The last couple of months have been particularly tough for us here at Midwest Guest between a couple of hospital stays and the sudden death of a parent right after the holidays. We've unfortunately missed a couple of months sharing some of the great Midwest links we've found online since November, but the Midwest travel bloggers are still producing a lot of interesting stories these days, so, without further ado...
Check out some great Midwest-related stories I found online this past month:
These stories sure make me anxious to get back on the road again!
We'll be back next month with another edition of Midwest Travel links!
48 Hours in Davenport, Iowa-Check out Kylie's check list as she explores this city on the Mississippi River in Iowa. She shows you the sites as she makes sure you'll see the high points in like museums and the best places to get a bite to eat as you see the sights. Check out her story at the Between England and Iowa blog.
Which of Indiana's 92 County Courthouses is Your Favorite?-I'm a big fan of country courthouses with their unique architecture and great stories about the history of a local area, so Chris's story about Indiana's courthouses and his work photographing and telling the story of these great pieces of the state's history was a must read for me this month. Check out the photos and links to the Indiana Courthouse Squares Web site at Chris's story at the Indiana Insider blog. Tim knows my affection for courthouses, and one of my presents this Christmas was The Magnificent 92 Indiana Courthouses by John Dilts. Be sure to check out my previous stories about the Indiana Courthouse Squares project and stories about our visits to the Indiana courthouses at Elkhart, Noblesville and in Hendricks County.
Rehabilitating Wildlife at Willowbrook Nature Center in Glen Ellyn, IL-Mel learns about science and conservation issues at Willowbrook in the Chicago suburb of Glen Ellyn. Whether you want to learn more about the local wildlife or need to find a safe place to take an injured native animal you find in the neighborhood, Willowbrook is the perfect natural respite or place to learn about the world around you. Check out the story at A Little Time and a Keyboard blog.
Off the Beaten Path: 14 Ohio Hidden Gems-Here's a great list of spots both well-known, and not so prominent, to check out the next time you're planning a trip to Ohio. Kayrn likes the state's central location and relatively compact size, which makes it full of great options for unique day trips and weekend getaways. I've been to a few of the places on this list like Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial at Put-in-Bay and the Sheldon Marsh Nature Preserve in Sandusky, but there are plenty of other good suggestions here. Check out the article at the Sand and Snow...and everywhere in between blog.
Lewis and Clark's winter camp in Washburn, North Dakota-Imagining the challenge of dealing with a North Dakota winter more than 200 years ago when temperatures might reach 40 degrees below zero can really make visitors appreciate the hard work needed to build Fort Mandan in central North Dakota. A replica of the original fort near Bismarck helps history enthusiasts vividly visualize the hardships faced by fames explorers Lewis and Clark. Check out the story at the Walking Tourists blog.
North Dakota Road Trip Day 5: Bismarck to Dickinson-Connie also visited central North Dakota and explored some of the same areas with a trip along the Old Red Ten Scenic Byway. Check out sights like the "world's largest Holstein cow", Fort Sauerkraut, the Enchanted Highway and more in the story at the Midwest Wanderer blog.
Crescent Lake NWR Road Trip-Muriel chose and unseasonably warm day in February to explore some tiny towns and some of Nebraska's nicest parks and wildlife refuge areas. Check out her suggestions for spending a few hours taking photographs, bird watching, motorcycling or spotting some spectacular trains. Check it out at the Nebraska Outback blog.
Damn Right, Chicago's Got the Blues-Max loves the blues and offers this appreciation for the current state of the blues, which he says is a bit in the doldrums these days. But even as the blues may be a bit more difficult to find in the Windy City these days, this story offers some historical perspective of the city and its blues history, as well as a few suggestions for a few places where the blues is still alive and well. Check it out at the Urbanologist blog.
Every Cemetery in Detroit: Woodlawn Cemetery-Amy has a special affection for Detroit's cemeteries and their fascinating histories. This story is part of her ongoing series about Detroit graveyards, their history, art and architecture. Originally called Woodward Lawn Cemetery, Woodlawn still continues to be the place to see many last resting places of the city's most prominent residents and some of the city's nicest architecture and art. Woodlawn even boasts a headstone for Michael Jackson's toys (I kid you not!). Check out Amy's story at The Night Train.
The Jaws of Point Betsie-Check out this awesome image of one of my favorite lighthouses in northern Michigan-Point Betsie! Farland features this image by Kristina at the Michigan in Pictures blog. Check out more of Kristina's photos at her Kristina Lishawa Photography page and see a image that I made during the lighthouse's renovation a number of years back that was recently featured (March 2) at the Point Betsie Lighthouse page on Facebook!
5 Adventures to try at Crystal Mountain-We've visited Crystal Mountain in Thompsonville, Michigan many times over the years, so it was fun to check out Nedra's story about her adventures at this northern Michigan resort. She discovered the special joy of visiting during the winter with adventures like skiing, snowboarding and fat tire biking as well as visiting Crystal's Art Legacy Park, which is a 30-acre sculpture park in the woods which we also enjoyed visiting. Check out the story at the Adventure Mom blog.
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