Midwest travel links for August 2013

Check out some great Midwest-related stories I found online this past month:

• Top 10 Tips for Getting the Most Out of ArtPrize-We love ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the annual public art show and competition that draws more than 400,000 people to this western Michigan city each year. We already made our reservations to spend a couple of days this month! Make the most of your ArtPrize visit with these tips from Kirsetin at My Experience Grand Rapids Blog.
  
  
  ArtPrize 2012, artist Robert Morse
  
• Little Lighthouses on the Prairie-Lighthouses? In land-locked Nebraska? LuAnn shares the story of a few lighthouses she found on the prairie at her eponymously named blog.
• Why? Akron Art Museum!-Visiting the Akron Art Museum is on my to-do list, so I enjoyed this glimpse of the museum's cool architecture and art collection from Jen at her Why Cle? blog.
• Cleveland's African American Museum: A Hidden Gem-Sean's article at Rustwire.com spotlights a largely unknown museum in Cleveland. The African American Museum started in 1953 as a labor of love for Icabod Flewellen at a time when African American history was rarely studied, if at all. The museum closed for several years after Flewellen's death in 2001, but a group of community activists re-opened the museum on a part-time basis three years ago and continue to re-build the museum's collection and programming under executive director Frances Caldwell.
• Exploring Aberdeen, South Dakota-Jody and her family found plenty to do in Aberdeen, South Dakota ranging from visiting some of their favorite storybook characters to participating in traditional crafts and farming in a communal farming community to learning about Native American culture to exploring backstage at the local community theater playhouse. Read about it at the Family Rambling blog.
• Will September 7 be "A Hot Day at Gibraltar?"-I don't know about September 7, but we saw record temperatures when we visited this Lake Erie island along Ohio's north shore this past July. We saw the exterior of the lovely Cooke Mansion, built by Civil War and railroad financier Jay Cooke in 1864, but the house wasn't open for touring. Check out Betsy's story about visiting the home during a rare open house on her Beesfirstappearance blog.
  
  
  Cooke Mansion
  
• Door County Awaits You This Fall-Autumn is the ideal time to visit Door County in Wisconsin according to Sara at her Travels With Sara blog. Lighthouses, state parks, wineries and beautiful views are just part of the fun along this peninsula in northern Wisconsin along Lake Michigan. I was here many years ago with my parents, but I can tell it's time to consider going again!
• Sodalis and McCloud Nature Parks: A Double Dose of Nature Hendricks County Indiana-Take a walk with Connie along some great nature trails near Indianapolis. Check it out at the Midwest Traveler blog.
• Operation Skywatch and the Outpost of Cairo, Indiana-I always love the stunning photography and quirky stories on Ronny's Cincinnati-based Queen City Discovery blog. This time, Ronny makes a quick road trip stop near Lafayette, Indiana to check out a Cold War relic.
• Destination: Mackinaw City on the south shore of Mackinac Straits, the year is 1775-Check out Fort Michilimackinac at Michigan's Mackinaw City, traveling in time back to the year 1775 in a re-created fort with costumed interpreters to learn about its time as a British outpost before the Brits built a more defensible fort on nearby Mackinac Island. This story at the Midwest Weekends blog also highlights the nearby Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and the Mackinac Bridge, which connects Michigan's two peninsulas.
  
  
  
• A Visit To John Glenn Commemorative Grove-This trailhead along the Towpath Trail between Massillon and Navarre, Ohio pays tribute to astronaut John Glenn and his role as a space pioneer (first American to orbit the Earth in 1962), United States Senator and a Marine who served during World War II and the Korean War. Anthony posts this report at his Stark County, Ohio News and Views blog.

That's it for this month's Midwest travel links list. Do you have any favorite Midwest stories or blogs to share?

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© Dominique King 2013 All rights reserved

Comments

[Tonya {The Traveling Praters}]

Great links! I love to read about places that I've visited and learn more about those that should be on my list of future places to visit. The ArtPrize sounds very interesting and I loved the tour of the Cooke Mansion! Like you, I've also visited Gibraltar Island and though I was able to learn about the mansion, it was off limits to visitors.