Visiting the Rail Splitter Wind Farm

Since wind farms first started appearing across the Illinois landscape, I've been fascinated by the giant white turbines—with the way they look like giant white children's toys thrown haphazardly across the landscape, with the mesmerizing way their arms spin and spin and spin, with the fact that they sit there generating energy.

So I decided to do some research on wind farms in general, and the 11,000-acre Rail Splitter Wind Farm located just down the road from L-Town in particular, for an article for one of my master's classes.

In the process, I waded through a whole lot of numbers and hard facts on wind energy and the amount generated by the Rail Splitter Wind Farm. I read research on possible health effects of living close to the turbines. And I spoke to some incredibly passionate locals—some of whom are all for the wind farm and the benefits it brings to the county and the state, others who are adamantly opposed to the turbines and wish the darn things would just go away.

And I even got to spend some time at the wind farm, standing under one of the turbines, on an incredibly windy day no less.

And guess who forgot her camera?

Fortunately, my cell phone takes reasonable photos, so I can at least share with you a few snapshots of my up-close encounter.

Even standing beneath one of the 230-foot-tall white behemoths, there's only a faint whoosh, whoosh, whoosh from above, where three 125-foot blades spin steadily.


The equipment inside the tower produces a mechanical buzz that overpowers the whoosh of the blades.


Some homeowners say that the sound of the turbines don't bother them in the least; on many of the farms in this area, it's just another part of a busy day's background noise. Others find the sound too loud, too irritating.

As I worked on the article, I started to wonder: It's one thing to spend a couple of minutes standing beneath one of the white giants. But would I feel the same if I lived in the shadow of one—or 20 or more?

Still, the fact that these giant machines capture something we normally have little use for—wind—and transform it into energy to light our houses and run our businesses is nothing short of amazing. Plus the wind farm benefits many local farmers—who earn money from having the turbines on their land even as they continue planting crops around them—as well as Lincoln and Tazewell counties, which receive tax money for every turbine.


And regardless of whether you think these wind farms are a win-win situation or a nuisance, they are pretty darn mesmerizing, aren't they?

BioBlitz!

There is not an exclamation point at the end of "BioBlitz." At least not that I am aware of. But in my world, something that sounds as exciting as BioBlitz should end in an exclamation point, don't you think? So, since it's my birthday, I have decided it will have an exclamation point.

I spent all last Saturday at BioBlitz! for my ecology class. BioBlitz! was an all-day biological sampling at Emiquon.

And when I say biological sampling, I mean I spent a good portion of the day in waders in freezing cold water digging around for plants and animals with my bare hands. Yes, really.

This is the area where I spent my time in the water. And no, I don't mean that puddle in the parking lot. Although I'm sure there's a wealth of biological life there to0.

(Also, doesn't it look exceptionally warm? Trust me, it was. My hands were numb for about 3 hours after.)


(There are some photos of me in said waders floating around, but I don't have one yet. I'll share if I find one. Maybe.)

Emiquon, which is located near Havana here in lovely Central Illinois, is a giant floodplain restoration project (we're talking almost 7,000 acres)—one of the largest outside of the Florida Everglades, in fact. Here's a photo of a small portion of it from a bluff we climbed after we dried off and ate lunch:


Emiquon used to be a system of backwater wetlands and lakes full of native plants and animals (plus there are a lot of archaeological sites, such as Native American villages and burial grounds, in the area). But, as is so common in the Midwest, the land was eventually parceled up and dried out in order to be used as farmland. Only now, the area is gradually being restored.


(These are some of the aforementioned burial mounds, which don't show up so well in the photo. It's also a trail now.)

The project is funded by The Nature Conservancy, and UIS as well as other universities are involved in the work being done at Emiquon on an ongoing basis, which is why we spent the day there studying the plants (prairie grasses as well as aquatic plants) and animals (particularly birds and invertebrates in the water).

All in all, not a bad way to spend a Saturday, eh?

Milking a Cow

I have a confession to make: After my first trip to the Illinois State Fair a few weeks ago, I have decided I still prefer the Iowa State Fair.

Blame it on the fact that I attended the Iowa State Fair nearly every year I lived in Des Moines, so am more familiar with it. Or blame it on the fact My Sister and I went on a Thursday afternoon, when things were a bit quiet. Blame it on whatever you want, but I think the Iowa version still ranks above the Illinois one in my book.

Admittedly, there was one activity that earned the Illinois fair serious points, however. My Sister and I milked a cow.


It cost a dollar, but boy oh boy was it worth it. If you've never milked a cow, I suggest you try it. I only got to give the udder one good tug, but man it was thrilling when that milk came squirting out. We contemplated bribing the kids working with $5 if they'd let us really go to town on the cow. It was that fun.


(On the ride home, My Sister and I speculated as to whether we may have lived on a dairy farm in a past life. How else can you explain the connection we had with milking? It was surreal.)

I realize this may sound incredibly strange to you. That's cool. All I know is I will go back to the Illinois State Fair next year just to milk a cow again, and I will take enough cash to spend more time milking.

Unless, of course, I can convince Conservative Boy that a cow would be a worthwhile investment? It would allows us to stop the milk delivery and stop mowing. Although my weekly poop pick-ups would get a whole lot messier ... hmmm. Maybe once a year at the fair is often enough after all.

On a side note, as we were leaving the fair we realized one reason why things may have been a bit lame.

What do you think? Can we blame it on that? (And yes, I'm wearing my cow milking button in that picture.)

Adventures in Illinois

Remember when I mentioned that other website where I spend so much of my time? It's called Illinois Adventures, and I post a couple of new stories each week about great places and events in Central Illinois.

This isn't a shameless pitch for the website. But I realized the other day that because I post all of those Illinois adventures over at illinois-adventures.com, I don't fill in those of you dear readers who just hang out with me on this site on what I've been trying around Central Illinois. And trust me, I've been trying plenty of things. So from time to time, I'll share the highlights here with you, just in case you don't religiously read every story I post at Illinois Adventures.

Let's see. Where to begin?

I've been exploring lots of Lincoln sites around the state, including:

The watermelon statue right here in L-Town (Lincoln christened the town with a watermelon near where the statue now stands)

Postville Courthouse, where Lincoln did his lawyering (it's also in L-Town)

And the Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum in Springfield (it's terrific).

In addition, I've been eating a lot, including world-famous Cozy Dogs at the Cozy Dog Drive-In in Springfield,

plus steak and sweet potato fries at Ted's Garage in Clinton, to-die-for pizza (and more) in Mason City, and Italian at family-owned Guzzardo's here in L-Town.

I even convinced Conservative Boy to tag along with me to the Illinois Shakespeare Festival in Bloomington, where we picnicked on the lawn outside this lovely mansion and listened to Madrigal singers in period costume.

C.B. even serenaded me with madrigal versions of "Back that A** Up" and Warren G's "Regulate" before we went into the theater and watched an impressive performance of Richard III under the stars. Isn't he romantic?

There's been a bit of kitsch too, from the giant Paul Bunyan statue nearby in Atlanta

to the world's largest covered wagon here in L-Town.

(Now you really want to come visit me, don't you?)

A Radio Interview

I haven't done anything with radio since I was in high school traveling the Midwest on the Truth Tour, when we'd speak the truth about the tobacco industry, if you will, at radio stations and on TV programs in the cities we visited.

Until this morning, that is. This morning I spent nearly 15 minutes on the air for an interview with WJBC, an AM radio station out of Bloomington. It was fun. We talked about Illinois Adventures, of course, and the places I've visited. And a lot about food, which you know I'm always willing to chat about.

You can hear a few seconds of the interview here. Now let's hope they fix the link to the site, because last time I checked it wasn't right!

Illinois Adventures

Are you sick of me telling you to go check out new websites yet? Yes no maybe? OK. OK. I'll give you a break soon.

But first I have to tell you about my new endeavor.

It's an online travel magazine I created (with the help of a talented Peoria web designer). It's called Illinois Adventures, and it's all about exploring Central Illinois. Because this part of the state is actually pretty darn cool.

Here's what it looks like (the site, that is, not this part of the state):


Why bother?

As I write on the site: "It may not have the reputation of its cousin Chicago up north, but this part of the state has plenty to offer residents and visitors alike—great restaurants and entertainment options, gorgeous vineyards, history-packed sites, plenty of events, and all the Illinois hospitality you could ask for."

If you live in the area (or ever pass through ... or just want to see what I'm up to), I hope you'll check out illinois-adventures.com.

The first "issue" includes a picture of the World's Largest Covered Wagon (right here in L-Town), a feature on the cuisine and comedy you'll find in Mason City, and more. Plus I'm adding new Central Illinois events to the site as fast as I can, so you know where to go when you're on the hunt for something to do.

But enough shameless self-promotion. I'm off to photograph a giant statue of Paul Bunyan eating a hot dog. And retrace Abraham Lincoln's footsteps for the town that was named after him (yes, that would be L-Town). Oh, and maybe if I get lucky, I'll sell a few ads while I'm at it.