Phoenix to Chicago and Back Again (2016 Family Vacation Tavelogue) - Part 1

Saturday, June 18th

Elisabeth and I were able to start our journey just before 6 AM on Saturday, June18th. We stopped quickly to get gas as we were leaving town and then easily made it to Flagstaff for breakfast at a Jack-in-the-box before 8 AM. The drive across the desert to the New Mexican border was uneventful, although we did talk about Route 66 and we listened to “Take it Easy” as we passed Winslow. Elisabeth got a kick out of all the cheesy dinosaurs and teepees at the various gift shops along I-40 and specifically at the Arizona / New Mexico border. 

We stopped in Grants, New Mexico for lunch at a Chinese buffet. About 20 years ago, one of my friends swore that my secret super power was the ability to locate the nearest Chinese buffet (this was after finding one in Butler, Pennsylvania); however, with today’s Google map technology there is no need to rely on super powers.  

Our original plan was to stay in Tucumcari for the night, but I realized that if we could push through to Amarillo that we would have a shorter drive on Sunday to get to our friend’s (Cecily and Ryan) house. As things were going so well, I cancelled our room and set up a new one in Amarillo. Luckily, the drive continued to go smoothly and we still had daylight to spare as we approached Amarillo.  I decided that we should stop to see the famed Cadillac Ranch (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Ranch) just outside the city. This Route 66 landmark, just west of Amarillo, Texas features 10 ancient Cadillacs half buried nose-first in a corn field. You can park on the frontage road of I-40 and walk out into the cornfield to take your picture alongside these cars. As they were originally buried in the 1970s you might think that they would mostly be rusted out by now, but this does not appear to be the case. Most people who visit the site add graffiti to the cars, it actually is encouraged, and even if you do not bring your own spray paint, there are plenty of cans laying around for you to use. Because of this it is hard to tell how much of the cars still exist and how much is just layer after layer of paint.

Cadillac Ranch

We checked into our hotel in Amarillo and then went to find dinner at a local Texas sized steak house called the Big Texan Steak Ranch (http://bigtexan.com/). This place was really over the top, and I do not think the food is the main draw for most people. The parking lot is so large that there are limo’s, complete with cow horns, to ferry you in to the restaurant. Unfortunately we got a space right up front and did not get to use this service. The food was not bad but not worth the hype or the circus that we had to navigate; however it was not a bad way to end a long day. Elisabeth noted that we had eaten each of our meals that day in a different state.

Sunday, June 19th

The next morning we got an early start and made our way towards Perry, Oklahoma. The drive went well again and we met up with Cecily and Ryan at a gas station just outside of Guthrie, Oklahoma at about 11 AM. They took us to visit the house Ryan is building for them on 11 acres they recently purchased. I have always been impressed with Ryan’s carpentry skills and this visit only reinforced that opinion. The house he is currently building started out as a prefab building that came unassembled with the property. When completed, he will have converted it into a small 2 bedroom home. It should be finished shortly which will allow them to move in before the next school year starts. This will significantly shorten their daily commute and allow Ryan to start building a second, bigger home that they will eventually move into. 

We continued into Perry where Cecily and Ryan grew up and where they are currently living in Cecily’s grandfathers home. We dropped our stuff off there before getting some ice cream at a local chain called Braum’s and then heading out to Ryan’s parent’s farm. Elisabeth got to see peacocks, goats, chickens, dogs and kittens.  The drive also allowed us to view some of what the Oklahoma countryside looks like in the area. Along the way we passed the largest stone barn in the U.S. that is large enough to turn an 18-wheel big rig around in.

For dinner we went into the area’s largest town called Stillwell, the home of OSU (Oklahoma State University) to eat at the world famous Eskimo Joe’s.  Apparently this is where you take out-of-town visitors to impress them. I was almost afraid to mention that I had never heard of the place before, despite being told that it was featured in the 80’s teen film “Can’t Buy Me Love” (which, by-the-way, was filmed in Tucson Arizona). They told me that one of the extra’s in a party scene was wearing a sweatshirt from Eskimo Joe’s. The cheese fries were very good, but it seemed to me that the gift shop, selling all sorts of Eskimo Joe’s apparel, was the main draw. 

Elisabeth really enjoyed Cecily and Ryan’s two dogs. One of these dogs, Freya, is a breed I had never heard of called a Swedish Vallhund. She is thick furred, medium sized herding dog, and was quite a character. Elisabeth was thrilled that Cecily let her walk Freya. The other dog, named Pistol, was also a character but much more hyper than Freya. Pistol was rescued from a shelter and is a mix of some sort.

Elisabeth walking Freya

Monday, June 20^th

We had another early start and headed towards Tulsa and then on into Missouri. We stopped for breakfast at a little place called Café Flores in Claremore, Oklahoma, which has remarkably good chorizo omelets. 

We reached Fantastic Caverns (http://www.fantasticcaverns.com/) at about 11 AM. Fantastic Caverns advertises the fact that it is America’s only drive through cavern. After paying the entrance fee you are assigned to a tour where the guide in a jeep pulls wagons through the cave. Our guide was pretty good, and the tour was educational, but I am happy that this was the first cave we visited.

Meramec Caverns

After a quick lunch we continued towards St. Louis. Around 5 PM we reached Meramec Caverns (http://www.americascave.com/) which was the other set of caves we were hoping to tour. I was not sure if Meramec would work out, because it have been closed due to air quality concerns; however, it had recently partially reopened. Perhaps due to this or because it was a bit late on a Monday we were part of a very small tour group. Our guide was excellent and despite the lower levels of the caves being closed this tour completely blew away the driving tour we had taken earlier in the day. Although there are some touristy effects and stories where they talk about Jesse James, the actual caves themselves are much better preserved and protected than Fantastic Caverns. Elisabeth really enjoyed one of the formations called the Stage Curtain, where they have a short show.

By the time we finished our tour we were pretty tired and continued into St. Louis where we stopped for the night.

Tuesday, June 21^th

We started the day with the normal hotel continental breakfast. One of the things that I have been noticing is how it seems that most of the restaurants since we left Arizona provide whipped spread rather than real butter. If you ask the server for butter they will bring you more whipped spread. It does no good to explain that the item they have brought you is whipped spread and not butter, because obviously to them it is the same thing.  You would think that Midwesterners would know the difference between butter and an item that contains no dairy. If I seem obsessed by this, it is because I am. To me a lack of real butter can ruin an otherwise very good meal.

View from the Arch

After dealing with this morning frustration we headed into downtown St Louis to check out the Gateway Arch (http://www.gatewayarch.com/). Deille and I toured this several years ago and we both enjoyed the museum; unfortunately, the museum is undergoing a complete renovation and so I was not able to share this with Elisabeth. We were able to go to the top of the Arch via an unusual elevator system comprised of round, claustrophobic cars. When Deille and I did this she did not appreciate the confined space, but Elisabeth liked it. The views from the top of the Arch were pretty impressive and once we returned to the ground we also viewed a very interesting film on how the Arch was constructed.

We left St. Louis to continue our trip towards Indianapolis, stopping briefly for lunch at a place called Fire-N-Smoke in Troy, Illinois. If you ever find yourself on I-70 in Western Illinois thinking that you could use a break and a bite to eat, I strongly suggest this place. I had what they called street tacos. While I think they are only loosely influenced by Mexican street tacos, they were very good and I would not hesitate to have them again. Elisabeth had a very good cheeseburger.

As we neared the Indiana border, we needed another break. I noticed signs advertising that the world’s largest wind chimes were just ahead in Casey, Illinois. That seemed like something Elisabeth could tell her grandchildren about, so we decided to stop. We were in luck, not only did Casey have the largest wind chimes (~50 ft tall), it also had the world’s largest rocking chair (at least 50 ft tall), knitting needles, golf tee, pencil, etc. One of the town’s business men thought that if he built the world’s largest wind chime he could generate some interest and get people to pull off of I-70 for gas, food, etc. It would seem to work since we stopped, and from the look of things other people are stopping too. For a town of around 3000 people they appeared to have a lot of prosperous looking businesses. Over time the town has continued to add additional “world’s largest” items, getting themselves into the Guinness Book of World Records for several items.

World's largest rocking chair.

The rest of our trip to our hotel near Indianapolis was uneventful and we were ready for some rest after 4 days, ~1700 miles and many cool adventures on the road.

Wednesday, June 22^st – Friday, June 24th

The reason we went to Indianapolis was to attend one of our SCA (medieval reenactment) events celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the organization. I had not originally intended to attend but when I realized that I could just add a few days to our planned vacation in order to spend a few days at the event it seemed like a bonus. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for me. On the first day we went (Wednesday) it was raining so hard that after checking in at registration, Elisabeth and I decided to go into Indianapolis and see the Eiteljorg Museum which focuses on Native American and Western art. The museum was good, and we both enjoyed it.

The next day (Thursday) was clear and so we headed back to site, but by late morning the humidity had risen to an uncomfortable level. By 3 PM we were done and headed back to our hotel room for a nap. We spent the rest of the day in the air conditioned room except when we went out for an unexciting dinner.

I decided that Friday morning we would go back into Indianapolis and visit the Indiana State Museum and then head to the event in the late afternoon and try to enjoy the evening out there. The museum was good, with lots of neat displays of fossils and prehistoric animals as well as historic sections on Native American and then white settlers. The evening at the event was again challenging due to humidity and biting insects, although we did get to see a performances by some our friends who are in a band called the Whiskey Bards.

Originally we had planned to also go out to the event on Saturday, but I decided that a change in plans was called for and cancelled our last night at the Indianapolis hotel. Instead we would head to Chicago a day early.

Saturday, June 25th

We slept in on Saturday before loading the van for the drive to Chicago. The drive was only about three hours and we took our time stopping at place called Fair Oak Farms (http://fofarms.com/) in central Indiana to buy some cheese and other snacks. Then we made our way to our hotel in a suburb of Chicago called Lombard. It seemed to be a pretty nice area with lots of shopping and restaurants. We unloaded everything from the van into our room and then had it cleaned before dinner at a German Restaurant that was nearby called Bohemian Crystal. Dinner was decent but not that special.

Sunday, June 26th 

This was the day that Deille and Hannah would be joining us, but Elisabeth and I had most of the day to burn before they would arrive. We decided to go to Cantigny Park (http://www.cantigny.org/) to see the gardens and the First Division Museum. Cantigny Park is the former estate of Colonel Robert R McCormick who was the owner of the Chicago Tribune newspaper in early 1900s. He served in the military under General Pershing during the Mexican expedition against Poncho Villa and also during WW1. He was decorated for his part in the capture of Cantigny, France which was the first American victory of the war, and after which he later named his estate near Chicago. Since his death in 1955 the estate has been held by his trust that stipulated that it should be opened to the public.

We arrived before 9 AM and had the formal gardens almost to ourselves. I could not help comparing these gardens to some that we saw in England. The formal gardens at Cantigny are good, but not at the level of Nymans or Wakehurst that were near our house in the UK; however, what was really neat at Cantigny was the “Idea” garden. This was a smallish garden where they had planted easy to grow plants in arrangements that could be reproduced in a personal garden (unless you live in a scorched desert).  There was a small pond in this garden that was full of frogs. Elisabeth had a great time watching the frogs, most of which were about the size of a fist. After a while Elisabeth noticed that were some really small black frogs. At first I thought they were crickets but on closer inspection they were indeed little frogs no larger than a dime.

very small frog

After completing our tour of the gardens we walked around the various armored vehicles outside of the First Division Museum, which included WW1 era tanks up to the M1 Abrams tank still used today. There was even an M113 Armored personnel carrier similar to what we had when I was stationed in Germany in the early 1990s. I got a picture of Elisabeth standing on top of it (Yeah, mom was not around).  We then toured the museum that covers the history of the First Division known as “Big Red One.”

After lunch and a nice vacation nap, we went to the airport to pick up Deille and Hannah. Elisabeth and I had a great week, but it was good to have the whole family together again.

Elisabeth enjoying the tanks.