It’s called the Fort Cody Trading Post and it’s along the I-80; the road we usually take when we make the car trip to Chicago. Â Bill Cody was born in Le Claire, Iowa and his grave is in Golden, Colorado.
We were on a little road trip to Oak Lawn, Illinois- a south suburb of Chicago. It was time to visit the oldest accordion company in the U.S.
and try out a concertina
or a Monterrey diatonic
sold in many colors
Interestingly they sell the same cheap Chinese made “Cajun” accordions that are available on EBAY for around $250. They are not worth more than $80. The word via the internet has kept this market price on the high side.  If you want a good 10 button accordion, buy one from C.J. Martin or  Marc Savoy and expect to pay more than $2000.
Here your dog can take a break at the Raptor Observation building and look for wildlife at a safe distance. Â Duncan can see the raptors but they can’t see him.
3 to 5 inches of fresh snow
We were the first visitors this Sunday morning; It’s a small hike from the house to the Fromme Prairie and Duncan was delighted to finally play in some snow.
No snakes today!
It’s about 25 degrees today; Not a whole lot of activity on the trail.
Duncan Madog off his leash for about 10 seconds
The Prairie
Named for a former city council member, the Cathy Fromme Natural Area is an ideal place to view bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, golden eagles and ferruginous hawks.
Compare with our last time we visited! Â The wind chill was -17 degrees and some parts of the trail had about 12 feet of snow! Â Lucky for us we rented some snowshoes from the local sporting goods store.
A RMNP guide tells us what to expect
Heck, this is many times safer than snowboarding; All you really have to do is know how to walk! Â The snowshoes keep your feet from sinking into the deep snow while the poles can be used to prod the person ahead of you if they begin to slow down.
On the way back
Most of the group took the quick way down which included the ‘Sitzmark’ method of fall-line travel. Â The best recommendation for this kind of trip is to have on-hand some fresh chemical hand/foot warmers. Â The ones that oxidize iron appear to be the best; They produce an exothermic reaction on exposure to air: 4Fe + 3O2 –> 2Fe2O3.
