I've got two swag bags with mostly toys for younger kids--check out the photos for a peek at the bags and some of their contents. Think of it as a semi-mystery grab bag prize.

I'm opening this up to U.S. residents who leave a comment on this post by 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Standard Daylight Savings Time) on Monday, September 14. We'll pick two names randomly, and each name picked will get one of the swag bags.

Only one entry per person, and Midwest Guest reserves the right to eliminate entries that are rude or spam comments.

Don't have kids? Didn't win one of these two swag bags? Don't worry, I'll have another small giveaway prize later this month that should have pretty universal appeal.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd dispense a little link love with a list of thirteen travel-related (and mostly Midwest-related) blog posts from other writers I've enjoyed reading this past month:

• The top 14 things likely to happen to you on vacation: a guide for solo travelers and others-Ellen at Boldly Go Solo takes on the abomination known as a "staycation" and offers a handy-dandy guide to determining if you're really on vacation, or simply staying home.

• Driving backroads beats the tar out of the Interstate-The always entertaining Sheila talks about the joys of jumping off of the expressway to travel the lesser-traveled backroads at Family Travel Guide.

• North Dakota's Old Red/Old Ten Scenic Byway-Linda jumps off of I-94 through North Dakota to explore a byway comprised of country roads and local city streets running through heart of some of her home state's small towns and beautiful countryside at Travels with Children.

• Born and Bred Chicago Girl Rediscovers her Roots-Read about Barbara's return to her hometown for BlogHer the TBEX convention and see some great photos as she rediscovers her Chicago roots at Hole in the Donut.

• The (Un) Windy City-Check out another take on Chicago as world traveler Matt shares his impressions of the city at Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

• Best Things to see and do in Chicago-Send a bunch of travel bloggers to the same city for a convention, and you'll get plenty of great advice about visiting the city. Check out Nancy's suggestions for making the most of your Chicago trip at What a Trip.

• The Heidelberg Project: Polka Dots Over Blight-Regular Midwest Guest readers know I'm from metro Detroit, so I'll share something from a favorite Detroit-area blogger. Check my friend Becks at Detroit Moxie and read her take on artist Tyree Guyton's urban installation, the Heidelberg Project.

• Michigan, My Michigan-Michigan is my home, and I can empathize with this heart-felt take on why Michigan will always be home for Lannykidsmom at Four Now.

• Ice Cold Pop!-Yup, it's "pop" here in Michigan. Seeking Michigan looks at a couple of Detroit favorites when it comes to a cold drink on a hot summer day-Vernor's and Faygo.

• Origin and First Use of the word "Yooper"-Curious about who coined the term "Yooper" to describe residents in Michigan's Upper Peninsula? Just ask Bugsy Rocker at Yooper Steez. What the heck is "steez" you ask? Check out the blog for answers that and other burning questions about the UP.

• Family Travel in Ohio: the 50-state series-We're so close to the Ohio border that we end up spending a lot of time in that state, so I had plenty to say when Sheila asked for family-friendly travel suggestions to include in a post about that state at Family Travel Guide.

• Ely 2016!-The 2016 Summer Olympics come to Ely, Minnesota? You never know! Meanwhile, check out Ely's Dorothy Molter (a.k.a. the "Root Beer Lady") Museum at A Closer Look at Flyover Land. We visited here when we vacationed in the area many years ago--fascinating story and great root beer!

• Split Rock Lighthouse near Two Harbors, Minnesota-I love lighthouses, so I'll end with this post where Linda shares the story and some photos of one of my favorite Great Lakes lighthouses at Travels with Children.

Anyone know of some great Midwest travel blogs and stories I may have missed?

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Drop the puck!

Joe College dons his graduation cap and gown, as well as a hockey mask and skates, and prepares to take the ice at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena each year between Christmas and New Years Day.

No, this isn’t some sort of bizarre hockey school graduation ceremony! But it probably is a dream come true for many young hockey players as they prepare to play on the same ice known as home to many Detroit Red Wing hockey heroes and as home to the annual Great Lakes Invitational (GLI) College Hockey Tournament.

Arena mascot Joe College is just one of the traditions associated with this venerable college hockey tournament. The two-day tournament, conceived as a showcase to promote the sport and encourage interest in playing hockey among American-born athletes, began in 1965 at the old Olympia Stadium in Detroit. When the Detroit Red Wings moved from Olympia to their new Joe Louis Arena in 1979, the GLI moved to the Joe as well.

We’ve attended nearly every GLI since the tourney’s debut at the Joe because we enjoy the skilled level of play and find tourney tickets more accessible and affordable than going to pro hockey games. It’s also interesting when players we followed during their college careers make it to the pros, and we can tell people we remember seeing them play in the GLI at the Joe.

Michigan Tech and the University of Michigan teams serve as the official tournament hosts, with Michigan State University as a traditional third tournament participant. The fourth tournament team comes from among one of the other top men’s college hockey teams in the nation, with the Fighting Sioux from the University of North Dakota filling the fourth tourney berth for 2008.

Even though the Joe is a big-city arena, hosting the college tournament brings some of the more quirky features of a collegiate contest to the pro arena. Michigan Tech accounts for some of the most colorful customs with the DaWGs Pep Band clad in yellow-and-black striped overalls playing their live rendition of “No Beer!” and mascot Blizzard T. Husky taking the ice with Joe College to skate and toss T-shirts into the crowd between periods.

The teams quickly get down to some serious hockey once the whistle blows, though.

Two games played during the GLI’s first day determine the line up for Day Two’s consolation game and final championship game to determine which team raises their banner to hang in the Joe’s rafters until the next Great Lakes Invitational.

The GLI is definitely one of our favorite holiday traditions!

© Dominique King 2008

North Dakota surprise

President Teddy Roosevelt often credited his time visiting North Dakota with helping to propel him into the United States’ presidency, so I suppose it would come as no surprise to him that one glance at the spectacular scenery in the national park bearing his name inspired us to pull off of the interstate to explore the area.

We expected driving through North Dakota en route to Montana would be a long, monotonous trip along I-94, but our visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park proved to be a pleasant surprise—and a great way to start our trip out west.

We ended up spending several hours at the park, sacrificing a planned day in Missoula for it and quickly regretting that we hadn’t allowed time for at least a couple of full days in the area.

A young Teddy Roosevelt initially visited North Dakota’s badlands during a bison-hunting trip in 1883. Roosevelt’s life over the next few years offered political defeat and several setbacks, including the 1884 deaths of both his wife and mother on the same day. He found the solitude and vigorous outdoor activity he enjoyed during subsequent visits to North Dakota helped buoy his spirits, and his time there did much to shape his interest and advocacy in conservation and preserving the country’s quickly vanishing wildlife and wild lands.

Efforts to recognize Roosevelt’s advocacy for conservation began during the 1930s as a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) project to create a state park in North Dakota. The park became Theodore Roosevelt National Park in 1978, when then-president Jimmy Carter signed the law that established its status as a national park and designated a large swath of the park as a National Wilderness.

South Dakota’s badlands may be more well known and more frequently visited by tourists than the badlands at North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park, but the northern badlands exert a strong pull on those who love our nation’s wildest and most ruggedly remote areas.

Our day visit afforded us barely enough time to slowly drive the 36-mile scenic route through the park’s South Unit, while stopping numerous times along the way to get out and photograph prairie dog villages, scenic badlands vistas and grazing bison.

The town of Medora, North Dakota anchors the South Unit route and offers visitors several options in the way of dining, lodging and activities like horseback riding, golfing, musical and theater performances and museums.

The more northern reaches of the 70,000-plus-acre park includes a 15-mile scenic route through the park’s North Unit and access to Theodore Roosevelt’s beloved Elkhorn Ranch site.

The north and south units both contain large areas of legislated wilderness areas, for a combined total of nearly 30,000 acres of wilderness, or 42 percent of the total park area.

Photos barely begin to do the park justice, but the Theodore Roosevelt National Park Impressions book I purchased at one of the park’s visitor centers, the park Web site photo galleries and a Real ND site offering 360-degree virtual tours of some of the park’s most scenic features, help me remember why I found the park so intriguingly beautiful.

Our visit to Roosevelt’s beloved North Dakota badlands ended all too soon as we were booked to arrive in Montana that evening, but we want to return to the area sometime in the next few years so we can spend more time exploring the park, its wildlife and discover how it inspired one man’s presidential aspirations and his lasting influence on preserving some of our country’s wildest landscapes.

© Dominique King 2008