Illinois To The Gateway To The West

8/27/10 This time I am going to blog in order of our continued adventure. It makes it easier when you don't even remember what day it is and you have to look at your pictures to jog your memory. We left Door County, WI this day and headed back to Green Bay then over to Osh Kosh and Lake Winnebego before dropping south towards Illinois. The corn and soybean fields continue to dot the landscape. South of Rockford, IL we had a walleye fish fry dinner and looked at the campground book which led us 14 miles down a country road to Byron, IL. We stayed at this campground on Lake Louise (no, not Alberta, Canada). We were about the only tent campers and couple with a motorcycle. So, before we had set up the tent we had 3 visitors wanting to welcome us. Hank set up a fire for us, Mark wanted to tell us about his Dad he was taking care of that had Alzheimer's and about when he was a teenager and got his girlfriend pregnant but he got a job to support her, and Dave that was just running around in his golf cart with beer. We got a true taste of the working boys from west of Chicago and they were all really nice! The place reminded us of Skagit River Woods with golf carts and full time trailers!

8/28/10 Springfield, IL. This is where Abraham Lincoln is buried. Inside is the crypt that he is in as well as the crypts for his wife and 3 of the 4 kids. The memorial is beautiful and in a working cemetery. This is the land of Lincoln. We were too late to visit the museum and library. Since it was so hot and humid we opted for a motel. Sometimes you just need a shower and bathroom closer than 500 feet from your mattress!

8/28/10 The home of Abraham and Mary Lincoln. This was a really cool street with numerous old houses that have been restored and turned into a historic district. We were the only ones on the street since it was late at night. Great way to tour! The church they attended was nearby and a beautiful old structure that continues to be a place of worship.

8/28/10 Downtown Springfield at the Old Capitol Building. One of the reasons we stayed in town was because of the annual Blues and BBQ Festival. A huge crowd of over 1000 people, 44 BBQ cook off stations and about 50 BBQ vendors and beverage places. A perfect combination with yummy ribs and very nice people. Well, when the first band went up to plug in they blew some major circuit or something and 5 hours later they still didn't get it fixed. Can you believe that? So, in the heat and humidity we plopped ourselves down at a table with others. Mike and Eric ended up being our "best friends" for the evening! They had been imbibing for a LONG time so it made the night interesting. They were about 5 years younger than us, truck drivers, and good friends. One of them was a history and travel buff so he gave us tons of fun information and no hesitation about trashing the government! As he said about the lack of power- "hey, we can't even convict the governor of the state, what makes you think we can restore power in Springfield, the capitol!" Did I tell you that this trip has been full of colorful people? So much for my chance to listen to some Chicago blues!

8/29/10 Starting our adventure on part of Route 66 in Illinois. This is the (past) infamous Luna Cafe- which now is mainly a tavern for the locals. It was Sunday at 11 am and there were 5 locals at the bar. A couple struck up conversation with us and boy did we change our plans after that discussion. One of them reminded me of Norm from Cheers! His wife was working until 6 pm and he had all day to mow the lawn so after he did the front he was just stopping by for some cold refreshments and visit with his buddy before tackling the back yard. He said he was watching his watch! Anyway, they encouraged us to divert our route and follow the "river road back north, over the rivers and into Missouri that way." After listening to them debate which roads to take, which restaurants to eat in and a touch of politics we headed out.

Mark getting the low down from the local guys about what route to divert to. The multiple tattooed bartender didn't know what dark beer was! Sorry I asked. This was a classic Route 66 attraction. Thanks for the maps Ken and Cheryl!

8/29/10 So, off on the river road following the 2 rivers byway we headed towards Grafton, IL. Yes, we were going backwards from our earlier morning route. Along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers were limestone rock, trees, bicyclists and lots of motorcycles. It was REALLY HOT and we didn't know where to eat so when I saw a little girl selling lemonade with her grandpa I knew they were the ones to ask. After drinking a couple glasses of lemonade Grandpa directed us to O'Jan's Fish House. The buffalo fish is local and they fan it out and deep fry it and put it on wonderbread with tartar sauce! The catfish gumbo and Dr. Pepper topped it off!

This is the "ferry" that takes you across the river. It's an actual barge that is towed by the tug. It holds about 15 vehicles. We went across the Illinois River at Per Marquette but we still had the Mississippi to cross. Did I tell you that we have never been so hot and sweaty!

So, to quench our thirst and figure out where the next "ferry" was we stopped at this quaint old country store that was a kick back to the 50's. This gal made us old fashioned root beer sodas. They had all the old stuff for sale like candy cigarettes, Daisy BB guns (just like we had growing up), quilts, Amish goodies, a post office, wood furniture and anything else Americana PLUS air conditioning! ""Follow the Golden Eagle ferry signs through the cornfields" she said," to get to the next ferry." The signs were just painted plywood and the roads, well you can see below!

Seriously, who would ever think that the roads would be like this going to a ferry crossing? It was so much fun and more of the true adventure we were looking for. Thanks to the guys at the Luna Cafe and Bar for the idea!

We found it and on the barge we went! The driveway area was so steep Mark took the bike to the bottom of the hill and I stood in line to hold our spot! Here I am (with the neck cooler- thanks Bruce and Lori) on the Mississippi River!! It was about about a 10 minute crossing. The river around here flooded big time in 1993 and the shops, etc. had markings on them how high the water went. At the restaurant we ate it it was at 36 feet up the side. It was weird to see trees and power poles in the water even now. Our little river diversion took us all day to complete!

8/29/10 Gateway to the West! Here are the arches in St. Louis Missouri. It was a long day to get here and Mark had enough fun getting through construction on the highways and battling the heat so as he was drinking Gatorade at the gas station I made a phone call to one of the P.E.O. B & B's in town. With that last minute phone call Alice and John were so very gracious to "take us in"! They have been hosting P.E.O.'s for over 12 years and between the other gals in the chapter they raised $15,000 last year for the educational projects we support. They had also been to Utah Canyons in the past so gave us more information on that part too. Before we went to their home in the suburbs we went to the Arches, the River Walk and ate dinner at the Landing. (these were suggestions from the "guys" at the Non-Blues and BBQ fest!)

8/30/10 Another area to get on Route 66. It basically follows I-44 which we were on more of the time. Mark did a good job of listening to me when I said I wanted a picture of him under a Route 66 sign for the blog. He maneuvered that machine around the pole and beauty salon parking lot for me!

8/30/10 When we left from St. Louis it was an absolute rain downpour. Other than Hawaii I don't think that I've been in 77 degrees and rain with 52% humidity! We got to utilize our new raingear and it worked great. Here we are at the World's Largest Rocking Chair on Route 66 in Fanning, Missouri. (this picture is for you Corinna in memory of the biggest ball of yarn)
We stopped for lunch at a Smokehouse BBQ joint and had the BEST ribs, pulled pork and brisket with beans and slaw! Can you tell we are getting more south? Came out after lunch and it was 92 degrees and no rain. Wow, can things change fast around here.

8/30/10 Some of the terrain and the "20 % chance of thunderstorm/rain" looking cloud. We decided to change course again and head a little more south. After Springfield, Missouri (yes, we were in 2 Springfields this week) we headed to Branson, Missouri! Since we weren't going to Nashville we decided to get a little music and country fix! So, through the Ozarks we went playing cat and mouse with the semi's on the grades. Even saw a dead feral hog on the side of the highway. Time for another motel and to play tourist!

We have been putting in some 8-10 hour days on the bike and need more than one night somewhere. We have logged about 4,100 miles on the trip so far and we've just started our western turn! Another good reason to have skipped the east coast is that hurricane Earl is trying to set down right where we were going.

8/30/10 Branson, Missouri. This area is called the Landing and is in the old historic town. We got a motel and will spend 2 nights. This has given me a chance to catch up on the blog, journal and wear shorts! Tomorrow we are going to the afternoon show of "The Legends in Concert" ( impersonators of Elvis, Micheal Jackson, Blues Brothers, Little Richard, Alan Jackson and yes, Brittany Spears) and then the night show of "The Duttons"- they are a music variety show that has been on TV, America's Got Talent finalists. We are playing tourist now. Mark even got a picture of me in front of a bass boat at the Bass Store. (for you Brian!) We will head west tomorrow towards Joplin, Missouri and either skirt Kansas into Oklahoma or go right in. Depends on which route we venture!
We have been thinking about all of you back home and wish you the best as the summers ends.

Door County, Wisconsin

8/26/10 Here we are on the shores of Lake Michigan. The water temperature was 71 degrees! This is Whitefish Dunes State Park in Door County. This gem of an area is a penninsula in Lake Michigan that has Green Bay on the west side. We had heard about it from many of the campers and people we had run into on our travels so we decided to make it a part of our Wisconsin adventure. Below you will see pictures from the area. I have about 120 more for home viewing! After a day of being "true tourists" we got out the maps and decided which way to turn tomorrow. We had been in Door County for 2 days and 2 days in the Milwaukee area. A total of 5 days in Wisconsin so time to move on. After pouring over maps, looking at predicted weather forecasts, and realizing that we already have over 3,500 miles logged in and already 3 weeks into this we decided to start heading south then west. More info to follow after Illlinois! We are not going to make it all the way over to the east coast. Just having too much fun in the areas we have been and understanding that it takes a lot more work and energy when you are traveling on a motorcycle in hot weather!

8/27/10 Here I am with Molly, the chocolate lab! We stayed in Sturgeon Bay (Door County) with a fellow P.E.O. sister and her husband. They treated us as family and we absolutely fell in love with the area. We also got our "Molly" fix. What a great retreat from the campsites and hotels.

8/27/10 Kathy with Judy and Jon at their home in Sturgeon Bay. The area was in the countryside about 5 miles north of the town. It was a great place to start our adventures around the peninsula. They make great cherry muffins, oatmeal with cherries and pecan french toast! Can you tell that Door County is famous for their sour cherry crops! Thanks so much for everything Judy and Jon.

Shores of Whitefish Dunes beach. This is right below the "meridian" which is halfway to the North Pole! The county has it's most northern area called Gills Rock and Northport which have ferries that go out to Washington Island. So many little harbor towns, lighthouses, friendly people and great fish! We got perch one night and whitefish the next.

Another view from the motorcycle along Lake Michigan. Little towns called Fish Harbor, Bailey's Harbor, Egg Harbor, Ellison Bay, Sister Bay, etc. I would recommend it highly!

8/25/10 Of course it wouldn't be proper if we didn't visit the famous Lambeau Field- home of the Green Bay Packer's. They had a preseason game the day after we were there so people were coming in for tours. We even went down Mike Homgren Way! A little nostalgia for us Seahawk fans. The weather these few days were great- in the 70's during the day. Not sure if I could survive the cold, cold winters though.
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Getting To Wisconsin

8/24/10 Happy Boy at the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, WI. These are the bikes that were in Easy Rider. It was quite the exhibit and really cool to see over 400 bikes dating back to the first one in 1903. We enjoyed a great lunch and brew (Irish Stout) at the Milwaukee Ale House which was recommended by different people we ran into while camping in SD and Iowa! Today (8/25/10) we are in The Chalet Motel in Mequon, WI (N. of Milwaukee) and heading up to Green Bay and then over to Sturgeon Bay into Door County. This area was also spoken of numerous times by "friends" we met in campgrounds, bars, and restaurants! So we are heading up the peninsula of Wisconsin along to the top of Lake Michigan. The scenery is beautiful with gorgeous brick architecture combined with warm, humid weather. Tonight we got a B & B through P.E.O. sisters in Sturgeon Bay. That's as far as we have planned! Still working outside the "box" and learning about decision making at the last minute!

8/24/10 Check out the Fed Ex Delivery guy! After staying in an art deco hotel last night in Milwaukee next to Marquette University (found on Hotwire at 8 pm in Starbucks Wi Fi area) we again realized we brought too much gear. So, we got a Fed Ex box, sat in the parking lot, unloaded everything on our camping tarp and managed to put 21 lbs. of clothes and misc. stuff in it. We drove it back to the Fed Ex shop downtown and had it shipped back home! Thanks Karen for taking the delivery! It's amazing what you can get along without.....

8/24/10 On the shores of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee. This is our first glimpse of the Great Lakes. In the background is the Milwaukee Art Museum. There was great piece of Chihuly glass art inside. The place looks like a ship. It has an Italian marble floor with these steel "wings" on top that weigh 110 tons. We went on the Milwaukee River walk after this and enjoyed more downtown buildings. The Wells Fargo building is a step up from little Mt. Vernon!

8/23/10 Viroqua, WI. I had found out that some of my Dennis ancestors were buried in this far western town of Wisconsin. This is the tombstone of my Dad's grandparents and next to that were the graves of his grandma's family. (Gillespie's). The cemetery (Asbury Ridge) is a small little plot of grass in between cornfields on a county road. It took quite awhile to find someone that knew where it was. It was finally the Veterans Administration person that had all the cemetery information and got me a map of the county to find it! Not even the funeral homes knew where it was since it's a non-used one now. It was quite the experience to discover this. We took all the "back roads" from here to Madison, WI so it took the entire day. It's amazing how it can take 11 hours to cover 300 miles with all there is to see. Plus it takes a lot out of the driver (and the passenger) when it's over 90 degrees with 70% humidity!

8/23/10 Crossing over the Mississippi River at Lansing, Iowa right over to DeSoto, WI. We took the river road up through miles of farm land. There are thousands of acres of corn and dairy farms. I met a nice, old farmer out mowing his lawn in the middle of nowhere while asking him about cemetery's in Viroqua! We ate at a great family restaurant and had home cooked pot roast, potatoes and gravy. They know how to feed the farmers around here.

8/23/10 This was a typical view of the countryside. There were all these wind turbines placed in the middle of cornfields. The other main ag crop we saw were soybeans. It was beautiful country with meticulous farms. When we went through the small towns off the state highway it was a Sunday and everything was closed and everyone was out mowing their lawns. It reminded me of Lynden, WA! The night before we stayed at Pulpit Rock Municipal Park (thanks AAA campsite book) in Decorah, Iowa. Just over the southern Minnesota border. We finally got out of South Dakota after 8 days! We put in a 300+ mile day and 3 states!

8/21/10 Salem, SD. This was a little campground close to the Minnesota-SD border. Mark is looking at maps for the adventure tomorrow! A nice family next to us gave us hints of things to do while in Milwaukee. Great pool here to cool off in. Again, in between cornfields and a million crickets and mosquitoes. I paid for that the next day!

8/22/10 Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It was almost 85 degrees and not even 10 am! We felt like jumping into the water but used the neck coolers that Lori and Bruce made us instead! We had a great french toast breakfast at a local diner down the road. Most of our mornings have been breakfast bars and coffee. Off to Minnesota we go on the way to northeastern Iowa. We are still talking to each other and trying to take in all that we can along the way!. We visited the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD yesterday. If we would have stuck around we could see Kenny Rogers in concert in a few days! This place is redecorated each year with millions of ears of corn. Amazing!

The Badlands, SD and extra pics

8/20/10 We did a round trip through the Badlands, SD. Such awesome terrain and stark contrast to the verdant Black Hills area. I saw the beware of rattlesnake signs so stayed on the pathways! Temperatures are soaring into the high 90's and predicted to the low 100's so we are heading east and possibly north over the next week. Today (8/21) we are in a campground in Salem, SD- tiny little town almost to the Minnesota border. We have met such fun, informative, interesting people at our campgrounds, in the laundry room or in the parking lots. The motorcycle trailer is a magnet for conversation. The guy in the RV next to us came in from Florida and brought us over cold libations while we set up the tent! The crickets, mosquito's and bugs are thick in SD and after 8 days here we are used to it! You don't even need music with the cricket noise. It's interesting to see what's native to each area. The back roads today with all the corn and hay fields reminded us of eastern Washington.
We are really getting used to the camping scene and have enjoyed it while the weather is cooperative. It's so nice to have the outdoor ambiance vs. a hotel room- at least until the rain comes! Off towards Minnesota tomorrow. We may head up Lake Michigan towards Superior instead of going to the east coast. We are just planning it about one day at a time right now! We have about 2200 miles on the trip so far with lots of circling in South Dakota!

8/19/10 This was the sunset in Wall, SD from our campsite. I took it while talking to Kyle and Stephanie on the phone on Kyle's birthday. Such technology for a campground! Wall is famous for Wall Drug so check it out on the Internet. We spent 2 days here so we could catch up on rest, laundry, charging computers, phones, etc. It was a great couple days.

8/18/10 This was one of our campsites at Stockade Lake in Custer State Park. Mr. Safety has all the protective gear and ready for travel. The infamous Larson tent has been holding up well. Our camping neighbors had a full movie screen and projector on the outside of their trailer watching movies when we got back one night! It wasn't the same kind of movie that I saw on one of the Sturgis RV's outside TV screen at our campground.

8/14/10 Kathy in Sturgis, SD.

Home, Home On The Range

Day 12- Since it's been a whole week since we've had Internet connection I have lots to catch up on! The pictures are actually in reverse order. After we left Billings, MT we braved the wind as we travelled to Wyoming. Made a stop to tour the site of the Battle of Little Big Horn, then to Buffalo (where some of my Dennis relatives are from) and finally made it to Fran and Sandy Bulawa's outside of Newcastle, WY. They treated us to a great dinner, visit and overnight stay with wonderful advice about our destinations. The next morning we found our way to Sturgis. And yes, we did survive! The nice thing about it was about half the crowd was gone so there were only 400,000 motorcycles instead of the 800,000. The Buffalo Chip was hopping to the Doobie Brother's the night we camped. We saw one tent flying across the fields as we pulled in so we put in extra stakes! We did all the sights (more pictures later John L.) in 24 hours then headed for the rest of the Black Hills. After a night in a hotel in Custer we decided to do some more camping. Our one night in Custer State Park turned into 4! We have been doing a lot of reevaluating of our journey and realized with the heat, wind, time in setting up and breaking down camp, we want to spend more quality time in these gorgeous areas. So, we have been in South Dakota for 6 days and may stay more. Custer State Park is the second largest state park in the country. We did all the "fun" motorcycle roads through rock arches, pigtail bridges, and gazed at a plethora of ponderosa pine, buffalo, big horn sheep, wild turkey's, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, and prairie dogs. Numerous times we had to stop and wait for the buffalo to migrate across the road. The intercom system has come in handy for deer watch as well as me giving Mark directions! We did all the tourist things, Mt. Rushmore, the Mammoth Archaeological site, the awesome Wind Cave ( 200 feet under ground. 124 miles of maze in 1 square mile). We loved the Black Hills despite the cold evenings in a tent at 6000 feet! And yes, this cowgirl even had to wear her boots to bed one night). So, here we are on day 12. We moved into the Badlands and are staying in a campground in Wall, SD. Yes, the famous Wall Drugstore. Off to the Badlands tomorrow. We are happy and well.

Happy 27th Birthday Kyle!

The Larson Brother's

Day 6- Good morning! We made it out of Idaho after a 4 hr. delay in getting the new trailer hitch installed so travelled into Missoula that evening. What a beautiful drive over Fourth of July and Lookout Pass. Yesterday we made it a 300+ mile day and covered most of I-90 through Montana. The weather was great and the new bike ran well. I think we saw more motorcycles through Montana than cars. When we got to Billings we could see a storm coming in and decided to call it home for the night. Mark called his brother, who was on his way home from Sturgis, to let him know our situation. Of all the possibilities, Bruce was in Billings! We met up for a visit and catch up session. (see the brothers in the picture with Bruce's new bike). Off to Newcastle, Wyoming today to visit with our old neighbors, the Bulawa's. Sturgis on Saturday!

Thanks for everyone's support. Hope all is well back home!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Day 4. Where to begin... the bad and ugly was the diagnosis of the 2002 Harley. We had dropped a valve into the cylinder which then scarred the cylinder and piston. There was probably more damage and at the least, the top end, pistons,& cylinder would have to be rebuilt. That was only the beginning. It would be at least 2 weeks to have it done with the worries of something else going wrong. After 10 hours of waiting, talking, and deliberating multiple options (like flying to Europe from Spokane) we stuck with our original plan to travel the USA on a Harley. So, we had a little good-bye service for the old 2002 girl and traded her in on a 2011 ElectraGlide Ultra Classic. That is supposed to be the good part! It's a beautiful bike and has all the bells and whistles that we wished we had for the trip anyway! Now we are waiting for a new trailer hitch and wiring kit to get here from overnight express and have it installed by noon (hopefully) and we will hit the road for Montana. Apparently there was nothing we could have done to prevent this and it's one of those "things". We are looking at it as "part of a bigger picture" and know there are things that are out of our hands for a reason. Thankfully it didn't happen when we were in a remote area and traveling at high speed. And like Kyle said," at least it happened early in the trip so we can enjoy the new bike the whole trip." With that all being said, it doesn't mean that we don't have butterflies in our stomachs or that Mark didn't have a sleepless night. :)

We are going to skip Yellowstone this trip and make a more streamlined route to Sturgis. We have reservations there on Saturday for the last night of the rally. We have talked to brother Bruce and he's there enjoying it all! So, it's off to Montana soon and we hope this was the "big glitch" in the trip! Keep up the prayers for safe travels, good weather, and health! M & K.

COEUR d' ALENE, ID

Hello! Day 3 and we have already had to make adjustments in our schedule. Day 1 took us to Spokane and wonderful eastside weather and accomodations with the Jondal's. Dan spoiled us with dinner, a swim and great visit. When we got up to head out at 8 am the bike wouldn't start and Mark pushed it down a big hill to compression start it. That was the beginning of the many problems so we inched our way as far as Couer d' Alene where the nearest Harley shop is. Mark had done all the back yard mechanics he could. Of course most Harley shops are closed on Monday's so we have made the Shilo Inn our home for now- right next to the Harley shop. We made the most of it by walking to the Lake for dinner last night (6 miles RT) and Mark was first in line at the service dept. today. We are waiting for a diagnosis (at least 4 more hours) and then will regroup. Thanks to Ken Lee for the advice! I've changed our reservations for the next few days and we may have to forgo Yellowstone to get to Sturgis by Saturday. Oh well, at least it didn't happen on the middle of a pass with no cell phone reception and grizzlies and escaped inmates! We will let you know more when we do. So for now, the area is not a bad place to call home!