You can read them one day at a time or skip around. Just click on a day, and it will take you there. Some are more interesting than others.
Day 1 Start of trip. Heading thru Wisconsin to La Crosse.
Day 2 Short day. From La Crosse, Ws. to Rochester, Mn.
Day 3 Interesting day. From Rochester, Mn. to Maquoketa, Ia.
Day 4 Interesting. From Maquoketa, Ia. to Fort Madison, Ia.
Day 5 From Fort Madison, Ia. to Hannibal, Mo. to Macomb, Il.
Day 6 From Macomb, Il. to Home.
Anyway…got a late start because I worked too much and not enough. Had to work this morning to finish up. Then run home and pack and water my yard before we could go. I probably should have taken a nap first but I love a challenge. We originally were going to head to Buffalo City, Wis. to Bob and Sis’s place but Steve called ahead and there weren’t any rooms available nearby to stay at. We could have stayed at Bob’s if necessary but we hate to impose and by the time we got to Reedsburg, Wis. we decided just to head to La Crosse. Good thing to because I was so exhausted that if I so much as blinked I would fall asleep and falling off my motorcycle while it is moving is not in my game plan…ever! OUCH!
When we started out it was chilly enough for me to wear a sweatshirt and a windbreaker pullover, about an hour into the ride we had to put our leather jackets on. Brrrr. We stopped in Sauk City on the way so I could get the first of what I hope will be 5 Harley shirts from 5 different states. We stopped there last year on our trip and they were working on the building then. They are done now…and WOW! ..nice place.
From 12 we took 33 west. Nice ride. We went through a couple of Amish communities. When we went through one of them we passed a horse and buggy and I was worried our noisy bikes would freak out the horse but just as I was thinking that I heard Steve pull the clutch in on his bike (no loud exhaust noise then) and sighed a sigh of relief. Well there was more great scenery and then we passed yet another Amish town? Where there was a house I say was on fire but Steve says it wasn’t. Steve didn’t see the old woman freaking out and sending all the kids out of the house quickly. I wanted to stop and make sure because they don’t have phones and if their house was on fire maybe we could have helped. Steve just kept right on going …so against my better judgment I just kept going and said a little prayer for those people and I hope someone heard me because it’s gonna keep me up nights.
After that we went through Wildcat Mountain State Park. The scenery was just gorgeous and damn near got me killed a couple of times because I could barely pull myself away from looking at it in time the make the extremely sharp twisty turns that wound through this park. I definitely gave myself more than a few shots of adrenalin! I found myself wishing I was on a horse traveling through this part of the country before anyone else. How hard it would have been to keep on going and not stop so you could settle there and wake up to those views everyday. But being the die hard gambler that I am I probably would have bet that there would be better views to come and would have just kept on going.
A little while after the park we had a little jack rabbit run across the road. He was far enough ahead of Steve for Steve to miss him but the stupid thing freaked out and headed right for Steve’s front wheel! Somehow he managed to miss him…I watched the whole thing and I still can’t figure out how he did! They both turned to look at each other and I swear I saw little comic bubbles above each of their heads and both said….Dumb Ass!! Anyway the stupid rabbit ran away so luckily I didn’t have to avoid him as well.
Well, we finally made it to La Crosse and started looking for a room. Steve stopped at the first place that sounded good to him. He went in to see if they had rooms and they promptly told him that they didn’t have any and they didn’t know of anyone in town that did. Well Steve just spazzed out. He cursed me and the world and swore we would not do this again! The poor boy has absolutely no sense of adventure!! Anyway I saw a couple places on our way to this one that looked somewhat empty so we went to one and lo and behold….they had a room. I wanted steak for dinner and Steve wanted pizza. I went to bed hungry.
We decided not to go up and see Bob and Sis and just head to Rochester, Minn. We took 90 across the Mississippi to 61 down to 16 then headed west. 16 is a scenic route and most of it was! Absolutely cool. It followed some little river that had obviously flooded in the near past because you could see silt pile ups on the sides and huge trees that had been uprooted and carried down from somewhere. I should have stopped to take some pictures. We passed a thousand potential paintings on this road! The road was very curvy and hilly. There were a ton of hawks and eagles flying around ….a few of which I watched too long and almost missed a turn here and there. This road eventually isn’t so scenic but it goes through a part of a State park. There was a cave there so we went to check it out. Mystery Cave it was called. The last 5 miles or so to this damn cave were all gravel road… not biker friendly in the least. Anyway we finally get there and the tours on weekends are two hours long. Steve did not want to leave our bikes with all our stuff out of our sight that long. I decided that being in a cramped dark place for two hours was probably more than I could handle myself so the Mystery Cave shall forever remain a mystery to us. The weather was perfect for riding! Lots of sunshine but cold enough to wear sweatshirt and pullover. We are staying in Rochester, Minn. a couple of blocks away from Mayo. Tomorrow we head into Iowa and they are calling for rain in the afternoon. Hopefully it will hold off.
Today our mission was to make it all the way to Maquoketa, Ia. Mission accomplished at great expense. I am so cramped up right now I can hardly think straight. The first thing we had to do was find the Harley dealer so I could get a Minn. Harley shirt and that caused us to alter our route a little bit. It proved very worthwhile a few minutes after leaving there. We were cruising down the road when we came across a couple of low flying hawks! Beautiful. One of them flew up along side of me almost close enough to touch. Very cool!! He stayed with me about a minute I guess (it seemed like longer) and for a few seconds I swear I was him and he was me. Very freaky but very cool! Then I looked one last time at him with awe and wonder and he looked at me like I was too big to eat and away he went. A little later we decided to take a little break and pulled into a gas station that was all gravel. Where I stupidly pulled off the road it was all sand about 6" deep. I didn’t see it until it was too late. First thing I know my front tire is breaking loose. UH OH! Well I gave it a little gas and that straightened out my front tire but sent my rear tire out from under me. Double UH OH! Well, there was a line of cars behind me when I turned in and I was not going to humiliate myself by going down in front of a bunch of guys who think women belong on the backs of bikes not on their own…so with nothing left to lose but my dignity I gave it a little more gas and made it out of the sand! WHEW!!!
Not long after that we went through another Amish community and came across yet another horse and buggy. A much smaller and younger horse than the previous ones. Well, Steve pulled in his clutch as usual but as soon as he passed he let it out and his bike is very loud! I was about 20 yards behind him and I could hear it clearly, so could the poor horse! Well, she totally wigged out and reared up and then took a sharp turn to the right, down the steep embankment! I could see the poor guy in the buggy frantically grabbing the reins trying to pull them back fast enough to keep her from going nuts but it was too late. When I looked in my rear view mirror I saw that they made it safely down the embankment but were going hell on wheels through a weed field! I felt so bad for that poor guy. Steve had no idea what he did, I had to tell him later.
Anyway all the roads through Mn. were excellent! Next to no traffic and lots of curves and very scenic! About 10 miles from the border we headed south on 26 which is where we picked up the Great River Road. We finally stopped for lunch in Lansing, Ia. We ate at Sweeney’s on the River. Great hamburger and great view of the river! Whilst we were eating, the owner seeing that we rode there decided to tell us about an Illinois rider whom the day before had a local pull into his lane. His buddy just clipped the local’s rearview mirror but he was not so lucky. He went through the guy’s windshield. They had to air lift him out of there. They said he had his leathers on and a helmet but seemed pretty doubtful that he would make it. Anyway that quaint little story sucked the cool buzz right out of me. That was all I could think about for quite awhile after that. It’s not fun to ride in terror! A little fear is ok but terror? No.
We stopped at Effigy Mounds State Park along the way. In order to see the Indian mounds we would have had to hike a couple of miles and we weren’t dressed for that and we still had 100+ miles to ride so on we went. Next we stopped at Pike’s Peak State Park. (yes it is named after the same guy) They have an overlook there where you can view the Mississippi and surroundings for about 50 miles in 3 directions on a cloudy day. The view is right in front of where the Wisconsin river runs into the Mississippi. Not long after this park we got off the Great River Road to head to Maquoketa. Susie was right I think…it would be a great drive in the fall.
Anyway from about Caledonia, Mn. we had big black clouds hovering behind us and then over us. They finally went east and we went south. Otherwise another perfect riding day!
OH NO! The sky does not look too inviting this morning. Well, it seems that Animosa and Amana are out of the question today as we really do not feel like riding into severe thunderstorms. So we’ll head to Fort Madison and maybe I’ll actually get to see a museum or something.
Well, we headed due south on 61 with the idea of picking up the Great River Road in Davenport. We missed the turn and had to stay on 61 until Wapello. 61 was under construction the whole way! Not fun! Especially when the gravel trucks going by would quite literally sand blast you. After a couple of them passed I waited patiently to feel the warm slow drip of blood to run down my face. Ouch!! Luckily I waited for nothing. Traffic also sucked. Semis riding up my ass. Not good. All that and big black clouds hovering over us…..following us like we lassoed them and tied them to the backs of the bikes like kites. My bad karma cloud following me mercilessly? Good thing Steve’s grandma is praying for us this week.
Well, we finally made it to Wapello and got back on the Great River Road. Both the riding and my disposition improved greatly. Nice smooth road, no traffic and awesome scenery. Lots of cool old abandoned barns and houses I would have loved to explore and take pictures of. Oh well. I also saw a falcon soaring above. I’d swear it was a peregrine but they are very rare so I was either very lucky to spot one or I am just nuts. We stopped at a tombstone that was erected for an Indian Chief called Tama who was being honored for ratting out his fellow Indian's plot to kill some agents and therefore was considered loyal to the white man. I wonder how long it took us to reward his loyalty by taking his land and slaughtering his people?
When we got to Burlington, we got lost looking for the Harley dealer. We finally found it and I got my Iowa shirt. 3 down 2 to go. Then it was on to Fort Madison. We got there around 2:00 and finally ate lunch.
We then checked into our room which my extremely paranoid husband called ahead to reserve. We cooled off a little and decided to go check out the RR museum and the rebuilt fort. Of course we get there and they are closed today and tomorrow for no specific reason. No sightseeing for me. Anyway there was a riverboat right there so if I can’t see something I might as well throw my money away there! We played blackjack for about an hour and promptly lost 90 bucks. (Steve’s grandma’s prayers apparently only keep the rain away) Oh well, there goes my Jacuzzi suite at the Ritz. Ha Ha. Well, hopefully the weather will hold out tomorrow. I want a Missouri Harley shirt but it will take some serious riding to get one!!
Well it’s 6:00 am and I have to decide whether or not to ride to the dealer for a shirt. With severe storms looming everywhere I am afraid that would slow us up and we would not make it to Hannibal in time to see anything. It would be nice to see at least one historic site. The weather channel is also saying that the next several days will be wicked ones. Possibility of tornadoes, high winds, etc, etc.
I have decided, much to my extreme disappointment to forego the t-shirt. We cannot outrun this bad weather forever and I do desperately want to see something of interest to me. It would also be better to make a loop and start back towards home so that if the weather does catch up to us we won’t have so far to go. Oh well, maybe next time? Yeah right.
Before heading to Hannibal I looked over the map and discovered Nauvoo is right across the river. I haven’t been there in 24 years so I thought we’d check that out on the way. We took a toll bridge to Illinois from Fort Madison and headed south along the Great River Road to Nauvoo. Of course we got there too early to go in and see anything! So I made Steve drive up and down the roads to check out the buildings. It seems to me that they had a couple more open to the public now than they did long ago. They also had a sign about the dead sea scrolls exhibit. I would have liked to check that out!! Alas, once again I am disappointed. Oh well on to Hannibal. OH….Saw a cool bird….white body, black wing tips and tail, red head…
Will have to look that one up when I get back.
The sky kept looking grimmer and grimmer and I asked the sun to come out and play with me. He wasn’t too interested. Steve had a radio on his bike and was listening to the weather so he decided it was his job to keep updating me with the doom and gloom reports. I finally had to tell him to knock it off. I told him I asked the sun to come out and play and he just looked at me like I was nuts. So I secretly begged the sun to come out and play and by the time we got to Hannibal he did!
We followed the GRR in Illinois until Keokuk. We crossed the river again there into Missouri and picked up 61 again and took that right to Hannibal.
Finally!!! I get to see something!!!!!! YEAH!!!! We checked out Mark Twain’s boyhood home, the old museum and the new museum, and a couple of other buildings. It was very cool to see that they had the exact same first edition books that I do. There seems to have been a lot more tourist trap stores than I remember from so long ago. It would be neat to have checked them out but I had already bored Steve to death with the historical stuff.
The new museum houses 3 very cool things. The first is the whole upstairs is an exhibit of every single Saturday Evening Post that Norman Rockwell ever did. The second is much smaller exhibit of actual paintings and the original sketches that he did to illustrate some of Mark Twain’s stories. I found this to be most excellent as he has always been one of my favorite artists and I have never seen an actual painting of his……always prints. Some of his sketches I thought were better than the painting. It was cool to see the actual brush strokes for a change. I love his imagination and eye for the little moments in time that make us smile but are soon forgotten. The third thing was a mini exhibit of a woodworker’s tools. All hand tools. Awesome!!! They had a lot of stuff I would like to collect some day. A lot of the same planes I have plus many more. I could have stared and drooled all day.
Well, that done, we decided not to check out the cave or to stay. We decided it would be in our best interest to start heading back. So across the river one last time and then north along the GRR to Quincy so that I could get a Illinois Harley shirt far from home. Well I got 4 out of 5 States. I guess I can’t complain. (too much anyway) From there we headed up to Macomb. Which is where we are staying and as I am writing this it is black out and thundering and lightning out. No rain yet but hopefully it will blow over tonight!!!
Here are a few things I have learned along the way so far….
At 5:30 am it is still looking grim. It never did rain last night.
By 7:00 am it was clearing up so we decided to ride to Moline and then decide whether or not to head home or take the GRR up to Savanna and stay there. We stopped in Galesburg for gas. While there some mo who worked there pulled in and got out of his truck, looked at me, then my bike, and said "nice big vibrator". I just laughed. What a dork. When we pulled in all his buddies in the garage came out to see the chick on a bike. They were peaking around the corner like little kids hoping to catch sight of Santa. I found that thoroughly amusing.
We decided there that we would head home. The weather to the west was black. It was only a matter of time before it got to us. So, up to Moline, then to Rockford. We were passed by a couple of limos on the way to Moline. A couple of the really long ones and a few caddies. We didn’t know it yet but we were heading towards the John Deere classic, so those long limos undoubtedly had a famous golfer or two in them. Once in Moline we headed east on 88 which was under construction all the way to Dixon. Yuck. We got off in Dixon and headed northeast on 2 to Rockford. This route follows the Rock river and goes through a couple of state parks. Wow! Great scenery! Nice drive! Will have to make sure I take a drive out there this fall! Once in Rockford we crossed the river then headed east on 173 to our house. We were looking for a place to eat first though. We got stuck behind the slowest, smelliest diesel truck when leaving Rockford. And traffic prevented us from passing him. One of the great things about riding a motorcycle is being able to smell everything! One of the worst things is being able to smell everything!
Not a very exciting day. Made it to our house at last. And thus ends another motorcycle trip. We managed to stay ahead of the rain the whole way.
Note to self…..bird spotted in Nauvoo was an Eastern Kingbird.
For a grand total of 1229 miles.
That is that.