They, by which, as ususal, I mean he, carried a backpack.   In the backpack were the things they would need, the things they carried.  Essentials.  Some to cover the eventualities, although some eventualities seemed more remote than others.   Rain seemed more possible than breakfast, for example.

Among the things they carried were:  1 umbrella, 3 pair of gasses, 1 contact lens case, a folded and refolded map,  a large ziplock baggie containing precisely one wetwipe, a small hairbrush, 2 boxes of matches, 4 boxes of RaisnBran cereal, 2 straws,  a pair of plastic knives and spoons in a snack size baggie.

And the essential list of cows by name and location.

The weather accounted for some of the stuff:   it was cool for summer, even in Chicago.   The air at 65 degrees was 11 degrees cooler than the water in Lake Michigan.   This often makes for lake effect showers in the fall, even though it was only mid-August.   But no rain;  a delightful day.

 

After cruising down the East-West Expressway from out by the North-South Tollway, to the Eisenhower and on into the Loop, we parked under the El, a block from Michigan Avenue, The Chicago Art Museurm, and the First Cow of the Day.

Chicago, this summer, is hosting some 300 fiberglass cows, each on its own pedestal.   The cows have been decorated by local artists, some with obvious corporate sponsorship, and set more or less at random around downtown Chicago.   Most are along Michigan Avenue's "Magic Mile" of shopping, with many others along the Chicago River bridges and walkways along Wacker Drive from Michgan down to and underneath the State Street Bridge.

That's where the Mooseeum is.

We saw well over a hundred of the creatures, liked three quarters of them, smiled at many and laughed outrigt over several -- either because of thier design (the London Cow wearing a Buckingham Guard's tall Bearsikin hat), or their name (Incowspicuous for a cow wearing zebra stipes) , or both (Holely Cow had holes,  Shoehorn was a cow with a shoe on her horn).

At the Water Tower (an elaborate building that looks like a small Episcopalian Cathederal) were:  a stack of three Gold Cows, overlooking Orcow (who sported an orca's fin), Stamp-ed cow (better in idea than execution), and the Merry Cow Round, who was obvious and one of the few signed to keep kids off.

That was unusual, because most of the cows were quite accessible, and many were being accessed by children.  Touring the cows was a popular activity;  we were not the only ones traipsing from blue cow to butterfly cow to the two tan cows flanking the bank (Cowardly Lions...).

Lunch was a hugh head of elephant garlic, slow roasted and served creamy hot with butter and bread, and some other stuff, a chicken breast with a roasted red pepper on it, both covered by munester cheese, etc.   But it was the garlic that stayed with us;  made the most lasting impression.

We took a roll of film, 23 shots of cows and one of the elephant.  When we got home we discovered that each and every one of the cows had its picture posted on the web at ChicagoCows.com.   So we could have saved our film. 

Except for the Elephant.

And, of course, my pictures are better.