Down south of Chicago is what used to be the Joliet Arsenal. In the mid-90s it was turned into Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, and today it is a fun place to visit to ride around prairie flowers and old creepy ruins at the same time. In June of 2007 I took a trip down there to check it out.

Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

I learned about Midewin from John at Argonne, who impressed me one day with his photos and video of the old ammunition bunkers at the site. I'm a big fan of industrial ruins, so I immediately started planning my own trip down to see the prairie.

My ride started with a quick stop by the visitor's center on the western edge of the preserve to get oriented and find out where everything was. After a quick talk with the rangers, I made my way up to the trail head and parked. I soon had my bike ready and was out on the trail.

It didn't take long before I found the first of my ruins. The trail runs along the remains of a set of long warehouse buildings that have been reduced to nothing but their wooden skeletons. I imagine they were originally covered in sheet metal and that that metal has long since been recovered as scrap, and all that's left is the framework that originally gave the buildings shape.

Further down the trail I found the other main style of ruin at Midewin: the ammunition bunker. These are more fun than the warehouse skeletons, 'cuz you can walk inside some of them and experience what weird buildings they are first-hand. Inside, they're perfectly smooth half-cylinders with little grooves along the sides (presumably to collect water). They have great echoing properties and, most shocking of all, are spotlessly clean. I was surprised that all of the ones I looked on were completely empty, without a sign of anything ever having been inside of them. They're very creepy and exciting to explore.

As I continued on the trail around the prairie, I my final stop was at a little pond on the southern edge of my route around the prairie. The pond had a footpath around it, where I found flowers, dragonflies, and other pretty things to look at. It was a nice change of pace from riding around old dirt-road-become-trails that made up the rest of my trip.

After visiting with the dragonflies, I made my way back to the parking area and headed home. I moved away from the Chicago area a few years after this trip, but if I've ever back in that area I'll certainly make this trip again.