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

Meet Rick Fisher, Magician and Ventriloquist

Connie Attractions & Events, Michigan, Shopping May 9, 2015September 6, 2017Colon Michigan, FAB Magic Company, Magic, Magic festival, Michigan, Michigan attractions, Michigan shops 2 Comments

With a wave of his hand, magician Rick Fisher turns several uneven lengths of rope into even pieces. He has me tug on the ropes to verify they are taut. With another wave of a hand, the ropes are back to being uneven lengths. Read more

Abraham Lincoln Funeral Reenactment Video

Connie Attractions & Events, Illinois May 6, 2015June 28, 20162015 lincoln funeral train events, Abraham Lincoln funeral reenactment, lincoln 150th anniversary, lincoln funderal train reenactment, lincoln funeral 2015, Lincoln funeral anniversary, lincoln funeral hearse, Lincoln funeral reenactment, lincoln springfield, Springfield Illinois, springfield illinois lincoln, springfield lincoln 6 Comments

On Saturday, May 2, 2015, exactly 150 years after Abraham Lincoln was laid to rest in Springfield, Illinois, his funeral was reenacted. Six years in planning, the monumental historic Abraham Lincoln funeral reenactment included a replica funeral train, replica coffin and replica horse-drawn hearse.

A funeral procession commenced at the very train station to which Lincoln’s body was brought in 1865. It ended on Saturday at the site of the Old Capitol, where Lincoln served early in his political career, before he was elected 16th President of the United States of America. Read more

A Drive through Sleeping Bear Dunes

Connie Attractions & Events, Michigan April 30, 2015June 28, 2016ber sleeping, big bear dunes, glen lake mi, great bear dunes, Lake Michigan, Michigan, michigan sleeping bear dunes, Midwest Travel, road trip, sleep bear, sleeping bear, Sleeping Bear Dunes, sleeping bear dunes mi, sleeping bear dunes michigan, sleeping bear dunes national park, sleeping bear sand dunes, Traverse City 4 Comments

Spring is beginning to emerge following a hard winter during our mid-May visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, situated on the northwestern shore of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Young green grasses are poking out from the drab browns of winter, trees are beginning to leaf out, and the warm sun cuts through the chilly air.

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

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