It's fitting that the state sign is beside a corn field, as it seems that Illinois is mostly corn. This crew just finished up this field, and they're ready to move those big 18-wheelers out to the next assignment.
We are learning about these new-to-us crops of corn and soy bean. We read that the same combine can harvest both crops--they simply have to trade out the header. Denisa was raised on a wheat farm, and she even drove a combine one summer (when her Dad was really desperate for good help). But we learned something new this year. This implement is called a combine, because it combines so many tasks--it cuts off the stalk, it separates the cobs, it takes the corn off the cob, it winnows the dirt and chaff, it elevates the grain to the bin, it releases the waste plant material back to the ground, and it augers the clean grain to the waiting trailer. That's a lot of jobs to combine into one rolling machine called a combine that can harvest either corn or soy beans.
Today's trip was 88 miles straight west to the little town of Cerro Gordo. We found this little town because of its half-price Passport America campground, but we actually ended up staying at the town's fairgrounds. We are always amazed at the things we find to do around a little town that is off the beaten path. For example, we spent some time at Allerton.
No, we had never heard of this place before either. Built in 1899, the mansion was the home of the heir to the family fortune. The Allertons owned 78,000 acres of farmland at one time, and they were especially fond of this part of Illinois. So young Mr. Allerton had this Italian villa mansion built as a show place, and then had it surrounded with massive gardens that stretched as far as our eyes could see.
When we arrived at the visitor center, we couldn't find anyone to give us advice on how to best enjoy this unusual space. We did find a display that explained the Allerton family's wealth, and a map, so we headed out to explore on a garden walkway that just kept going and going and going and . . . We found a garden filled with this long line of "Happy Chinese Musicians."
We also found this long line of "Foo Dogs" that stretched all the way to the forest on both sides of the walkway.
We can say that we don't completely appreciate all the "art" that young Mr. Allerton chose. Googly-eyed blue dogs with horns and tongues sticking out aren't pretty to anyone. But we did appreciate the setting and the fall foliage in the background.
Most of the sculptures in the gardens forgot to wear clothes, so in order to keep this a family-oriented blog, we just included the smiling musicians and the dogs. But we do have to include this statue in the forest that told a story. An Indian hunter had killed a bear cub, and it was still hanging from his belt. But a very angry mother bear has appeared to get revenge. It looked like it was going to be a triple fatality since the hunter managed to plunge a knife into the big bear's chest. There's a lot happening in that single sculpture, and Mark is just standing there smiling like nothing is going on.
Even though the Allerton heir sunk a ton of money in this grand estate, he spent almost no time living here. Without any heirs himself, these grounds were donated to the University of Illinois. We did find a university employee readying the mansion for a meeting that would be held on the grounds tomorrow. The expansive rooms in the house are used for conferences, weddings, and social events of different sizes.
We were told that there is only one groundskeeper, and we could tell that all those grand-sized gardens would be overwhelming. Even though everything was grand, that didn't mean that all of it was manicured.
We got some good exercise on a walk through the woods, where natural is better than manicured. Check out the naturally curled walking stick that Mark found along the trail.
After an interesting stop at Allerton, we also found the little town of Dement, Indiana. When we crossed the state line, Illinois proclaimed itself as "The Land of Lincoln." We are finding that this state documents every event possible in their most famous citizen's journey to the White House. For instance, this little cottage in Dement is where Lincoln and Stephen Douglas first met to talk about the rules of their famous debates. Mind you, it's not one of the places where the Lincoln-Douglas debates were held--just where they met to talk about it. But that makes it a state historical site, and one of the many "Looking for Lincoln" places we encountered.
Our friendly campground host also told us that a thirty-minute drive south of us would take us to the little Amish town of Arthur, Illinois. We were worried that we were going to run out of homemade Amish goodies, so we were glad to get to stock up once again. It was a rainy day--perfect for a little shopping. The clouds make an ominous background for another buggy sighting.
We were wandering down some of the rural roads, and we saw that much of the corn harvest is done. The Amish still use these sturdy horses to pull simple implements that don't "combine" all the steps in the harvest process. That wire silo is completely full of feed corn still on the cob on an Amish farm we drove by.
Seeing a buggy passing by the big harvest trailers, you get a picture of the difference in harvest techniques between neighbors in this mixed community.
One of the stops we made was to the "bulk foods" stores, which carries home-baked goods as well.
Denisa used to can jelly and pickles. But her canning efforts look minuscule when compared to these Amish ladies that buy 240 canning lids at a time at the bulk food store.
We had to take a picture of the lights throughout the store. Those are the same gas-powered mantels we used in our old Coleman camping lantern.
Between the rows of gas lights and the sky lights, even on this rainy day it was bright enough for shopping.
Light was also coming in through windows, and it was fun to see the buggy horses peeking in.
You know you are shopping like the locals when there are as many spots at the hitching post as there are parking spots for gas-powered cars.
Besides very practical goods, the Amish are also champions at growing fall mums and pumpkins for decorations.
We also enjoy Amish stores like "Country Salvage." We found some great deals on discontinued or dented goods, but you always need to check for expiration dates.
This was our loot from our stops in Amish country. Shopping for cheap eats is almost as much fun as hunting for covered bridges! We think we're going to like it here in Illinois!
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