Illinois Road Videos

[Crash_It]

Whatever boating/fishing/watersports/camping/lakeside retreat options that are available in Illinois are outdone 20x each by Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. That's not up for debate.

Now if that were true then those states would've been ranked higher than Illinois in the wallethub rankings I posted.. specifically in the entertainment and recreation categories. There's no shortage of either of those options here plus with better food to boot.

[hotdogPi]

That webpage doesn't consider outdoors stuff at all. New Hampshire was listed as being in the bottom half.

[kphoger]

the wallethub rankings I posted

Oh.  Scientific proof.  I guess there's no point in even disagreeing with you, then.  Or else we're science-deniers.

[Crash_It]

Having a fully urbanized shore of Lake Michigan sure doesn't help sway the argument that Illinois is more scenic than the other Great Lake states.  What good is Lake Michigan for scenic value if you have to go to the Indiana Dunes or someone's family cabin in Michigan to enjoy it?

I enjoy the scenery of the downtown Chicago beaches, actually–especially Ohio Street, Oak Street, and North Avenue.  But they're a very different experience compared to the Indiana Dunes.

I don't think there's such a thing as lakeside cabins on Lake Michigan in Illinois.  But Indiana and Michigan have a long history of both vacation houses and mansions on the shore of Lake Michigan.  My father's family, after my great-grandfather immigrated from Germany, comes from Chicago.  I have a granduncle on that side who invented dual master brake cylinders and, when he sold his invention to ... um, whichever company that was, I don't remember offhand ... the money allowed him to have a huge lakeside house on the Michigan side.  My dad has early childhood memories of going there and playing with his cousins and brothers, but he didn't appreciate at the time what it must have cost to own such a property.  All that is to say that the Michigan side has been "the place to be" for decades and decades.  Illinois just doesn't have that.

The lakes in southern Illinois are great for boating and fishing, but there's not a wealth of vacation cabins.  However, take a look at Lake of Egypt for an example of one that does.  It's a different type of lake experience than the Great Lakes, but it's worth looking at.  Boating and fishing aren't really my thing, but I know that appeals to a lot of other people.

There definitely aren't any cabins along Lake Michigan in Illinois. But Wisconsin definitely has some nice properties along the lake, even south of Milwaukee. And of course, once you're north of Milwaukee there is a lot.

I definitely see a possibility for some Airbnbs to spring up along the IL shore of Lake Michigan. For example the City of Waukegan unveiled a plan about 2003ish for some luxury condos along the lakefront. Actually living there trumps vacationing. Chicago already provides such a commodity. I also see the possible of cabins being built within Illinois Beach State Park since the resort there has closed down in 2019. There's a plan in place to revitalize that park back to it's former glory.

[kphoger]

I definitely see a possibility for some Airbnbs to spring up along the IL shore of Lake Michigan. ... I also see the possible of cabins being built within Illinois Beach State Park ...

So?  Your imagination doesn't really count, does it?

[thspfc]

Whatever boating/fishing/watersports/camping/lakeside retreat options that are available in Illinois are outdone 20x each by Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. That's not up for debate.

Now if that were true then those states would've been ranked higher than Illinois in the wallethub rankings I posted.. specifically in the entertainment and recreation categories. There's no shortage of either of those options here plus with better food to boot.

🤡

[JoePCool14]

Anyone else have the sudden urge to start a new thread called Wisconsin Road Videos?

[Max Rockatansky]

Wallethub = Irrefutable Science

Wut?

[Max Rockatansky]

Anyone else have the sudden urge to start a new thread called Wisconsin Road Videos?

Along with "Wisconsin Isn't Flat."

[kphoger]

I guess antagonizing the Facebook truck groups wasn't such a hot idea after all:

https://fb.watch/cA3yVhf_Xh/

On my regular commute home from work, I pass through this interchange.  It's a standard diamond interchange with stop sign control for the off-ramps.  The northbound off-ramp frequently backs up, because left-turning traffic has a hard time finding gaps.

As I was approaching the interchange, I was in the left lane, and there was a pickup just slightly ahead of me in the right lane.  A trucker pulling an empty flatbed trailer saw a decent gap in nearside traffic, so he just gunned it and went.  Both the pickup driver and I had to brake, because he pulled out in front of us.

You know what?  Nobody honked their horn.  The other driver didn't appear upset at all.  I was certainly happy to slow down for him, because I know how hard it can be for truckers to make that turn.

And, of course, I thought of |Crash_It|.  I imagine that he would have blared his horn for a good six seconds at least, then lead-footed the gas pedal as soon as possible, then posted a video of the event on Facebook with comments lamenting how terrible truck drivers are, then been flustered when everyone else replied that it was a totally understandable maneuver.

[Max Rockatansky]

I guess antagonizing the Facebook truck groups wasn't such a hot idea after all:

https://fb.watch/cA3yVhf_Xh/

On my regular commute home from work, I pass through this interchange.  It's a standard diamond interchange with stop sign control for the off-ramps.  The northbound off-ramp frequently backs up, because left-turning traffic has a hard time finding gaps.

As I was approaching the interchange, I was in the left lane, and there was a pickup just slightly ahead of me in the right lane.  A trucker pulling an empty flatbed trailer saw a decent gap in nearside traffic, so he just gunned it and went.  Both the pickup driver and I had to brake, because he pulled out in front of us.

You know what?  Nobody honked their horn.  The other driver didn't appear upset at all.  I was certainly happy to slow down for him, because I know how hard it can be for truckers to make that turn.

And, of course, I thought of |Crash_It|.  I imagine that he would have blared his horn for a good six seconds at least, then lead-footed the gas pedal as soon as possible, then posted a video of the event on Facebook with comments lamenting how terrible truck drivers are, then been flustered when everyone else replied that it was a totally understandable maneuver.

What got me was how tame Crash's example really is, it's not even noteworthy in the slightest.  Of course, Crash's weird anti-trucker hate boner has shone through in some his comments since that video. 

[TheHighwayMan3561]

the wallethub rankings I posted

Oh.  Scientific proof.  I guess there's no point in even disagreeing with you, then.  Or else we're science-deniers.

Like I said, he just ignores any rankings that aren't rosy (like #46 in financial health) and dismisses it as invalid/biased against IL when they're pointed out even though they're from the same article he's using to trumpet IL superiority.

[thspfc]

I guess antagonizing the Facebook truck groups wasn't such a hot idea after all:

https://fb.watch/cA3yVhf_Xh/

On my regular commute home from work, I pass through this interchange.  It's a standard diamond interchange with stop sign control for the off-ramps.  The northbound off-ramp frequently backs up, because left-turning traffic has a hard time finding gaps.

As I was approaching the interchange, I was in the left lane, and there was a pickup just slightly ahead of me in the right lane.  A trucker pulling an empty flatbed trailer saw a decent gap in nearside traffic, so he just gunned it and went.  Both the pickup driver and I had to brake, because he pulled out in front of us.

You know what?  Nobody honked their horn.  The other driver didn't appear upset at all.  I was certainly happy to slow down for him, because I know how hard it can be for truckers to make that turn.

And, of course, I thought of |Crash_It|.  I imagine that he would have blared his horn for a good six seconds at least, then lead-footed the gas pedal as soon as possible, then posted a video of the event on Facebook with comments lamenting how terrible truck drivers are, then been flustered when everyone else replied that it was a totally understandable maneuver.

On Tuesday there was a long semi trying to turn left here onto US-51 SB: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1863426,-89.3236172,3a,75.1y,272.46h,88.05t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1siGUjSCWp65nahJZUnLtnfg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DiGUjSCWp65nahJZUnLtnfg%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D308.47247%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

Looks like that's technically an illegal left turn, but it's not very well signed so whatever. Anyways, the giant thing had to take up both lanes on the turn, forcing me to slow to about 20 on a 45 road (after I had already slowed for the 55 to 45 drop just a little ways back). Admittedly I was unhappy for like 5 seconds, but then something crazy happened: I realized that literally nobody cares! And then I wasn't unhappy anymore!

[kphoger]

Now if that were true then those states would've been ranked higher than Illinois in the wallethub rankings I posted.. specifically in the entertainment and recreation categories.

That webpage doesn't consider outdoors stuff at all. New Hampshire was listed as being in the bottom half.

Criteria don't matter.  Only rankings.

[Crash_It]

I definitely see a possibility for some Airbnbs to spring up along the IL shore of Lake Michigan. ... I also see the possible of cabins being built within Illinois Beach State Park ...

So?  Your imagination doesn't really count, does it?

It's not an imagination if it's something that could actually happen and you completely missed that it's already possible to live along the lakeshore as opposed to just vacationing. You can wake up every day to views of the lake and even have private access to the lake in Chicago.

It's also still missing the proven fact that Illinois is the funnest state in the Midwest and the whole central time zone followed by Minnesota in the runner up spot for the Midwest and time zone as well. As someone who has also visited Minnesota, I can agree with that placement.

[hotdogPi]

proven fact

You keep using those words. I do not think they mean what you think they mean.

[Rothman]

I definitely see a possibility for some Airbnbs to spring up along the IL shore of Lake Michigan. ... I also see the possible of cabins being built within Illinois Beach State Park ...

So?  Your imagination doesn't really count, does it?

It's not an imagination if it's something that could actually happen and you completely missed that it's already possible to live along the lakeshore as opposed to just vacationing. You can wake up every day to views of the lake and even have private access to the lake in Chicago.

It's also still missing the proven fact that Illinois is the funnest state in the Midwest and the whole central time zone followed by Minnesota in the runner up spot for the Midwest and time zone as well. As someone who has also visited Minnesota, I can agree with that placement.

Ohio's in the Midwest and has Cedar Point, Kings Island and ice cream everywhere.  It's a lot more fun than Illinois...except left lane blocking is an Ohioan tradition.

[Max Rockatansky]

I don't think Crash knows what a "subjective opinion"  is.

[Max Rockatansky]

proven fact

You keep using those words. I do not think they mean what you think they mean.

Inconceivable!

Wallethub = Irrefutable Science

Wut?

[kphoger]

Well, if adventure is your idea of "fun", then Illinois ranks wa-a-a-a-ay below Wisconsin and Michigan.  That's a proven fact.



The Adventure Index:

#7 – Wisconsin
#8 – Michigan
#13 – Missouri
#20 – Ohio
#24 – Minnesota
#25 – Illinois
#33 – Indiana
#34 – Iowa

https://outforia.com/2021-adventure-index/

[hotdogPi]

Well, if adventure is your idea of "fun", then Illinois ranks wa-a-a-a-ay below Wisconsin and Michigan.  That's a proven fact.



The Adventure Index:

#7 – Wisconsin
#8 – Michigan
#13 – Missouri
#20 – Ohio
#24 – Minnesota
#25 – Illinois
#33 – Indiana
#34 – Iowa

https://outforia.com/2021-adventure-index/

That list is biased toward larger states – just makes Illinois even worse when adjusted.

[thspfc]

Well, if adventure is your idea of "fun", then Illinois ranks wa-a-a-a-ay below Wisconsin and Michigan.  That's a proven fact.



The Adventure Index:

#7 – Wisconsin
#8 – Michigan
#13 – Missouri
#20 – Ohio
#24 – Minnesota
#25 – Illinois
#33 – Indiana
#34 – Iowa

https://outforia.com/2021-adventure-index/

Wisconsin shouldn't be above Minnesota, especially by that much. We do have far superior bike trails but that's about it.

[Max Rockatansky]

Well, if adventure is your idea of "fun", then Illinois ranks wa-a-a-a-ay below Wisconsin and Michigan.  That's a proven fact.



The Adventure Index:

#7 – Wisconsin
#8 – Michigan
#13 – Missouri
#20 – Ohio
#24 – Minnesota
#25 – Illinois
#33 – Indiana
#34 – Iowa

https://outforia.com/2021-adventure-index/

Wisconsin shouldn't be above Minnesota, especially by that much. We do have far superior bike trails but that's about it.

The top two aren't a shock in the slightest. 

[kphoger]

That list is biased toward larger states – just makes Illinois even worse when adjusted.

Wisconsin shouldn't be above Minnesota, especially by that much. We do have far superior bike trails but that's about it.

Adjusting the data to be overall score per total state area, Wisconsin nearly doubles Minneota's score, Ohio tops the list of those eight states, and Illinois moves up one spot and beats out Michigan.

Overall, I find the data less than useful that way.

[hotdogPi]

That list is biased toward larger states – just makes Illinois even worse when adjusted.

Wisconsin shouldn't be above Minnesota, especially by that much. We do have far superior bike trails but that's about it.

Adjusting the data to be overall score per total state area, Wisconsin nearly doubles Minneota's score, Ohio tops the list of those eight states, and Illinois moves up one spot and beats out Michigan.

Overall, I find the data less than useful that way.

I was looking more at population than land area. The top 11 states are all more populous than the bottom 17 states.