Something New

This past weekend I had the distinct pleasure of viewing my city through the eyes of a tourist.  I recommend this practice to anyone, because it's usually inexpensive or free and you learn so much that you never knew about a place that you may have lived your entire life.

Pre-Civil War Clock

The Rockford City Market partnered with the Rockford Area Economic Development group to put on a free historic architectural walking tour of downtown.  I'm not particularly interested in architecture, but I do enjoy art and history and I'm always looking to expose my eight-year-old son to various unique learning opportunities.  We've done a little bit of everything, including camping, watching an Irish dance company perform and learn the history behind the dances, lectures, adventure parks, etc.  You name it, we've probably done it or it's on our to-do list.


 I thoroughly enjoyed the tour and I learned a lot about the city where I reside.  For instance, many of the old abandon buildings used to be very popular in their hey day and many buildings suffered through damaging fires for various reasons.  My son, on the other hand, was bored (of course) but that doesn't mean that he didn't half way like it and learned at least one thing.  You parents know how that is; of course they'd rather be doing something else, but it was cool for a tour.

Here's some of my pictures.  Enjoy!

What types of things do you like to do around your town?

Clock at Midway Theater

Midway Theater- started showing silent movies and ended with CaddyShack in the 1980s after a horrific fire

Queen Anne style building that's been painted over, cheapening the detail of the stone work

Newspaper company built in the 1920s Art Deco style

Original City Hall from the late 1800s.  Stained with soot and dirt

Pole that was most likely purchased from the Sears catalogue in the early 1900s

Original YMCA from the 1850s

46 Hours of Driving, 8 States, 4 National Parks, 2 Adults, 2 Future American Park Rangers

Our Route (click to enlarge)

We've been planning this vacation for about six months and it has finally come....and gone.  We had a blast touring this great country.  As you can see in the map above, we started in IL and drove across IA for a lunch break.  We spent our first night in the Badlands of South Dakota.  The sun was just setting and the view of the plateaus and mountains was just breathtaking.  The best part of the trip was seeing the faces of my son and the hubster's god-daughter light up as they discovered something new.  I also enjoy hearing their questions and being able to answer them.

Just finished eating smores!

Tired after 13 hours of driving...or riding, LOL!

I was also amazed that I had taken this trip (the SD portion) 18 years prior as a school field trip.  We came all the way from Kansas City to view the same sites that I was going through with my family; that really made me feel good.  SD, surprisingly, has a lot to offer.  We toured the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park,Wall Drug, Crazy Horse, and the famous Jewel Cave.  The caves were the kids favorite part of the entire trip! 

Bison playfully fighting

After our SD adventures, it was time to head even further west across Wyoming.  We finally ended up right on the border of WY and Montana where we could spend some time trekking through Yellowstone National Park.  Anybody remember Yogi Bear or Smokey the Bear???  


We saw plenty of bison, elk, and deer.  We had our eyes peeled for those bears, but didn't see not a one.  Bummer!  I guess that means, we'll have to go back soon.  Did you know that Yellowstone is pretty much a big volcano??!??!?  They have about 2,500 earthquakes there a year, but most of them are too small to actually feel.  This is how we got Old Faithful; I never knew that!  Talk about anticipation as we waited for Old Faithful to erupt with water as the magma heated up underground.

Yellowstone pretty much ended the camping portion of our trip, and from then it was just heading back home.  We stopped in Bismarck, ND, just to sleep, and then we made a stop at the Mall of America (MOA).  MOA wasn't much, in my opinion, but the kids had a wonderful time at Nickelodeon Universe in the mall.  I think this was their favorite part of the trip, but it won't be what they remember 18 years from now when they're my age.  

Just sworn in as Junior Rangers of Mt. Rushmore

On this trip, the kids became Junior Rangers at three National Parks!  Let me tell you, they take it very seriously.  They chastised me for throwing out an apple core in the park.  What happens in Yellowstone, stays in Yellowstone.  I felt horrible, but more on that tomorrow!

Anywho...we had a blast, and I would do it again if the opportunity arose.  All I could think about each time we saw something breathtakingly beautiful was: "Wow, I serve a very creative God!  He did all of this for my amazement"  You know how when you have a little baby or toddler and you make your voice high pitched, and talk silly, and make ridiculous faces???  Well, God's creations are like that, but on a much larger scale!  He did this for our enjoyment!

Crazy Horse

What do you do when bison are in your way?

Grand Canyon at Yellowstone National Park

What are your family vacation plans this year?