My 2010 Road trip to Tennessee-Illinois-Minnesota-Wisconsin

 
 On a hot, sunny, August day, my friend Joan Thomas and I set off at 1.30 pm from Peachtree City, Georgia, on the fourth of our road trips across the vast USA. Joan had harboured an inexplicable yearning to visit the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as well as Fargo in North Dakota. The Mall of America is purported to be the largest mall in the USA, and Fargo I associate with that 1996 Oscar award-winning movie with the same name. Despite my only memory of the movie, a dark comedy crime  thriller, being of snow and a flat landscape, I was happy to accompany her on this new adventure. Instead of her large old comfortable 1995 Buick, we packed our luggage into her 2006 red Volkswagen beetle, which had been acquired some months earlier as a replacement for the trusty old girl. Except for the two objectives mentioned above, we had no fixed plan or route, and the only constraint was that we had to be back in Peachtree City by 18th August so that I could take Dee and Ant, my daughter and son-in-law, to the airport on 19th for their trip to a wedding in San Francisco. My well-used copy of “The American Map Road Atlas” came in useful again, and our rough plan was to travel through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota, and back again, but along different interstates. I had visited Joan in Pensacola a few weeks earlier, and we had obtained the 2010 copies of the relevant Tour Books from the AAA, so we were well prepared with information about our destinations. 

Joan, Susan, and the Beetle

Our plan was to spend the first night with Joan’s friends, Ed and Sarah, who live in Gallatin, on the northern outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee. En route, about 115 miles from Atlanta, we noticed the exit sign for Chattanooga and, with the melody of the song “ Chattanooga Choo Choo” going around in our minds, we decided to take a look at the town. The first thing we saw on the roof of a five story building was a sign in the shape of a locomotive with the words Choo Choo written on it.

To digress, the state of Tennessee, 42,244 square miles in area, is shaped like a rectangle and is about 420 miles from east to west and about 100 miles from north to south. Nashville is in north-central Tennessee and Chattanooga in the south east corner. Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi states border Tennessee on the south, North Carolina borders it on the east, and Kentucky borders it along the north. Along the north east corner is Virginia, and Missouri can be found along the north west corner, with Arkansas bordering it for a short distance between Missouri and Mississippi.

Chattanooga is located on the banks of the Tennessee River and the Tennessee River was one of the first large rivers of many that we crossed during the trip. The most fascinating and enjoyable part of this particular trip for me were the many wide and navigable rivers that we crossed, and the many beautiful towns and cities that are located on these rivers. For someone like me, raised in South Africa, where there are no navigable rivers, and where the large rivers (Vaal, Orange, Tugela, Umgeni, Umfolozi…....) can be counted on one hand, and where local rivers are sometimes mere trickles of water, this really is quite an experience. To see how the river banks are beautified and utilized, to see the many houseboats and other river craft, including paddle steamers, moored in clear, clean calm water, and to see each town and city with numerous bridges built across the respective

rivers, was really impressive.
 

The Mississippi River is the one river that we crossed many times during this trip as we headed north, and in Minnesota we were within 100 miles of Lake Itasca, the source of this mighty river, but more about this later. My thoughts went back to our trip to the Gulf Coast and New Orleans in 2009 where I had my first view of the Mississippi River.
 



Chattanooga Choo Choo

The Tennessee River, which we now set eyes on for the first time in Chattanooga, is formed at the confluence of the Holston and French Broad Rivers on the east side of Knoxville, Tennessee. From Knoxville, it flows southwest through East Tennessee toward Chattanooga before crossing into Alabama. It loops through northern Alabama and eventually forms a small part of the state's border with Mississippi, before returning to Tennessee. It finally ends up flowing into the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky. Therefore, similar to a few other rivers in the United States, it leaves a state and then re-enters the same state.  

Entering Chattanooga

 

Chattanooga, which started as a small trading post in 1815 played a role in the American Civil War when it was occupied by the Union army in 1863, and General Sherman started his march through Georgia to the sea. The modernized Chattanooga has a riverfront with 129 acres of footpaths, pedestrian bridges and a lighted pier stretching 160 feet into the Tennessee River.

Tennessee River in Chattanooga

The 1909 Chattanooga Choo Choo train depot has been restored and there is an hotel and Model railway museum.

Garden in Chattanooga Train Depot





We arrived in Gallatin at about 7 pm and were royally welcomed and treated by Ed and Sarah. Before leaving the next morning we explored the neighbourhood which is laid out next to a golf course and on the banks of the Old Hickory Lake (on the Cumberland River), and such a peaceful and beautiful setting it is.    

Hickory River in Gallatin
 



Murals in Paducah

                                                        

Driving on the Interstate 24 we crossed into Kentucky and by lunchtime we were in Paducah, a town on the banks of the Ohio River which forms the border between Kentucky and Illinois.



Ohio River, Paducah



This is also where the Tennessee River flows into the Ohio River. After admiring the murals which were painted on a wall separating the Ohio River from a park in the town we set off northwards into Illinois. 

 



Our intention was to travel on I57 to Champaign, take I74 to Bloomington and then head for Rockford via I39. It was when we were about seventy miles beyond Champaign and the sight of signposts showing how far it was to Chicago, that a penny dropped and I reached for the road map. It turned out that we had missed the turnoff to Bloomington and we were headed for Chicago. The only way out of our predicament was to continue for another 30 miles and then turn west on I80 which would take us back to I39, 75 miles north of Bloomington. By this time it was late afternoon and we had to decide where to stop for the night. At a town called Joliet, we tried a few motels, but they were all full, because of a sports tournament taking place. We then headed for Morris, ten miles further on, where a room was available in the Quality Inn.

 

Mid morning the next day we arrived in Rockford. Before this area was settled, the Galena-Chicago Stagecoach Line  used a shallow ford to cross the Rock River at that point and thus the town was named. The streets are built to accommodate the winding river and therefore there is no simple grid pattern layout.

A double bridge in Rockford

The town has many bridges crossing the river and boasts 6000 acres of parks. We stopped at one of the parks and had a picnic lunch on the banks of the river. An interesting artwork we came across while walking on a recreation path next to the river  is named The Rockmen Guardians.   This group of  four  12-foot tall guardians are made up completely of boulders held together with cement. Each holds a different pose.

The Rockmen Guardians of Rockford

 



Lunch next to Rock River

A drive of sixteen miles took us across the border into Wisconsin. Another hour’s drive took us to Madison, the capitol city of the state. This is where I discovered that Joan and I had been talking at cross purposes about state capitols. Whenever she talked about the state capitol I assumed she was talking about the capitol city, when in fact she meant the State Capitol Building. So when we were approaching Madison we debated whether we should drive into the city or continue on our way to Minnesota. I suggested that since we were so close to Wisconsin’s Capitol, we should take a look. 

State Capitol, Madison

The Capitol Building of a state is located either in a large beautiful park-like garden, with plenty of parking, or on a hill, highly visible from all directions and also with plenty of parking, or in downtown with available parking, or downtown with limited parking. It so happened that the Capitol Building in Madison is in the centre of Madison’s business district and a parking space was difficult to find close to the building. Any vacant parking space we spotted was marked as being reserved for a senator. Eventually I suggested we give up and leave, as we had now been to Madison. “But” she exclaimed, “you haven’t seen the Capitol yet”. “Yes” I replied, “I have. Aren’t we in the Capitol?” “No, we haven’t been in the Capitol, that building over there”. That’s when I realised how we had been talking at cross purposes. I liked to see the Capitol City, whereas she wanted to see the Capitol Building in the states we visited.



Lake Monona



An inquisitive duck on the shore of Lake Monona

We had another picnic lunch, this time on the shores of Lake Monona where we were relentlessly bitten by what looked like enormous horseflies. Across the street were the Olbrich Botanical Gardens which comprises sixteen acres of speciality gardens. 

Bamboo arbor, Olbrich Gardens
 

We decided to take a look. However we only visited the fifty-foot high glass conservatory containing tropical plants and bamboo arbors, palm trees, and birds flying amongst the plants. The birds are permanent residents, the various feeders attesting to this fact. According to one of the volunteers there, the conservatory is very popular with the local residents in winter because they enjoy getting away from the never-ending snow, and warming up in a tropical atmosphere!

On leaving the Gardens we were not too sure of the way out of Madison. We spotted a man exiting a building so we stopped to ask directions. It turned out that we had stopped in front of a pub and that the man had obviously been partaking of a liquid lunch. His name was Phil (according to a name tag on his tee shirt).and he looked quite pleased with himself thinking that two women were chatting him up. What with Joan’s southern accent, my South African accent, and the local’s inebriated state, no helpful information was forthcoming. Doubled up with laughter we drove off and eventually found our way back onto the Interstate and heading for Minnesota, “the land of 10,000 Lakes”.

 

About twenty miles across the border from Wisconsin are the cities of Minneapolis and St Paul that sit on opposite sides of the Mississippi River, and several bridges connect the two cities, but each city is quite distinctive. Bloomington, the third largest city in Minnesota is a little to the south west of the twin cities and is famous for being the home of the Mall of America, the largest indoor shopping mall and entertainment centre in the country, and that is where we were headed. I should point out that towns in different states often have the same names, for example, there is a Bloomington in Illinois as well as in Minnesota; there is a Duluth in Georgia and in Minnesota.

Arriving after dark, we tried two hotels before we were able to find a vacancy in the Quality Inn. We had decided to spend two nights in Bloomington because there were many attractions in Minneapolis-St Paul, and Joan particularly also wanted to spend time in St Paul, because she had seen a TV programme that sparked her interest. The Mall attracts over 40 million visitors annually, so hotels in Bloomington are thriving businesses and part of their service is to provide shuttle services to the Mall.

In front of the Mall of America

Roller coaster inside the mall of America

After breakfast the next morning we took a shuttle bus to the Mall and from there we took the light rail service into downtown Minneapolis, passing the airport en route. We strolled through a farmers’ market and admired the local vegetables and cheeses.

Farmers' market

In the AAA Tour Book I had read about the extensive glass-enclosed walkway system called the Skyway, which connects shops, restaurants and offices one storey above the ground, and I wanted to experience this. I had wondered why the streets lacked the hustle and bustle usually encountered in cities, and when I eventually found an entrance into the Skyway, I realised why. The Skyway was packed with people walking, sitting in little cafes and restaurants, and generally going about their business. This was all so new to me, and I would have loved to spend more time exploring. One could get hopelessly lost in the corridors and walkways and I had to take careful note of the direction I was going, and the turns I was taking. 

Street scene in Minneapolis

The tickets we had bought for the light rail service entitled us to a bus ride as well, so we hopped onto a bus and travelled a few miles crossing the Mississippi River in the process. When we alighted we started walking back until another bus arrived which took us back downtown where we took the light rail back to the Mall. The Minneapolis public transport was the best value we had had in a long time!

We spent an hour browsing the shops in the Mall, then had dinner, after which we took the shuttle back to the Inn.

St Paul was our destination the next day after checking out.

Barge on the Mississippi River

After a walk along the banks of the Mississippi River and watching a barge slowly moving down the river we visited the massive Cathedral of 

St Paul Cathedral

St Paul which took ten years to construct, took a few pictures of the State Capitol Building, had lunch in Mickey’s Diner then visited the Landmark Centre. The latter was particularly interesting as inter alia, it houses the Schubert Club Museum, which includes a musical instrument collection comprising keyboards and instruments from around the world. The exhibit of keyboards showing the evolution of the piano is really impressive. There is also a collection of musical manuscripts and original letters of famous composers such as Beethoven and Mozart. 

Interior of the Landmark Building

Landmark Building

A little more needs to be said about Mickey’s diner which is a very popular diner that has been visited by many famous people including Arnold Schwartzeneger, and Meryl Streep. Joan was not too pleased when a scruffy looking man, with very few teeth and with strong body odour took the seat next to her.

Mickey's Diner

 Fargo, about two hundred and thirty miles away, was our next destination; however, about sixty miles from St Paul we saw a turn-off to St Cloud. I had been reading about the beautiful gardens in that town, and we decided to drive the extra twenty miles to see them. St Cloud is practically in the centre of Minnesota

 

According to the Visitors’ Guide the temperature in St Cloud drops to 12 degrees Fahrenheit in winter and reaches a high of 28 degrees Fahrenheit. In summer the temperature drops to 59F (about 15C) and reaches a high of 79F (about 25C). We had difficulty finding the Munsinger and the Clemens Gardens, and had to ask directions from the Hertz Rental agency. (Unlike men, Joan and I find it doesn’t Hertz to ask for directions!). We were given a copy of the agency’s map and we were on our way. We both agreed that it was well worth our while visiting these beautiful gardens on the banks of the Mississippi River. I took many pictures of the colourful surroundings. Here are a few of the pictures taken in the gardens with the Mississippi featuring in two of them.

Rose Garden

Mississippi River in St Cloud

 



Zinneas

Reluctantly we returned to the Red Bug and continued our journey to Fargo, which we reached at dusk. Once again finding our way around the town was proving difficult, but with the help of a pizza deliveryman, we found our way to where the motels were located, and checked into La Quinta, although its rates were more than our budget allowed. We were grateful to have found a place after a very long and tiring day. Despite our many road trips together, we did learn something new that night. The later one tries to find a motel room the more one can expect to pay. If we had arrived a few hours earlier, the rate would have been less!  

This   is probably one of the disadvantages of travelling without a fixed itinerary. But the difference in price was roughly $15, which was really of little consequence, considering the cost of the entire trip. One good thing about hotels and motels in the USAis that one pays for the room per night and not per person per night. That really makes travel more affordable, especially for families. Another advantage is that most times a continental breakfast is included, as well as a wireless connection, and very often an indoor pool.

 

Joan’s original intention was to drive south through North Dakotaand South Dakotato Omaha in Nebraska. From there we would travel to Kansas Citystraddling Kansasand Missourion the Missouri River and then to St Louis which straddles Missouri and Illinois on the Mississippi River. However I had been browsing the Tour Book for Minnesota and Wisconsin, and during breakfast I suggested that a drive directly East from Fargo to Duluth  through  Minnesota would be more interesting and scenic, Thereafter we could head south. Joan was agreeable to this change of plan. The highlight of our visit to Fargo, which is named after William George Fargo of the Wells Fargo Express Co, was a short walk next to the Red River, not to be confused with the Red River in Texas. The rest of Fargo was not all that interesting, despite the Tour Book’s information: “ Recreational facilities, including skating rinks, swimming pools and nine golf courses are found in some 80 area parks, many of which offer free performances, concerts and  craft exhibits throughout the  summer”.
 

The scenic road from Fargoto Duluth took us to a town, Brainerd, where we once again crossed the Mississippi River. However we did not go the extra distance north to Lake Itasca, a small glacial lake (only about 1.8 square miles) and the source of the Mississippi.

Approaching a bridge before entering Duluth

Duluth, on the shores of Lake Superior proved to be a very pleasant surprise. Duluthis one of the largest inland seaports in the world. There is also the Skyline Parkwaywhich is a sixteen mile scenic byway that overlooks the city and provides views of the harbour and the Lake.

View of Duluth from Skyline Parkway

We regretted not having the time to travel the North Shore Drive which goes from Duluth to Thunder Bay, Ontario, a distance of 150 miles.

View of St Louis River from Skyline Parkway

 

After a late lunch at Pizza Luce we proceeded south into Wisconsin, hoping to spend the night in Eau Claire. Wisconsin is known for its cheeses and we were not disappointed when we entered  deForest where a shop named Ehlenbach’s stocked  a wide selection of cheeses and other delicacies. Outside the shop was an enormous replica

The cow outside Ehlenbach's

of a cow, which provided a great tourist photo opportunity.

As we neared Eau Claire a severe thunderstorm overtook us, and this combined with the darkness setting in, made driving difficult. We missed the turn-off into the town and had to continue on the interstate for twenty miles before we reached the next motel, which happened to be full. The receptionist was very helpful; he phoned another motel back in Eau Claire, where he managed to find us a room in the Econo Lodge Inn. Returning to Eau Claire was considered a better proposition than continuing to the next town which was another fifty miles away.   
 

By morning the rain had stopped and Springfield, Illinois was to be our next stop. Springfield  is where Abraham Lincoln spent twenty four years of his life, and where the Lincoln’s Tomb State Historic Site is to be found in Oak Ridge Cemetery.  The Illinois State Capitol Building was of course one of the places we stopped at as well as the cemetery.     
 

After the late night we had had the previous day, we decided to find a place to stay in Springfield and have an early night. We booked in at a Best Western on the outskirts of the town. A number of bikers on Harley Davidsons were already booked in as well as a man with a dog, the hotel being a pet friendly one. We often encountered bikers travelling in large groups during our road trips.

At the Lincoln Memorial and Tomb

The Illinois State Capitol with Ninety year old tree in the front.

the 68 steps from the Gateway Arch down to the MississippiRiver side in St Louis

                               

The journalist and war correspondent, Martha Gellhorn (1908 to 1998) was born in St Louis, and as I am a great admirer of her achievements, I wanted to visit the city of her birth.  

Top of the Gateway Arch

The Gateway Arch is the most prominent tourist attraction. It is located on the river front and stands 630 feet high. It commemorates what was the gateway to the west taken by 19^th century pioneers. We did not take a ride to the top, Joan had done that on a previous visit, but we took a walk along the river front. Also we were expected back in Gallatin that evening, and that limited the time for sightseeing.



                  



 

We stopped for lunch in the Fort Massac State Park which is part of Metropolis, the town that is officially declared the Hometown of Superman.



We took a walk through the town which has Superman’s telephone booth and a 15 foot statue of him.

Memorabilia in Hollywood Museum

There is also a museum as well as a number of shops selling mementoes.  But generally the town appeared  rather shabby. The biggest tourist magnet is probably Hurrah’s Metropolis, a gambling establishment right on the Ohio River. The reconstructed Fort Massacwas far more interesting. The original, of which parts are still visible, was constructed in 1757. It has beautiful views over the Ohio River.

Inside  Fort Massac

After exploring the Fort we started our journey back to Gallatinwhere we arrived in time for dinner, and more royal hospitality

View of Fort with Ohio River beyond

The next day was our last on the road. After breakfast Joan showed me around Nashville.  

View of the Parthenon

The most well-known landmark in Nashville is Music City. But unfortunately for me, we were not there during the evening, when the music really gets going.

River Front in Nashville

I managed  to see the Ryman Auditorium, the Cumberland River  front with the General Jackson Showboat, and the Parthenon, which is a full sized replica of the original Parthenon in Athens, Greece, and of course, the Tennessee State Capitol Building. This time we had the time and were able to find parking so that we could have a look around the inside of the Capitol Building. One can take a midday sightseeing cruise for about two hours on The Gen Jackson Showboat, a four-deck, paddle-wheel riverboat. Once again due to time constraints, we had to leave town without seeing many of the other attractions of interest.

Another view of the Parthenon

 

But I figured that Nashvilleand St Louisare not too distant from Peachtree City, and it would be possible to do another trip and spend several days in each of the towns some time in the future. Before we got close to Chattanooga, we made a pit stop at Nickajack Lake, in County Marion. This tourist stop has excellent facilities for motorists, as well as pets. A special area is set aside for owners to walk their dogs, so that picnic areas do not get fouled.

 

By sunset Joan and I were back in Peachtree City, with another set of memories to look back upon, and the number of states that I had visited now totaled thirty three states out of fifty.