Kayla McGillem and Woodsy visit the Mississippi River Tales Mural in Cape Girardeau, Missouri

 

Round Trip: 90.6 miles

Total Miles Traveled: 90.6 miles

Latitude: 37.3058839

Longitude: -89.51814760000002

 

Kayla and Woodsy travelled to Cape Girardeau, Missouri on March 26th to visit the Mississippi River Tales Mural along the waterfront. The Mississippi River Tales Murals were officially dedicated on July 7th, 2005, and features 24 different sections. Each section tells the tale of a specific time, people, and place in the history of Cape Girardeau, beginning with the Native Americans inhabiting the land. Also included in the murals are the recognition of Missouri as a state, the Great Fire, the river's Big Freeze, and the River Fest, alongside murals with important people (men and women). Thomas Melvin, an artist from Chicago, worked alongside many artists from the area to paint the murals. The murals span 18,000 square feet of the wall, which is 15 feet high. Along the wall are markers indicating peak flood levels at different years. Cape Girardeau is home to many more historic sites, including cemeteries, but Kayla and Woodsy were unable to visit them because Kayla had to return to Carbondale for work. 

 

Kayla and Woodsy at the fist panel in the Mississippi River Tales Mural, beginning with the history of the Native Americans who inhabited the land.

Kayla and Woodsy at the flood wall. Each date is marked above the line, indicating where the peak point of the flood was for that year.

Smokey and Makenzie Visit Grand Canyon National Park

 Makenzie 

Grand Canyon National Park
Miles Traveled: 3,752
Total Miles: 4,137.3

Grand Canyon National Park is the United States' 15th oldest national park. This park was named UNESCO world heritiage site in 1979.

Latitude: 36.109644
Longitude: -112.113373

Woodsy and Annie Visit InterVarsity Press

 

Round Trip Miles: 672.2

Total Miles Traveled: 1,238.2 miles

Latitude: 41.813142

Longitude: -87.962412

Woodsy in the book room at InterVarsity Press reading
one of Annie's favorite InterVarsity Press books,
Great Commission, Great Compassion. 

Woodsy and Annie traveled to InterVarsity Press Publishing Company in Downers Grove, IL. InterVarsity Press is a publisher of Christian books, and the company was developed as a part of the campus ministry, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. InterVarsity Press opened in 1947 in Pennsylvania, and relocated to the Chicago area in 1960, and moved in 1966 to its current building in Downers Grove. Some best-selling Christian titles have been published by InterVarsity Press, such as Knowing God by J. I. Packer and Too Busy Not To Pray by Bill Hybels.  InterVarsity Press has published more than one thousand books and has a staff of around one hundred that works together to publish close to one hundred books per year.

Annie, Woodsy, and many friends posing for a picture together.

Annie and Woodsy were at InterVarsity Press for a training event and Annie got to reunite with some friends from different universities and Woodsy got to meet Annie's friends for the first time. On the way home, Woodsy and Annie drove through the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, IL and saw some of the landmarks there including the Alma Mater statue, but because Annie was injured, they were unable to stop at the locations for a picture. But Annie and Woodsy saw it all out the windows of the car! They had a fantastic journey together.

Smokey and Jessica Visit the Lincoln Memorial Park in the Shawnee National Forest

Round Trip: 43.8 Miles

Total Miles Traveled: 385.3 Miles

Latitude: 37.4578274

Longitude: -89.2695292

Jessica and Smokey traveled to the Lincoln Memorial Park in the Shawnee National Forest.

Jonesboro is the third site of seven campaigns between Abraham Lincoln and Steven A. Douglas for the 1858 Illinois U.S. Senate seat. This is one of two historical markers in the park. At this time in history, Jonesboro was a sleepy town and Anna was only four years old.  Anna grew to become much larger than Jonesboro, but the two are usually referenced together. Despite many rumors, Lincoln did not promote abolishing slavery, but promoted the Missouri Compromise.  The Missouri Compromise made sure there were equal amounts of free states and slaves states.  These debates helped Lincoln gain national recognition and later would help him.

Smokey and Tomi visit the Woodlawn Cemetery

Round Trip: 88 miles

Total Miles Traveled: 341.5 miles

Latitude: 37.726579

Longitude: -89.211093

Smokey and Tomi visited the Woodlawn Cemetery located in Carbondale, Illinois. The Woodlawn Cemetery was designed in 1853 by Daniel Brush, and is known for hosting one of the first Memorial Day celebrations in the nation, and the very first memorial service in Illinois. In 1866, General John A. Logan gave a speech at this cemetery in order to honor the Civil War veterans from Carbondale. The cemetery, which is located on East Main Street, contains over 400 gravesites on approximately 2.5 acres. The last burial at the Woodlawn Cemetery was in 1954. People buried at this cemetery include many Union and Confederate soldiers, as well as townspeeople of the mid-to-late 1800s. The Woodlawn Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 9, 1985 and was designated as a Carbondale Historic Landmark on March 8, 1994. In 2001, the city of Carbondale added an interpretive sign and an Illinois State Historical Society marker.

Even though I have lived in Southern Illinois my entire life, I did not realize that the Woodlawn Cemetery, which is located by Wendy's and Popeye's in Carbondale, was a historical landmark.

Smokey and Kelsea Visit Historic Bell Hill

Round Trip Miles: 63.8 

Total Miles Traveled: 253.5

Latitude: 37.533965 

Longitude: -89.249647

Kelsea and Smokey visit the Historic Bell Hill. 

The original owner, James Bell was an important timber producer during the Civil War. During the Civil War he supplied the north with timber from our very own Southern Illinois.The home is buried in the Shawnee National Forest and has been a resting place for many people including General Ulysses S. Grant. The grounds are also home to several boulders that have been carved out by Native Americans from the area and made into bowls, some of which are still at the house. The Historic Bell Hill Bed and Breakfast is now a popular wedding venue, but has made its mark in history.

Katie and Woodsy Travel to My Old Kentucky Home State Park

                                         

Round Trip Miles: 566

Latitude: 37.807432

Longitude: -85.453929

Woodsy and Katie traveled to Bardstown, Kentucky to visit My Old Kentucky Home State Park. My Old Kentucky Home was built between 1795 and 1818 and was the home of Judge John Rowan. The home remained in the Rowan family for three generations, spanning a period of 120 years before it became a part of the Kentucky State Parks System in 1936. The home had almost all of its original furnishing and they are still in the home today.

Stephen Collins Foster of Pennsylvania, a Rowan family relative, is credited with immortalizing Federal Hill in his hauntingly beautiful song “My Old Kentucky Home Good Night."  Written in 1852, the words and music have touched the hearts of generations of Kentuckians. The song did not become associated with Federal Hill until the Civil War. Soldiers who saw the house and knew the song began to refer to Federal Hill as “My Old Kentucky Home.” Soon other people began referring to the mansion as the house that inspired one of Foster’s most beloved melodies.