Post 13 of 17
Day 28: Springfield to Cedar Rapids, Iowa - 358 Miles
Giddyup! Today is a state capitol, a presidential library and the birthplaces of two iconic cultural heroes. Oh, and some sightseeing.
Stop one is the
Illinois Statehouse in downtown Springfield. We are on the outer ring road at the southern edge of town, but traffic is light and we get to the capitol by 8 am.
East Capitol Avenue
The building, designed in the French Renaissance and Italianate styles, was completed in 1888. It is the sixth capitol since Illinois became a state in 1818. It is also the tallest non-skyscraper capitol in the country, standing 405' including the flagpole.
Rotunda
Dome
The hallways are very ornate
The Illinois House of Representatives
And, of course,
Abe is out front
We take a short drive through downtown as we head over to the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, just a few blocks away
Springfield Union Station (Former train station. Amtrak service was discontinued in 1971)
And the
Old State Capitol Historical Site - serving as the state capitol from 1840 to 1876
The Lincoln Library is a modern building, helped out with a little Disney flair here and there.
A rather forlorn looking president (by Gutzon Borglum (1908), the Mount Rushmore artist)
Lincoln's entire presidency was defined by the
Civil War, with the first shots fired at Fort Sumpter in South Carolina just a couple months after his inauguration.
Cabinet Meeting
Emancipation Proclamation, an Executive Order signed January 1, 1863
The War Gallery
The toll of the presidency and the war 1861 (Age 52) to 1865 (Age 56)
Continuing our Lincoln theme, we head over to his old neighborhood, at the
Lincoln Home National Historic Site. He lived here from 1844 until 1861, serving four terms in the Illinois House of Representatives.
The Family Home
The Lincoln theme continues over to the
Oak Ridge Cemetery at the NW edge of Springfield. The large tomb is the final resting place for Abe, Mary Todd and three of their four sons. The
Lincoln Family Tomb is quite the monument.
And of course, who can forget
Bob Vose, buried nearby. Known as
The Korndog King for selling his corn dogs with his grandmother's recipe at the Illinois State Fair, starting in 1966. Died in 2023 at the age of 94.
We grab a quick lunch on the way out of town (I really wanted a corn dog, for some reason, didn't find one) and we jump back on I-72 west to Hannibal, MO, about 105 miles away. About 50 miles out the NAV shows a new route, taking us 20 miles out of our way down to Louisiana, MO because the Mark Twain Bridge over the Mississippi at Hannibal is closed.
So we detour through
Pittsfield and see the
Pike County Courthouse
We eventually cross the mighty Mississippi into Missouri and meander north to Hannibal following the western bank.
Samuel Clemens, known as Mark Twain, was raised in Hannibal, MO. Two of his classic books,
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are based on his life here. His imprint is all over this town.
Orphan Tom lived with Aunt Polly here. So did Samuel Clemens from 1844 to 1853.
Polly punished him once for staying out late by making him paint her fence. He was able to persuade his friends to do it for him.
Girlfriend
Becky Thatcher lived across the street
Down on
North Main Street
A block away on the waterfront - the
Mississippi River
And
Mark's Riverboat tours. (He actually became a riverboat pilot early on)
Finishing up after a Hannibal drive around, we made our way north to West Quincy and then crossed the Mississippi back into Illinois on the Quincy Memorial Bridge.
This is the cable stayed
Bayview Bridge that takes traffic the other direction to Missouri.
Quincy, Illinois is a very photogenic town of around 40,000 that thrived in the 1800s as a major transportation hub. There are several historic districts with blocks and blocks of interesting buildings.
And many buildings, as is common with these types of towns, that aren't functioning anymore.
Leaving Quincy, we take Hwy 96 north to the tiny burg of
Warsaw, IL. For the life of me, I do not know what happens here.
We cross the Mississippi again at
Keokuk, Iowa - state #48.
We continue north to
Fort Madison, founded as the first US military fort in the upper Mississippi region.
Hwy 61 gets us to
Burlington, IA, with roots in transportation and manufacturing. Current population is around 20,000.
We find
Snake Alley, a poor man's Lombard Street - of San Francisco fame.
Then down to the waterfront for a view of the
Great River Bridge (It goes back over the Mississippi River to Illinois).
So, it's 6 o'clock and we're still at least two hours out. With two more stops. (I guess I have to take the University of Iowa off the list now.)
We make a short stop in
Mt. Pleasant, IA to see the founding spot (in 1869) for P.E.O., (the philanthropic organization my wife belongs to), located on the former campus of
Wesleyan University.
Then up Hwy 218 40 more miles to Cultural Icon #2 for the day at
Riverside, Iowa - Population about a thousand.
Oh, yeah.........it is also the future birthplace of none other than
Capt. James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise.
This way...........
And the man himself - the dude just turned 95. This might be from 30 years ago.
Also a bronze statue of him in a park downtown
Warp drive, Mr. Scott. Ayyyyeee, Captain
We cruise into Cedar Rapids by 8:30 pm.
Week 4.....Done. 2,112 miles.
One week to go.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Total Miles: 8,216
Daily Avg: 293 Miles