Midwest travel links for October 2013

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

A Galena Getaway-Visiting Galena, Illinois has been on my Midwest bucket list ever since I first read about the town with its quaint bed-and-breakfast inns, shops and historic buildings many years ago. Rosalind's story at Farsighted Fly Girl about a recent visit to President Grant's hometown to celebrate her anniversary reminded me why I've always wanted to see it for myself.

Haunted DeSoto House Hotel, Galena IL-Connie also visited Galena recently and shared her experience at the supposedly spooky DeSoto House Hotel there on her Midwest Wanderer blog.

Visiting Kaskaskia Island: Illinois' Island that can only be reached from Missouri-Kaskaskia was once the capitol of the Illinois Territory, but the island only appeared around 1881 when the Mississippi River carved a piece of Kaskaskia off from the mainland to create an island. Becky gives readers a glimpse of this unique southern Illinois community at the Family Rambling blog.

Surprises you'll find while looking for Lincoln-Sheila takes readers of the Perceptive Travel blog to Springfield, Illinois, home to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and where our 16th president spent many years of the early years of his marriage and political career.

Lincoln Highway Dedicated 100 years ago tonight!-The history of the Lincoln Highway fascinates me, and I liked this account of the decision to officially dedicate the country's first trans-continental highway on Halloween. Check it out at Lincoln Highway News.

Spooky Geocaching in Hendricks County- Cemetery geocaches are among our favorite caches to seek because of the interesting local history we often learn during the search. Amanda shares a listing of caches in cemeteries and other reportedly haunted places on Indiana's Hendricks County All Access blog.

Board a Tram and Travel Past Stones, Lions and a Mermaid at Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery-Betsy takes readers on a grand tour of a Cincinnati, Ohio cemetery with many sculptures and other artwork memorializing the Ohio city's leading citizens throughout the years at the beesfirstappearance blog. This cemetery reminds me a bit of Cleveland, Ohio's Lake View Cemetery with its great headstones and statues.

Friday Favorites: "Hidden Gems"-Lisa likens Indiana's State Library building to "an ornate treasure box" full of beautiful craftsmanship, art, history and literature. The photos of the older section of the building completed and dedicated in late 1934 belie its Depression-era origins and remind me of older Beaux Arts-style buildings of the early 20th century with just a touch of Art Deco style. Check it out at the Historic Indianapolis blog.

Statues, Sand and Studebakers: Eight of the Coolest Places in Indiana-Scott's list of must-sees in Indiana includes a few I've visited, like the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at South Bend and the collection of life-sized and life-like statues in Carmel. He also takes readers to a few more sites that I'd love to see, like Michael Jackson's birthplace in Gary and the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend. Check the list out at the Quirky Travel Guy blog.

Basilica of the Sacred Heart

Native American Art in Owen Park-You often find art in the most unlikely places, and Charlie discovers an interesting and intriguing gem of Native-style art in a little known park on Detroit's riverfront. Charlie tells this story at his Bikes, Books & A Little Music blog.

Review: Cleveland Botanical Gardens with Kids-We've parked in the Cleveland Botanical Gardens parking garage when visiting the nearby Cleveland Museum of Art, but we've yet to visit the gardens. I appreciated Justin's tour of the botanical gardens at his InACents blog.

Underground Railroad becomes reality in Lewis, Iowa-I was surprised to learn that there were several Underground Railroad stops in Iowa and Nebraska. Read Lisa and Tim's story on The Walking Tourists blog about the Hitchcock House in Lewis, Iowa where Congregationalist pastor George Hitchcock lived for a dozen years and helped runaway slaves on their journey to freedom.

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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