Springfield, IL & Lincoln Historic Site (July 11, 12, 2023)

​On my way out of Des Moines, IA I stopped at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library as recommended by Patrick.  I arrived when the visitor center opened, and drive around town a bit, and walk the grounds as well as visit President Hoover’s boyhood home.  President Hoover assumed the presidency in 1928 in a landslide.  His administration led the USA during the Great Depression, so of course he was a one term president.  What I did not realize was the extensive mining engineering career he had in the USA and overseas prior to going into politics.  After his engineering career he then became a Philanthropist and started a non-profit that led the feeding of Europe after the first world war.
I continued the drive to Springfield, IL through flat farmlands of the Midwest passing many smaller towns along the way.  I arrived in Springfield, IL and the State Fair Grounds where I would camp for the next few nights.  I set up and went out for a drive exploring downtown Springfield, and the parks and sites nearby.  The next morning, I got up leisurely and took it slow.  After lunch I went over to the Lincoln Historic Site visitor center and signed up for the tour of the Lincoln home in the National Historic Site.  Family friends who live in Minier, IL drove down and met me for the tour.  After the tour we hung out and talked then went to dinner at Thai Basil.