Earlier this week, I'd to make a couple of (road) trips between Chicago O'Hare and one of the oldest suburbs in Chicago, called Joliet, a distance of ~ 40 miles. As I passed through the town, Joliet Regional Airport (KJOT) appeared on my route. I knew of Joliet long before I settled in Chicago, thanks to a Novel "On the Road" by the American Author Jack Kerouac, who is one of my favorite authors, noted for his spontaneous and down-to-earth prose style. And supposedly, "On the Road" was his most famous book.

In this book, Chicago appears numerous times and Joliet appears a few times too. Here, below, are just a few extracts from the book (Chicago and Joliet bolded by yours truly):

1. "High up over my head the great hairy Bear Mountain sent down thunderclaps that put the fear of God in me. All I could see were smoky trees and dismal wilderness rising to the skies. "What the hell am I doing up here?" I cursed, I cried for Chicago."
2. "And I swore I'd be in Chicago tomorrow, and made sure of that, taking a bus to Chicago, spending most of my money, and didn't give a ..., just as long as I'd be in Chicago tomorrow."
3. "I arrived in Chi(cago) quite early in the morning, got a room in the Y, and went to bed with a very few dollars in my pocket. I dug Chicago after a good day's sleep." [My note: Hmm..."dug"...🙂..., the term meaning "liked" or "appreciated", associated with the so-called Beat Generation's language...]
4. "To get out of the impossible complexities of Chicago traffic I took a bus to Joliet, Illinois, went by the Joliet pen, stationed myself just outside town after a walk through its leafy rickety streets behind, and pointed my way. All the way from New York to Joliet by bus, and I had spent more than half my money."

The township of Joliet also happens to be located on Route 66, also known as the Mother Road or Main Street of America, a historic highway in the U.S., officially established in the year 1926. As I was driving through Joliet, historic signs remind today's traveler of this Route 66.

Anyway, I wished to travel these 40 miles today in the comfort of air from Joliet Regional to O'Hare Airport. From my recent drives, I knew, geographically speaking, there was nothing much to see except the frequent (roadway) signs for the (ubiquitous) institutions of McDonalds and Starbucks etc. 🙂... (the Chicago downtown skyline is farther east beyond O'Hare airport towards the Lake shore). This is all in the flatlands of Illinois, though quite busy in terms of traffic that would have confounded Jack Kerouac, if he thought the Chicago Traffic of 1957 was bad enough. 

So, here we go, as I lift off northward from Joliet Regional's Runway 31, and, quickly afterwards, point my Titan's nose [Dir-To] to the (IF) Fix (HARRL) Intersection of ILS Runway 04R of Chicago O'Hare (see GPS FPLN and EFB Maps). This MS/Carenado Cessna 404 is no A2A High-Fidelity GA aircraft, but did the job well, with its autopilot responding well to my commands of GPS Navigation and LOC/GS captures, for a smooth approach and touchdown onto the tarmac at Chicago O'Hare.

Hope you enjoy this collection of images from my short but uneventful trip today, which was certainly much easier to accomplish than fighting the snarling traffic on the Interstate Highway (I-55). BTW, is it my imagination or every time I get on it, I seem to be stuck among ever increasing amount of truck and semi-trailer traffic on this I-55...Oh well...Glad for this (competent) Cessna 404 Titan at my disposal for my Air Taxi needs today...🙂...

Thanks for viewing...!

Edited July 27, 2025Jul 27 by P_7878

Your flight crews are always worth a look. 🙂

48 minutes ago, John F said:

Your flight crews are always worth a look. 🙂

...🙂...Thanks. As you know, there aren't any scenic Appalachians around here on these flatlands, John. So, frankly, there wasn't anything else worth a look on the flight ...🙂...

BTW, I've been able provide designer apparel and shades...🙂...to my flight crew, thanks to the ample selection offered by MS/Asobo...

Cheers...!

29 minutes ago, P_7878 said:

.BTW, I've been able provide designer apparel and shades...🙂...to my flight crew, thanks to the ample selection offered by MS/Asobo...

Cheers...!

At this point, that might be my only incentive for moving ahead to MS2024.🙂

Great job on that last shot.

1 hour ago, Dillon said:

Great job on that last shot.

Hmm...🙂...so, like John, no comments about my expert (and focused) pilotage right over the snarling I-55 (B2B) traffic, Dillon...🙂...Oh well...

Just kidding. Thank you for chiming in.

BTW, it's not that easy to capture the correct angle and mood of (both) my robotic pilots swinging their heads mechanically and un-naturally ...🙂...My Xbox controller's only duty is for Camera and screenshots captures. It's quite handy, everything literally on one's fingertip...

Cheers...!