Chicago, Day 4...An Arch, a Henge and the Road Home

Monday, July 3, 2023

     I woke up nice and early anticipating the long drive ahead of me.  In hindsight, I was glad I decided against sleeping in.  The day turned out much longer than anticipated.  

     It was just before sunrise when I dropped off the room keys and walked out onto East Walton Street.

    Headed south on Michigan Avenue to the parking garage...

      Driving out of the garage...

         Ten minutes later, I was on the interstate headed south...

      I could have stayed on the interstate and just ground out the miles.  Instead, I drove into the heart of Indiana.   I was looking for the small town of Covington, 

     The drive certainly was more interesting than just taking I-65 south.

                             

       It took a while, but eventually, I did find the Portland Arch Nature Preserve.  

     Other than the one sign at the entrance, you'd never know it was here.  Once inside the preserve, there are no signs or trail maps showing the way to the arch.

      There are two small parking areas with trails leading into the woods.  Just past the gate, the trail splits.  I had a feeling this was probably a loop trail, but had no way of knowing for sure.  So, I walked about twenty minutes in.

     There were streams, a large rock wall and even more splits in the trail.  I decided to try my luck at the other parking area.  I took it as a good sign there were cars parked there.

     This trail also had an immediate split and no signs indicating the way.  I randomly decided the trail with the handrail down had to be it, and it was.  Ten minutes later, I encountered another rock wall, this time with a stream flowing through it.

      On the road out of Covington...

     When I left Covington, the GPS tried sending me back to I-65.  GoogleMaps suggested Hwy 231 as an alternative that would only take ten more minutes.  Of course, this is before I knew of all the road construction and detours.  But, I went anyway.  

     It was a bit surprising to see a German WWII Buzz Bomb on display in front of the Putnam County Courthouse.   It's an actual one, not a reproduction.  

      Eventually, I would find my way to Bloomington, Indiana.  I came here for one reason.  When I finally made it to Iowa in 2015, I made it a point to stop into the town of Riverside, which bills itself as the future birthplace of of Captain James Kirk.  He only mentions that he's from Iowa, but never gave a specific town.  Riverside asked the people at Paramount Productions if they could declare it his home town.  They agreed and the town holds Trekfest every summer.

      Captain Kathryn Janeway mentions being from Bloomington, Indiana.  In October, 2020, the city dedicated a statue to their future favorite daughter. 

     Due to the pandemic, Kate Mulgrew could only appear by video.  Two years later, she was made an appearance in person.  You can watch that here, courtesy of the Bloomingtonian:  

     Excuse the glare. adjacent to the the statue is a nice recap of Star Trek Voyager series.

     Considering it was already 1P and I was way behind schedule for the day anyway, lunch was at Upland Brewery in Bloomington.  They have multiple.  But, this one was right around the corner, open and had food.

       By the door are these flowers.  I've never seen anything quite like them and they almost looked fake.  But they did have a potent smell, in the good way.

      From Bloomington, it was just a matter of working my way east towards I-65 and the long drive home.  Hwy 135 took me much of the way and I passed the entrance to Brown County State Park.  A true visit to Indiana wouldn't be complete without at least one visit to a covered bridge.  The Ramp Creek bridge leads to the park entrance.  

     Eventually, the highway led to I-65 south through Louisville and the small town of Munfordville, Kentucky.   

      This actually the third time I've tried visiting.  On the previous two, the interstate was closed due to accidents, and the side streets equally as clogged.  And for once, the Eastern/Central time zones worked in my favor.  

    In April, I made it a point to visit Bamahenge.  This time, I was headed to Kentuckyhenge and would make it twenty minutes before closing time.  Chester Fry built this on his property and is fine with people visiting.  He just asks that no one come after five.

       My visit was brief due to it being almost 5P.  When I drove south past Mammoth Caves National Park, I did consider stopping.  I could find a room and book a morning tour.  Unsure of there would even be a tour on July 4th, that thought was only fleeting.  

     By the time I stopped for gas in Manchester, TN I knew I was officially done for.  I watched the sunset colors settle in as I surfed through listings on Hotels.com.  

      The only inexpensive place I saw in Manchester looked great until I started reading review.  When multiple people mention bugs, it's a huge red flag.  So, I wound up twenty miles further south in Monteagle, TN at their Red Roof Inn.  Sadly, I remember when they were a respected motel chain.  My room was basic and at least seemed clean.  

     Sunset from the Red Roof Inn...

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

     Two things about the Red Roof Inn... The small coffee pot in the room didn't work.  I even tried different outlets.  Second, the towel from a previous customer was still hanging on the back of the bathroom door. 

           After a brief and filling stop at the local Waffle House, it was time to head for home...

      Things were flowing along until Chattanooga.  Suddenly everything stopped cold.  Why? For no reason.  There were no wrecks, no police activity.  It just stopped.

     At the Georgia Welcome Center...

      Eventually, I did make it home.  Yeah, a bit of a drive.

Dave

7/23

Chicago, Day 3... A Rainy Day

 Sunday, July 2, 2023

     The plan for today was just like yesterday.  Just go out walking and see what I could find.  I woke up to the sound of rain on the hotel window.  At first it was supposed to end by 10A, then 11A.  So, I hung out in the hotel and edited some travel notes.  When the new forecast suggested maybe by 4P, I just had to get out.  

      I grabbed by rain jacket and walked outside, under the hotel's overhang.  Based on what I was seeing from the people walking along, I decided to head back in for another cup of coffee.  I wound up in a conversation with a couple in town for the Cubs game and a guy in town for the NASCAR race.  

                                    

      This band of rain was parked over the city, causing alerts on my phone of street flooding.  This is why the rain didn't end by late morning as promised.

     Considering how long I've been out on the road, I can't complain about one full day of rain.  So, I started looking for things close by.  The Museum of Contemporary Art is only four blocks away.  I had no idea what to expect.  But, it would get me out of the hotel and rain, and quite possibly introduce me to something completely different.

      The first gallery inside is a series of works they called Enter the Mirror

      The purpose is to question what you perceive.  For example, White #11 by Glenn Ligon.  From across the room, it's just a canvas painted black.

     But, up close there's text throughout.

     

     Lights in a lounge area. 

     The fourth floor is almost all the work of Gary Simmons in a display called Public Enemy.  It's centered around his observations of racism and classism as they've been depicted in the past and are still being depicted.  And he pulls no punches.

     Three of his works are painted directly on the walls of the museum.  When it's time to bring in the next artist, they'll simply be painted over.  To him, that means they'll remain a permanent part of the museum, even if no one ever sees them again.

     He calls this one "Line Up."  Those are gold shoes.

      He calls this piece "Step Into the Arena."  It's a scaled down boxing ring, with tap shoes.  On the ring floor is a step diagram of a dance called the Cakewalk.  The dance began as a way to subtly mock slave owner's formal dancing.  It was then used in minstrel shows, often by actors in blackface.  It's supposed to represent racial exploitation through sports and entertainment, and how often these arenas have been used for protest.  

   He calls this one "6-X" and it represents the racist indoctrination of youth and how kids pick up ideas from the world around them.

     He calls this one simply, "Boom."  We all saw cartoon explosions as kids.  The question he's asking is, did it desensitize us to violence to some degree?

     A caricature of the antagonists from "Deliverance."   Simmons said the "fears and stereotypes are all right there and inherent within the film.  It's about the fear of others."  What better way to show the outsized caricatures than by making them oversized bobbleheads.

   Rockland Drive in

   Hold Up-Wait a Minute depicts Bosko, a mostly forgotten 1930's Looney Tunes character based on the mannerisms depicted in minstrel shows.

     Like I said, he doesn't pull his punches.

     By now it was 3P and still raining.  The weather guessers were now saying this slop would clear out by 7P, maybe.  My first thought was, the car is only a block and a half away.  I keep a small, collapsible umbrella tucked in the door.  My second thought, but the car keys are still four blocks away.  

     So, I started thinking about a late lunch.  A block up is Harry Carey's restaurant.  What better "Chicago" place to eat.  With only a cap and a waterproofish jacket, my shoes and everything below the bottom of the jacket were soaked when I arrived.  

     There's actually an express elevator to the seventh floor and the restaurant.

      Lunch was a decent meatball sandwich.   As I was settling up, Josh mentioned that my receipt would get me into the Chicago Sports Museum adjacent to them.  With the rain still coming down, I figured why not.  

      A depiction of Shaquille O'Neal's show size.  

    In 2017, Patrick Kane scored two Hat Tricks within three days.  The ice was showered with hats, these hats.

     A representation of William "the Refrigerator" Perry's Super Bowl ring, the largest every made.

     

     The actual Hoverboard and Sports Almanac from "Back to the Future" predicting the Cub's World Series win.

      This is actually fascinating how often they found references to the number 108 in the predictions of the Cubs' win.

     This is the actual ball Steve Bartman caught in the 2003 playoffs, effecting the outcome of the game.  

     When I finally worked my way down to the street, the rain had actually stopped, well almost.  It felt good to be able to walk back, and not have to run.  

      I did go back out for sunset and started walking west, looking for an open view.  From the walk west...

     Finally sunset...

     From the walk back to the room...