PODCAST · society
Midwest Wanderer explores history, nature, and culture through road trips along scenic and historic U.S. highways, byways and trails
Episodes
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Shipshewana Lights of Joy: The Ultimate Drive-Thru Wonderland
We’ve been to many nice drive-thru lights festivals across the Midwest, but the Lights of Joy in Shipshewana, Indiana, tops all we’ve experienced, in our opinion. The two-mile drive packs in over three million LED lights, creating a truly magical effect. Here is a video preview. If you’d rather...
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6 Unique Southwest Michigan Beach Towns You Need to Visit
As you drive up the coast of Southwest Michigan, you pass through beach town after beach town dotting the shore of Lake Michigan. All of these towns have a beach, of course, most have a downtown area filled with shops and eateries, and the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail leads to wineries…
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Beyond Blooms: The Wonders of Botanica, the Wichita Gardens
We’ve been to a lot of botanic gardens, in the Midwest and other parts of the U.S. So, when we say Botanica, the Wichita Gardens is at the top of our list of favorites, it means a lot. What makes it special? Read on (or watch the video) to find out. If You’d Rather Just Listen… If You’d Rather...
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Exploring Historic Mills of the Missouri Ozarks
Road trips are our thing. Add history and nature, toss in a little culture, and it’s a perfect combination. That’s what we found as we explored the historic mills of the Missouri Ozarks. The mills date back as far as the 1800s. ********** ********** When we stopped at the Ozark Heritage Welcome...
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Free Local Summer Concerts
Midwest Wanderer Podcast Episode 2 – July 9, 2024 Welcome to the Midwest Wanderer Podcast Episode 2. In this episode we chat about local events, particularly free local summer concerts found throughout the Midwest. If You’d Rather Read… Editor’s Note: This article contains an affiliate link. This...
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Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park and Hannibal MO
Midwest Wanderer Podcast Episode 1 – July 3, 2024 Welcome to the Midwest Wanderer Podcast Episode 1. In the inaugural episode of our weekly podcast, we start with a talk about weather preparedness. Then, we chat about our recent visits to Chicago Southland’s Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park and...
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Palos Heights Public Art and Lake Katherine: A Day of Art and Nature
We planned a quick outing to visit sculpture parks in three Chicago suburbs. Instead, we spent the entire day exploring public art and Lake Katherine in Palos Heights, Illinois. In Case You’d Rather Just Listen… In Case You’d Rather Read… Before we left home, I printed the Public Arts Guide,...
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Old Abilene Town Recalls Wild West Days
Abilene, Kansas, was the first of the cow towns in the Wild West. Today, Old Abilene Town recreates those days with buildings that simulate the 1870s Abilene and museums that tell the history of the Chisholm trail, cattle drives, and Abilene life in the days of Wild Bill Hickok. Disclosure: Thank...
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7 Tips for Driving Safely This Summer
Memorial Day is coming up, marking the beginning of the summer driving season. That means heavier traffic on the roads and greater potential for driving mishaps—or even tragedies. To help ensure you arrive at your destinations safely, follow these 7 tips for driving safely this summer from the...
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Colonel Davenport House: History on the Mississippi
Colonel George Davenport, founder of Davenport, Iowa, and first white settler in the area, led a family life that today would be fodder for the tabloids. Regardless, as a sutler for the U.S. Army, fur trader, and representative of Indians in negotiations with the U.S. government, he was well...
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Howard Steamboat Museum Pays Tribute to Early Riverboat Company
Howard Steamboat Museum in Jeffersonville, Indiana, pays tribute to the Howard family and their steamboat building company. The tour combines a history of the ornate Edmonds and Laura Howard mansion and the shipyard located across the street, which the Howard family owned from 1834 until 1941....
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Itasca State Park: Mississippi River Headwaters
Watch as Connie walks through the Mississippi River. She and Skip are at the Mississippi River headwaters in Itasca State Park, near Bemidji, Minnesota. The 2,552 mile Mississippi River begins here as a small stream flowing from Lake Itasca. Listen to the podcast: [expand title=”Click here to…
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Charles Lindbergh House and Museum: Childhood Antics
Aviator Charles Lindbergh gained his fame as the first person to successfully complete a solo transatlantic flight. The Charles Lindbergh Museum in Little Falls, Minnesota, chronicles his life and career with exhibits and films. On a tour of the adjacent Charles Lindbergh House, however, visitors...
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Eagle Watching on the Mississippi Flyway
It’s eagle watching season. As the weather becomes colder and bald eagles migrate south down the Mississippi Flyway, people travel to those same places in hopes of catching a glimpse of the national bird. Some of the best places to eagle watch are near locks and dams along the Mississippi River,...
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Mid-America Air Museum: 100+ Aircraft, Home-Built to Military
The lightweight Beechcraft 35 Bonanza civilian airplane, produced post-World War II, was expensive compared to other personal aircraft. Because of the steep price, mostly professionals, like doctors and lawyers, could afford them. The tail, an unusual V shape, was designed to reduce both the…
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Dodge City Trolley Tour: Exploring Queen of Cow Towns
Bar brawls and gunfights were the norm in Dodge City’s early days. Today, it’s a thriving cattle city. On the Dodge City Trolley Tour we learned about both the city’s lawless Old West days, and about today’s thriving cattle industry, which makes up 60% of the area’s economy. It’s not surprising...
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White Sands National Monument: Sledding and Hiking
When we saw people sledding down the sand dunes at White Sands National Monument last spring, I wanted to do it, too. So when we wandered beyond the Midwest again on another trip out west, we detoured back to White Sands, near Alamogordo, New Mexico. Listen to the podcast:...
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Morton Pumpkin Festival Celebrates Pumpkin Capital
Did you know that ninety-five percent of pumpkins for processing in the United States are grown in Illinois? Specifically, they’re grown in and near Morton, a town southeast of Peoria, home to a large Libby’s cannery. Every September, Morton celebrates its pumpkin industry with the Morton Pumpkin...
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Exploring Byways and Trails
In this podcast, we chat about exploring byways and trails. If you’re a regular Midwest Wanderer reader, you know we do a lot of road trips. Some of our favorite trips are along scenic or historic byways. And then there are trails. What’s the difference? You’ll find out in this podcast. Listen to...
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Podcast: Great River Road Day 13
Day 13: Quad Cities to home The weather on the last day of our trip was rather gloomy. Since the skies looked like they could open at any time, we skipped traveling on the Channel Cat Water Taxi. Instead, we started out at the John Deere Pavilion, where we checked out John Deere equipment, both...
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Podcast: Great River Road Day 12
Day 12: Quad Cities, Illinois and Iowa Day 12 was museum day for us. We started out at the German American Heritage Center and Museum in Davenport. We went there specifically to see the temporary Steam Circus exhibit, but found the rest of the museum interesting, as well. Afterward, we visited…
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Podcast: Great River Road Days 11
Day 11: Fulton, Illinois, to Quad Cities Following a breakfast treat at Krumpet’s Bakery in Fulton, we crossed back into Iowa to visit the Sawmill Museum in Clinton. The museum is much larger than we expected it to be, and it was both educational and entertaining. We continued then down to the…
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Podcast: Great River Road Day 10
Day 10: Dubuque, Iowa, to Fulton, Illinois Our first stop after breakfast was the Julien Dubuque Memorial. The memorial overlooks the Mississippi River—gorgeous views—in the Mines of Spain State Park. Afterward, since I can’t resist a cave, we toured Crystal Lake Cave before continuing our drive...
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Podcast: Great River Road Day 9
Day 9: Exploring Dubuque, Iowa We try to seek out unique attractions on our travels, so we couldn’t miss the Fenelon Place Elevator in Dubuque, the world’s steepest, shortest scenic railway. We then spent the rest of the day at the riverfront, first on a stroll along the Mississippi Riverfront,...
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Podcast: Great River Road Day 8
Day 8: Fountain City, Wisconsin, to Dubuque, Iowa Back on the road, we again crossed back and forth between Wisconsin and Minnesota, stopping for Mass at the Shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse and brunch at the shrine’s restaurant, Culina Mariana Café. Coming into scenic Iowa, we hiked…
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Podcast: Great River Road Day 7
Day 7: Saint Paul to Fountain City, Wisconsin After picking up a healthy road trip snack food at the Saint Paul Farmers Market, we got back on the road. We passed back and forth between Minnesota and Wisconsin and stopped in Alma, Wisconsin. In Alma we visited the Castlerock Armor Museum, stopped...
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Podcast: Great River Road Day 6
Day 6: Explore more of Saint Paul We try to tour a state capitol whenever we visit a capital city. So, on Day 6 that’s what we did in Saint Paul, followed by historic Fort Snelling. We ended our day relaxing on the deck of the floating Covington Inn Bed & Breakfast, our Saint Paul accommodations....
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Podcast: Great River Road Day 5
Day 5: Great River Road through Minnesota: Saint Cloud to Saint Paul Early on Day 5, we left got back on the Great River Road in Saint Cloud and continued to our destination in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where we would stay for the next two nights. Don’t miss a Midwest Wanderer post. For a FREE...
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Podcast: Great River Road Day 4
Day 4: St. Cloud and St. Joseph From the gorgeous Munsinger and Clemens Gardens to St. John’s University in St. Joseph, and back to St. Cloud for Summertime by George, our day was packed. Don’t miss a Midwest Wanderer post. For a FREE subscription, enter your e-mail address in the Subscribe2 box…
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Podcast: Great River Road Day 3
Day 3: Bemidji to St. Cloud Starting our day with the Bemidji sculpture walk, we then continued on the Great River Road to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, then went on to St. Cloud, Minnesota, and a St. Cloud ROX baseball game. Don’t miss a Midwest Wanderer post. For a FREE subscription,...
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Podcast: Great River Road Day 2
Day 2: Mississippi River Headwaters back to Bemidji On Day 2 we drove to Lake Itasca State Park, where the Mississippi River begins, and walked across the river. After exploring more of the state park, we drove the winding Great River Road back to Bemidji, crossing back-and-forth over the river...
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Podcast: Great River Road Day 1
Day 1: Traveling to Bemidji We begin the Midwest Wanderer Great River Road adventure at the Lindbergh House in Little Falls, Minnesota. We stopped there on the way up because it wouldn’t be open on the day we passed through traveling down the Great River Road. Our final destination for the day…
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currently has 33 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
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Midwest Wanderer explores history, nature, and culture through road trips along scenic and historic U.S. highways, byways and trails
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has 33 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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