Now we're talking - this should be a great thread to follow. I'll throw this
one in since it's close to home and because there's not many good driving roads
in Illinois to begin with...
Roughly 2.5 hours northwest of Chicago, where Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa come
together is a small Mississippi River town call Galena. The old route to
Galena has been replaced by US Route 20 several decades ago. Subsequently all
of the tourist traffic takes this route thus leaving the original route seldom
traveled and primarily used by the locals.
The old route, known as Stage Coach Trail begins as a turn-off on US Route 20
in a small town about 25 miles east of Galena. Shortly after a few stop signs
through this small town, the road becomes a beautiful winding, twisting
two-lane road that snakes its way along the Illinois and Wisconsin state line.
Stage Coach Trail was recently repaved about two years ago. Before that it was
a beaten up route riddled with pot holes and busted asphalt. Now its a smooth,
black, scenic road with several elevation changes, blind turns and cut backs
wrapped in the foothills leading to the Great River.
This road offers drivers an opportunity for a spirited run about twenty miles
long before it ends in downtown Galena. This town settled in the mid-1800s was
a popular destination for travelers and traders up and down the Mississippi.
Today it offers great shopping and a resort-town atmosphere filled with antique
and touristy shops. I believe it was the home town of General Grant and has a
wonderful Civil War re-enactment festival each summer.
The nice thing about Old Stage Coach Trail is the uninterrupted distance and
little traffic. The bad thing is it takes 2.5 hours to get there on long,
straight boring roads just to get there. I recommend this route as an
alternative if you're ever passing through northwest Illinois.
As for the rest of Illinois, well... they grow corn here. They definitely did
not have fun little sports cars in mind during the planning stage.
Cheers,
Carlos Cruz
'60 BN7 - engine at the machine shop
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