A visit to Cantigny

On Sunday, we took a day off from paper sorting and going through things at Verna's apartment. After joining with our Texas church in the morning service via LiveStream, we decided to visit Cantigny, a park near where we are staying.

Carl made breakfast of corned beef hash and eggs before we headed out.

Since it was on the way, we drove by the house in Winfield where Sue and Carl raised their family...

Many memories here!

Cantigny Park

Located in Wheaton, Illinois, Cantigny Park is the 500-acre former estate of Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune.

Discover the Gift of a Lifetime

Robert R. McCormick, born in 1880, lived on the grounds from the 1920s until his death in 1955. Cantigny is open to the public and part of the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, a nonprofit public charity based in Chicago. It was named after a small village in France, where Colonel McCormick commanded an artillery battalion in 1918 as a member of the U.S. Army’s First Division. The Battle of Cantigny was America’s first victory in World War I.

Robert R. McCormick died in 1955 at age 74. His will established the Robert R. McCormick Charitable Trust and designated Cantigny as a public space for education and recreation. This extraordinary gift, now part of the McCormick Foundation, enriches our community every day and is enjoyed by more than 300,000 visitors each year. We invite you to enjoy the Colonel’s gift! Visit Cantigny Park and walk through history, enjoy nature, and create lasting family memories. (https://cantigny.org/about-cantigny/history-mission/)

Beautiful flowers everywhere

Rose garden

These were all different varieties of Joseph's Coat

There were a number of "interesting" chairs scattered around the grounds -- this one made me think of Alice in Wonderland for some reason - I guess the color!

Beautiful masses of flowers

It was really hot, so the water fountain beckoned us to come closer to it!

We talked to a docent who was near the water fountain - she recommended a couple of other garden areas that we should see (and that had shade!).

The rock garden

An interesting creation in the rock garden area!

Neat how the flowers were planted amongst the rocks

The stones looked to be large flat stones laid on their edges making the end area of the bed, and narrower large flat stones separating the planting areas.

She also told us about an area where they had been required to remove several trees (I think she said due to disease) and that the fallen trees are now part of the garden...

There was a beautiful orchid growing on this tree.

The mansion is currently under renovation so we were not able to see it.

We finished our tour by walking through the Tank Park.

There were a number of tanks on display...

...from WWI up through Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

We enjoyed our visit to Cantigny -- even though it was quite hot, it did not feel as warm as the rig felt! We were glad to have a day off for refreshing.