As I've mentioned before, we are camping just north of the town of Utica, Illinois. I've written about Utica in my post on bicycling along the I & M Canal. This small town of approximately 1,000 was put on the map when a tornado hit on April 20, 2004, killing 9 people. If you want to read a terrifying, heart-wrenching, moving story about the tornado, click the link.
There is a beautiful plaque and memorial for those killed in the tornado.
This memorial is where the Milestone tavern once stood, where 8 of the people were killed when the building collapsed during the tornado.
Here is a picture of Main Street. That's Duffy's Tavern on the corner. It's a fun bar with good food.
Main Street has an eclectic collection of shops such as the Second Look Antiques:
Or The Cheating Gourmet Shop (love the upside canoe over the door).
Utica is a biker-friendly town. It is not uncommon to see a row of cycles parked down the street.
Wheelbarrows with flowers planted in them were placed in front of businesses, like this one that was in front of Duffy's Tavern:
I thought this was clever. This one was in front of a computer store. The plants are inside of an empty computer monitor.
Towards the outskirts of town, I spied this bottle tree. I was so excited! It was the first one I've seen since we were down south in Mississippi.
I saw this wooden carving as we were driving by down the street. I made Jim turn the truck around so I could get a picture of it. It was pretty tall; I bet over 7 feet. I definitely had to look up at it. I'm not sure what she has in her hand; it almost looks like a man's head, yes?
Utica is also known for Starved Rock State Park. In another post I will talk about the park and post some photos.
The smaller the town the better! I love the bottle tree, I've never seen anything like that before. The computer planter is very creative, I have printer I may do that with! LOL
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your posts.
Sunny :)
Great photos and I really liked the tour. It looks like a great town to live in.
ReplyDeleteI remember the tornado story well. The events were very sad. Small communities band together in crisis and this one is no exception. It seems to have recovered nicely.
I love the bottle tree too!
ReplyDeleteThere are quite a few of them in Beaufort SC where my Mom lives, but they are all BLUE bottles. I've saved up a bunch of blue bottles to make one for my back yard, but now I can't find a "tree". The one in your pic is really pretty, though, and now I want one *just* like it!!
Adored your pictures, Pat, especially the bottle tree (?) and the plants growing out of a monitor. Wow, ome people have excellent imagination. It looks a fascinating place altogether.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful town. Great photos.
ReplyDeleteLove the new garden ideas! I asked if I could have a bottle tree..... was told no. we shall see......
ReplyDeleteI love Small Town USA....they are becoming fewer and between....
ReplyDeleteI love the bottle tree and the wheel barrows with plants and flowers in them!
♥
S
Somehow I never thought that Utica would be that quaint. Thanks for the tour!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a quaint little town that I would love!
ReplyDeleteThe wheelbarrows are terrific. Having taught computers I love that one. Now when my Hubs asks about the old monitor in the garage.... :)
Small towns are always fascinating to me. I love the photo of the tavern and the wheel barrow planters (I had an old one I used as a planter years ago).
ReplyDeleteI remember the Utica tornado story, it was so tragic. It is good to see it survived the ordeal.
Thanks for the tour.
Judy
What a nice town and your commentary (as always) was very refreshing. I loved the bottle tree. The tornado story was very touching. Wichita, KS had a bad tornado a few years ago (the same year they talk about the Oklahoma City one - in fact, same storm system) that killed five people. Three of them were our son-in-law's family members. It was a terrible time for them all.
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