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So here it is Saturday May 29th, and at 8:24am it's a balmy 45 degrees. WTF?
We still have no idea where we are headed. I've checked the weather in several directions, and it seems rain is very prominent....go figure. North just brings cooler temps, and that will not work with the wife on board.
I guess we'll mount up and start riding and turn away from rain clouds.
We ended up heading south Saturday morning, and ended up in Metropolis IL, as neither of us had ever been there. Sunday we rode through the Shawnee National Forrest, and went to the Garden of The Gods, and took a ferry over to Kentucky. We ended up staying in Cape Girardeau Missouri. Today, due to rain just about everywhere I looked, we went home. I'm thinking tomorrow I'll mount up and head out again.
Saturday we headed south to Metropolis Illinois. We stopped at a couple of Harley dealerships along the way. We got desperate for a hotel room and had to stay at a Motel 6.....not the nicest place in I've ever stayed. We rode across the street for dinner, to a local bar and grill. Saturday Pics Are Here.
Sunday we booked a room in Cape Girardeau Missouri, and decided to ride through the Shawnee National Forest, then make our way into Kentucky via the ferry at Cave Rock. We figured we'd stop at Four Rivers Harley on our way back, since they were open until 5pm.....we got there just after five, but they were still open and let us in, to buy a couple of shirts. Once in Cape Girardeau we stayed at the Courtyard By Marriot, which was head and shoulders above Motel 6. We walked to a local brew pub for dinner. Sunday Pics Are Here
Monday, Memorial Day, we decided to head for home, as there was a lot of rain moving in over the next couple of days in the southern region. On the way home the Limited hit the 100,000 mile mark. I've had the bike for 4 years and 4 months. It's still running like a top. It's now worthless, to everyone but me...lol. We got caught in a light steady rain, just north of Springfield Illinois, that lasted for a couple of hours. The bike was a complete mess by the time we got home. Memorial Day Pics Are Here.
Today I washed the bike, and mowed the lawn, and we're preparing to take off again tomorrow. Tonight we'll head out for a dinner ride.
As I mentioned above, I washed the bike on Tuesday and we rode to dinner. There's a bar and grill 30 miles from home that we enjoy, so we went. Afterwards we stopped at the wife's sisters house and chatted a bit. We also paid the most for fuel, than we've paid in years.....like 4 years. June 1st pics.
On June 2nd I woke up to one of our cats being in labor. I called her to the basement, and a few minutes later, she had her first kitten. She ended up only having two. We didn't let that stop of from heading back out, but it did delay us by a few hours. I was just after noon by the time we headed out....to Des Moines Iowa. We stopped at the Iowa 80 truck stop on the way, because you can't just ride past the worlds biggest truck stop. We stopped at 2 Harley dealerships, McGrath Hawkeye and Big Barn HD, and got our shirts, of course. I had been to both of them before, but the wife hadn't. We grabbed a nice hotel in Des Moines, a Drury Inn and Suites. We decided we weren't dressed quite good enough to dine at a fancy place, so I agreed to Buffalo Wild Wings....which I pretty much hate, but the wife likes their wings.....or did. This place was awful. The waitress was nice and on the ball, but the food was less than good. Ever since Arby's bought B-dubs, it has gone down the *******. I won't be going back, ever. June 2nd pics.
On June 3rd we decided to take Rocky's advice and visit the Bridges of Madison County....all six of them. We got off the interstate to take back roads to St. Charles, IA. As luck would have it said back road was gravel....this wouldn't be the only gravel road of the day. Before hitting the first bridge we stopped for breakfast. It was a local spot in a small town, but very good. After breakfast we made our way to the first of six bridges....only one of them was on a paved road. We didn't see any other bikers on our journey...lol. Before seeing the last two bridges we stopped at the John Wayne Museum and his birth home, in Winterset. After the last two bridges we stopped at the Covered Bridge Winery, where the wife found her happy place. After a tasting and a couple of glasses of wine, we headed to Ames Iowa for the night. This was our shortest mileage day. We tried to eat at a local steak place, but their menu sucked. I decided Texas Roadhouse would do, and it was awesome. We stayed at the Springhill Suites by Marriot. It was a very new place, and very nice. Bridge pics
Friday, June 4th, we headed for home. We stopped at Silver Eagle Harley, in Waterloo, on the way. Lunch was at the Village Inn. It was pretty good. There were lots of back roads on the way home, as I tried to avoid the interstates as much as I could, after stopping at McGrath HD on the way to Des Moines. It reached 93 degrees on the way home. Our week started with long johns, stocking hats and jackets, and ended up in tank tops and sunburn. We made it home safe and sound. The bike now has 101,200 plus miles on it. June 4th pics.
This morning I washed the bike, and took it for a ride along the Rock River, before heading out to a graduation party, in the wife's Cherokee....which we're doing right now. Later.
... ooppps... forgot to mention the gravel roads LOL Great pictures of the bridges.
Oh, I looked it up and knew the bridges were on gravel roads. Those were nothing, compared to the road I took from Des Moines to St. Charles....gravel, all of it, with a detour....I think it was like 30 plus miles, and quite dusty.
Oh, I looked it up and knew the bridges were on gravel roads. Those were nothing, compared to the road I took from Des Moines to St. Charles....gravel, all of it, with a detour....I think it was like 30 plus miles, and quite dusty.
sounds like a regular old construction zone up on the Alaska Highway And theres many many of them
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