Lincoln Highway Canton Ohio to Omaha, Nebraska – Journey 4 – Part 2: Naperville Illinois to Omaha, Nebraska

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We were now ready to explore the next leg of the Lincoln Highway, fresh and new to all three of us. And what a treasure trove of surprises in Illinois and Iowa awaited us! Our first challenge was to find the elusive Lincoln Highway gazebos, now mostly razed or out of sight as the outskirts of Chicago suburbia grew. But once we got to Batavia, we started discovering the kiosks. In this part of Illinois, the local Lincoln Highway Association groups cleverly installed interpretive signs in the gazebos. Now they were easy to spot. We enjoyed the lovely town of Geneva which has a vibrant downtown. On a mission to reach the Mississippi River and cheaper gas in Iowa, we were amazed to find a working windmill – plucked out of the Netherlands and built in Fulton, Iowa. The windmill afforded a great view of the mighty river and the original location of the first Lincoln Highway bridge (no longer there). Bill checked out the mill. The visitor center across the street offered lots of Dutch souvenirs and flour produced at the mill.

Over the new bridge and in to Iowa! The Mississippi River, while technically not midpoint across the USA, is a milestone and must have been exciting to East Coast travelers in the early 20^th century. En route to Cedar Rapids, we learned that Iowa would offer the real deal early days experience, complete with lots of gravel farm roads and circuitous routes through towns to ensure the Lincoln Highway travelers hit all the local hot spots. And Iowa towns are beautiful! We loved Marion and there got to experience the state sandwich of Iowa, the Maid-Right, at Taylor’s Maid-Right. Think a cross between a sloppy Joe and a patty melt. It was yummy and reminded me of White Castle burgers but messier.

After a night in Cedar Rapids, we were on to some of our favorite Iowa Lincoln Highway highlights. Since we had a lackluster breakfast at our Homewood Suites, we opted to get breakfast at the Lincoln Café in Belle Plaine. We enjoyed some other surprises including a Lincoln Highway store and Preston’s service station and garage. George Preston was a favorite storyteller along the Lincoln Highway and even had an appearance on the Johnny Carson show. His grandson in law came out to show us around and we even stepped into an ancient garage chock a block full of George’s stuff. Not a surprise that he was originally a junk dealer.

Johnny Carson was a favorite son of Iowa, but there were lots of other famous personalities from Iowa including Ronald Reagan, Mamie Eisenhower and Donna Reed. The towns that boasted these folks are peppered with historic markers, streets and even a theater named after their famous sons and daughters. We were disappointed not to see the rumored jellybean statue of Reagan.

We had one more night in Iowa in Ames, a fun college town (Iowa State) where we enjoyed a great dinner at Aunt Maude’s in the historic downtown. Our next day included lots more gravel roads and delays at railroad crossings so we decided to end this segment shy of Omaha, our destination for the evening at the Harrison Historical Visitor Center. Right on the Lincoln Highway, this interactive museum has lots of prairie era buildings to get a better sense of what is was like to live in the wilds of Iowa in the 19^th century. We’ll be back to pick up the Lincoln Highway there in August, with a goal of reaching Denver, Colorado on our next segment.

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Photos

Lincoln Highway Kiosks
Mary and Kate in Illinois

Windmill
From the Netherlands still operational in Fulton, Illinois

The Mighty Mississip
Reached the Mississippi River in Fulton, Illinois!

Historic Prestons Service Station
Belle Plaine, Iowa

Standard Station
In Ogden, Iowa with our trusty rental van