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

12 Fun Facts You May Not Know about the Midwest

Connie Attractions & Events, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin January 4, 2016September 13, 2023crookedest street in the world, Lincoln's Boyhood Home Indiana, magic capital of the world, Mall of America, mammoth site of hot springs, Midwest trivia, world's largest ball of twine, world's tallest man 33 Comments

One fun part of travel is learning interesting facts about the places you visit. Following are bits of trivia I’ve picked up about each of the Midwest states:

Colon, Michigan: Magic Capital of the World

Connie Attractions & Events, Michigan June 26, 2015January 4, 2016colon mi, Colon Michigan, colon michigan magic, harry blackstone magician, magic capital of the world, magician events, magician history, magician shows, where is colon michigan 4 Comments

Driving through Colon, Michigan, you would never think this tiny town of 1200 people is the Magic Capital of the World; that Bob Hope, Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin all got their starts here; that Edgar Bergen visited Colon regularly; or that the town cemetery is filled with deceased magicians.

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Midwest Wanderer

The Midwest Wanderer blog focuses on travel and tourism attractions and events throughout the Midwes

Midwest Wanderer

13 hours ago

When we visited Botanica in Visit Wichita in August, they were already putting up holiday lights. I can only imagine how beautiful their Illuminations display is, especially knowing it's been named in the Top 10 Best Light Shows in the U.S. It's definitely on my list to see... maybe next year. ... See MoreSee Less

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Midwest Wanderer

2 days ago

When we drove the Natchez Trace Parkway, we stayed mostly in hotels. We did spend one night however, in the lovely Meriwether's Retreat Bed & Breakfast in Hohenwald, Tennessee. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos, except for the outside of the B&B after we left. Hohenwald is a very small town, but besides the B&B, we found a couple of gems. Our B&B host, Melissa, suggested dinner at the Junkyard Dog Steakhouse. It’s a very casual-looking restaurant with outstanding food. Skip and I both chose shrimp dishes, alfredo for him and grilled for me. They were both delicious. A wonderful brown bread accompanied the meal. We were shocked when the bill came. We paid less there than we often pay for a simple sandwich meal in many diners. Before we left Hohenwald the following morning, we stopped at the local Meriwether Lewis memorial. (His grave site is a few miles from there on the Trace.) The Hohenwald memorial includes a small cabin and a partial replica of Fort Mandan, which Lewis and Clark built in North Dakota. A stack of large stones are the original stones from Lewis’ gravesite, before the current memorial was built at the grave. ... See MoreSee Less

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Midwest Wanderer

3 days ago

Looking for a lights display relatively close to home, we found the Forest of Lights at Fair Oaks Farms in Visit Indiana. It's a walk-through trail, with options to stop at fire pits to make s'mores. We didn't do the s'mores, and it took us about 45 minutes to do the trail. Tip: If you choose to do the s'mores, stop in the shop at the beginning of the trail first to buy the kits. Don't stop at the first fire pits you see. (Those were crowded.) There were several more farther down the trail, some with no one else around them. ... See MoreSee Less

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Midwest Wanderer

4 days ago

We took Carmela to the Indiana Welcome Center yesterday to see the "A CHRISTMAS STORY" Comes Home display. The story's author, Jean Shepherd, grew up in Hammond, and although the name of the town in the movie is Hohman, it's really about Hammond. (Hohman is the name of a street in Hammond.) Higbee's Department Store is modeled after Goldblatt's, a Hammond department store where I spent a lot of time in my own childhood.The display includes several scenes from the movie, each with a monitor playing that scene from the movie. You can have a photo taken with Santa on Santa's Mountain, and it even includes a slide like in the movie. So fun! ... See MoreSee Less

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Midwest Wanderer

6 days ago

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