This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, April 19, 2011 - I want to go there. And there. And there. And there, too.
That's my first reaction after reading "Sidetracked in the Midwest, A Green Guide for Travelers," by Mary Bergin.
My next reaction is this well-documented guide to all things green in five Midwestern states is not really meant to be read from cover to cover, as I did. Unlike a novel or biography, this book is better suited for when readers want to hunt and peck their way around the various settings in search of a perfect destination.
"Sidetracked," published by Itchy Cat Press, is appropriately scheduled for release on April 22 -- Earth Day 2011. Throughout the book, newspaper woman turned travel writer Bergin points out the "unusual, fun, eccentric, and green nooks and crannies throughout the Midwest," her promotional materials explains. Throughout, she offers a mix that includes low-budget to luxury eco-aware projects in rural areas and cities, alike.
Bergin explores four categories of ecotourism: food and drink, lodging and retreats, nature and wildlife, and the old and the new. Previously, the Wisconsin native stayed closer to home. Her other books include "Sidetracked in Wisconsin; A Guide for Thoughtful Travelers," and "Hungry for Wisconsin: A Tasty Guide for Travelers." This time, in addition to her beloved home state, Bergin takes readers to Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota. Near the end, she offers glimpses of four more cities, including St. Louis.
Bergin describes destinations that meet LEED standards, recycle and refurbish old buildings, serve locally grown food, operate "off the grid" and especially, those that show respect for nature.
Readers might expect to find Chicago's Shedd Aquarium or the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wis., among the featured sites. Even for such predictable places, Bergin presents insider information.
For the well-known Shedd, for example, Bergin writes: "Plants in some of the aquarium's lush gardens are specifically grown and snipped to feed lizards, turtles and some of the fish. Shrimp-like mysids, fruit flies, water fleas, micro-algae and other food are also raised on the premises." Who knew?
The International Crane Foundation received only a brief mention, tagged on at the end of Bergin's account of Baraboo's Aldo Leopold Legacy Center. But Bergin makes a curious traveler want to add the site to her bucket list after reading that this is "the only place in the world that offers refuge to all 15 species of cranes."
The book is arranged by state, with maps and page numbers at the beginning of each section. For the geography-challenged, such as myself, it would have been nice if Bergin had added a small map at the start of each city section, to help keep track of the new locations. Instead, I found myself flipping back to the start of each state section to find where one place was, in relation to another.
The book is filled with colorful photographs and features many lesser-known locales. In Effingham, Ill., -- about 100 miles east and north of St. Louis -- Bergin describes the Firefly Grill, where "staff walk outside to harvest ingredients as they are needed." In 2008, Bergin writes, "Bon Appetit chose Firefly Grill as one of the nation's top 20 eco-friendly restaurants."
Superlatives fill this book: the Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, Ill., hold the Roth Journal of Japanese Gardens' rating as best in North America; the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Prairie City, Iowa, has what "is considered the nation's largest reconstruction of a tallgrass prairie ecosystem." Grand Rapids, Mich., wins high praise as having "one of the world's highest concentrations of environmentally progressive buildings and earned the title of 'America's greenest city' from Fast Company magazine."
For folks who want to stick close to the St. Louis area, Bergin profiles Cahokia Mounds, in Collinsville. Visited by history buffs and children on school field trips, Cahokia has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982, she writes. Other Illinois notables include the Green Retreat in Murphysboro and the Bluffdale Vacation Farm near Eldred.
Although the book does not spend much time in Missouri, Bergin offers brief passages on Kansas City and St. Louis, with Kansas City's Arabia Steamboat Museum offering visitors a lesson in history and preservation.
And while many St. Louis-area folks have at least heard of, if not visited the City Museum, Schafly's Bottleworks or McMurphy's Grill, seeing these places through Bergin's eyes will make some people want to visit each one for themselves.
The City Museum, Bergin writes, is St. Louis' "ultimate recycling project," and Schlafly's Bottleworks in Maplewood has its own garden, which produces 3,600 pounds of vegetables each season for the restaurant's daily specials. Bergin hails McMurphy's Grill, in downtown St. Louis, for providing job training to mentally challenged or once homeless adults. This, she writes, is the first of its kind in the United States.
Most of the listings include a telephone number and Web address, so readers can do further research.
To read "Sidetracked in the Midwest" is like listening an old friend. People who seek to walk a particularly eco-friendly path will want to add this book to their collection. Others might be surprised that they can learn about fun and different things to do and places to go, while gaining the added benefit of helping make the Earth a better place.
