Summer Road Trip 2023
by Michael Doyle

As my youngest approaches high school
It seemed a good time, as a general rule
To take my daughters on an adventure
It might be seen as a matter of debenture

Or the paying of my familial debt
To somewhere different, possibly wind-swept
Maybe a dad's last sort of mission
To bring about the further transition

Visiting two states had been the request
A look at the map, left me best impressed
That the path would actually take in four
I was a little over-eager to explore

Much of it would have to be seen on the road
And as a honest day, this was duly told
Up through Indiana, north through Chicago
And on the road, we traveled with the flow

Much of this land is a reminder of the ice age
And it doesn't require a wizened old sage
To know that kettles, kames, and eskers reveal
Would make better sense seen to finally reveal

What the glaciation has done to this peaceful place
Can be undertaken on a scenic drive over this trace
Of prehistory through the days of Wisconsin homesteads
That to this day, turns many a curious head

The next leg of the trip brought sand dunes and shore
The old lighthouse shone the path forward to explore
The freshwater capital of the world waits for another day
While the juniper bushes and seagulls invite us to play

Up to Door County with its hodgepodge of parks and shore
But not before we visited Lumbeau Field and a bit more 
All for the sake of a fish boil and slice of cherry pie
Green Bay taken in and Death's Door under Wisconsin sky

Across we drove east to find Iowa's pathmaker and giver
South-Eastward to this city nestled on the Mississippi River 
Iowa, Wisconsin, and Iowa come together as natural junction
Where historic silos and smokers and river life functions

Back on the endless road it seemed and sure was felt
Under summer heat, we thought that maybe we would melt
Getting the lead out across the Spanish Mines we sped
Who would have thought this was a source of needed lead

Across to Peoria, which serenely sits steeped in history
Wondering if my fatherly discussions would play was a mystery
As the last day of this trip sped away at light speed
But a promise made and kept filled this summery need

Let there never be any family's doubt or any hesitation
Summers are made for these journeys not the destination
Though the destination is, of course, the family home
With memories such as these to fill the heart and never be alone

(c)June 22, 2023  Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved