Day 166: Springfield, Illinois

After what seemed like a never-ending number of scorching hot summer days, we woke up to cooler temperatures in the morning-- finally some reprieve! Most RV parks have a check out time of 11am, but the Double J Campground offered a 12pm check out, which we figured we'd take advantage of to swim in the pool, but the cooler weather meant that we had a change of plans.

Springfield Highlights

We didn't know what a "carillon" was until this trip (and this morning), but our first stop was the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon, located in Washington Park. A carillon is a set of bells in a tower, played using a keyboard or by an automatic mechanism similar to a piano roll. Thomas Rees, a Senator, became interested in carillons following trips to Europe, and when he died in 1933, he left behind $200,000 to build one. Today, the Rees Carillon is one of the world's largest, with 67 bells, and one of the few that's open to the public. Unfortunately nobody was playing it when we were there, but it's an impressive, tall structure that would definitely broadcast the sounds of its bells for people to enjoy!

After stopping at Krispy Kreme for Michael to get his free 3 donuts for his birthday (which he ate all in one day!), we arrived in downtown Springfield, checking out a cool sculpture of a white-tailed deer, made entirely from car bumpers. Across the road from this is the Illinois State Capitol building (of course, characterized by its dome top). We didn't go inside, but there are a few lovely structures around it, including a sculpture commemorating local firemen, and a colorful rainbow mosaic.

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

One of the places we visited on a whim was the Dana-Thomas House. While it's not much to look out from the outside (you could easily drive by it and not bat an eyelid), inside it's one of the most extravagant homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright from his early Prairie period. Built between 1902–190, the socialite Susan Lawrence Dana gave him carte blanche to design the home, essentially giving him a blank check to do what he wished. We were excited to visit, as it's apparently the most complete of all early Wright homes, still looking very much like it did over a century ago. The house was then owned by Charles C. Thomas, a successful medical publisher (hence the name Dana-Thomas), which is why the house retained most of its original furnishings and design.

Visiting the Dana-Thomas house is free, but it needs to be booked in advance. We booked less than an hour beforehand! There were about 8 other people waiting for the tour when we got there, including a few folks that clearly were Frank Lloyd Wright fans.

It was really interesting to learn more about characteristics of Wright's design, including the use of varying ceiling heights (in a standard home this would probably be the equivalent of 3 stories, but there are 16 different flights of stairs), how direct and indirect light are placed to draw attention to a particular space, the minimal artworks on the walls, and the influence of Japanese design (there's an interior Torii gate-like hallway into one of the largest rooms in the house). On the lower level, there's also a library and even a long hallway with a wooden bowling lane!

Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos inside.

Abraham Lincoln's Home

President Abraham Lincoln is closely associated with the state of Illinois--even though he was born in the Kentucky, it is in Springfield that his political career blossomed, where the only home he owned is, and where he is buried. Even car license plates for Illinois proclaim that this is the "Land of Lincoln", and there are plenty of other Lincoln landmarks around town.

The Lincoln Home National Historic Site is in Springfield, and we arrived with enough time to do a free tour of his home, which started with a short film screening at the Visitor Center before we walked over. The modest home was purchased in 1844, and he lived in it for 17 years with his wife and sons (he had 4 sons, but one died in 1850 aged 4).

The tour lasts about 30 minutes, and since we had about 15 people on the tour, it could feel cramped at times as we needed to squash into some of the smaller rooms and stay on the carpeted floor, making sure to not step beyond the cordoned off areas and inadvertently touch any artifacts. Apparently if you step out of the carpet an alarm goes off to alert you to step back in line, but fortunately everyone was well-behaved!

The tour took us through the formal parlor, sitting room, dining room, bedrooms, hired help's quarters and kitchen downstairs before leading us out. Lincoln's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, had very eclectic taste--there were rooms that were very busy to the eye, with patterns on both the carpet and wallpaper that didn't necessarily match! The Lincolns also apparently loved animals, so they often had cats that would roam free in the house that they'd take in (nobody actually even knows how many cats they kept).

One other random fact that we learned was that Abe Lincoln was an excellent wrestler?! He was 6 foot 4, and in his teenage years he won 300 matches and only lost 1 match. He seemed to pass this on to his sons, and they'd often be wrestling in the living room of their house. Whenever we've seen photos or paintings of Lincoln, he looks very stern and statesmanlike, so imagining him wrestling conjured up a different image of him! In 1992, he was even inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as an Outstanding American wrestler!

After visiting his home, we headed to the Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site, where Lincoln, his wife and 3 of his 4 sons are buried (3 sons died before they were adults, and the only remaining son, Robert Todd Lincoln, outlived his parents and siblings but is buried in Arlington, Virginia. He led a fascinating life of his own). The tomb is in Oak Ridge Cemetery, where other notable Illinois politicians are buried. There are other huge mausoleums in there, with roads leading up to the Lincoln's tomb and a parking lot not far from it.

The tomb is a big building with stairs leading up to an obelisk perched on top. In front of the tomb is a sculpture of Lincoln's face, showing clear wear from where people for some reason have rubbed his nose?! As soon as we entered the tomb, we were greeted by another sculpture of Lincoln seated. There's then a circular walkway that gets to the resting places of the Lincoln family.

The Illinois State Fair

We learned that 48 out of 50 U.S. states have a State Fair, which focuses on celebrating and promoting the state's agriculture, industry, culture and community. These fairs stem from rural and farming traditions, and mostly take place in the summer months. (Fun fact: We thought it would be Alaska and Hawaii that would be the 2 states that don't have state fairs, but it's actually Connecticut and Rhode Island, although they have other county and regional agricultural fairs).

We'd arrived a little ahead of the Illinois State Fair this year, but there was already work underway to organize it for the week it would be on, with stalls and rides being prepared. We also saw the signs at the Fairgrounds as we drove through for the different livestock exhibits, including a section for pigs, goats, and other animals. One of the attractions that we would've loved to see was the Butter Cow, which is unveiled each year at the Fair and is sculpted with about 225 kilos (500 pounds) of unsalted butter! There were also a few Route 66 sculptures inside.

That evening, we stopped at a rest stop off the highway for the evening. Luckily the temperatures are a lot cooler in the evenings at the moment, and we don't need to pay for an RV park!

Route Map