Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune.A faded mural decorates a building in July 2020, in Cave-In-Rock near the southern terminus of Illinois 1, which loosely follows the entire east border of the state.
Amid the worldwide pandemic 25 years later, we had slightly more disposable income, a 17-year-old son, a better vehicle and farther to travel, but Cave-In-Rock once again became a great midsummer destination. We even rented the same cabin we’d stayed in long ago. We had more time, too, so we took the scenic route.
It’s why Vincennes Avenue heads southwest after it branches off from State Street at 69th Street in Chicago instead of southeast toward Vincennes, Indiana. But that doesn’t mean its identity crisis is resolved for points south. People in Chicago Heights, Steger, Crete and surrounding towns varyingly call it Dixie Highway, Chicago Road and Main Street, and for a short stretch between U.S. 30 in Chicago Heights and Sauk Trail in South Chicago Heights, it was part of the historical Lincoln Highway.
Our 2020 trip included a journey across the Ohio River on a small car ferry at the very south end of Illinois 1, a nice way to cap off an interesting road trip that took us into the heart of small towns along the cusp of the Indiana border. It was a weird time to make such a trip. Besides the pandemic, it was just a few months before the presidential election and people seemed more divided than ever on just about everything.