Ghost bike on Milwaukee Avenue, the most dangerous stretch of road in Chicago.

Masonic Hall converted to a Hare Krishna temple, Rogers Park, Chicago

Ship passing under the Aerial Lift Bridge, Duluth, Minnesota

German-American club in historically German Lincoln Square, Chicago

A moose on Isle Royale, Michigan, which I visited 20 years ago. It's a long way from a long way from anywhere.

Millard and Grover, City Hall, Buffalo, New York

The most Instagrammed restaurant in Chicago

The proposed Indiana state sandwich is the breaded pork tenderloin, of course. I ate one in Peru and can't recommend it.

The Eternal Indian, Lowden State Park, Illinois. Sculpted by Lorado Taft. The statue is supposed to represent Black Hawk, but Taft used a friend as a model, so it doesn't look anything like Black Hawk.

The original Burger King in Mattoon, Illinois. As a result of a court case, the other Burger King is not allowed to operate within 20 miles of Mattoon.

Steamboat, Dubuque, Iowa

Decatur, Illinois's minor league baseball team (d. 1974) was nicknamed the Commodores, after Commodore Stephen Decatur. They were popularly known as the Commies, even during the Cold War.

It's considered good luck to rub Lincoln's nose at his tomb in Springfield.

Street in Lansing, Michigan, where Malcolm X grew up.

Eugene V. Debs house, Terre Haute, Indiana

I saved this from 2004.

gigi's geisha palace, peoria, illinois, 1980

A shirt I got in St. Louis

Currently reading. Late Theroux>early Theroux. He's less judgemental and more sympathetic in telling the stories of strangers.

Ghost sign for a much-missed beer, Herrin, Illinois

Graffito face peering through a hole in a wall, Packard Plant, Detroit

Illinois's first state capitol in Vandalia, where Lincoln and Douglas met.

The J.W. Westcott II, the only floating zip code in the United States, a boat that delivers mail and supplies to passing freighters in Detroit.

zephyr gas, muskegon, michigan, 1980

Statistics, West Garfield Park, Chicago

Hold on to the steering wheel.

Quantum Dee, aka The Pea, Juneway Beach, Chicago

This way to enlightenment, Rogers Park, Chicago

Heartland Cafe, Rogers Park, Chicago, 1976-2018

My college commencement speaker is on TV!

Nighthawks at the Diner street mosaic, Rogers Park, Chicago

Stavkirke, Norwegian church on Washington Island, Wisconsin

Fish Caught the Man, Bay Port, Michigan

The second best doughnuts on the South Side: Pticek & Sons Bakery, Garfield Ridge

Rainbow Motel, Garfield Ridge, Chicago

Creole House, built 1800, Prairie du Rocher, Illinois

Vito and Nick's. IYKYK.

West Pullman, the least-trafficked of the 254 Metra stations.

MV Calumet on the Calumet River, East Side, Chicago

Soo Theatre, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Wooden Shoe Restaurant, Holland, Michigan

Joe's Pasty Shop, Ironwood, Michigan

Joseph Medill Public Bath, West Town, Chicago

Richard J. Daley clock, Cuneen's Bar, Rogers Park, Chicago

The Gay Bar, Gay, Michigan

Jefferson Masonic Temple, Jefferson Park. One of two active temples remaining in Chicago.

Inside the Elinor Hotel, Portage Park, Chicago

Liquor store and SRO hotel, side by side.

Baseball scorecard sculpture near Wrigley Field, Chicago

Pastoral and Idyl, Lorado Taft, Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago