Where they clear the roads and sidewalks...

Last Friday, we drove back to Madison from Independence, Kentucky.  The snow was pretty much gone on our drive back until we hit Peoria, Illinois.  We stopped in Indianapolis to see the capitol building there.  We caught a 11 am tour with some school aged kids.  It was a good tour.  There were some similarities between the Kentucky and Indiana capitols.  They both had the open atriums with supporting columns and walkways in between.  Both were classical Renaissance Revival style.  The Kentucky was more French while Indiana's was Italian classical Renaissance Revival style.  Both made use of marble and granite from the New England states and local limestone.  Both came in under budget.  

Indiana State Capitol

An atrium as you enter the building

View of the three levels

Skylight in the rotunda

Old Mosler Safe that was moved from Corydon

Indiana's was built in 1888, after moving from it's original location in Corydon, Indiana which is located on the Ohio River not far from Louisville, Kentucky.  It moved to Indianapolis to be more centrally located.  We were able to tour the house, senate and Indiana supreme court chambers.  I liked the senate the best as it had windows to the office areas of the senators.  It was very unique compared to other chambers we have seen in our capitol building visits.  We also got to walk in to the treasury area where the old Mosler safes were located.  When I was growing up, my dad worked for Mosler Safe Company and I always find the old safes to be interesting.  After our tour, we continued on our way.

Chandelier in house chamber (100 lights) one for each member

House chambers

Senate chambers with windows looking out to office space

Another view of senate chambers

Supreme court stained glass windows

The stain glass represents the face of an owl for wisdom

The supreme court has retained it's original look including wooden chairs

 and black and white photography of the justices

Italian renaissance archways

We made a second stop at Lake of the Woods, Illinois just west of Champaign.  We have stopped there many times before, on our way back and froth to Independence, Kentucky.  It is a great place to walk, not far from the highway.  We started out on the bike / walking trail and we did not get to far when there was a trail closing sign.  We decided to walk another trail that leads to a road that goes through the park.  As we neared the river, we could see the flooding that closed the bike / walking trail.  We walked over the covered bridge and could see the flooding over a trail that we walked before last fall.  We did a forty minute walk and then headed on to Madison.

Flooding on the Sangamon River in Lake of the Woods Park

Warning those would be walkers looking to swim the trail

Covered bridge Lake of the Woods

We are house sitting again at the same house that we were at in September.  Cathie, the owner, is taking a trip with her sister to Florida and then Louisville, Kentucky.  After that, she will fly out to California to visit her son and his family.  She left on Saturday and will be gone through February 20th.  We like the two ragdoll cats and the location of the house.  It is close to West Towne Mall, grocery stores, and Lussier Community Center.  I am able to volunteer at Lussier.  On Monday, I helped in the kitchen cooking the after school meal for school kids in the after school program.

Penny and Cameo in their morning spot

There was still plenty of snow

There was still a lot snow when we arrived in Madison, but the sidewalks and roads are clear.  It has been above freezing and I have been enjoying the walks around the area.  The snow will be melting and gone soon, but there was a lot and it is definitely taking time to clear.