Peter visits the Stolzenbach Farm in Beecher, IL

Name:  Danielle Jenkins
Date:  Feb. 22-24, 2013
Destination:  Beecher, IL
Latitude:  41.3406 N
Longitude:  87.6214 W
Round Trip Miles:  626 miles
Total Miles:  1099 miles

I picked Peter up from Mrs. Stearns on Wednesday February 20, 2013 and we stayed at my house until Friday. On Friday February 22, Peter and I headed North. It was a little over 300 miles and took us about 4.5 hours. We stayed at my grandparent's home, where we had a blast with my cousins Sam and Katie (pictured below). 

My grandparent's live in Beecher, Illinois, a town with a population of 4,359 as of the 2010 census. Beecher was founded in 1870 after Henry Ward Beecher. The village is located in Will County along the Dixie Highway. Beecher is a primarily agricultural township and the soil is well suited for corn, soybeans, wheat, and hay. This quaint, rural village has the perfect location, less than an hour from downtown Chicago, IL. 

Peter was able to spend the weekend with my family and I on the Stolzenbach farm. He got plenty of attention from my grandparents and all of my cousins. He enjoyed chasing the cows and running through the corn fields with his dog cousin, Shadow. He even got to watch the Daytona 500 on Sunday before we headed back to Carbondale. We returned back to Carbondale, IL on Sunday evening, February 24, 2013.

Peter's Trip to Buckley, Illinois

Name:  Kori Balk
Date:  Feb. 15-17, 2013
Destination:  Buckley, IL
Latitude:  40.5969 N
Longitude:  88.0381 W
Round Trip Miles:  473 miles
Total Miles:  473 miles


Peter and I traveled to my hometown of Buckley, Illinois.  Buckley is known as the home of the Dutch Masters, which is a baseball team that plays in the Eastern Illinois Baseball League. This team has been a huge part of the Buckley entertainment as it is the place to be every Sunday afternoon during the summer.  The team has been playing ever since 1860 and has had a few players end up playing in the "big leagues" including the Giants and the Cubs.

Buckley is now a small village of only 600 people.  The village was founded in 1856 when Ira A. Manley contracted the land from the railroad company to be a shipping point.  He originally named the village Bulkley after one of his cousins whom he admired greatly.  John A. Koplin was assigned the contract for the land and decided to drop the l to make the name Buckley, which was more pleasing to hear.

Pictured here, you can see Buckley still has brick streets.  These streets were put in during the prohibition era thanks to the Works Progress Administration.  This agency was part of President FDR's New Deal which was created to help the U.S. recover from the Great Depression.

After Peter took the grand tour of Buckley, he spent the weekend with my family and I.  On Sunday February 17, we set out on our journey back to Carbondale.

William Visits Ulysses S. Grant's House

Name:  Matthew Rennison
Date:  Feb. 9, 2013
Destination:  St. Louis, MO
Latitude:  38.55 N
Longitude:  90.33 W
Round Trip Miles:  233 mi.
Total Miles:  612 mi.

William and I went on a trip to Ulysses S. Grant's home in St. Louis, MO.  White Haven is the name of the home and the property has many interesting historical items such as a buggy he used for trips to downtown St. Louis.  The property also contains a barn with numerous historic artifacts as well as a theater that provides a biography of Ulysses S. Grant.

Our trip began on Feb. 7 as we traveled from Wham to my home in Pinckneyville, Il  for a total of 30 miles.  We then traveled 55 miles on Feb. 9 to Belleville, IL to take my daughters Faith and Gracelyn to the dentist.  After that terrible event we traveled 31 miles to Arnold, MO for a business stop and then traveled 12 more miles to 7400 Grant Road to visit the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site.  We then traveled 75 miles back to Pinckneyville, IL.  On Feb. 12 we traveled back to Wham for an additional 30 miles. 

Jonathan visits good ole' Forsyth, IL.

Name: Emily
Date: Feb. 1- Feb. 3, 2013
Destination: Forsyth, IL
Latitude: 39.93 N
Longitude: 88.96 W
Round Trip Miles: 379 mi
Total Miles: 379 mi

Jonathan and I took a nice trip to my hometown of Forsyth, IL. Forsyth is a small town outside of Decatur, IL; with a population of about 3,000 people.

On Thursday, Jan. 31 we traveled from Wham to my apartment in Carbondale. On Friday morning around 9:30 we began our trip north to Forsyth. While in Forsyth we relaxed and hung out with the family. Jonathan even met his long lost brother Cody (pictured below!).  After a nice weekend, we headed back to Carbondale on Sunday.

Welcome to CI 424

Join our class as we travel with our class 'dogs' during spring semester 2013.