*Anchor Bar and Grill, Superior, Wisc. (Ate a great cheeseburger there in April 2020)*

Cody’s Road Trips is my personal website devoted to the many regional road trips that I like to take away from my hometown of Sterling, Illinois. I like sharing my journeys with you. Perhaps there is something that you haven’t heard of that becomes of interest with you, or someone you know. At this time, my typical travel area is about 3-5 hours from Sterling, which includes most of Illinois, eastern Iowa, southern Wisconsin and a little of northwest Indiana.

New content will be posted on an intermittent basis, as time allows due to my primary work schedule as a journalist for Shaw Media. The best way to get new updates is by subscribing – there should be a button on the bottom right corner of your screen that reads “Subscribe.”

Learn more about this website by clicking HERE. Thank you for visiting!

**Update on 2026 website activity** — The following road trips taken in 2025 are planned for content release in early 2026: Illinois Route 1 (all 3 parts of my trip), the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum (Dana, Indiana), Golconda-Rosiclaire-Elizabethtown, Shawneetown and Old Shawneetown, The original Burger King (Mattoon, Illinois), Apple River Fort (Elizabeth, Illinois) and Part 3 of my Indian Head Motor Trail trip (Sterling to Galena).

Trips taken by date ––– Trips taken by location ––– Trips by topic
**Recent road trip features are further down this page**

“Road Trip Random” Photo Album

These are odds and ends from various road trips I’ve taken … they don’t quite make it into special features, but they are cool and interesting nonetheless!
Updated 8/3/25

← Go backward — Go forward →

View my newest road trips!
I use the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to post live updates on my most recent trips – and then I write about them for features on this website later. X users can go to #CodysRoadTrips to check it all out!

↓ RECENT ROAD TRIPS ↓

Click on the picture to read about them!

Illinois Route 1 road trip
Route 1 largely follows a historic trail in eastern Illinois. At 323 miles, Route 1 is the largest ORIGINAL state highway.
The trip took place in late October.
Click here for a preview
Part 1: Log – Album
Part 2: Log – Album
Part 3: Log – Album
Further content coming soon.

Seeing Sheen:
Peoria’s venerable Catholic son
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen brought the Catholic Church to a worldwide audience through early radio and television with programs such as “The Catholic Hour” and “Life is Worth Living.” His journey begins in Peoria.
Trip taken on Aug. 1, 2025

Animals and Pioneers:
an Eastern Iowa road trip
This trip is proof that there are interesting places right under your nose that you might not have known – all you have to do is go out and roam. That’s the true beauty of a road trip.
Trip taken on July 27, 2025

Roaming around Rockford
Sometimes when you think you’ve seen everything there is to see somewhere, there’s always something different that piques your interest all of a sudden. Each trip seems to give me something new to appreciate.
Trip taken on July 30, 2025

Chief Shabbona – born 250 years ago
In northern Illinois, two legendary Native American chiefs are known well enough today that their names are familiar to the residents who live on their lands today. Black Hawk is one of them. The other is the Potawatomie chief Shabbona, whose friendliness to the migrating White man is largely the opposite of Black Hawk’s.
Shabbona was born around 250 years ago, giving me a reason to take a road trip. I go through Channahon, Morris, Seneca, Earlville, Shabbona, Utica and Triumph on this trip.
Trip taken on July 15, 2025
Extra: Bonus photo album of stuff along the way

The Quad Cities in the War of 1812
One of the most notable facts about the War of 1812 is that it affirmed that the United States was here to stay. The Quad Cities had a role in the affirmation of our nation’s prosperity during the War at two different sites.
Trip taken on June 29, 2025

The Indian Head Trail: a 3-part series on an old motor trail
Before numbered state and federal highways came into existence in the mid-1920s, getting from town to town involved a drive, buggy ride or horse ride on dirt or gravel roads. During the World War I era, roads were improved and named to help motorists get their way around Illinois. The Indian Head Trail connected Galena and Peoria.
Introduction
Part I: Peoria to Princeton
Part II: Princeton to Rock Falls
Part III: Rock Falls to Galena (coming soon)

Saint Who? In Harmon, it’s “Flannen”
When you drive by a Catholic church and find that it’s not named after the usual people – like John, Paul, Peter, Patrick or Mary – do you wonder who exactly that person was? In Harmon, in Lee County, the saint’s name is Flannan.
Trip taken on Nov. 17, 2023

Franklin Creek – a frog’s perspective
Some creeks have names, and that’s it. Some creeks don’t even have names. Franklin Creek in northern Lee County has some interesting sights around it: parks, history, machines and a grist mill.
Trip taken on April 29, 2023

Before Rock Island, there was Saukenauk
Black Hawk’s birthplace in Illinois now is a museum, woodland and lodge dedicated to the Sauk Native community and the lodge builders.
DYK: There’s a Revolutionary War connection here?
Trip taken on June 29, 2025

History enCASEd
Brand loyalty is a big deal to an Ashton farmer, and so are his old tractors he still uses many decades after they were built. He’s acquired quite the collection of Case tractors and memorabilia for his museum.
Trip taken on October 10, 2023

Pop-etstown treats
This year marks the 125th anniversary of a Prophetstown woman’s popcorn prophecy, and her kind of corn is an attraction in town – a former trailed-turned-stand outside its grocery store.
Trip taken on June 26, 2025

Toying on the farm
Dyersville, Iowa has a certain meaning depending on what people like: baseball to baseball fans and farm toys to farmers. My stop was inspired by a desire to want to learn more about agriculture for work.
Trip taken on March 29, 2025

Wandering the Freeport area
A town wiped from the map due to cholera, an old brick one-room school house and an old dam site were highlights of a mini road trip I took on this day. The three sites all are east of Freeport, two of them off the beaten path and the school house still standing near the edge of a county arterial road – a rarity for such structures from when it was built. I’ve come to appreciate Freeport’s history since I spent a year studying journalism at Highland Community College in town.
Trip taken on June 11, 2025

Iowa Route 136: Clinton to Dyersville, a driftless edge
When I’m bored and want to travel, but don’t quite know where, I’ll sometimes pick a road and travel its entirety. On this occasion, it was Iowa state route 136: Clinton to Dyersville.
Trip taken on March 29, 2025

Between Chicago and Milwaukee: “Chicwaukee” – a 3-part series
I took a 3-day tour around Chicago’s north shore suburbs and the Kenosha/Racine area (April 15-17, 2025) to see what all was there. I left wanting to come back for more, there’s plenty of interesting places!