Wisconsin - My 50th State - Bucket List Completed!!

As soon as I returned to Nappanee, Indiana to pick up Scott and the girls, we decided to just start heading to Wisconsin.  It was Friday afternoon (July 27th) and despite that we had to get one the way.  We were behind having to go back to Indiana for the rig painting, so we left.  I knew we were going to go back through Chicago, but I had thought we'd be driving along the Lake Michigan coastline - boy was I wrong!  We went right through downtown Chicago on a Friday afternoon.  What a nightmare with a 40' fifth wheel having to change lanes!

It took some time to get through traffic, but soon, we cross the Wisconsin state border.  It was 7:36 p.m. and I had reached my 50th state!

We didn't want to go too far because I wanted to go back to Waukeegan, Illinois the next morning to photograph my 3rd great grandparents graves, so we states at the Wisconsin Welcome Center on I-94 in Pleasant Prairie.  My 3rd great grandparent, Newton and Lavina Bacon, left New York state for Wisconsin in 1835 and first came to Pleasant Prairie and then to Kenosha and Racine just down the street.  I'm so excited to be where they lived and follow their trail.

The visitor center was closed by the time we got there, but it remains open 24-hours per day with bathroom facilities, vending machines and brochures.  It was a beautiful center and we would spend the night here.  I like this welcome center very much because while it's also a rest stop, there were sections designated for cars, RVs and trucks.  Generally, it's just cars and trucks, but the added benefit of an RV section was appreciated where we didn't get the noisy from idling trucks during the night.

The following morning, July 28th, I took the back roads alone to Waukeegan and drove 20 minutes back into Illinois to the Oakwood Cemetery right on Lake Michigan to pay my respects to my ancestors.  I saw that there was a girl, Amanda Bacon Porter buried next to Newton and didn't know of a child named Amanda before so I do have a little research to do.  She fits into being a possible oldest child.  Newton's grave is on the left and Amanda and her husband J. Brown Porter.  The road through the cemetery were deeply rutted and BARELY wide enough for the dually to drive though.  I had to go very slowly so I didn't hit a grave on either side of the truck.

And, now...on to Door County, Wisconsin!  Woo-hoo!