Category Archives: Midwest

Visiting the Past and the Future- Part 1

It was an average day that I suddenly found myself in a strangely familiar place. Wednesday the 22nd of April is a day where most people are simply going about their daily routines, particularly in suburbia. But, on this day, I unexpectedly found myself headed west on 159th Street, entering the town of Homer Glen, Illinois. And, although I have not been here in nearly a decade, traveling this stretch of road brought back a flood of memories from my college years.

Homer Glen is just over an hour away from both my parents house and my University. I was never here for an extended period of time, nor did I come here on a regular basis. However, I had made several friends who were from this area, and ended up partaking in some social events here. There are plenty of other places I could go and encounter a similar amount of memories. However, this visit came unexpectedly, and on a trip where I am already visiting a plethora of places near and dear to me, from past chapters of my life. Maybe that is why the images from my past came back to me so powerfully.

Most of my memories from this place involve standard young people shit; drinking, debauchery, partying, etc. However, some of them involve some specific experiences that remind me of the way my life truly was. One summer evening, we had used a friend’s house in this area as a meeting point, as we had on several occasions, particularly in summer. We had all not see each other in around two months, which, for 20-year-olds used to being at college together all the time, seems like an eternity. As a result, we spent roughly 20 minutes taking pictures. I don’t even remember why we took so many pictures, but we did so until the one person with even less of an attention span than me finally had to put a stop to it. His exact words were “I love you guys, but we need to do something.”

Looking around, I eventually realized that I was not even really in the same place that I had remembered. At that time, the area between Orland Park and Lockport was called Homer Township. It would later be incorporated as the town of Homer Glen. Instead of the four-way stop signs I had seen throughout the area, signaled by red flashing lights in all directions, most intersections here now have full traffic signals. McDonald’s is now accompanied by a bunch of other establishments, and an extension of Interstate 355 has been built just to the west of town. So, although some of what I saw looked familiar, and brought back memories, there is not way to avoid clear evidence that this is now a completely different place than it was a decade ago.

One mistake I tend to make is to associate certain past experiences with a specific location. Periodically, I need reminders that when I think of a set of experiences from my past, I am really looking back to a “chapter” of my life, which, unfortunately, cannot be truly relived no matter how hard I try. College is a chapter of life, and one cannot return to this chapter of life by simply moving back to their college town. Even those who chose to stay in their college town enter a new chapter of their lives when they graduate, one that commonly involves either graduate school or their first “real job”.

Not only is this physical location fundamentally different from the place I had all of these experiences, but I also, unfortunately do not have the same relationship with some of the people I had these experiences with. The different physical surroundings right in front of my face serve as a clear reminder that the chapter of my life, with all of the memories that I am suddenly flashing through in my head at nearly lightning speed, is unequivocally over. AlI I can do is smile, and remember with fondness the small part of my life this place once played.

For the entire week, I have been visiting both the past and the future. We travel for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes for business, sometimes for relaxation, and sometimes for pleasure. Sometimes, we travel to places to attend specific events and visit specific people. And, while some trips are primarily about exploring places we have yet to be, and about having experiences we have yet to have, others are about places we have already been, people we already know, and experience we have already had. For me, this trip, which I will discuss more in Part 2, is turning out to be a hybrid. On this trip, I am trying as best I can to balance relaxation with activity. I am trying to visit as many people as possible, but also to have quality experiences, as opposed to simply rushing from one activity to the next. I am also, in a way, visiting both the past and the future, as I can see my life’s previous “chapters”, but also some of my life’s future “chapters” in the places I am going and the people I am seeing over the course of the week.

On Wisconsin

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After spending a weekend in the Caribbean, I returned to a completely different world than the one I had left. Prior to my trip, it had been autumn, with the mix of some relatively warm, but also some chillier days that typically marks the middle part of the fall season. In fact, much of the Western U.S. experienced a warmer than usual October; a pattern which had extended into early November. As I returned to the mainland United States, a gigantic push of unseasonably frigid air was rapidly descending upon most of the country from Canada. Between the warmer than normal fall weather I had been experiencing prior to my trip, and the warmth of the Caribbean, I was certainly unprepared for this sudden weather transition, and far from thrilled to be experiencing weather more typical of mid-winter than mid-November.

This frigid weather pattern had firmly established itself by the day of the big game which I had planned to attend; Wisconsin’s home game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. And, while I had known that frigid weather was a distinct possibility for a November 15th football game in Wisconsin, I also knew that this would be a critical game, and probably the most ideal weekend for a trip back to Wisconsin to see the Badgers play.

While a part of the Midwest, the State of Wisconsin has a culture that is quite unique from all of the states that surround it.

While much of the Midwest likes to drink, seemingly more than the rest of the country, Wisconsin takes it to a whole different level, often being reported as the #1 state for “binge drinking”. During my time living in the Midwest, I observed drinking in the state of Wisconsin at a larger subset of all occasions, and in larger quantities than anywhere else. In fact, recently Wisconsin Public Radio did an entire series addressing the alcohol culture in Wisconsin.

Another tradition in which Wisconsin takes quite seriously is the Friday Fish Fry. The extent in which this tradition is observed here highlights Wisconsin’s Catholic and Lutheran heritage, as well as the obsession with fishing here. Like the consumptions of beer, cheese, and encased meats, the Friday Fish Fry is fairly common in other Midwestern states, but taken to a new obsessive level in Wisconsin.

One other thing Wisconsin knows how to do is tailgate. In downtown Madison, in the vicinity of Camp Randall Stadium, nearly every parking lot with available space is filled with people drinking, grilling, and playing games in preparation for the game. The tailgating experience here is somewhat different than in most places. Tailgating at most stadiums generally involves parking in the stadium’s parking lot a few hours prior to the game; with people bringing their coolers, grills, food, and games out of their vehicles.

This past weekend, although we arrived downtown nearly four hours prior to game time, we were forced to park roughly a mile away from the stadium (as well as the tailgate). At the tailgates here, there is a much higher ratio of people to cars than is typical. It seemed like only the organizers of the tailgate, who likely arrived quite early in the morning, had vehicles in the lot, with the rest of the lot’s space available for people, tents, games, and a significant number of port-a-pottys to accommodate the excessive drinking that takes place at these events.

I attended a tailgate that I can only be described as “professional tailgating”. It included a several table long buffet of food, tables for games, a television showing other games in the Big 10 conference, a sound system with multiple speakers, and even a heated lamp! The organizers even brought in their own port-a-potty and handed out pieces of orange tape to attendees to ensure that those coming from outside their tent did not use it. I was quite amazed!

Despite the chill, it felt good to be back at Camp Randall Stadium, a place where I had watched dozens of Wisconsin football games while attending the University. Despite many of the changes that have occurred over the years, the stadium itself, and the experience of attending the games, was practically the same as it was back then. Although, we did not do the crazy set of “waves” (standard, slow, fast, reverse, and then split) that I had recalled. Well, maybe I just don’t remember it.

The game actually turned out to be a bit of a blowout, with Wisconsin winning 59-24. Our running back Melvin Gordon set the all-time single game rushing record at 408 yards, and it began to snow halfway through the 3rd Quarter.

Despite this, we did not leave the game early. And not too many people did. Maybe some Nebraska fans did. But, it is something that Wisconsin fans do not really do. Surprisingly, my buzz (from the tailgating) did not ware off despite not drinking at all during the game.

Like so many evenings I remember in Madison, the evening involved multiple bars and lasted until bar time … or some time around that. Just as I remembered, the drinks here are made quite strong! In fact, even at the places that I had previously thought of as making “weak” drinks, the drinks felt quite strong compared to what I had now become used to.

It was my third consecutive weekend of partying hard. First, over Halloween, I threw a party at my place. I was in a setting that consisted of a fairly large number of people, nearly all of whom I was already quite familiar with. The following weekend, at Saint John Island, I was around almost all people I had not previously met. This past weekend, I attended the game with a group of six people (including myself), only one of whom I had not met before. However, out at the bars on State Street, I interacted with a significant number of complete strangers.

The past three weekends I had been in three different settings, both geographically and socially. I managed to have a great time and be what I consider the best version of me. It is the version of me that I become when I do not let the anxiety that comes from various life events and situations to get the best of me. It is the me that is energetic, enthusiastic, confident, and welcoming to all around me. It is the version of me that seems to make others around me happy, and the way I am when I am having the best times of my life. It is this version of me that I wish I could be at all times.

Unfortunately, there are times when I do not live up to this standard. As, sometimes I let some kind of anxiety, frustration, or insecurity prevent me from truly enjoying myself. Having avoided these pitfalls in three different settings gives me hope that I have overcome some of these anxieties, insecurities, and frustrations. However, I have no way of being certain of what the future holds. At this time, all I can do is be happy that I have had the opportunity to have been the places I have been over the past few weeks, and hope for the best for those around me.

The Wheels of Change

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It’s an experience nearly everybody seems to have. A place from our past. Maybe it’s a place we used to live, or a place we used to frequent. But, sometime since the time when this place was an integral part of our lives, it has undergone some kind of drastic change, making it feel completely different from how we remembered it. I’m not just talking about a strip-mall having mostly different stores, a few home additions, or a road widened from two lanes to four. I am talking about a series of changes that makes life itself feel completely different.

For me, that place is Valparaiso, Indiana, where I went to college (undergraduate). Valparaiso University has undergone many changes since my graduation, including a new student union, a new library, several other new academic buildings, and a new more pedestrian friendly campus layout. While this is a drastic change, a drastic change on a college campuses is not really all that unique. Colleges build new buildings all the time, and many of our campuses are in a near constant state of flux.

The changes that have truly surprised me are the changes to Valparaiso the town; particularly Valparaiso’s downtown area, which is located roughly a mile west of campus.

When I attended Valparaiso University, downtown Valparaiso was not a place we frequented. We were far more likely to go to the WalMart for cheap groceries, a few other restaurants either just to the east near the junction of highway 49, or along highway 30, and when we turned 21, go to some bars scattered around town. Downtown was not dingy, or run down, it just was not that interesting. I remember going there every September for the annual Popcorn Festival (held to honor Valparaiso’s most famous resident- Orville Redenbacher), and maybe twice more in a given year.

Today’s downtown Valparaiso is suddenly far more vibrant. Along the Lincolnway, one can now find more bars, more restaurants (and many different kinds of restaurants including sushi), and a significant amount of foot traffic. The storefronts along the main roads in town now often display paper signs in the window, advertising a plethora of upcoming events in the center of town. These are all the kind of things I had become accustomed to seeing in a vibrant neighborhood of Chicago, or even a well put together suburban town center, like Downers Grove or Arlington Heights. However, it was a unique experience to see all of this in a town that I used to live in.

While Valparaiso has added a lot of places over the past several years, the two most major additions appear to be a new amphitheater and event center, and a new microbrewery. The bartenders at Figure Eight Microbrewery told me that on evenings where a concert is held at the amphitheater, a sudden rush of people would often come into the bar at the end of the show. But, the microbrewery is also a place to visit on it’s own. In Denver, we have tons of microbreweries, but in Valparaiso, this is the first one of it’s kind.

Those I talk to around town, including my friends that are still there attribute the change to several factors, all of which appear to be connected to the election of a new mayor a few years back. I had already noticed that the city of Valparaiso now offers bus service both to downtown Chicago and to the South Shore Rail line- both services I wish I had available to me while I was there. They also focused development in the downtown area. However, many attribute the redevelopment to the issuing of more liquor licenses.

No matter how much you pay attention to what is going on around you, there always seems to be at least one thing happening, that has a major impact on your life, that you remain unaware of. While I was at Valparaiso, I actually had no clue that it was nearly impossible to get a new liquor license from the city. For some time, they had been keeping the number of licenses steady, meaning one can only be attained if a different business had lost or dropped theirs. Being under the legal drinking age of 21 for most of the time I was there, I would not have even seen how this impacted me. But it was keeping a lot of Pub type places, which make some of their money on the sale of beer and such, out.

The downtown re-development is actually still taking place today, with more storefronts under construction. I wonder what this place will become.

I had a great experience at Valparaiso University. I loved the feel of the campus. I really liked my professors, and I liked most of the people I was around on a regular basis. When I look at this vibrant downtown, and convenient bus service to get back “home”, I can’t help but be somewhat envious of what current Valparaiso University students have that I did not. But, I do wonder if my experience would have been significantly different had I had access to all of these things. Maybe it was somehow secretly a good thing that I had to scramble for rides to the train station, and we did not have concerts at an amphitheater while I was there. Maybe it made my experience there unique, and distinguish it from my later experience in a vibrant Chicago neighborhood.

Chicago- Still My City

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Based on many of the criteria people tend to look at when determining their ideal location, Chicago would not be an ideal place for me. The winters are too cold, and extended periods of consistent cold are frequent. It’s not too uncommon for 2-3 weeks to go by without temperatures rising above freezing. There are also very few good places for outdoor activities near Chicago. Most of the area within a four hour drive of Chicago is flat farmland. The few interesting places in the area, like Starved Rock and the Wisconsin Dells, end up being quite crowded on nice weekend days. Finally, Chicago seems to not only tolerate, but sometimes celebrate its’ corrupt politics. Alderman go to jail on a regular basis, and so do governors. This culture has lead to an offensively high sales tax. When people asked me why Illinois seems obsessed with Abraham Lincoln, I would often joke about the state having to honor its’ last non-corrupt politician.

Preferences on these kinds of issues are amongst the most common questions asked in your standard online “what city is right for you” quiz. Had I decided on where to live based on these online quizes, I probably would have never even considered living in Chicago. But, I really did enjoy my time here. So, as I visited Chicago and saw my friends and such this past weekend, I thought about what it is about Chicago that I really enjoyed, and what keeps people moving here.

One thing I certainly learned is that one’s impression of a place is dependent not only on how good of a fit that place is for them, but also on circumstances. It is quite possible for someone to move to a place that seems ideal for them, but be in a bad situation (bad job, bad economy, bad relationship), and end up with a negative impression. Likewise, some of the flaws a location may have could be overlooked or tolerated by someone who has really satisfying situation. For most of my four years in Chicago, I enjoyed a good job, a functional relationship, and a really great social situation. All of this made that additional sales tax, the cold week in February, and having to drive three hours for a decent hike feel like less of an annoyance.

I also learned that sometimes there are other factors that have a major impact on one’s satisfaction in their hometown that is not considered when choosing a place to relocate to, and also not considered in your standard “what city is right for you” quiz. For example, Chicago has a great energy to it. I really did fit well in the pace of life here; fast, but maybe not quite as fast as the east coast. There are tons of different neighborhoods, with different vibes, allowing people to have a lot of different kinds of experiences on a day-to-day basis without traveling far. Many different kinds of people can find a place that suits them all within Chicago’s city limits. Chicago also has one of the best food scenes in the country, with regionally distinct food that ranges from the traditionally “blue collar” Chicago-style hot dog and italian beef sandwiches to fancy restaurants like Alinea and Girl and Goat.

If I take a step back, and look at a more high-level overview of the situation, I think the main lesion to be taken away is that some situations that sound less than ideal deserve a chance. Because, well, you never know what you will discover and come to love about them. This applied to me in the city of Chicago, but could also apply to a job, a relationship, or involvement in some other kind of organization. When deciding where to live, who to date, what job to take, etc. we often think about, at most 5-10 factors, while our satisfaction with the situation can be even more dependent on factors we typically fail to consider. I did not expect to find the vibrant social scene that I found at the job I had in Chicago, and I hear many people discuss aspects of their significant others that they had originally overlooked, but have come to really enjoy.

For the last couple of decades, Chicago’s population has been somewhat balanced by an influx of people from elsewhere in the midwest that counteracts a loss of people to the south and southwest. Michigan and Ohio seem to produce the most Chicago transplants, as their economies have been weak the last couple of decades. I actually recall a time when I felt like I was unable to go more than a week without somehow setting foot in a Michigan State bar. This has changed the nature of the city significantly, with many neighborhoods on the north and northwest sides gentrifying, and some traditional middle class neighborhoods elsewhere in the city emptying out.

There is not shortage of debate online regarding Chicago’s future. One can find particularly intense debates on websites such as city-data and the urbanophile. Here I have read all kinds of opinions, ranging from imminent decline to Chicago becoming the next world class city. On one hand, there does appear to be a danger that Chicago could experience a decline if the influx of people from other midwestern states, particularly Michigan and Ohio were to dry up, as those states are beginning to show signs of life. However, I find it hard to believe that the young professional community would stop particularly seeking out Chicago for what it has to offer with regards to jobs and lifestyle. Not only does Chicago offer nearly all that New York offers at a fraction of the price, but it also offers a nice compromise with regards to pace of life and work intensity. In New York, work-life is quite stressful, and people end up working extra hours. The West Coast is very casual, and slower in pace. Chicago offers a nice compromise between the two. I have heard a lot of people in Chicago tell me that New York would be “too much” for them. Many of these people could be either frustrated, or unable to find their ideal job in a smaller city. If one can think of of place as offering a specific product, there is still a demand out there for the “product” that Chicago is offering. In that sense, Chicago’s main danger in the future would be another city (perhaps Minneapolis, Denver, or even Omaha) offering that same product at a lower cost.

The Cuyahoga Valley

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I frequently hear people describe Ohio in a negative manner. People often describe Ohio as a dull, based on the experience of driving across the state on cross-country road trips. Much of Ohio is associated with the “rust belt”, a term used to describe heavily Industrial parts of this country that have experienced major decline in the past 40 years. This area tends to be centered around the Great Lakes. I’ve heard Cleveland, Ohio’s most historically significant city, referred to as the “mistake by the lake”, and seen an entire episode of TV’s 30 Rock dedicated to mocking the city.

However, there is more to Ohio than most people realize. Cincinnati is a vibrant, if not glamorous, city and a good place to catch a sporting event. Cedar Point Amusement Park is the best theme park I have ever been to. And, prior to my trip to Yellowstone National Park, Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s Brandywine Falls was the best waterfall I had ever seen!

The Cuyahoga Valley actually offers a plethora of recreation opportunities. The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is located near the Ohio Turnpike between the cities of Cleveland and Akron. A towpath trail, which follows the Cuyahoga River through the National Park offers a bicycle connection between the two cities through a very scenic river valley. Surrounding the national park are parks associated with the Cleveland Metro Parks system, as well as Akron’s Summit County Parks. At these parks, one can find yet more scenic views, hikes, picnics, and recreation. Overall, it is an entire region of interesting scenery and fun activities that many seem to overlook when they put down the state of Ohio.

I have previously been to Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and seen Brandywine Falls. So, this week I visited two other parks in the area; one in Cleveland’s Metro Park system, and on in the Summit County System.

Summit County’s Sand Run Metro Park, located on Akron’s Northwest side seems to be a popular place for people to go running/ jogging. I was actually blown away by the fall colors in this park! It was among the best colors I had seen on this trip. My friend’s house actually backs up to this park. One could simply walk out the backyard of his house, or anyone’s house in the neighborhood, right into this park! As someone who has lived in urban areas/ apartment buildings for over a decade (including campus related apartments), the idea of walking out of a place of residence straight into somewhere like this comes across as truly amazing to me.

My main hiking excursion in Ohio was at a place called Bedford Reservation, which is part of Cleveland’s Metro Park system. This park is located just to the east of the Cuyahoga River, along a creek called Tinker’s Creek. This Creek flows directly into the Cuyahoga, and therefore, this area would still be considered part of the Cuyahoga Valley.

The hike along the Bridle Trail here at Bedford Reservation is a scenic hike with rolling terrain. After about 3/4 of a mile, it leaves the river valley and climbs up onto the ridge. This climb is fairly steep, but also fairly short lived. It was steep enough to cause someone to lose their breath a little bit, but not exactly tiring. The rest of the hike also contains kind of a mixture of ups and downs. This, of course, differs greatly from the typical hiking experience in Colorado, as well as the hike I did at the Smoky Mountains, where the hike is only uphill on the way out and only downhill on the way back. In this sense, it reminds me of a typical hike in the midwest, where this is more common.

Driving across Ohio on the Turnpike still sounds like a dull experience to me. But that does not mean we need to judge the value of the entire state from this experience. The entire Cuyahoga Valley is quite scenic, and contains some interesting recreation opportunities. I think on my next visit here I would like to try to ride a bicycle from Akron to Cleveland along the towpath.

Interstate 65: The Raceway

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I designed a road trop that would mix the familiar with the new. The first day of my road trip focused on the familiar, and few roads are more familiar to me than interstate 65 between Chicago and Indianapolis. During my time living in the State of Indiana, people would often refer to Interstate 65 as “the raceway”. This, of course, referred to how fast traffic would move on this highway. Traffic most likely moves this fast on this particular road because the two cities it connects both contain a lot of fast drivers. At the time when I was living in Indiana, the highway speed limit was 65 and traffic tended to move at a speed of about 80 mph. Since then, the speed limit has increased to 70, meanwhile gas prices have risen substantially. Still, with the exception of when trucks are slowing down the highway by passing one another, traffic moves at about the same pace.

Most of this route would be considered quite dull by most. It pretty much looks like this, open fields of corn and soy stretching endlessly into the distance. And, there is little variance. Nearly every highway I crossed would contain the same features, a few gas stations, and signs pointing motorists to both Chicago and Indianapolis. For many, this is a dreadfully dull ride, but for me it is slightly differnt. As I had spent a significant amount of time in the area, and gained a lot of interesting experiences here, the highway actually brought back a plethora of memories for me. Many of the exits I encountered on this trip reminded me of interesting experiences I had years back. It was almost like a trip through a period of my life, and almost like I was reliving many of these memories.

I felt it appropriate to stop at Arbys, a staple of this region. In fact, whenever I think of central Illinois and Indiana, I think of Arbys, as they are plentiful here. One time, while driving interstate 55 from Saint Louis to Chicago, I decided to count the number of Arbys- there were 13, and that was only the number I could see signed from the highway.

There is one place where the endless fields of corn and soy give way to a very different scenery; in the vicinity of the Wabash River near Lafayette, Indiana. WIth dense trees, and even a little bit of terrain, this region is always a welcome break from the monotony of this trip, even when I am reliving memories from my past. In fact, I recollect this area being one of the few areas I explored beyond the local fast food joints and truck stops on this trip. I was hoping for more color, given that it is well into October, but I heard that the weather had just cooled down recently. So, the colors will have to wait.

Indianapolis is not a glamorous city. In fact, it is mostly known for being quite affordable compared to most cities its’ size and larger. I recall seeing lists that compare median income to median home costs, and seeing that Indianapolis is one of the easiest places for someone with the average paying job to afford a home.

However, it is not without its’ interesting places. The bike trails here are pretty unique, albeit they do not seem like they would be efficient. In town, I got the chance to check out the Indianapolis City Market, which seems like the kind of place people go to eat lunch during an average workday downtown. By the time we arrive there, around 4:15 P.M., most of the businesses seem closed. However, there is one open establishment, called the Tomlinson Tap Room that serves beer from different microbreweries throughout the state. They even serve “flights” on boards shaped like the State of Indiana, which I found to be a unique idea.

Looking at the clientelle at this establishment, it appears to be one of those after work type of places that tends to die down around 8 or 9 P.M. Plenty of these types of places can be found in central business districts of many large cities, as other districts are more sought after with regards to nightlife.

Although I can never think of a defining feature about Indianapolis, I always enjoy my trips here. My last time here was in 2010, when I was Wisconsin defeat Michigan State in the inaugural Big 10 Championship game. I remember getting pitchers of Long Island Iced Tea for only $7 at a place called Tiki Bob’s. And this was on a Saturday night, and the night of a major sporting event. There is something to be said about affordable cities, and even affordable neighborhoods of our own cities. People here seem to be enjoying the same experiences for a fraction of the cost. Sometimes I even wonder if the joke is one me, and others that chose cities and neighborhoods that are trendy or well known. They are probably sitting back, enjoying their $3 drinks and $550/ month apartments wondering why we pay so much to be where we are and do what we do.

Kayaking in the Sea Caves

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The process of erosion is quite an interesting process. Well, it is not interesting to watch, not even on time lapse. But the end process can be quite interesting to see. Different types of dirt, sand and rock, are weathered down in different climates to create some unique natural features. In the case if the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, sandstone, eroded by constant waves from Lake Superior have created a series of “sea caves”. The arrangement of these sea caves is actually constantly changing. New “sea caves” are created and old ones are destroyed periodically throughout the region. The ice that forms on the lake can speed up this process as water expands when it freezes.

I actually own 16 DeLorme state atlases. I pretty much own all of the Midwest states and many of the mountain states. These atlases are a great resource for both outdoor recreation, as well as storm chasing. When I was at the headquarters of the Adventure Cycling Association, I actually saw that they have a whole pile of these atlases as well. They are quite great for everything except urban areas. In each atlas is a listing of places such as campgrounds, lakes and rivers for fishing, ski resorts, etc. Each atlas also has a listing of “unique natural features”. I wonder, not only what constitutes a “unique natural feature”, but also what makes us so drawn to them. Are we bored of the features we encounter on a regular basis? And, how unique are they? Couldn’t sea caves like this form pretty much anywhere along a lake where the soil has primarily been crushed into sandstone by geological processes? Well, maybe that is a rare condition. But, I still wonder what draws us to travel to see them, and any other “unique natural feature”.

Friday’s activity was kayaking in the sea caves, a trip organized by Living Adventure Inc. out of Red Cliff, WI. This trip is quite neat, as they take participants out on kayaks. Tour guides direct the participants to some of the neatest sea caves along the Lake Superior tour. We were even able to kayak through some of them, and into this area known as “the crack”. This agency also offers multi-day tours that travel to the islands. The tour guides were quite knowledgeable too, and described to me the geological process that created these features, which islands had the most interesting sea caves, as well as how many bears each island has! I really did not know anyone tracked bear populations to this level of detail. The only thing I really know about bears is the saying “If it’s black fight back, if it’s brown, lie down”. I guess that is the important part, as to help you not get killed by a bear, but it still surprised me that there were a lot of bears here. I thought they were mainly out west, and remember seeing all of the bear related warnings in and around Yellowstone National Park.

I went on this kayak trip with a group of 8, all of us attendees of Saturday’s wedding in Bayfield, WI. Up until about a year ago, several of us all lived in Chicago and worked for AonBenfield. We had frequent social events throughout the city, and got to know each other quite well. It was really a fun time of my life, and I miss all of the people I encountered this weekend greatly. But life brings about changes from time to time. No matter how much people would like to think otherwise, we are not in total control of our lives. Some people believe in God, or a system of gods, or some kind of external force that guides our life paths. Others believe in a concept known as “fate”, something best addressed in that Gwyneth Paltrow movie “Sliding Doors”. But even those that don’t believe can still acknowledge that many of the events that have the largest impact on your life are completely out of our control. Sometimes it is a decision made by people that are more important than you in a company you work for, other times it is a natural event, like a gigantic storm. Either way, you can’t control what happens to you in life, you can only control how you respond.

And, if it is your response that builds character, than I am personally doing a terrible job of it. As I sit here in my hotel room, preparing to depart for home, my thoughts keep dwelling on all of the people I was hanging out with over the past few days. I was actually quite sad at the end of last night when I had to say goodbye to everyone. In fact, I do periodically think about my old life back in Chicago. I know some people have moved on, and others are looking to move on. The past cannot be recreated, and change is inevitable. I really need to look more towards the future. But, the way I had my life in a rhythm back in Chicago, especially the summer of 2011, when there was always something going on, and I still managed to train for and complete a century ride. Well, it is something that will definitely be missed. Having lots of people that honestly care about me, and appreciate me for who I am (which can be quite ridiculous sometimes), is something that is definitely appreciated. I don’t know what to say except that one fact of life is that there is a first and last to everything, and I truly hope that there were no “lasts” this weekend.

Sometimes it is the little things that you remember most about an event. Over the course of this past month, I have had plenty of opportunities to sharpen my rock skipping skills. On the kayak trip, we stopped at an island to eat lunch. On the island, we had some extra time, and I started skipping rocks. Others joined in from time to time. At one point in time, I actually skipped a rock that was about the size of my hand. I was even shocked that this rock actually skipped. My friend Liz described it as “the most awesome thing I’ve ever seen in my life”, which was definitely an exaggeration.

I was also proud of myself for helping a couple of others with their rock skipping. This goes back to leadership skills I have been pondering over the past year. If you think about the role of any leader, from someone that organizes trips to upper management/ CEO figures, one important aspect of their job is developing the skills of others. This involves knowing when to step aside and trust someone else to get a job done. A leader of this nature cannot possibly have involvement in all of the details of every project in all that they oversee. They must know when to let go a little and trust others, but also know when to step in and assist. I gave my wife Abby a couple of basic pointers that helped her with rock skipping, and was glad to see her succeed. Also, when handed a rock for skipping by Kristin, my good friend Quaid’s girlfriend and date for the wedding, I handed it back to her and let her skip it herself, and she was also successful. I know it is something stupid like skipping rocks, but I was proud of myself for revisiting the urge to try and do everything. This is a trait that can really limit one’s leadership ability, as well as annoy those that report to them. People who end up working for managers that do not know how to step aside and trust people with tasks also typically end up struggling to develop. Overall, it is a lose-lose, but I know it is hard for some to resist the urge to step into everything. This weekend it is skipping a rock, but maybe later it will be something more substantial. At least I did one thing right!

-Photos Credited to Sneha Soni-

Wisconsin’s Northernmost Region

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Yesterday I returned to a place I had been to only once before. The town of Bayfield, WI is along Wisconsin’s Lake Superior shoreline, and despite being a very small town (population less than 500), it is popular in the summer, as it is linked to the Apostle Islands, which is an island chain in Lake Superior with some unique scenery. Due to the geography of Wisconsin, this is the northernmost part of the state. It is the only part of the Lake Superior shoreline in Wisconsin, as farther east, the shoreline hits the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This part of the state is actually over 300 miles from both Milwaukee and Madison, making it quite different than the part of the state I am most familiar with. In fact, someone once told me that sometime in the 1970s there was talk of this part of Wisconsin joining with the U.P. of Michigan to form a new state, breaking away from their respective states due to serious cultural differences.

The first time I came here, in 2007, I was kind of obsessed with waterfalls. So, I found a place called Copper Falls State Park, which has some pretty nice falls. This particular trip warranted a return trip to Copper Falls, as some of the others on this trip live in Chicago, where there is little opportunity to find good waterfalls.

The trail system at this state park is actually part of a larger trail system called the North Country National Scenic Trail. This trail system is only partially complete, but they eventually hope to connect central North Dakota all the way to upstate New York via a trail that follows some of the northernmost parts of the country. I am guessing they are hoping for it to be like the Appalachian Trail, but it seems like they are still a long way from completing this trail, and even when it’s completed it will be nowhere near as scenic as the Appalachian Trail, or the Great Divide or Colorado Trail for that matter.

The hiking here was pretty easy, especially when compared with some of the hikes I have been doing more recently, with the move to Colorado and the trip to South Dakota. However, they did have some decent waterfalls in several different places. They are called the “Copper Falls”, due to their coloring, which actually comes from the type of red clay present in the region. As far as I know, the region has nothing to do with the mineral copper, and nor does the name of this particular waterfall.

Having lived in Colorado for some time now, a few things about this hike seemed quite different than what I am now used to. First of all, the hike felt to me like a luxury hike compared with what I have been doing more recently. There were some areas where staircases had been built, and there was even a sheltered bench built for resting. This is not something I have come to expect on a hiking trail. I had become accustomed to simply using a good rock or log to rest on if I were to get tired.

It was also way more wooded here than what I had become accustomed to. I guess they call it the “north woods” for a reason. It was so wooded here that I did not suffer any consequence for forgetting to wear sunscreen. At the end of the hike, I was actually way more anxious to put on bug spray. Parts of this hike had an excessively large concentration of mosquitoes. I think I killed like 50 of them and still got a bunch of bites. I cannot even seem to recall the last time I was in such a mosquito infested area.

After hiking Copper Falls, we drove up to Bayfield, the town most closely associated with the Apostle Islands. This is because the ferries that run to the islands all run out of this town. On the way up there, we hit the Lake Superior shore, and subsequently the Lake Superior circle tour, which is a series of roads that a motorist could follow around the lake. When I lived in Chicago, I recall being along and seeing signs for the Lake Michigan circle tour from time to time. In fact, that tour follows Lake Shore Drive in the city. The signs are neat, but taking the two or so days to drive around the lake seems like a strange idea to me.

We took a ferry to Madeline Island, which is the largest island in the chain. In fact, it is the only island with roads. The others are largely uninhabited, but people still take boats, kayaks, etc., and camp and hike there. We did not end up spending too much time on Madeline Island. There wasn’t too much to do there, at least not for us. They do have a golf course, some beaches and trails, but it seemed to me that most things available on the island are also available in Bayfield, and in other areas on the mainland. Maybe it is still not quite peak tourist season yet.

I did enjoy the ferry ride. It actually brought back some distant memories for me. When I was a kid, growing up on Long Island, my family would periodically take trips that would involve bringing our car on the Orient Point ferry to Connecticut. This ferry ride was not nearly as long, and on fresh water instead of salt water, but driving onto the ferry and walking up the stairs did bring back those memories a couple of decades later. It is strange how, after all those years, the feelings can still be the same. The people with me probably thought my behavior at this point in time was a bit odd, as I was doing and saying certain things out of some kind of long dormant reflex that likely made little sense in the context of where we were. I even stated to crave seafood. It was somewhat of an odd feeling, but a good one.

A Continental Crossroads

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Many places refer to themselves as a “crossroads” of some kind. In fact, every sign welcoming motorists to the state of Indiana refers to the state as the “Crossroads of America”. Indiana’s claim to being the “Crossroads of America” has to do with some of the earliest long distance highways, including the Lincolnway, which pre-dates Route 66, passing through Indiana. Even now it is a place many have to drive through to get to destinations like Chicago, Detroit, and Louisville.

Duluth’s claim to be a “continental crossroads” seems even more substantial than Indiana’s. The North American continent includes Canada and Mexico, as well as the United States. Duluth makes this claim based on railroads and waterways. Duluth was an important rail hub in the heyday of the Minnesota lumber industry around 100 years ago, with lumber from points north being hauled to Duluth to make connections to other areas, both by rail and by ship via Lake Superior.

With this history, one of Duluth’s major attractions is their historic depot. This depot, located in the center of town, contains several museums, including an impressive rail museum. Many old trains are on display here, and visitors can view the inside of many of these trains, including the passenger and dining cars, as well as the conductor’s cars.

One of the most impressive trains on display here was an old snowplow train. This particular model, was used to plow large amounts of snow, as much as 12 feet high. Seeing this is not too surprising given Duluth’s cold and snowy climate. Residents of Duluth undoubtedly put up with more cold and snowy weather than I would ever imagine wanting to experience.

Duluth is a place I had never been to before. In 2007, I did visit Bayfield and the Apostle Islands, which are only 90 miles away. But, I never did visit Duluth. I did not specifically avoid coming here, but I did not seek it out either. I guess that would make it kind of a “neutral” place for me. We all have a lot of places like that. Places we would not make a specific point to visit, but would not avoid. Duluth is quite far North, and out of the way of most American road trips. In fact, on the trip here from Minneapolis along I-35, there were plenty of billboards advertising resorts in Canada, specifically Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Duluth turned out to be kind of an interesting place. It is still very much of an industrial town. Many industrial towns in the Midwest have experienced a certain amount of decline, leading to the term “rust belt”. From what I saw here, the decline seems to have not been as bad here, and there still appears to be a significant amount of industrial activity. I almost wonder if this town looks a lot like the other industrial towns in the country looked like back in the 1950s or so before much of this happened.

There also are kind of neat bluffs just outside of town. They kind of remind me of the river bluffs I would encounter along the Mississippi River along I-90, in a completely different part of Minnesota. The town appears to have mostly been built in the lower terrain right along Lake Superior, giving it a neat lakefront. I still wonder if people hike up these bluffs on a regular basis, the way Boulderites regularly hike the Flatirons.

But what about Duluth’s claims to be a “continental crossroads”? Well, the fact that it is an important shipping port definitely backs up this claim. It was out of Duluth that the tragic voyage of the Edmond Fitzgerald left in 1975. This voyage, intended for Cleveland, was one of a number of journeys taken along the Great Lakes from Duluth over the years. From points north and west, it is the nearest access point to the Great Lakes, which provides shipping access to the Atlantic via the Erie Canal. Also, with a good number of ports along Lake Superior being in Canada, Duluth’s importance undoubtedly stretches beyond the United Sates.

But, does this make Duluth any more important than I had previously thought? Maybe not? I mean, there are tons of airports near an international border that can call themselves “international airports” by virtue of their location more than their flight availability. And, almost every town that refers to themselves as a “crossroads” of some kind have some kind of story to back up their claims. The truth is that, the world is full of crossroads. Routes and trails have criss-crossed the continent for a long time, and along these routes and trails, many important connections have developed in quite a few locations, each with significance in the history and development of our nation. This is actually one of the things that made our country great. It is not once place that made us who we are, nor is who we are just one thing. Everybody had input. And, more importantly, everyone had the right to decline input as well. Minnesota is quite different from Texas, which is also quite different from New York. Each place developed differently, and each “crossroads” across this great continent has their own unique way of life based on what kind of “crossroads” they are.

Camping in the Badlands

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Today, June 2nd, started with a bang. Following our friends Jason and Allison, after only about 5 minutes of driving, suddenly a large black structure came flying off their vehicle. At first glance, the structure looked like a tire, and I became concerned that they had lost a tire. But, they continued, seemingly unaffected, so I assumed they had just run over an old tire, or old piece of rubber of some kind that was on the road. Either way, they wanted to stop to check things, which turned out to be unexpectedly beneficial. We stopped, still on some county road nowhere near the interstate, and concluded nothing was wrong with their vehicle.

After returning to the car, I suddenly see Allison running back to us with the kind of look on her face that made me think that something could have been wrong. It turns out that I had confused the sad look with the amazed look. Outside their car, sitting on some county road in South-Central (Minnesota that is), they had spotted a baby fox. This baby fox was quite cute. It actually made me think of dogs. It seemed in no way alarmed by our presence- and just presented itself to us, the same way a pet dog would. Had the fox of 60,000 years ago done the same to our forefathers, could the fox have become the pet of choice for humans rather than the evolved wolf (dog)?

The remainder of the drive across Minnesota on I-90 was uneventful. A lot of windmills, that is it. Our first stop off on our journey to the Badlands was in Sioux Falls, SD. I’ve been to this town before. In fact, whenever I see this town, I think to myself that if I were to ever run a city, this is what it would look like, mainly on the count of how many signs that say “CASINO” one encounters here. Of course, they are mainly for places that throw in a slot machine or two, not full-fledged casinos with table games and all, but you still see them. And it makes you think this town is a gambling haven. We encounter a couple of other peculiarities in Sioux Falls. First, the gas station we filled up at had the following “Free Dandelion” sign. I not sure if that was supposed to be a joke or for real. Then, we saw something peculiar from a civil engineering standpoint, an interstate highway, 229, that actually turns into a dirt road (after its’ junction with I-90). From the point of view of someone who did not even know dirt roads still existed until college, but then became all too familiar with them on storm chases. I still think of dirt roads as not belonging in areas near “civilization”.

To break up the drive, we stop at the Mitchell Corn Palace, in Mitchell, which is just over an hour farther down I-90. For over 100 years, they have been building a succession of buildings that are actually made out of corn. Since corn does not last too long, roughly once a year they reconstruct the building with a different theme. The whole practice is rather ridiculous if you think about it. It becomes even more ridiculous when you see that the town’s city hall is actually attached to this building! Imagine being able to say you get to go to a castle every day because you are the mayor of the seventh largest town in South Dakota. Talk about the life.

My party thankfully avoids making all of the corn related puns one could make when visiting a ridiculous exhibit like this. I won’t repeat any of them, but I am sure you have thought of at least four by now. I did enjoy getting my picture taken with “Cornelious”, and buying a corn dog at the concession stand.

South Dakota is pretty dull to drive across until you reach the Missouri River Valley, at the town of Chamberlin. At that point it becomes sort of interesting, but it does not become exciting all at once, the way it happens in Colorado where you suddenly see the mountains in the distance and one of the dullest most barren areas suddenly becomes a playground of infinite adventure possibilities. This transition starts with the Missouri River Valley, and then with some other river valleys that carve out of the land, as is typical in the high plains. Either way, it feels like we are in the West again.

The other gradual transition across the state of South Dakota today was in the weather. Upon entering the state, the weather was similar to the weather we left behind in Iowa/Minnesota. It was chilly for this time of year last night, and we woke up to temperatures near 50 degrees and a thick deck of strato-cumulus clouds. As we transitioned across the state, the strato-cumulus clouds gradually waned, until there were suddenly quite few clouds in the sky. It also significantly warmed across the state, and by the time we arrived at Badlands National Park, it was a comfortable 70-72 degrees with good sun.

Indeed we were in the west. The distance we can see, the dryness, the scenery, everything felt a lot more west than Midwest. I switched I to what I am referring to as “Western mode”, which basically means being more prepared for dehydration and drinking more water. As soon as we arrived at Badlands National Park, we found a couple of really neat scenic overlooks, and then an area with some minor hiking trails. Today’s hike only lasted some thirty minutes and was more of a goofy/exploratory hike. By this, I mean there was no serious burn, no real workout. But we did some goofy things, climb a few rock structures, and went off trail. I even threw a few rocks around to see if I could throw them over some of the gorges. Hikes like this can be fun, even if they don’t build anything.

After hiking we went to our campsite, which was actually within the grounds of the park. This is my first time camping at a National Park! As a result of this, we have the minor inconvenience of not being allowed to have a campfire. But, the bigger inconvenience on this day is the wind. The high plains is known to be a windy place. Sometime in the afternoon, a Southeast wind of around 15 miles per hour, with major gusts, developed. I think for a while sustained winds may have reached 20. The main issue with this has been that it keeps blowing into my tent, and knocking the rods that hold it up out of place. I wonder if I have a sturdy enough tent. They have to make sturdier ones, but, are they tougher to carry? What is truly the best tent to have for hiking, or bicycle touring? Maybe, having the tent be less effective when camping in the wind is just a fact of life. This, of course is somewhat disturbing to me, as Colorado can get windy at higher elevation.

Isn’t it strange how experience often leads us to more questions? I have some camping experience for sure, but to too much. I had never really thought of the odds and ins of these types of situations. I just know that I want the tent to be big enough and comfortable, that is all. Now, I am suddenly in a quandary of thought about a number of factors such as a tent’s weight, it’s reliability, durability, and, of course, how many people it can hold. It’s been said before that for every new question answered, two more are created. I really hope this is not right numerically, as we will never create a closed system of equations if this is the case. But, I do se the reality in answers leading to new questions. So do experiences. In a way, this is the rhythm of life. We meet people, try things, and create experiences. This leads to new inquiry, new ideas, and new methods. Which, leads to new experiences, activities, and people. The cycle goes on and on. The same is true of work, leisure, pretty much any area of life. Getting into this rhythm will create a life that will continue to perform, be motivated, and advance.

After a visit to the visitors center where we determine a good hike for tomorrow, and a brief incident that involves me actually breaking our pants, our day ends with an evening presentation at the amphitheater about the black footed ferret, and then some star gazing with some heavy duty telescopes available at the park. This activity was an unexpected possibility at Badlands National Park. I learned about why this area is called the “Badlands”, and a lot about the history of the black footed ferret as well as the prairie dog. Then, we got to look at Saturn in this telescope, which was really quite awesome. Their telescope was so advanced that you could see the ring formations around Saturn, as well as some of its moons.

Overall, it was a very productive day. It is hard to believe that so much of it was spent on a fairly boring road. Tomorrow will involve less driving and more activities, which I look forward to. But, today’s activities were so diverse and the day was so full that I hope I can absorb them all, as well as the frenzy of thought they all put me in, in time to enjoy tomorrow’s to their fullest.

The Action Story

Learning about the world and about ourselves through travel and experiences

Category Archives: Midwest

On Wisconsin

The Wheels of Change

Chicago- Still My City

The Cuyahoga Valley

Interstate 65: The Raceway

Kayaking in the Sea Caves

Wisconsin’s Northernmost Region

A Continental Crossroads

Camping in the Badlands