Traveling America’s back roads

I thought snowbirds were wimps until I saw the light and became one. Now I leave Minnesota for nearly six months each fall to bask in milder Northeastern Mississippi where I (mostly) avoid snow and get more outdoor exercise.

I love learning new things. To cover the 890 miles between Minnesota and Mississippi, I choose varying routes to see different friends and new destinations. This trip, I hugged my youngest granddaughters and headed south through Wisconsin near Madison to friends whose family has owned Cave of the Mounds for three generations. Their story deserves telling separately.

I stopped to explore Salem, Illinois, famous for two things. One is Miracle Whip, the condiment developed as a less pricey alternative to mayonnaise. It was created in Crosset’s Café as “Max Crossett’s X-tra Fine Salad Dressing” and sold to Kraft Foods in 1931 for $300 (worth $5,022.04 today)” I paid my respects and moved on.

Salem is also the birthplace of American statesman and presidential candidate, William Jennings Bryan, perhaps best known for defending the public school teaching of Creationism versus Evolution in the Scopes (Monkey) Trial in Dayton, Tennessee. His “Cross of Gold” speech is still considered the greatest political speeches in American politics. I enjoy his folksy saying, “Only God creates a black cow who eats green grass to give white milk that churns to yellow butter.” Surely, Salem’s green pastures and tasseled cornfields helped inspire his philosophy, although his political life developed in Nebraska.

When you take road trips, how do you set goals? Please share your favorite discovery so far.