Road Rally Times - LAUSD



Car 1-Tulsa Races to Chicago

First….to Wisconsin[pic]

Here We Are In Madison, Wisconsin “Say Cheese”!

The French explorer Jean Nicolet visited Wisconsin in 1634 arriving at what is now Green Bay. He was in the search of fur pelts and the Northwest Passage. Being from California we are not accustom to seeing water, water, water everywhere. There are 1,050 miles of Great Lakes and Mississippi shoreline. The name Wisconsin means "Gathering of the waters" and is derived from the Ojibwe language. Even the Capitol of Wisconsin, Madison is surrounded by water. Madison lies on the shores of four scenic lakes. Wisconsin is famous for its cheese and Trevor met some “Cheeseheads” who were very eager to brag about their Green Bay Packer football team.

We went on a tour of Lake Michigan. It is the third largest Great Lake. It is 307 miles long and 118 miles across at its widest point. It covers an area of 22,300 square miles. Its average is 279 feet and its maximum depth is 923 feet. It contains roughly 1,350 trillion gallons of water. Lake Michigan is more than 10,300 years old.

We discovered that Chicago has 29 miles of lake frontage and 15 miles of beach. Chicago, Illinois is the largest city in Illinois and is the third largest city in the United States. It is called the “Windy City” not because of its breezes but because of its long talking politicians. The first resident of Chicago was Jean Baptise Point du Sable, a fur trader from Santo Domingo. He built the first settlement in 1779 at the mouth of the Chicago River.

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Chicago Art Institute

There are two famous museums in Chicago and they are the Chicago Art Institute and The Field Museum of Natural History. We decided to visit both of them. The Chicago Art Institute was founded in 1879. The Art Institute of Chicago features over 300,00 pieces of art and related cultural artifacts. It is considered to be the most famous art museum for its world-class collection.

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Here We Are At The Field Museum In Chicago

The Field Museum of Natural History was built on September 16, 1893 as a museum to gather and compare knowledge. It preserves and exhibits in art, archeology, science and history. It is part of a lakefront museum campus that includes the John G. Shedd Aquarium and the Alder Planetarium. They are considered to be the finest in the world.

Dearborn Parades Through The Midwest

We woke up at Pere Marquette Hotel when we heard Cameron fall off the bed.

We got dressed and went to our red truck and Mrs. Promen drove us to I-HOP for breakfast. Nikki had a BIG stack of pancakes, Andrea had waffles with fruit, Cameron had eggs and bacon and Melody had a bowl of cereal. After we ate, we got back into our

Red truck and hit the road. We took I-74 into Indianapolis, Indiana. We wanted to

be there early so we could see the St. Patrick’s Day parade. We stopped at a

souvenir shop so that Nikki could get her face painted and Andrea could buy a green bracelet. Everyone else bought green hats. We saw floats and there was a guy

dressed up like a leprechaun. Little kids were dressed up like shamrocks. They were so cute. After the parade we ate at Wendy’s. Everyone ate a burger with fries.

With full stomachs and anxious to speed ahead, Mrs. Promen felt like doing some fast driving. So we decided to go to the Indianapolis Speedway where the Indy 500

is held every year. We went to the Hall of Fame Museum. We saw the Louis

Chevrolet Memorial featuring a bronze sculpture of a Chevrolet with four

Bronze panels describing his accomplishments. We also saw an extensive trophy

collection from the many races that take place here. Feeling the need for speed, we went for a bathroom break before getting back into the truck.

We got back on the I-74 East freeway to Columbus, OH. Cameron saw the sign for the zoo so we went. At the penguin exhibit, we got to see penguins swimming and eating. It

was pretty cool. Then we saw the alligators and tons birds such as

Parrots, flamingos, and loracites. We went to Ohio State University. This school is home to the national football champions. We had dinner in the campus dinning hall and

saw lots of college students. We talked to them about what it’s like

being in college and they gave us an autographed football of everyone

on the team. We said thank you and they said “bye little dudes.”

We went to our hotel after a long day of traveling. We stayed at the

Ramada Plaza Hotel. Soon we were all sleeping ready for our next

day.

GATEWAY FOLLOWS THE SANTA FE TRAIL INTO DODGE CITY

Here we are in the “Cowboy Capital of the World”, Dodge City. Our first stop was the Wax Museum to see life size wax figures of famous western personalities. In Fort Dodge, located five miles east of Dodge City, we toured a Trading Post that served as a protection against warring Indians. The Carlson-Richey Log Home showed us how the pioneers lived. We also saw The Border Plains Country School which is an example of the one-room schools that once dotted the Iowa countryside. There was also a General Store, a Black Smith Shop and a Sentinel Newspaper Office.

We turned back the clock to the Wild West days of the late nineteenth century and boarded a train for a 16 mile round trip ride through the historic land of "cowboys, Indians and outlaws." The ride

included on-board entertainment. Snacks & gifts could be purchased on the combine car.

The Boot Hill Museum is a western history village museum located on the original site of Boot Hill Cemetery in downtown Dodge City. Life in the 19th century is interpreted through audio-visual programs, exhibits, a reconstruction of Dodge City in 1876 and old west restorations. Our entertainment included living history displays, stagecoach rides through downtown Dodge City and gunfight reenactments.

Our next stop was the Santa Fe Trail. The area is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. The ruts were formed by constant use from freight wagons and other heavily laden wagons, and are still visible today. The Santa Fe Trail varied in width from a mile in some places to just a few feet in others. The westward expansion of the railroad replaced the well worn earth tracks with steel rails. The Kansas Highway Department has provided a turnout and parking area for easy access and visitors may walk to the site of the parallel tracks. We had dinner at the Silver Spur Club and Restaurant. Some of us had steak. We enjoyed the sing along on the Karaoke “Singing Machine” Kep and Kenny were brave enough to get up and perform. Then it was to bed for a good night’s sleep.

Andasol Makes it to

St. Louis

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We are now here at Sioux City, Iowa. We just went to the cemetery it was Chief War Eagle. Cindy got so freaked out that she almost peed on her pants. Michelle was shivering like crazy. David was so cared he hid behind a tree. Amy said, “I have a stick and I’m not afraid to use it!” Melanie nearly fainted. We saw a cockroach and we ran away. David was screaming. We ended up in the art museum.

We finally left Lincoln, Nebraska. At Lincoln, we went to the Lincoln Children’s Museum. We saw a three-story apple-tree model, a real fire engine and airplane, a Mack truck, and interactive water exhibit, Prairie Dog Town, and Tot Town. We heard about Lincoln history.

We stopped at Omaha. We went swimming in Fun Play Amusement Park and had a great time. We saw another museum called Durham Western Heritage museum. We went by the Missouri River. Finally we went to Topeka. We went to Gage Park. We were in an observatory. There was also a miniature train and a pool. Michelle was on the miniature train. “Wee!” she cried. The rest of us swam while seeing what a baby Michelle was. There was also a Kansas Museum of History. We saw Western and Kansas prehistoric thoughts.

We went to Kansas City. Strangely, Kansas City is in Missouri and not in Kansas. Even though Kansas is ranked number one as a farm distribution center and hard wheat market, it isn’t like a country town. We went to Subway. Melanie was singing the Subway song. After that we went to the Negro League Baseball Museum. There we learned about Jackie Robinson, and other Negro baseball players.

Now we’re finally in Saint Louis. Saint Louis was part of the fur trade Furs were buffaloes, deer, raccoons, bear, and more. The first settlers were the French. They lost the land from the British. Now we’re going explore this place. We went to the Aloe Plaza. In there, we saw a meeting of water. We saw a beautiful garden also. We went to the Missouri History museum after. We saw the Dred Scott Slavery Trail at the courthouse. After that we stayed at Adams Mark-St. Louis Hotel. Amy had a nightmare about Cindy turning into a monster and chasing Melanie. The trip for today was wonderful and REALLY informative. Now to the next state…

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