Day 11 - Poudre Canyon and Rist Canyon

We spent most of the day in Loveland today, except for a ride to Fort Collins and Poudre Canyon. Dad had some errands to run in the morning, and then we left before noon for our ride, Dad and Ellen on their Goldwing and Margo and myself on my V-Star. We took the back roads to Ft. Collins, through Masonville and around Horsetooth Reservoir, before descending past Hughes Stadium (!) at Colorado State University. We stopped for lunch at Gibb's, sandwiches on bagels - I've never had a cold reuben before, but it was good - and then took off for Poudre Canyon. The Cache la Poudre River begins in Rocky Mountain National Park and then flows through the Roosevelt National Forest, eventually winding through Fort Collins. According to the legend, French trappers hid their gunpowder near the river, thus the name Cache la Poudre, meaning "hiding place of the powder." Poudre Canyon Road goes on forever, so we were only able to ride part of it, eventually turning toward home through part of Rist Canyon. Round trip was about 90 miles, probably more than Margo's ridden total on the back of the bike! We cooled off in the AC at home for a bit, then rode to Ace Hardware and Whiteside's, then back home again for steaks on the grill. Tomorrow morning we're helping out with a Kiwanis Club pancake breakfast - apparently dad thinks we still remember something about foodservice from our time as restaurant managers!

Day 10 - Broomfield, CO

Today was a day for visiting with family - Dad, Ellen, Margo, and I drove to Broomfield to spend the day at Gina, Steve, and Jayden's house. Although he's only 17 months old, Jayden's vocabulary is astounding. He's not quite putting sentences together, but he is stringing words together and making short phrases, and he knows more 4-syllable words than some of my high school students! He can say "motorcycle" and "calculator" and he will at least try to repeat most words that he hears. It's almost like he has to mull it over in his head a little bit, practicing in his mind what he's going to say, and then the word just pops out of his mouth. Very impressive!

Margo and I had painted a child-sized adirondack chair for Jayden, and somehow Margo fit all the pieces (and her motorcycle helmet!) in her suitcase for the flight out here. After reassembling it, we presented it to him on Monday, and he was quite taken with it. He could identify all of the pictures on the chair - truck, airplane, Elmo, choo choo, boots, and firetruck (even though he sometimes confused it with fireplace) - and he was able to sit all the way back in it and get back out again all on his own. Dad and Ellen also picked up a t-shirt for Jayden in Sturgis, complete with a teddy bear on a motorcycle, and he was happy to model it for all of us.

We all took a nice walk to Starbuck's nearby, with Jayden in his wagon that dad (Pop Pop) made for him. It was a beautiful morning to sit outside at the cafe tables. At first Jayden was happy with his Tilty cup of apple juice, but he soon became more interested in mommy's iced mocha instead. Margo remedied the situation by getting him his own Starbuck's cup full of water, and once he figured out how to use the straw, he was good to go. Jayden and I took a short walk past the shops and looked at the barn swallow nests with the baby birds waiting patiently for mom and dad to bring more food, and by then it was time to head back home for a nap, not just for Jayden but for most of us!

Once up from his nap, dad and I filled Jayden's pool for him, and Margo tried to teach him how to use his rubber ducks to spray water at people. He stayed in the water for a little while, but soon was ready to get "out now, please." By that time Gina had returned home from an appointment and soon after Steve got home too and we all walked to dinner at Woody's Wood Fired Pizza. Jayden was great at dinner, alternating sitting on my lap, Ellen's, and Gina's, and sharing pizza with us - he really likes pizza! He stood by himself for a while, just watching people walk by and taking it all in. He really is just a joy to be around. After we finished our meal, it was time to head back home and get Jayden to bed, and for us to drive back home. Tomorrow will be spent at "home" in Loveland, with some errands to be done and maybe a ride in the afternoon.

Day 9 - Rocky Mountain Wildlife Conservation Center

No riding today - after 2500 miles I'm taking a break for a day or two. We spent the morning washing the bikes and cleaning them up from the dust storm on Friday. In the afternoon we drove to Ft. Lupton to meet Steve, Gina, and Jayden to go to the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Conservation Center. There we got to see a wide assortment of wild animals, all of whom have been rescued from less than ideal situations - tigers rescued from cages at gas stations, lions and bears taken from dingy, roadside circuses, and other animals confiscated by the government or by police. The orientation taught us that there are more tigers in captivity in Texas than there are left in the wild - very sad.

On the drive into the compound we got a good look at some of the black bears and grizzly bears in their vast compounds. We got a better look at all of the tigers as we walked up the ramp to the viewing platform. Most of them were relaxing in the sun or hiding in the shade, but one decided to jump right into his pool of cool water and stayed there for the whole time we watched. We also got to see some serval cats and spotted leopards, and we also saw Eddie, a black leopard who was featured in Animal Planet's show "Growing Up Black Leopard." That's how I had heard about this place before. There were also some coatimundi, but they were too far back in a section we couldn't see well.

There were a number of lions in several different multi-acre enclosures. One male and female pair of lions lay resting directly below us, obviously well fed, and at one point the male stood up and began to roar for a minute or so, but then flopped back on the ground to relax some more! The center also houses 3 packs of wolves, only one of whom is clearly visible from the viewing platforms - they all began to howl at the same time, an amazing thing to see and hear. My nephew Jayden was fascinated, and at 17 months knows the sounds that most of the animals make and knows what they are when we point them out.

After we finished our tour, we stopped in Hudson, CO at a city park for a picnic lunch/dinner. Since this was only the 2nd time I've seen Jayden, I was captivated by him and his extensive vocabulary. He is able to repeat words that he's only just heard for the first time! His daddy tried to give him a bread-and-butter pickle chip, which he promptly spit back out like an ATM machine dispensing cash, but he toddled around saying "pickle, pickle" afterward. When we finished eating, we took Jayden over to the swings and daddy pushed him while he giggled wildly. He also tried out the slide, which he liked too, but quickly pronounced it "hot" at the bottom from sitting in the sun. Overall a very enjoyable and relaxing day. Tomorrow we'll spend in Broomfield at Steve and Gina's so I'll get to spend some more time with Jayden then.

Comparisons to Stephen King's The Stand

(3 posts today - see "Day 8" and "The iPod in my Head" below)

The Stand is one of my favorite novels, and to me, is one of Stephen King's scariest because the initial premise is a realistic one instead of a nightmarish fantasy. A superflu virus created by the military escapes and kills 99% of the human population, leaving behind only the few who are naturally immune.

While there is no apocalyptic plague in my story, I have found myself reminded of The Stand more than once on my journey. The first time was as I was riding through the fields of western Illinois, eastern Iowa, southern Minnesota, and all of South Dakota. There were stretches where I didn't see a soul or another moving vehicle for long stretches of time, and I thought that must be what it was like for the survivors of the plague as they traveled across the country to the "good people" camp in Boulder, CO or the "bad people" camp in Las Vegas, NV.

In the novel and also in the movie (with Gary Sinise, Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Ray Walston, Laura San Giacomo, Jamey Sheridan, Miguel Ferrer, Ruby Dee, and Ossie Davis), the "good" were initially drawn by dreams of Mother Abigail to Hemingford Home, Nebraska, where they gathered for the trek west to Boulder. A sign for Hemingford in Nebraska brought me back to the story again, as did several large crows, into which Jamey Sheridan's devil character turned in order to spy on the travelers.

And finally, here I am in Colorado, not far from Boulder. With the good people, my dad and stepmom, my brother and sister-in-law, my nephew, and all of my sister-in-law's family. Hopefully there will be no references to the "bad" on this trip. But I do think I will have to re-read The Stand when i get back home.

The iPod in my head

Since it didn't seem prudent to bring my ipod along for the trip - not legal to wear while driving/riding anyway - I've been making due with the music that plays in my head. I don't really consider myself to be at all musically talented, but I am a music-wannabe and I do hear songs pretty clearly in my head as they come to me. Some of these will make immediate sense, and some I don't even understand where they've come from, but for better or for worse, here is my playlist so far...I'll update it as I go along, as I'm sure I've forgotten some and will think of more later. I've tried to put them in order, relative to my route across the country.

On the Road Again - Willie Nelson
Born to Be Wild - Steppenwolf
Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head - BJ Thomas
It's Raining Men - The Weather Girls
The Pennsylvania Polka - Jimmy Sturr
Tuesday Morning - Melissa Etheridge (tribute to Flight 93)
King of the Road - Roger Miller
Ohio - Crosby, Stills, and Nash
Suicide is Painless (M*A*S*H) - Johnny Mandel (Toledo = Mud Hens = Cpl. Klinger)
Day and Night - Bette Midler (playing in Walgreens when I stopped there)
Gary, Indiana - cast of the Music Man
All that Jazz - Catherine Zeta-Jones/Bebe Neuwirth - from Chicago
Cell Block Tango - from Chicago
Duke of Dubuque - Manhattan Transfer
Pink Houses - John Mellencamp
Mississippi Queen - Mountain
Just Around the Riverbend - Judy Kuhn (from Pocahontas)
Theme from Close Encounters - John Williams
Scarecrow - Melissa Etheridge (tribute to Matthew Shepherd)
Here Comes the Rain Again - the Eurythmics
Wild Blue Yonder - Air Force Academy band
Casey Junior (Comin' Down the Track) - from Dumbo
Rocky Mountain High - John Denver
Top of the World - the Carpenters
Ghost Riders in the Sky - Johnny Cash
Colorado - Merle Haggard
The Lion Sleeps Tonight - the Tokens
Home on the Range - Gene Autry
Route 66 - the Manhattan Transfer (Oklahoma City looks mighty pretty, you'll see Amarillo)
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen (take a long ride on my motorbike)
Riders on the Storm - the Doors
Volcano - Jimmy Buffett
Deep in the Heart of Texas
Yellow Rose of Texas
Oklahoma!
Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks (Yukon, OK is apparently his hometown)
Follow the Yellow Brick Road - (What else in Kansas?)
Wichita Lineman - Glen Campbell
Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell (an extension of Wichita Lineman, plus I know more of the words)
Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree - Tony Orlando and Dawn (Please tell me that this man does indeed have a theater in Branson, Missouri! If not, it was stuck in my head all day for no reason!)
Walking in Memphis - Marc Cohn (This was my favorite song to sing on this trip!)
Nashville - Indigo Girls
Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood (On the big screen in The Opry Store)
Rockytop
Blue Moon of Kentucky - Patsy Cline
Country Roads, Take Me Home - John Denver

Day 8 - Scottsbluff, NE to Loveland, CO

It was a relatively uneventful day, considering the adventure of the previous afternoon. We got on the road early, leaving Scottsbluff, Nebraska around 7am, heading south to Kimball, NE. We stopped for breakfast at "the diner" and then made a 138-mile sprint for Loveland with no pit stops. Rode through the Pawnee National Grasslands on the way - beautiful grasses waving in the wind, with some wildflowers along the roadside. Even though it wasn't the wheat of America the Beautiful, I couldn't help but think of the "amber waves of grain," especially when the "purple mountains' majesty" arose in the distance! What an amazing sight, to see the Rockies rise up in the distance, something you don't have the privilege of seeing if you fly into Denver instead.

We made it home by 11:15 or so, with plenty of time to get to the airport. And it was wonderful to be able to do laundry and have tome truly clean clothes again - I was beginning to think that the bugs on the shins of my jeans were going to become a permanent fixture in my wardrobe! And a relaxing evening with family was exactly the thing after 2500 miles (through 14 states) on the road.

Day 7 - Spearfish, SD to...Scottsbluff, NE

Ok, I apologize for taking a few days off, but I've been busy visiting and catching up with Peggy and Bill, whom I haven't seen in several years. Peggy is my mom's best friend from childhood on and she and Bill are two of the nicest, sweetest people you'd ever want to meet. But I promise, today's story was worth waiting for!

Dad, Ellen, and I got on the road at 8am this morning, after saying our goodbyes with Peggy - Bill left early in the morning to go fishing before it got too hot. It was a beautiful morning, much cooler than the previous few days. We began by riding through Spearfish Canyon, a lovely, winding, tree-lined route through the Black Hills National Forest, past Bridal Veil Falls to Cheyenne Crossing. From there we rode towards Lead (pronounced Leed, not Led), Central City, and Deadwood, stopping at the Homestake Open Cut Gold Mine to have a peek at the huge mining hole in the ground. We then turned toward Keystone, home of Mount Rushmore. We didn't have time to check out the visitor's center, so we just took pictures from the highway, but we did get some good ones. From there we took Iron Mountain Road to/through Custer State Park, with some of the sharpest bends and u-turns I've had the nerve to ride on! You know the Jiffy Lube logo, the arrow that loops back on itself? Like that! Plus single lane bridges and tunnels. It was thrilling, to say the least! As we came up a hill in Custer, we stumbled upon the beggin' burros of the State Park - a herd of partially domesticated donkeys that are no strangers to people. They will walk right up to you to see if you have food for them! Not long after that, we saw our first herd of bison lining both sides of the road, with some even standing right in the middle of it blocking traffic! There were plenty of bison calves to see too, along with the much larger adults, who were shedding their heavy coats in the early summer heat. We also saw a few white-tailed deer and a dozen or more pronghorn antelope. After leaving Custer, we rode through Wind Cave National Park (no stops, though) to Hot Springs, SD and a quick lunch stop. At that point, it was already 1pm and we still had another 5-6 hours of traveling to do.

This is where the trip really starts to get interesting, and all because of the weather in Nebraska. From Hot Springs, we had planned to head for Crawford, Nebraska, but as we got into the Cornhusker State, we could see that there was a thunderstorm over Crawford, so we changed our route and went towards Chadron instead. We seemed to skirt the storm at Chadron and again at Alliance, and it appeared that we were going to pass directly between two storms on route 26 to Scottsbluff. On the left there were dark clouds and on the right were dark clouds, but in the center over the road, everything looked much lighter and free of rain. But as we got closer, it looked like there was smoke or fog close to the ground. It was about that time that I got hit by my first gust of wind, and shortly thereafter we found ourselves in the midst of a "Grapes of Wrath" style dust storm - a complete whiteout and grit-fest so bad that cars were even pulling over. We stopped on the shoulder with flashers on to try to wait it out, but it took a good half-hour before it seemed to get any better. Round then, two young guys on sport bikes stopped to see if we needed any help and said that the storm was headed our way, right down the road, so we figured it would be better to head into it and seek some shelter rather than wait any longer. As we left the shoulder, the dust seemed to settle back down and just a few miles later we found ourselves in Minatare, Nebraska, basically a one street town. The only place that was open was the Prairie Sky Foods store, a small grocery store with tables and chairs inside, so we made ourselves at home for a while. All of the locals asked where we were coming from and where we were headed, all the time thinking we were crazy for being out on motorcycles in the storm, even though that was not our intention. But they were very nice and accomodating and even let us use the non-public restroom in the back of the store.

The rain finally started to slow around 5:45pm and we figured we couldn't make it all the way back to Loveland before dark so we are now camped out at the Super 8 in Scottsbluff, resting up for the sprint to Colorado in the morning. We'll pick Margo up at the Denver airport in the early afternoon and relax at home for the rest of the day.

Day 6 - Spearfish, SD to Alzada, MT to Devil's Tower, WY

Ever since I saw Close Encounters of the Third Kind when I was a kid, I’ve always wanted to visit Devil’s Tower, and it didn’t disappoint! After breakfast with Peggy and Bill, I gassed up and met Dad, Ellen, and their riding group at the Holiday Inn and we headed north toward Belle Fourche, SD. A slight turn northwest put us into Wyoming, where we encountered road construction that had our route down to one lane. Since the one-way construction delays tend to be longer out west, we all turned off our bikes and walked around and chatted, ultimately waiting probably 20 minutes or more for the traffic to pass through from the other direction. We passed into southeast Montana just as the construction zone ended and pulled off at the Stoneville Saloon in Alzada, MT, which advertised “cheap drinks, lousy food” but was quite a sight to see inside – lots of paraphernalia hanging from the ceiling, and hand-written bumper sticker style quotes tacked to the ceiling as well. The bartender was called the Leopard Lady because of her leopard spot tattoos, and the actual bar was supposedly transported to its current location by covered wagon. After downing a quick Diet Coke, we were back on the road towards Hulett and the Devil’s Tower National Monument. This particular route was chosen because of the dramatic presentation of Devil’s Tower, as it simply appears before you for the first time as you round a bend in the road.

After a lunch stop at the general store outside the entrance to Devil's Tower, we rode up to the base of the monument and took a one-mile stroll around the Tower Trail, which encircles the base of the tower. In June, there is a voluntary ban on climbing the tower in deference to the native American peoples who hold the mountain sacred. Nonetheless, there were three climbers working their way down the face of the tower. It's hard to imagine how there could possibly be enough foot and hand-holds for anyone to climb to the top, but I guess anything's possible if you are determined enough. On the walk around the tower, we saw charred trees from the controlled burns used by the park service to control forest fires, and we also saw some of the prayer blankets and markers left behind by native Americans in tribute. The native American legends of the Lakota Sioux and Kiowa tell the story of the formation of Devil's Tower - an older sister was turned into a bear and tried to kill her younger sister, but she was spared when the mountain began to grow up into the sky to save her. The bear created the vertical striations on the sides of the tower by scratching at it with her claws to try to get at the younger sister. The more scientific explanation (but not as entertaining) is that a column of magma intruded into the surrounding layers of sedimentary rock, which used to extend a mile and a half above the current top of the tower. Millions of years of erosion have exposed the tower as it apears today, and the Belle Fourche river continues the process even now.

After completing our trek, we met the rest of the group back at the general store and made for home, but not without a stop in Aladdin, Wyoming, population 15, to get a cold drink at the small store there. Then it was back to Peggy and Bill's for dinner with them and dad and Ellen. Tomorrow we head for "home" in Loveland, Colorado, with a run through Custer State Park and a look at Mount Rushmore.

Day 5 - Sioux Falls, SD to Spearfish, SD

Wednesday morning started off with a little bit of light rain, but it quickly moved off to the northeast and left another hot and sunny day in its wake. I was on the road by 7:30am or so and on my way to Mitchell, SD to see the “world’s only Corn Palace.” The Corn Palace is in its 3rd iteration, having been rebuilt twice because of the need for more space and larger occupancy limits. It serves as both a concert hall and a high school sports arena for basketball games, but its truly unique feature is the large murals both outside and inside that are made entirely of corn…thus the name “Corn Palace.” In the late 1800’s, Mitchell was in a battle with Pierre to become the state capital of South Dakota and the Corn Palace was built to help draw more people to Mitchell and promote the young and growing city’s image. Of course, Mitchell lost the race for state capital but forever won recognition for its unique landmark. Every year the murals outside, as well as the rest of the exterior are torn down and rebuilt, with new mural designs each year – this year’s theme is America’s Destinations, so the exterior features many well-known American landmarks, including the St. Louis Arch, the Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Rushmore, Washington DC, New York, and many others. All of the murals are made entirely of different colored corn (full cobs cut in half lengthwise) and corn stalks, rye grass, and other natural materials, with the artist’s patterns laid out ahead of time in a “corn-by-numbers” pattern. The murals inside show a compare and contrast between native American ways and the ways of the early settlers, ultimately reaching a reconciliation between the two sides. Those murals remain the same year to year as a tribute to the Lakota Sioux artist who originally designed them.

Next it was on to a gas stop in Chamberlain, SD and a trip across the Missouri River, long before it joins up with the Mississippi further south. It was a long ride from Mitchell to Wall, SD with just the Wall Drug billboards for entertainment. If any of you are familiar with South of the Border on I-95 in South Carolina, Wall Drug is the midwest’s version – lots and lots of advertising, sometimes several signs in a row, which reminded me of the old Burma Shave signs! I finally made it to Wall around 1:30 – well, it was 1:30 after I set my watch back another hour to account for my passage into the mountain time zone. After a quick perusal of the various parts of Wall Drug it was back on I-90, through Rapid City, to Sturgis, home of the world’s largest motorcycle rally every August – it’s impact is felt within a 100-mile radius of Sturgis each year. My dad met me in Sturgis so he could show me around town – it’s a really small town – and then he led the way back to Spearfish. Dad and Ellen are in Spearfish for the Motorcycle Touring Association rally this year, so it was convenient that I had planned to come here to stay with Mom’s friend Peggy and her husband Bill. We had a wonderful time catching up over dinner and throughout the evening, but I was falling asleep watching the 10:00 news, so it was time to rest up for Thursday’s ride with the MTA group to Devil’s Tower, Wyoming.

Day 4 - La Crosse, WI to Sioux Falls, SD

Last night I had these grandiose thoughts of trying to go to Minneapolis and the Mall of America before heading to Sioux Falls, but after calculating the mileage and the time I thought better of it and my butt thanked me profusely! It's a little sore, but maybe this will make it smaller! The threat of severe thunderstorms near Minneapolis may have had something to do with my decision too, although I had a run-in with the weather today anyway.

I started the day with my 3rd trip across the Mississippi, thankfully over a solid concrete bridge and not one of those terrifying steel grated bridges. The first 10-15 miles of Minnesota on I-90 were lovely, winding, and shady with lots of trees shadowing the road. After that, the road opened up to the plains, with many a wind turbine in sight, especially around Dexter, Minnesota where there was an extensive wind farm, or at least it looked extensive to me with at least 100 turbines in view. I stopped periodically to get something to drink since the temperature was in the 90's again today. At Blue Earth, MN there was a 56-foot tall statue of the Jolly Green Giant, which I later learned was a part of the celebration of the completion of I-90 in 1978. The next rest stop 2 miles down the road had a historical marker that told the story of the "golden spike" dedication of the completed interstate, reminiscent of the golden spike that signified the completion of the transcontinental railroad, except in this case, they made a section of the highway gold instead! How the Jolly Green Giant fits into all of this, I still don't know, but he showed up in Blue Earth for that event.

As I continued along I-90 I could see that the sky was darkening in the distance...really dark...like scary black. A good time to pull over for lunch, in Sherburn, MN. As I was pulling into the gas station/convenience store/Subway parking lot, I got hit with a huge gust of wind that almost knocked me over. Needless to say, it started pouring down rain as soon as I got inside. The weather forecast on the radio in Subway said that the National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for that area, with heavy rain, 60mph winds, and possible dime to quarter sized hail. We missed the hail, but we definitely got the wind and the rain, for about 45 minutes to an hour. The picture I included above was right before the full brunt of the storm hit - it looked like something out of the movie Twister! But after it stopped raining, the skies were clear and sunny again to the west.

I checked into my hotel in Sioux Falls around 4pm and then wandered back out again to see some of the city. Falls Park on the Big Sioux River was really amazing. (Science geek alert!) The whole area is based on the red quartzite you see in the falls, with the rocks being formed over a billion years ago. The bend in the river that caused the formation of the falls was a result of glacial activity 14,000 years ago during the last ice age, and the quartzite has resisted weathering and erosion by the river for over 10,000 years! They usd to take the prisoners from the jail and make them quarry the quartzite as punishment and to build up the walls of the prison.

After Falls Park, I went in search of the USS South Dakota Memorial (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10849). When the battleship USS South Dakota was decommissioned, they couldn't very well transport it to Sioux Falls, so they salvaged what they could, including the mast, anchor, propeller, and some guns and poured a 680-foot concrete outline of the ship and placed the salvaged parts where they would have been on the real vessel. The top picture above shows the view from the mast to the bow of the ship, all the way at the end of the green space in the photo. Pretty cool!

Tomorrow I head out across South Dakota on I-90 again, with stops in Mitchell, SD at the Corn Palace, Wall Drug in Wall, SD, and Sturgis, SD, before ending in Spearfish at Peggy and Bill's.

Day 3 - Yorkville, IL to La Crosse, WI

Thanks to Ronn and Tim for their hospitality and great breakfast this morning! I didn't get on the road until 10am this morning, which was fine since I had a shorter day planned anyway. After yesterday's experience with the interstate traffic, I stuck to the secondary roads today and it was a great choice. Heading west across Illinois and then into Iowa, you really get to see how vast the corn fields are in the midwest. And Ronn and Tim were right, people just seem friendlier here than they do back east. Maybe it's the back-to-basics lifestyle, away from a lot of the frenetic pace of the northeast - who knows? But even the farmers on their John Deere tractors waved to me as I rode by them.

I was really excited about seeing and crossing the Mississippi River today, so much so that I crossed it twice! I have to say, long, concrete bridges across the river are far less harrowing and nerve-wracking than short, steel bridges with see-through grates! I did not look down, not once! But on both banks of the river there are "great river roads" which are very nice, meandering secondary roads that follow the river's path. I made my way north along the west bank of the Mississippi to Dubuque, Iowa and then further north to Harper's Ferry and the Effigy Mounds National Monument (http://www.nps.gov/efmo). This was a nice hike through the woods overlooking the river, and I got to see several of the effigies, including the Little Bear mound. Check out the National Park Service website - they explain it far better than I can here, and they have aerial photographs. Alas, apparently my Harley Davidson boots are only amde for motorcycling and not for hiking because I now have two huge blisters on my heels!

Upon leaving Effigy Mounds, I crossed the Mississippi again, this time going east, and took the Great River Road north along the eastern bank, all the way to La Crosse and the Super 8. I still have to look over my route for tomorrow, but I may venture to St. Paul, MN and the Mall of America before heading to Sioux Falls, SD.

Day 2 - Sharon, PA to Yorkville, IL

Better late than never! I left Sharon at 7am Sunday morning - after 2 cups of great coffee (Thanks, Barb!) - and made a beeline for Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Temperatures were cool and traffic was really light, which made for a very pleasant morning ride. Of course, the Hall of Fame didn't open until 10am, which was too late for me to wait, so I just wandered around the outside, taking in Lake Erie and the Cleveland Browns stadium next door. When I got back to my bike, there was a couple looking it over - Don and Pat from south of Buffalo. Seems she just got an 1100 like mine and was looking at the travel bags, since her husband has a Goldwing. Nice people!

To save some time I jumped on the Ohio turnpike and took it all the way across the state and into Indiana. Once I got into the Hoosier state, I left the toll road and turned north into Sturgis, Michigan and took the historic, heritage route west across the state to Niles, Michigan and then south to South Bend, Indiana. There was a nice little arts festival going on downtown so I stopped to stretch and get something to drink and walked around, taking in the watercolors, photography, sculpture, and wood furniture. Nice, but nothing compared to Arts Fest in State College! I guess Penn State was on my mind (fondly) as I rode through the campus of Notre Dame because I wasn't really all that impressed. I mean, it was nice and all, but I don't think it can compare with University Park. But then again, I just a little biased! Got a picture of the football stadium and of Touchdown Jesus and then jumped back on the Indiana/Illinois toll road (I-80 and I-90) for the last push to Yorkville, IL and Ronn and Tim's house. Traffic was very heavy, which reminded me why I don't like to take the interstates if I can help it. Ronn and Tim's new house is gorgeous, and their two dogs, Phantom and Remington, are a riot. It was great to see them after almost a year and a half, and we spent many hours catching up and looking at photos. It was quite a long day, 478 miles long, and I had NO trouble sleeping, even through the thunderstorm that rolled through over night! Tomorrow, on to Iowa and Wisconsin!

Day 1 - Catonsville, MD to Sharon, PA

So much for "hopefully I won't get stuck sitting somewhere waiting for the rain to stop!" Left at 7am, went to the bank for some cash and to the gas station, and 5 minutes and 2 miles into my trip, it starts to rain. No big deal - maybe it'll just rain at a slow to medium steady pace. At 8 miles, I'm standing under the overhang at Shopper's Food Warehouse on Liberty Road as it pours. So goes the rest of the morning, ride a little, sit a little in southern Carroll County, ride a little, sit a little in Westminster, all the while with Margo checking weather maps for me. Once I cleared Westminster, all was good through Gettysburg, onto route 30 west. Hit a little more rain between Bedford and Greensburg, but all clear after that. Stopped at the temporary Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA (see photos) - a very solemn experience on such an overcast day. Until an official memorial site is built, the temporary site houses many monuments donated by individuals and groups from around the country, as well as a fence covered with personal items left in tribute to the victims.

After a short visit with Pam and Jeff (Margo's sister and brother-in-law) in Greensburg, it was on to Sharon for dinner and an overnight with Barb and JY (Margo's parents) in Sharon. Tomorrow it's on through Ohio, Indiana, and into Illinois!

Looks like rain

It's amazing how much stuff you can pack in a relatively small bag, compared to what I would probably take in a full sized suitcase! Almost completely packed now, but the weather forecast has darkened a bit for Saturday, at least. The 10-day forecast for the rest of next week still looks good, but I might be in for some thunderstorms on the way to Pittsburgh on Saturday. Best to get up early and get on the road right away - hopefully I won't be stuck sitting under an overpass somewhere waiting for the rain to slow down!

Counting down...

Only 2 more days of school and then I leave on Saturday - headed to Gettysburg, then the Flight 93 Memorial, Greensburg, and finally Sharon. Can't wait!

June 8, 2009

My 40th birthday! Wow - I don't feel like I should be 40 yet. I got my first "over-the-hill" gifts this year! Anyway, I should explain my "big trip" and the reasons behind it. Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm going to ride my motorcycle to Colorado and back, meeting my dad and Ellen in Spearfish, SD along the way. When my mom turned 60 a few years ago, she went skydiving and got a tattoo, all in the same day! I figured I should start a little earlier and spread the adventure out a little more.

6/3/09

Only 17 days to go before the big trip! And only 5 days until I hit the big birthday - 40 - the big four - oh.