An Illinois Tourist Town on the Mighty Mississippi: Grafton, IL 5K.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- Grafton is a nice place to spend a weekend getaway for many in the St. Louis area and beyond. Situated along the Mississippi River, Grafton has other geographical features to appreciate such as the string of Limestone Bluffs that parallel the river. You also have Pere Marquette State Park nearby.
Alton: 0:26 - 3:00
Scenic Drive: 3:00 - 13:35
Grafton: 13:35
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Alton: 0:26 - 3:00
Scenic Drive: 3:00 - 13:35
Grafton: 13:35
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Since we all have heard the hill jack and mountain dew talk in every video-it s time to come clean what is it really about.
I tried watching a second time and this time there was no buffering. You are correct that the scenery is quite beautiful with the bluffs overlooking the river. I imagine it’s even more beautiful in the early autumn with the colors of the season.
Great video! I love the Illinois small towns. Something about the unique natural scenery.
I'm from Alton Illinois. My husband and I loved driving the river road
I knew you'd get this amazing stretch of the River. Go back and do Elsah and the Principia College. It's a mystical place amidst those bluffs .. It was always an easy Sunday drive from Central West End in St Louis up to Principia College for brunch or Pere Marquette for hiking and dinner. Eagles up that way for as long as I have been alive..There are stretches of the road where I'd like some of my ashes thrown. Vast. It looks amazing to this day. Thanks.
It's been almost 40 years since I left St. Louis and moved north to Madison Wisconsin. It was great to see the area again with new eyes and comforting that it is somehow being taken care of. Truly majestic...
Ah, the Great River Road. Long ago, before the bike trail, cycling on the road was legal, and a "rite of spring" for the racing crowd was a sanctioned out & back 25 mile time trial. A goal of mine was to do it under an hour. I was never in good enough shape in early March to be that fast. It was fun anyway - great memories!
You have never been along the Mississippi River north of Savanna Illinois. It’s very scenic too.😬
yes it is! 👍
The legend of the Piasa (Pie-a-saw) bird is very interesting and worth the research. BTW, Alton doesn't even have a Walmart. :)
That's because you go to Godfrey which is basically unincorporated Alton. Or you can go to near by Woodriver. Alton does have other major stores like Lowe's and Home Depot of which many true small towns don't.
@@zvijer2960 - Sorry, it was incorporated in 1991.
This video was much better than the previous videos of the neighboring towns that you made. There was no negativity and that made a big improvement. I do have a few things for you to consider, if you are back in the area of Grafton.
The Great River Road is best seen in the spring when dogwoods and other trees and plants are in bloom or in October when the bluffs are awash in a sea of reds and golds from the fall colors.
Also in the spring, you will see many bald eagles along the bluffs. However, they may not show on your Go Pro. They would definitely require stopping and using a camera with a telephoto lens.
If you do the trip on a Saturday or Sunday when the weather is good, you will find the highway busy with traffic. Much of it will be motorcycles and classic cars. If you like that, you might think of it.
Many of the houses on the riverside of the highway in Grafton were weekend cabins, although some were year-round residences. They were usually on stilts so as to survive the floods. However, the Great Flood of 1993 was so high and so long, many were damaged and not replaced. You will notice some houses seem like a stack of boxes, because what were once open carport-like parking areas under the houses have been closed in for security.
If you are looking for scenery and not just a small town, consider a ride on the Grafton ferry across the Mississippi River. There isn't much to see on the other side, but the ride across is nice. There is also another ferry before Pere Marquette State Park across the Illinois River. This will take you into Brussels with rolling and twisting hills and countryside. part of the way, you have the choice to go to the Golden Eagle ferry across the Mississippi or going north to Hardin, another small river town. The ride is more scenic north of Hardin into Kampsville, which also has a ferry across the Illinois.
In all of this, consider a trip through Pere Marquette Park as there are very good views of the rivers from overlooks up in the park.
And you got a like on this one. 👍
Nice video I'm from saint Louis I recently discovered this beautiful place my first time experiencing The Grafton Skilift a great experience... Cool fun an a beautiful site to see I would advise everyone to go check it out
.. peace an love to all nothing like an out door experience
wow i never knew of a drive like this in illinois, pretty!
Are you anywhere near Savanna in Carroll County Illinois? You can find another pretty drive just north of Savanna towards the Galena area. Mississippi Palisades State Park is right along the Mississippi River. It's especially pretty in the autumn with the fall colors.
The drive to or from Grafton to the Pierre Marquette state park, acros the ferry, through Hardin's rolling hills, and across the second ferry into st charles missouri is just beautiful during the srping, summer, and fall. The scenery is awesome.
Do this ride and video in the fall. Colors will wow ya.
Wow Chris this was amazing. I used to travel up to Alton and Grafton. Thank you for the memories, and the Mountain Dew from the local walmart. :-) BTW ALL of this area was under water back in 1993.
Another, rather, scenic drive is IL Rt 3, south of Columbia, IL down to Fountain Bluff (Gorham-Grand Tower, IL). I especially like the scenery south of Chester, IL on IL Rt 3. The river & Illinois Bluffs squeeze together, just north of Fountain Bluff. Where it meets IL Rt 149 to Murphysboro. There is a Natural Gas Pipeline 'Bridge' that crosses the river there. There are places called: The Devil's Backbone, The Devil's Bake Oven & Tower Rock at Fountain Bluff. Like Alton, some Haunted History there too. In 1925, the Tri-State Tornado devastated that area, especially Gorham & Murphysboro.
OASN: Fountain Bluff creates part of the scenery of the 'Little Grand Canyon'.
One of my favorite Tri-State Tornado Stories. Talks about Egypt of Illinois & the earlier St Louis Cyclone event:
th-cam.com/video/hJ6Z1CV704I/w-d-xo.html
I was in Pere Marquette juvenile camp in Grafton...mid 70s. Ran off one cold winter night. No coats (2 of us)...wet hair.. that froze. Got a first hand look of the bluffs.
I love driving the Great River Road especially when the leaves change. I also love driving into Grafton even though when I do it's always super busy
Great video, I'm in Grafton once or twice a week. It's an awesome little town and is packed on the weekends, till it gets cold.
In theory it seems like it can get pretty crowded with how small the place is.
We've been to Grafton Illinois before and man the view on top of the bluffs is amazing.
I know you're gonna get 1000 comments about this, but it's pronounced "PIE-uh-saw". I know it's a weird word, and it usually takes new local meteorologists in nearby St. Louis about a week to get the pronunciation correct, but I went to a nearby High School that actually has the Piasa Bird as it's mascot, so it maybe is slightly more frustrating for me to have the name said incorrectly so often. All that aside, thank you for making a really nice video. This drive is stunning in the fall with the colors. Have a wonderful day👍
I’m known to screw up pronunciations all the time so I’ll take your word for it
Chris, I grew up on the bluffs over Grafton. There was nothing touristy about it. LOL We were River Rats.
Take a drive up to Galena sometime. The scenery from Savanna to Galena is top notch.
the great river road ( Beautiful )
We love this place!
A flooded grain silo is apparently a hot item.
Oh yes, when one thinks of Illinois it's for it's plethora of towering mountains, hills, and of course "hill-jacks"
Lol. Most of Iowa and IL IS flat as …Nebraska!
According to the old Prairie Home Companion radio show “Powder Milk Biscuits in the big blue box “ are a real hot item. Garrison Keillor said they are fresh mostly. 😏
Live in St louis, done this drive a few times! Go to the loading dock. Dont do breakfast at Pierre Marquet Lodge.
Hey Chris I like your video you did on Alton I've been there once in my young days
Yes please do more videos on Alton!
My Mom is from Hardin Illinois, we had our family reunions at Pierre Marquette Park. I from Bethalto, Robert Wadlow and my Grandpa Bryant are cousins. But Hardin is not that far from Grafton Illinois. You should go check out Calhoun County Illinois and Hamburg Illinois. Thanks for visiting!
Beautiful scenery!!
I thought Grafton was lame but noway this city got a dang aeries ride I wanna go here
Very cool.
📻🙂
just an fyi the name of the bird is Piasa pronounced Pie A saw and those caves are in fact man made as they are limestone quarry spots that can be found all along the river road, the area is rich in limestone. and there are still active large quarries in the area as well as some small ones. also the winery you passed in Grafton was the Grafton school that closed then was later purchased by the winery and has undergone numerous renovations and expansions to the point it no longer resembles a school building at all. most of the surviving homes are either business's or have been bought out and turned into airbnb's over the years. I can remember when the town was residential but the flood of 93 took its toll and the government put strict codes on building's to be used as homes, and insurance regulations as well. most buildings that are still lived in had to be raised to over 10' above the 1993 flood level.
Thanks mate👍👌💯
Grafton looks like a pretty cool place....might be worth a 6 hour drive...maybe.
Or maybe something to add to the list if you’re planning on a St. Louis road trip.
I love Alton, and Grafton! There is also a Bird Cage they call it or something like that. Its a sort of mini no pay like rescue zoo thing, near the back of Grafton some dinky towns and head back on back road. Saw owls, squirrels etc. may even tell the name then just look it up i told the ladies there they need a big tourist s ign so people can come back there and know its there easier. It has other animals even a fox etc and merch too i got a shirt maybe tell you the name and that for its on the shirt. Ok its the TREEHOUSE WILDLIFE CENTER, DOW, IILLINOIS :)
Ok going for a mc ride tomorrow,,, usually do it at least 3 times a year. One between Christmas and new year's day. If the weather
isnt to extreme.
It’s Pie-uh-saw bird….and not everyone drinks Mountain Dew here. 🙄
If you would've told Grafton residents the town would be a tourist hotspot including a winery before the flood of 93, they would've laughed in your face. Progress and revenues are nice, but that flood killed a great small town. I feel fortunate to have lived there, and have memories of when it was a sleepy backwater.
That's fascinating.
Jason, I agree. John, Donna and I grew Up in Grafton way before it was anything but a small town village. Debbie Kasch. Howard and Marge Kasch were my parents.
There are tourist during the winter also, eagle watchers.
What's the name of the song that begins at 10:45? It's got that early 90s vibe.
I'm from st.louis and tried to find something to do there and it was just depressing. There's absolutely NOTHING to do over there.
Want to go on the chairlift
The algorithm to be destroyed 😬 I can’t drink Mountain Dew because I have a hiatal hernia and GERD and drinks like Mountain Dew and COKE give me severe pain in my stomach. So they can have my share of those things.
What is the distance of the bike path?
Piasa was a man eating bird/man/lion
Name of the introduction song please 😊
On my iPad there is no little wheel at the bottom of the screen. On my desktop there is one. But I don't watch your videos on the desktop computer.
On IPad or IPhone try the three dotted menu in the upper right corner of the screen. It should allow you to adjust the quality of the video.
I love america but america d,'ont love me ❤ ....
I noticed channel named changed, did I miss something
I changed the name of the channel about a month ago.
@@ChrisHarden The old name was fine, but I do like the rebrand. Time to solidify yourself with the likes of Nick Johnson and Briggs.
drainage system?
Steak and cheese burritos homer b ball ASD
It's mountain william..not hilljack!
I like that one!
Thinking about making the trek to Grafton for some antiquing is it worth it ?
I'm sure it would be, I didn't go inside any of the stores but for what it's worth they seemed to be busy during the off-season when I was there.
@@ChrisHarden thanks 👍🤗
I’m sorry but I can’t watch this anymore. My iPad won’t stop buffering, but I did do my duty to destroy the algorithm. Peace. 😬 Did you see any old cars up on blocks with the tires removed. After all the hill Jacks that are around. The buildings are not here because they are gone. 🥴. I also saw lots of buffering on my iPad. 😵💫
This doesn't always work, but next time this happens with any video that you try watching on TH-cam, try hitting the gear icon in the lower right area of the screen and lower the resolution. Sometimes it can be an internet speed problem, and higher resolutions require stronger bandwidths.
@@ChrisHarden Thanks 🙏Sorry but I don’t see a gear icon on the lower corner my screen. I was probably watching it at the wrong time of the day the first time. The second time I watched was after supper and the Internet was not so busy.
The roads in Alton are steep
Not a fan of the music in the start on this one. Had to skip way ahead.
Cool
You pronounced piasa bird incorrectly
I’d enjoy this video more if my iPad would stop the infernal buffering! Also the music that you are playing on the road between Alton and Grafton is not my cup of tea. 🤮😵💫
What’s the type of music that you jam to?
@Chris Harden Bert Kaempfert. James Last. Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. Burt Bacharach. I also like Schlager music which is German pop music. On TH-cam there is a channel called Schlager fur Alle. i can't understand what they are saying but I think the music is very cool. :-) In truth I don’t Jam to any music. I just listen to it and some music makes my stomach turn 🤮. Rap music for instance where every other word is profanity.
@@ChrisHarden I also found out why I was having so much trouble with buffering. It seems I downloaded a VPN from Proton Mail. And it was blocking me from doing much of anything. I deleted the VPN and now everything is okay.
@@glennso47 I'm with you Glenn. A little polka music, good old Herb Alpert, maybe a little 90's country or some good ole bluegrass would enhance the view. I think Chris is just a young guy, though, so his musical tastes haven't matured. I was listening to stuff like Motley Crue, Skid Row, and Metallica at his age.
@@ChrisHarden A little of everything except for rap or newer pop. Enya or Celtic Women would sound nice on the stretch along the river.
What’s with the mt dew jokes. You do know that is a southern thing right?
Mtn. Dew is a hilljack thing.
Just so you know nothing about the scenery is natural here. Everything is man made including that cave you said wasn't. Those trees on the right, the entire way, hand planted trees. That's a man made hill. When they created the river and the roads and dams and levies and everything else. They moved the dirt, made the mountains, planted the trees, created the weather and claim its all natural. Nope.
Wait… you’re saying that man created the river? Wow! How incredible!
i could see it being a tourist town . i would however be worried about outsiders moving in and turning it into a white collar , white flight bed room community slum . pricing the locals out of where they live , turning it into just another dingy suburb.