New Salem and Botanical Gardens

I had a great time yesterday sightseeing but last night was nothing but frustration with computers!  I don't use the laptop except when traveling so I was several upgrades to Windows behind. Yesterday seemed like a good day to just let the computer upgrade while I was out and about. I get home in the afternoon and the upgrade is still going on. So I didn't get to start the blog until about 9:30 last night. THEN after the Windows upgrade, there was several things I had to do on the computer to get it set up the way I wanted it. THEN the hotel WiFi was acting up, affecting the whole hotel,  so I couldn't access the blog. As you know from my past rants, I do not have patience when computers don't do what they are supposed to do when I tell them to do something!!!!!!  Anyway, this morning everything seems to be working 8-)

New Salem, Illinois
Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site is a reconstruction of the former village of New Salem in Menard County, Illinois where Lincoln lived from 1831 - 1837.  While in his twenties, the future U. S. President made his living in this frontier village as a boatman, soldier in the Black Hawk War, general store owner, Postmaster, surveyor and rail splitter, and was first elected to the Illinois General Assembly. It was during his years in New Salem when Lincoln became a lawyer. Lincoln left New Salem for Springfield in 1837, and the village was generally abandoned by about 1840, as other towns developed. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps built a historic recreation of New Salem based on its original foundations, establishing a state park commemorating Lincoln and Illinois' frontier history. The village is located 15 mi northwest of Springfield. I got to the park when it first opened and was the only person strolling through the village for a long time when 2 other people joined me on the streets.

 One of many log building in the village. 

Food for the soul....

Perfect timing!

It was hot at the village and got hotter as the day went on. The heat index was 101 and the humidity was a killer!   But, I wasn't going to let that stop me so the next stop was the Washington Park Botanical Gardens in Springfield. 

 Besides the park and gardens, there is a Carillon in the gardens. 

A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in the bell tower of a church or structure. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played to produce a wide variety of music. This particular carillon is one of the largest in the world's largest. It has 67 bronze bells covering a range of 5 octaves. The total weight of the bells is 82,753 lbs; the largest weighs 7.5 tons and the smallest weighs 22 lbs. The bells are all played manually by means of a special keyboard located on the 8th flower of the tower. I heard them play twice while I was wandering around and the sound was beautiful.

I think this is a type of hydrangea but the shape, color and bloom size is different than any I have ever seen before. The blooms were probably 10-12 inches long and the color on one bloom ranged from pick to white at the tip. Beautiful! 

Most of the roses in the garden are way past their peak but there was still a few pretty ones to be found if I looked hard enough. 

For dinner last night, I went to a nearby restaurant that was the recommendation of a person at the hotel.  I had a glass of wine and a good dinner while enjoying the music from the early 50's on their sound system. 

The restaurant was a saloon back on Nov 6, 1860 when Abraham Lincoln was elected President. 

And it is the same building where Lincoln celebrated his election on that night. Pretty cool!

Today is the Lincoln Museum, Tomb and Church he attended. Then I can check in for the conference after 3 p.m.