The Many Faces of Dickerson Park Zoo

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

Whitewater Rafting in the City

Connie Attractions & Events, Indiana, Iowa May 14, 2015May 14, 2015Charles City, Charles City Iowa, Charles City Whitewater at Riverfront Park, East Race Waterway, man-made rapids, South Bend, South Bend Indiana, whitewaterrafting 6 Comments

There’s nothing more refreshing than cool water splashing on your skin on a hot summer day. Add an adrenalin rush as you navigate challenging rough white waters in your raft or kayak, and you have a perfect summer sport. It used to be Midwesterners had to travel to mountainous areas or at least to remote areas in northern Wisconsin or southern Indiana to go whitewater rafting, but now you can experience the rapids in two Midwest cities. Charles City, Iowa, and Sound Bend, Indiana, both offer man-made rafting adventures right in their downtown areas. Read more