A friend and I recently exchanged opinions on our “most hated Chicago-area expressway.” Mine was the Eisenhower (I-290), which leads west from Chicago’s downtown. Hers was the stretch of I-94 that heads south and is always infested with semi-trucks. It’s known locally as the Dan Ryan, and I do agree that my friend has a point.

But 7:30 a.m. this past Thursday found me tooling down the Dan Ryan en route to Peoria, and would you believe, I found myself rather enjoying the ride. It was a beautiful October day, the traffic wasn’t yet its usual miserable self, and I wasn’t being tailgated by any semis. But what really got this early morning drive off to a happy start was the sight of the red Boston ivy vines clambering up the concrete retaining walls that adjoin the roadway. What intricate curving patterns they formed against the gray background. Why, it was downright pretty!

The Dan Ryan vines were a good omen for the day and a reminder that beauty isn’t just in the eye of the beholder. Rather if we keep our eyes open, we can behold beauty in the most unexpected places. 

— Carolyn Ulrich

Photo Courtesy of Bailey Nurseries