America's Heartland

As you can see from the map, we have travelled a great distance in just a few days thanks to the existence of America's Heartland.  The breadbasket of our nation provides very straight, flat roads.  Now some books suggest there is nothing to see in this part of the country and maybe that is partly true in that there are no grand national parks or areas normally considered "scenic", but compared to the rest of the country, isn't the midwest unique?

We've been up and down the peaks and valleys, traversed through deserts, forests, and swamps, but where else is it flat to the horizon day after day, and if you really think about it - aren't all those farms kind of amazing?  Miles and miles of farms in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois - think of the work to create and maintain all of that land for all of these years.  And what about all that food? So much of what we eat, what the world eats, comes right from this very land.  Although now many corn fields market ethanol rather than corn on the cob.

And the towns, too, are different from what we have seen thus far.  You hear about those tired towns where industry has come and gone, the places where people might be "bitter".  And then you actually see those towns on the Ohio River - where the houses aren't remodeled and sold for $1 million, where the brick buildings are crumbling in empty downtowns, and factories block all the views. You can't help but realize how lucky you are to live in a vibrant place.  

So much of our nation's history runs through these fields and townships.  On the Historic National Road -  the first federally funded highway built in 1806 - we saw lots of smaller farms with farmhouses intact, and the weathered brick storefronts of middle America type towns complete with lamppost and billowing flag lined mainstreets.  It's like Leave it to Beaver - oozing with goodness and simplicity.  You really could feel the making of America in these little towns, even if we were eating fried mushrooms at a Frosty Boy.

And this is the Land of Lincoln for pete's sake!  Where else are you going to find the world's largest Lincoln statue or "finger Lincoln good" chicken wings?