Illinois Playlist: kzread.info/head/PLkAKbwTlGHeKoOBxconpFSyUSO32NKREy Tourist Town Playlist: kzread.info/head/PLkAKbwTlGHeIK0derEsREcoMSIav1JpxA USA Small Towns Playlist: kzread.info/head/PLkAKbwTlGHeILqWIwMkMLAV7t7UeD7E8J ==================================================================== EVERYTHING THAT I USE IN THE FIELD: Main Camera: amzn.to/3iS4vvF Side Cameras: amzn.to/2WuCYIs Media Mod for Camera: amzn.to/3j7CMGF Lav Mic: amzn.to/3lsMkz9 Drone: amzn.to/3ITcKBV SD Cards: amzn.to/3C2co9O Camera Mounts: amzn.to/2UXVR6p Cables Required for Longer Recordings: amzn.to/3BYnr3Q Computer: amzn.to/3787b2j External Hard Drive: amzn.to/3lb23Tf WHAT I USE AT HOME: Computer: amzn.to/3rKIdiN Sound Mixer: amzn.to/3C15Ubx Microphone: amzn.to/2VaCjvo Microphone Accessories: amzn.to/3v7A35Z INTERACTIVE MAP that shows you all of the places that I've made videos on: (Doesn't always work on mobile devices. Will always work on PC.) www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edit?hl=en&mid=1Lhzf04ocimPu-ROkg4cfXEYEvKMNnlI5&ll=43.06219876674538%2C-83.82163216337808&z=10 SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTACT INFO: Email: ChrisHardenYT@Gmail.com On Twitter: twitter.com/Chris_Harden55 On Instagram: instagram.com/c_harden7/?... On Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisHardenYT/ DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. As an Amazon Associate I do earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. As always, thank you for supporting my channel!

@leerothman7570

3 жыл бұрын

I just wanted you to know I just subscribed to your channel a few days ago and have been binge watching all your video's. They are so nicely done with excellent stability. I personally love your technique of the speed you operate at. The video quality is also superb. I'm a professional photographer and have been a musician for well over 50 years. I particularly admire your music choices for the backgrounds, not the typical annoying rap, rock and junk.......very smooth and engaging. Love those blubs about historic details as well. I used to travel for a living, am originally from Chicago (wouldn't live in that sewer anymore that's for sure) and have been in almost every small town or city you visit in your video's. It's a great memory trip to see them again even though many are in the trash bin now. Keep up the good work my man you are leagues beyond the others trying to do the same on KZread.

@ChrisHarden

3 жыл бұрын

@@leerothman7570 That is quite the compliment, I appreciate the kind words and I’m glad that you enjoy the videos!

I grew up here at in 2001-2007. Loved this town, even as a teenager. I had lots of friends, roamed the streets on our bikes before driver’s license, and always had something to do without getting in trouble. Very small town but everyone was family. I miss those days. Best time of my life in this town and I won’t trade it for anything. I was extremely lucky to live here and know the friends I knew.

Overgrown bushel to the left at 4:18 is my childhood backyard 😢

@thickchip2694

Жыл бұрын

I do gotta say, facts on the boring teenager part

Galena also has the oldest continually owned and operated Post Office in America, and is one of the first in the United States.

@IAX1126

Жыл бұрын

Zzzzzzz

Brings back a lot of good memories. The Ulysses S Grant house museum is worth visiting.

Galena is a great town to visit. Thanks for the great video!

Galena is basically owned by Chicago people who show up every weekend and has jacked up real estate prices so high the average person can't afford a home here. Also just check out the prices on main street.....

@melissabryan3043

2 ай бұрын

You are correct! I only know because my family from the Chicago area had beautiful "weekend" houses...not anymore. I also lived here in downtown for a year and I was so happy to get out! The tourists that took over and fighting for parking spots by our apartment was ridiculous! Very cliquey also since it's very small.

Park your car and walk everywhere, it's a beautiful city , fantastic restaurants, wonderful hotels and friendly people. Very historic, like taking a trip to Europe, where everything is old, I've been to Europe and to Galena, I would rather go to Galena, very romantic city

The Galena River used to be a much larger river than what it is now. I'm not sure exactly when, but it was decades if not a century ago that the river level receded. The Belevedere Mansion, which used to be a steamboat captain's home and you can see on the far right at 19:46, used to sit very near to the river's edge.

Galena has been a favorite of my wife and I to go and visit and vacation at. It's rare to be able to park somewhere in town and then walk and get everywhere. It's a bicyclist/walker's dream of getting around.

Galena is a great place for a weekend getaway. About 3.5 hours from where I live in central Illinois. Often camp at Mississippi Palisades state park which is about 25 miles south of Galena and then run up to Galena for a day or sometimes just for dinner. Desoto House has a restaurant/bar that has great food... Somebody else mentioned Blackjack Road which is definitely a fun road on a motorcycle!

Excellent, as usual! Your broadcast voice is mellow and articulate, and I also love that you do the traffic reports for WRCJ-FM!

@ChrisHarden

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the kind words! I think you're the first one to comment on my channel and reference hearing me on the radio, that's awesome!

I love galena I have lived here my who life its amazing town im 14 btw

My ancestor had the business of buying and running cattle from MO to Galena to feed the lead miners at Galena in 1837. He did go between MO and Galena a few times before heading to Dubuque, IA to settle for several years.

Parts of the movie Field of Dreams were filmed in Galena.

@joejonas3684

7 ай бұрын

Yep! The part where he goes back in time to meet Moonlight Graham up in Minnesota was all filmed in Galena

At 5:09, the brick house on the left is a great AirBNB place.The only time I've seen the streets closed is for their annual Halloween Parade which is HUGE. Also, there's a scenic overlook in front of the old high school with a real nice view. Great video! I love it!

It's only a 120 mile drive for us so my wife and I have been there several times. It can be crowded on weekends so if you can, going during the week. If you do go be sure to take the a trolley ride around town. A very interesting guided tour, well worth it.

We booked ourselves a week at an AirBNB house in Galena last fall, for an isolated pandemic getaway. The place had a great grill and a fire pit, so I made several trips through downtown to that Wal*Mart NW of town to buy things to cook on the grill. It was a much-needed escape from home isolation. Those busy downtown streets were pretty quiet thanks to Covid, I can't imagine how crowded they'd get on a nice summer day in more normal times.

@jodypearce2510

3 жыл бұрын

You might as well park in the old depot parking lot across the river. You would crawl with a car pre-COVID times.

@cvkline

3 жыл бұрын

@@jodypearce2510 It was pretty slow driving through downtown even with the Covid slowdown anyway! You are right that it's much nicer when walking, so just leaving the car elsewhere makes a lot of sense. Plus you get to walk across that fun bridge across the river from Grant Park! 🙂

Great Channel, informative and well placed humor!!

great video, we spent every summer with my mom and dad going to Galena, it's changed a lot but still beautiful, especially the Galena country with the winding roads and views...

@sarahawkins1917

3 жыл бұрын

So what do people do their on vacation and where do they stay I didn't see any hotels

Chestnut Mountain Ski/Snow Board Resort is close by. Good food, hotel, great slopes, and top drawer instructors.

I miss going out to Galena in the fall, so beautiful 😍 Awesome italian restaurant above an antique store.

Nice video Chris! Good call mentioning the beauty of The Driftless Area☺

I also thought it was weird how such a tiny river could be so busy. Last time I was there I took one of those trolley tours and they said that the Galena River used to be quite a bit larger back in its heyday. I can't remember all the details but a combination of river bank collapses and construction work shrunk the river width down to where it is now. It was a good tour, I recommend it!

Came here for Valentine's day. It was such an amazing experience. Despite it being cold af, and a lot of the stores being closed on Monday and Tuesday, we still managed to have a lot of fun! Would definitely go back when it's nicer outside of course haha.

Thank you! I hope to visit here this next summer! There is so much to see in this area!

@sarahawkins1917

3 жыл бұрын

What do people go there to see and where do they stay overnight I didn't see any hotels

Hi there I will always enjoy watching your KZread videos

Great video. I was just in the area a couple weeks ago skiing. I always loved the rolling hills of JoDavies county.

Its pretty in the fall. Lots of nice views in the area.

I used to live in IL and visited Galena, along with numerous other locations you've documented, in my younger days. I appreciate the time it takes to create these driving visits, but it would be great if you could incorporate a moving map in the upper corner that pinpoints your location as you move. This would give a great perspective on where you are at a given point.

Thank you I did enjoy your video. Thank you

I'm going to Galena tomorrow, stating at a house with a hot tub and a pool nearby. I'm really excited and it looks gorgeous. I have no clue what we're gonna do there, but my cousins are planning to possibly go skiing somewhere. I love visiting different places, especially since I live pretty close to Chicago and it can be pretty busy. Chicago can be really pretty but I'm looking forward to staying in Galena for a few days.

I think you do a great job keep up the great work

For all my traveling and growing up in Chicago, it's odd that I never visited Galena, Il. or the Wisconsin Dells. Looks like if I were to want real winters again, Galena is pretty enough to put up with the cold.

@DacAL_8

2 жыл бұрын

Don’t forget Devils Lake south of WI Dells in Baraboo, WI. Grab your hiking or trail shoes and start North of the East Bluff!

@ameliarhodes5000

2 жыл бұрын

@@DacAL_8 I'm sure it's cool. But if I ever make it back to Wisconsin, it's Top O' the Thumb for me and fish Creek and Sister Bay and Newport State Park beaches (on the Michigan side).

@DacAL_8

2 жыл бұрын

@@ameliarhodes5000 It’s door county in WI. Beautiful place! I highly recommend Duluth, MN just across Superior , WI and drive HWY MN61 north to the Canadian border. Along HWY MN61, there are 7 state parks that you can explore (it’s waterfall heaven! )

@dawnboren594

Жыл бұрын

Loved the Dells and camping at Devils Lake

Great Street views of Galena, Illinois in this Video!!!! I was about ten miles from Galena on the 4th of July. F+L, Corey

Another great video. My next 2 tour suggestions are Platteville, Wisconsin and Streator, Illinois.

@ChrisHarden

3 жыл бұрын

I'll get to both one day, can't promise when.

@raymondgoodrichii2559

2 жыл бұрын

Streator ,Illinios is a great subject very historical place.

Nice town I was able to stop by last year!

@ChrisHarden

3 жыл бұрын

It is nice!

Did you know that the highest natural point in Illinois,Charles Mound, is a short distance from Galena? You can’t convince anyone from that area of the Midwest that the earth is flat. Lol 😂 Also a town near galena, Mount Carroll, has the dubious distinction of having the record lowest temperature ever recorded in Illinois, -37 F, recorded in January 2019.

I stayed at the campground at 2:00 on a couple campouts back when I was in Scouts! I wouldn't mind coming back to Galena as an adult, but I haven't been able to come up with an excuse.

Thanks

Blessings from collinsville illinois 4 hrs from downtown Chicago

@tutorialsbyaaron6707

3 жыл бұрын

Same but I live in Ofallon Illinois

I love Galena, and I have been there many times. U. S. Grant was NOT the only General to come out of Galena during the Civil War...there were 9 total! I have moved South and I now reside in a similar town in Mississippi called Natchez. Natchez voted against secession and were very welcoming of Union troops taking over during the Civil War. That's why today there are many antebellum homes here unlike Vicksburg Mississippi. One of the most toured homes here called Longwood was under construction at the beginning of the war and was completed on the outside, but not the inside. The workers were from the North, and when the war broke out they dropped their tools and took off for the North...the tools remain where they left them to this day! I have toured Grants home in Galena, and the most impressive thing is that 95% of the furnishings were actually owned by the Grants as opposed to the antebellum homes here in the South which are filled with furnishings from the period, but not from the original owners.

Galena Illinois has alittle bit of the Wisconsin feel and the Wisconsin charm to it.

@tammybrown4901

Жыл бұрын

Oh I'd love that

Wish Illinois has more towns like Galena. I have few in mind (although not in the beautiful Driftless region)

Do you do a video of Carroll County? Mount Carroll, Savanna, Lanark, Chadwick, Shannon, Thomson, Milledgeville?

You should do the Cleveland, Akron, Kent, Youngstown and Canton (my hometown) areas. Lots of hidden gems and small towns.

@ohioalphornmusicalsawman2474

2 жыл бұрын

I agree. Chris should drive through Millcreek Park if he does a Youngstown video, one of the nicest urban parks in the country

I 💟 Illinois, Rosalind Renee Gibbs,Springfield.

You should check out Makanda Illinois. It is very unique, and one of a kind. It has Giant City Park, and former Senator Paul Simon was from there.

Was just there last week for a couple of nights

First comment. Great city

You forgot to mention the recreational cannabis dispensary you drove past on 115 Perry st. Veralife has some amazing herb. Gelena is a great town.

Surprised with how hilly Galena is

@glennso47

3 жыл бұрын

The whole area of Northwest Illinois has hills, hills, and more hills, Very surprising since most of the rest of Illinois, is as flat as a pancake.

@Suneed1997

3 жыл бұрын

@@glennso47 I didn’t know that, been in the suburbs my whole life until I moved to ny and then va lol

@juanthompson8016

2 жыл бұрын

Peoria is pretty hilly

I've been to Galena Illinois before and man its awesome its like St.Charles Missouri on Steroids.

Looks like Galena has some pretty narrow streets. You gotta think thin when you are traveling on them ! lol

Can you do a tour in Dearborn Michigan

I like the video concept, and your commentary - the music not so must. Just my opinion. My Grandpa Edwin G. Hoffmann designed the floodgates. It was his first project.

I have a big chunck of southern IL galena in my room here. its heavy!

My aunt lives in Galena IL

I walked Galena Main Street once. It is a tourist trap with lots of expansive souvenirs stores. But it was a nice experience.

I got married in Galena . I been there many times only live about 1hr 30 minutes away from Galena from prairie du Chien Wisconsin

@sarahawkins1917

3 жыл бұрын

Suggest a few things to do there and where would I stay I didn't see any hotels

Did you get a chance to take ride down Stagecoach or Blackjack Rd. ?

@ChrisHarden

3 жыл бұрын

Nope

My uncle likes to go to Galena many times cause he is a 100% Galenian

Would like to live here...

@thickchip2694

Жыл бұрын

Imma move back someday

It was actually interesting to hear the justification for the high crime there by blaming it on the tourists, but I don’t ever hear that for Chicago and Chicago is the number one tourist city in Illinois

Galena art and recreation center used to be a catholic grade school, St. Michaels

you would think Chicago is for 2 reasons 1 the largest city / town in ILL and 2nd Navy Peir is the #1 tourist spot in the midwest

Belvedere Illinois is the easternmost city in the Rockford area before Mchenry county which is a Chicago suburban county

@ChrisHarden

3 жыл бұрын

Yup

Very nostalgic. Just replace the cars with horse & buggies.

@ChrisHarden

3 жыл бұрын

Maybe one day I can rent out the town and order everyone to leave for a KZread filming, and hire actors and get trained horses to fill the streets with horse and buggies. Any cars that get left behind will be towed at the owners expense.

@Bladeoceanic

3 жыл бұрын

@@ChrisHarden And don't forget the black & white filter lol

What about the post office? Famous for being the oldest post office east of the Mississippi and being built by Ely Parker, Grant’s adjutant and the first Indian to be in charge of the Indian affairs office

I take it Rockford is up next.

@ChrisHarden

3 жыл бұрын

Very soon.

@kennetho5393

3 жыл бұрын

@@ChrisHarden plenty of hoods to cruise through. Thank God you made it out.

Where were the lead mines? Surely they didn't vanish without a trace. Go to the Keweenaw peninsula of the U.P. of Michigan.

Did grant come back to Galena after his presidency? Or did he go elsewhere?

That river isn't any wider than the canals that run through the Midlands in England

First you said the state wrong the S is silent.

Galena is also Russian female name!

It's a shame they messed it up with high end specialty shops with extremely high priced merchandise pretty much all the real cute antique shops are gone and it's become a back wash of Chicago it's no longer the cute and Friendly town it used to be.

I don't see how anyone could drive a semi in this town!

Is it accurate to say that many of those depressed towns like Danville, Cairo, Springfield, and Decatur in rural Illinois once looked like this?

@ChrisHarden

3 жыл бұрын

Maybe, it’s hard to say.

Slow down. Some parts go by too fast.

El Galena Cartel, Plata o Plomo !

Illinois is the second flattest state in the US, Florida being flatter.

@fluorite1965

3 ай бұрын

Ever been to Louisiana?

Desoto House is overrated

I went to Galena last sunday, but I feel that people there are racist, they kept looking at me like I was an E.T. Or something,

A STOP ON ROUTE 66.

its pretty yeah but dont move here if youre gay, disabled, a poc, etc. everyones rude, theres no resources for special needs or lgbt connection, and the stuff that IS here is full of twofaced people. lived here for 10 years and i wish I'd stayed in california, which says a lot. the countryside is very pretty though

Illinois has tourists? Why?

@Poisondartfrognamedspike

3 жыл бұрын

We have some decent spots in IL it’s not all terrible

@joejonas3684

3 жыл бұрын

Yes it does. Galena, another popular area is Starved Rock State Park, and of course Chicago is a very popular tourist spot. Chicago ranks very high when it comes to tourism

@glennso47

3 жыл бұрын

@@joejonas3684 Carroll County has some great fishing and hunting.

This was boring