In December of 1803, Meriwether Lewis set up camp on the River Dubois in Illinois with many of the men who would later make up the Corps of Discovery.

During their stay at Camp River Dubois, the Corps trained to survive the conditions of the wilderness, hired more men for the journey and gathered supplies. Without the months of preparation at the camp, their campaign would not have been a success. The men’s stories during their time at River Dubois are preserved through the care of the volunteers and manager at Camp River Dubois Lewis and Clark Museum.

Museum Manager Brad Winn works to preserve the stories of the Corps. Winn said his goal is to educate people about what really happened at Camp River Dubois and to rebuke the idea that Lewis and the Corps of Discovery left from St. Louis to begin the campaign.

In one of the museum’s rooms, visitors will find a log cabin, barrels of fake food, beads and cloth. Large audio-visual exhibits talk about the history of the camp as well as display letters that the men wrote in their diaries. Winn said this exhibit provides information about the methods Lewis and Clark used to pick the men they wanted on the journey with them.

“If you had to be, in this case, William Clark, what kind of person would you bring with you on the trip?” Winn said. “They were learning to work together, building a team. They lived in log cabins while they were here. They built a fort.”

A darkly lit room across the hall displays an array of maps on the walls. The first shows what was known about the landscape of America before the men took their journey. A large chunk of the country is missing in the map, which shows the men’s limited knowledge about the land they were about to explore.

“They tried to figure out what to expect,” Winn said. “How do you prepare for a trip where you have no idea where you are going, you have no idea how long it is going to take you and when you get there you are not even sure what to expect?”

Winn said that despite their preparation, the men did not know what to expect from the land they were preparing to cross. During the exploration, Lewis and Clark were able to produce maps that accurately described the areas they explored.

More than 100,000 visitors come to the museum each year to interact with the exhibits and to gain another perspective of the pilgrimage.

“This center was our destination,” Trisha William said. “Because of our jobs, we couldn’t take a real vacation, but this visitor’s center is perfect because it’s pretty close to us and we are big history buffs.”

Visitors walk around the life-size keel boat and enter the interactive movie theater. Just outside the theater sits volunteer and avid Lewis and Clark historian Weever Glenn. He spends his Saturday afternoons sitting in his chair volunteering at the center and making sure children do not climb on the exhibits. He said he has traveled the trail of Lewis and Clark with his family and even visited the same spot near the Pacific Ocean where the Corps of Discovery ended their exploration.

“I grew up in this area, and I would just like to be associated with the center,” Glenn said. “I just like the history of all of it.”

Outside the museum is a replica of the fort in which the Corps lived during their five-month stay. Throughout the day, visitors can walk the short distance to the fort and receive a history lesson from the Lewis and Clark actors. This ‘hands-on’ experience is exactly the setting that manager Brad Winn wants to create for the museum’s visitors.

“We have exhibits here but not a lot of computerized stuff,” Winn said. “What we try to appeal to is the casual visitor either following the trail or school groups or just [people] interested in Lewis and Clark, and then the ‘Clarkies,’ which are the real interested, the really into the Lewis and Clark history.”

Winn said he has made it his passion to carry on the experience of the men at Camp River Dubois. The final exhibit of the museum is a wall covered in letters the men sent to their loved ones at home or taken from the pages of a diary from their trek across America. Pictures of animals and plants surround the letters, reminding visitors of the things the men saw and discovered on the exploration.

“What we did here is try to use the words of the members of the expedition to tell the story,” Winn said. “In other words, we are not going to interpret it, we are going to let them tell us what they saw.”

In Whittington, Illinois, the Southern Illinois Art & Artisan Center holds a vast array of treasures from pottery, crystal and wood furniture to fiber arts and photography. Every inch of wall is adorned with artwork that catches the eye of visitors, whether they are looking for decorative items or something more functional.

The idea for the center originated with former Illinois governor James R. Thompson’s dream to provide Illinois residents with a rich appreciation for the arts. Thompson viewed artists as small businesses and wanted to develop a way for them to expand and gain more publicity and notoriety. He wanted an art gallery that showcased artwork from Illinois residents to make their work more available to the public.

The Illinois Artisans Program was created with the help of members from the Illinois State Museum. The first artisan center was established in 1985 in Chicago, where Ellen Gantmer, art supporter and Chicago native, took the role as the first manager. The artisan center in Whittington was built in 1990. Today, there are four locations, including Springfield and Dickson Mounds. The program will celebrate its 25th year in 2010.

Seasoned shopper Carmelita Brubaker grew up in Benton, Illinois, about fifteen minutes south of Whittington. Now living in the St. Louis area, Brubaker makes it a point to come to the art center at least a couple times a year. Brubaker said she will always come back to the art center and would recommend it to anybody.

“If they had a prize for No. 1 customer, I’d be it,” Brubaker said.

Brubaker said her frequent trips provide her the opportunity to see a multitude of different art pieces because the displays are always changing.

“I was just here two months ago, and the displays are already different,” Brubaker said.

Brubaker always had a fascination with art, primarily studying sketching, and her late husband specialized in oil paintings. Her husband created many pieces of artwork, but a piece that got a lot of attention was titled “Scout’s Out.” Before the painting was designed, Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed that he wanted some kind of monument in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Brubaker’s husband’s painting was so well liked by the government they asked if it could be used as a design for a national monument at Fort Leavenworth.

“Scouts Out” is a painting of a buffalo soldier riding on a horse with the calvary off in the distance. Below the horse is a Native American tracking the beats of the hooves of the coming horses. A sculptor constructed the actual 14 1/2 foot-tall bronze design of the painting that stands at Fort Leavenworth today.

“I’ve had so many people wanting to buy that painting, but I’m going to keep it for my children, so it can be a legacy from their father,” Brubaker said. “I think this is why I’m drawn to all of this. I was just around it all the time.”

Employee Carilyn Spencer spends most of her time setting up the artwork in the showcase rooms. Spencer’s enthusiasm for art started at a young age, focusing on wood carving in college. After having several pieces of her artwork were showcased at the Southern Illinois Art & Artisan Center in Whittington, she began to work there. Spencer said as the talent continues to grow, the competition has increasingly gotten more difficult.

The art center represents 750 artists, ranging in age from 11 to 92. Artists get to choose the price for their pieces displayed in the galleries. Spencer said prices range from $5 to $20,000 depending on the type of piece. Joseph Valadez from Cicero, Illinois, has been an Illinois Artisan member since 2008 and specializes in handmade wood carvings. Most of his artwork takes him only three weeks to make and costs about $40, whereas internationally known artist Annaliese Heijnen’s pieces cost significantly more. A member of the Illinois Artisan Center since 1995, Heijnen is famous for her ceramic artwork. Her most widely known pieces of art are ceramic roosters, which cost about $800.

Spencer said sometimes customers come in with a specific piece they are looking to buy. Every April when Paducah, Illinois, holds its national Quilt Festival, visitors pass through the Southern Illinois Art & Artisan Center to see or buy the quilts that are on display. Quilts at the art center may cost as much as $1,800.

Romaula Coleman, manager of the Southern Illinois Art & Artisan Center, said she went to the art center 17 years ago to find out how artists were juried in and left that day with a part-time job.

“I have always leaned to fiber arts because that’s what I do, but I’ve learned to broaden my vision of what I like in art after working here a number of years,” Coleman said. “The artists never cease to amaze me.”

Coleman said that throughout the year, the art center offers art demonstrations, workshops, book signings and classes for visitors. Individuals have the opportunity to try their hand at an assortment of different art mediums, including china painting, dye painting, rug hooking, knitting and silk fusion.

The art center also hosts workshops for children. Every Wednesday children’s workshops are dedicated to using only recyclable materials. Children can participate in hands-on projects, such as colored pencil drawing, pottery, print making and basic sewing.

Special events are not just dedicated toward hands-on activities. The artisan shop captivates all five senses every year at their annual wine festival held in September. The wine festival is a favorite, bringing in 3,000 to 5,000 visitors every year. During the festival, Illinois artisans demonstrate their craft and their work is available for purchase. Visitors have the opportunity to sample wine, enjoy delicious foods from various restaurants and listen to several different bands.

Coleman said the art center’s Southern hospitality and wonderful staff is what keeps visitors coming back time after time.

Long Grove Confectionery, Long Grove, Illinois 

One of Monet’s water lilies landscapes hangs on the wall, bathed in a soft light. At first glance, it could be the original. Even a closer inspection reveals convincing, emotive brush strokes. Then someone asked, “What’s the coating on that?”

“The glaze is a candy shellac,” replied Lee Althans, executive assistant of Long Grove Confectionery Co. of Long Grove, Ill.

This is no art museum.

Althans spends plenty of time in this long earth-toned hallway leading visitors through the factory’s tour. This behind-the-scenes look unveils the evolution from basic ingredients to sophisticated candies. The floor-to-ceiling windows that border each production room invite visitors to savor some true eye candy.

Althans points out the milk chocolate-framed Monets, which serve as a delicious division between rooms. Jan Wakulinski, the company’s artist-in-residence, created the paintings from a palette of dyed chocolates.

Ron Trompke didn’t believe his wife, Kathy, when she told him about the 15-foot Superman statue in downtown Metropolis, Ill.
When the couple decided to road trip across the United States, they found the statue and the town along the way to their final destination in Virginia.
The Trompkes, full-time RVers from Fair Grove, Mo., had grown up watching Christopher Reeve as Superman in the movies. The Superman statue stands guard in front of the courthouse overlooking the main street. The Trompkes, posing like perfect tourists, snapped some photos before moving over to the Superman cutouts.
Many people visit Metropolis, the only town in the United States that bears the same name of Superman’s city, to honor the superhero they grew up watching.                                    “do y’all know you’re the home of superman?”
Superman inhabited the pages of DC comics for 39 years before Metropolis, Ill., became associated with the Man of Steel.
Kentucky-born Bob Westerfield moved to Metropolis in 1972, noted the name of the town and asked, “Do y’all know you’re the home of Superman?” Becky Lambert, a real estate agent in Metropolis, said Westerfield was the one who pushed to have the town recognized as Superman’s official hometown.
“It took an outsider to come into Metropolis to go, ‘You’re missing the boat here, people,’” she said.

Upper Limits Rock Gym, Bloomington, Illinois

Kate Ewing couldn’t stop to wipe the sweat out of her eyes. She was hanging by her fingertips on a vertical face nearly 65 feet above the ground.
No problem.

Ewing caught the rock-climbing bug on a mission trip to Morocco. Then a friend took her to the Upper Limits Rock Gym in Bloomington, Ill. – and she was hooked.
The gym, a converted grain silo, boasts some of the tallest climbs in the nation. The cylindrical inner walls, once buried in grain, are now spotted with multi-colored handholds.  

“I remember that first night – by the end of the night my hands were shaking so badly that I couldn’t even hold onto the wall,” she said. “I couldn’t grip the holds. It was like my mind wanted to keep climbing, but my body couldn’t.”

Since that day five years ago, she’s been back to the gym nearly 400 times.

“I just kind of kept climbing,” she said. “People come and go, but there seem to be the standard gym rats that are always there.

“The nice part about good climbers is the really good ones and the really passionate ones love to teach people how to climb. They’re really patient with you. They welcome you in.”

Fin Inn, Grafton, Illinois

A catfish glides along the side of its aquarium, peering at a nearby table where hungry customers are dining on its aquatic fellows.

For some customers, the tableside aquariums at The Fin Inn in Grafton, Ill., accent the atmosphere. But for others, the nearby creatures limit dining choices.

“They had turtle pie on the menu, and I’m like, ‘Hmm, eat turtle pie next to the turtle?’” Linda Laws said.

Laws and her friends ate next to a tableside aquarium containing a large blue-fin dolphin catfish.

“[My friend] literally was going to order catfish,” Laws said. “That catfish just kept, like, staring at her, and she thought, ‘I can’t do it. I can’t order catfish. He’s looking at me,’ so she ordered shrimp.”

The restaurant’s four 2,000-gallon wall aquariums, which are divided to separate their inhabitants, feature an array of fish, including tilapia, catfish, cod and suckerfish. The white-and-yellow speckled devil fish draws attention with a huge bubble-like bump on top of its head while carp with their ever-gaping jaws swim in another tank.

Galena, Illinois 

Tiny shops selling handmade jewelry and coffee mugs dot the winding main street of a gracefully aging downtown. Children tug their parents’ hands as they stroll past the local café and coffee shop.

“You feel like you’re in a little different time, a different place,” said Scott Bishop, a resident of Chicago who visited the town for a weekend.

Known for its art and architecture, Galena, Ill., thrives on tourists who enjoy stepping back in time, watching a potter create a teapot or receiving tips on how to make beaded jewelry.

Galena residents know their town offers more than souvenir shops to visitors. It offers a chance to appreciate many kinds of art.

Building a Foundation

Almost every building along the main street of Galena features a 19th-century Italianate rooftop, flat with scalloped overhangs. Scott Wolfe, historical librarian for the Galena Public Library District and historian at the Desoto House Hotel, said Galena has such well-preserved buildings because the town did not have adequate funding to renovate in the mid-20th century. Town officials opted to keep the old buildings, which still stand today on the aged downtown streets.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, Illinois 

History is more than a never-ending list of past events, dead people and dusty artifacts. It even has the potential to come alive. 

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum located in Springfield, Illinois, is the largest of all presidential libraries, containing more than 47,000 Lincoln artifacts as well as 13 million Illinois state historic artifacts. Interactive galleries, life-like wax figures and detailed displays mix with traditional museum artifacts, providing guests with an unforgettable experience.

David Blanchette, the communication manager of the library and museum, said the goal of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency in planning the museum was to break completely new ground.

Underground Railroad, Alton, Missouri

Among the winding brick side streets and towering Victorian homes of Alton, Illinois, lies a silent railroad.

“There were about seven different lines of the underground railroad running through Alton at different times,” said Eric Robinson, a history professor at Lewis and Clark Community College who gives tours of the city’s most prominent historical sites.

Bordered by the Mississippi River, Alton is only 30 minutes from downtown St. Louis, and on a clear day the city skyline is visible from the crests of the hills. Of more interest, however, is the amount of history that exists in and around the spectacular views and stunning architecture in Alton.

Instead of France, Spain or Egypt, try Missouri, Iowa and Illinois. There’s a plethora of towns in these states that chose to identify with world-renowned cities by picking distinctively cosmopolitan monikers. For whatever reason, the founders of these towns decided against assigning them more destination-appropriate names like Cornville or Hogtopia, perhaps thinking ahead to possible tourist implications. After all, wouldn’t you jump at the chance to hit up historic Brooklyn? Iowa, that is. No skyscrapers in this little corner of the Corn State.

It borders on ridiculous when you begin to actually compare some of these towns with their international counterparts. Take Paris, for example. The Missouri destination had a whopping population of an estimated 1,458 in 2006, not quite the millions you would find in France. I should probably give up on strolling to the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame, at least on this continent. Paris does have a church, St. Francis Cabrini, but that sounds more Italian than French to me.

Can’t get into Cuba? Neither can anyone else, unless you’d like to visit the lovely hamlet of Cuba, Illinois instead. There are many fabulous tourist spots to check out, including the Spoon River Public Library, where many valuable books wait to be checked out. Not exactly on par with Guantanamo Bay, but at least they aren’t ruled by a dictator.