13 Fascinating Facts about Michigan City and the Old Lighthouse

Connie Attractions & Events, Indiana June 11, 2015Attractions in Indiana, Indiana attractions, Indiana lighthouses, Indiana museums, Lake Michigan lighthouses, Michiga City, Michigan City IN, Michigan City Indiana, Michigan City lighthouse, Old Lighthouse Museum 7 Comments

Whenever we stumble across a lighthouse, I have to take a photo. There’s something romantic about lighthouses, perhaps the beacon of light welcoming sailors into a harbor or warning them of hazards. Maybe it’s the romanticizing of the keeper’s job, as backbreaking as it was. Or maybe it’s just that the splash of color—often red—against the blue of the sky and water makes a great scenic photo. Having taken the photo of the beacon that stands at the end of a pier in Michigan City, Indiana, we were surprised to find the light keeper’s house, the original Michigan City lighthouse. Refurbished, it’s now a museum run by the Michigan City Historical Society. We visited the museum earlier this year and came away with several fascinating facts about the lighthouse and the city during our self-guided tour. Here are 13 of them: Read more

The Many Faces of Dickerson Park Zoo

Connie Attractions & Events, Missouri June 9, 2015June 12, 2015Dickerson Park Zoo, springfield missouri zoo, springfield mo zoo, springfield zoo 3 Comments

On the chilly, late-March early morning that we visited the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri, many of the animals were where we should have been—indoors. That’s where other humans were, apparently, which meant we had the zoo practically to ourselves. So although we didn’t get to see as large a variety of animals as we had hoped, there also were no crowds of people with heads and hands popping in front of the camera lens just as we snapped photos. Read more

A Day in Downtown Rapid City

Connie Attractions & Events, Food & Drink, Shopping, South Dakota June 6, 2015April 2, 2018Art Alley, Black Hills Bagels, Downtown Rapid City, Firehouse Brewing Company, Firehouse Wine Cellars, Holiday Inn Rushmore Plaza, Hotel Alex Johnson, Journey Museum, Prairie Edge, Rapid City, rapid city attractions, Rapid City restaurants, Rapid City SD, Rapid City South Dakota, Sanfords Grub n Pub, South Dakota, South Dakota attractions 18 Comments

Traveling to South Dakota to visit Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and all the natural beauty in the Black Hills and Badlands, you’ll most likely fly into or drive through Rapid City. The walkable downtown area of Rapid City itself is worth a visit, whether you spend a day at the beginning of your trip or take a break from Mother Nature mid-trip. Read more

Rockford Main Street District Block Parties Rock

Connie Attractions & Events, Illinois May 24, 2015November 22, 2015Events in Downtown Rockford, Rockford, Rockford events, Rockford IL, Rockford Illinois, Rockford Main Street District 0 Comment

By day and most evenings, Downtown Rockford, Illinois, is home to family-friendly museums and community events. But every now and then the Rockford Main Street District throws a big nighttime party where the music rocks and adult beverages are the mainstay. Our visit to Rockford last summer happened to coincide with one of these events, the Two Block Party, so in the name of journalism, we were “forced” to cover it. Read more

Golden Spike Tower: Visiting the World’s Largest Rail Yard

Connie Attractions & Events, Nebraska May 20, 2015January 4, 2016Bailey Yard, biggest rail yard, golden spike, golden spike nebraska, Golden Spike Tower, golden spike tower and visitor center, golden spike tower nebraska, golden spike visitor center, largest rail yard, largest train yard, north nebraska, North Platte, North Platte Nebraska, rail yards, World's Largest rail yard 8 Comments

From the eight-story Golden Spike Tower in North Platte, Nebraska, visitors to Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard, the world’s largest rail yard, watch all the action. Rail buffs can spend hours watching the trains from the seventh-floor open-air observation deck, a perfect place to take photos, or from the enclosed eighth-floor observation deck, where someone is always on hand to answer questions. Trains come into the yard where the cars are reclassified, hooked to a train and sent on their way. To give you an idea of how large the Bailey Yard operation is, here is a breakdown of the numbers: Read more

Seeking the Wild in the Wilderness Walk

Connie Attractions & Events, Wisconsin May 15, 2015Attractions in Hayward Wisconsin, Hayward WI, Hayward Wisconsin, Midwest Travel, Wilderness Walk, Wilderness Walk Zoo and Recreation Park 8 Comments

Goats and deer and woodchucks—oh my! The Wilderness Walk Zoo and Recreation Park in Hayward, Wisconsin, just isn’t that wild. To be fair, there is a tiger, as well as black bears named Laverne and Shirley. And smaller animals that aren’t exactly tame. The 35-acre Wilderness Walk represents the wilderness of Northern Wisconsin, and the animal life in that area, for the most part, is more mild than wild. We visited the Wilderness Walk last summer and found the attraction to be geared toward kids, but since I’m a big kid, I had a good time. Read more

Midwest Wanderer explores history, nature, and culture through road trips along scenic and historic U.S. highways, byways and trails

Author: Connie