Monday, July 10, 2000
It's a long way across South Dakota.
Departing west from Spearfish on I-90 took us through Sturgis, home of the famous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Rather than ride in traffic on I-90 all the way, we detoured on Highway 44 through the Badlands. We began to overtake a few bicyclists who were heading east...then there were more of them...then lots more. We also saw a few pedaling west.
We stopped at one of their support vans to find out what was going on. The two hundred or so eastbound cyclists were on the "RadioShack Big Ride Across America 2000", a 6½ week, 3,250 mile ride from Seattle Washington to Washington, DC to raise money for the American Lung Association. The smaller westbound group of about sixty students was Habitat for Humanity of New Haven's "Habitat Bicycle Challenge." riding from Washington, D.C. to Seattle. We just happened to come across them where their paths met. A few of these people looked like pros, lean and muscular, but most appeared to be just regular people of all sizes and shapes. You gotta admire their determination.
Highway 44 took us across about three miles of the Badlands National Park. We came to another entrance to the same park later, but this time we had to pay to enter. That part turned out to also be only about three miles across, but it was the only way back to I-90 that wouldn't take us at least thirty miles out of our way. The park covers a large area, but it's quite narrow wherever State Highway 44 crosses it.
After riding about 115 miles on I-90, we diverted north on Highway 47 to Highway 34, as Brian had suggested. (There's more about Brian shortly.) Highway 34 goes through several small farming towns and had almost no traffic.
We stopped for lunch at one highway crossing, but the only place we could sit down and eat was in a casino. Back in Kalispell, Montana, we had entered a couple of casinos looking for dinner, but they were dark, smoky, and noisy. This one, however, was a pleasant suprise. Well, a lot of the noise spilled into this restaurant, but it was well lighted and the air was clear.
We finally reached Sioux Falls and arrived at the home of my friends, Patty and Brian, only a few minutes late. Patty used to work with me at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. They moved home to Sioux Falls and now work at her family's construction company.
We got settled in and met the rest of their family, Allison and Angie. After a fine steak dinner, Patty and Allison took us to Falls Park. The falls has three main drops, and the water splits into several channels along the way. After dark, a lecture accompanied by a light show explains the history of the Sioux Falls area. The falls are lighted in varying colors and patterns while a laser projects images to accompany the narrative on the side of a building. That alone was worth the stopover, even if we hadn't visited friends.
Patty's house is large and elegant. All the wall corners are rounded, and the oak baseboard corners are rounded to match. Everybody's doing fine, except Brian is having a hernia operation in the morning, and he won't be able to see us off. [His surgery went fine, and he was back home by lunchtime.]
For Patty, here's a picture of our house. [We've since moved.]
Tuesday, July 11, 2000
We had breakfast with Patty and then departed for the long haul to our next goal of Fairview Heights, Illinois, about ten miles east of St. Louis, Missouri. A large weather system was producing rain to our south and gradually moving eastward, so after about 20 miles south on I-29, we zigzagged east and south across Iowa through many small-to-middling farm towns until we reached Des Moines. From there we took Highway 163 to Oskaloosa, then US-63 through Ottumwa, home of the Radar O'Reilly character in the TV show M*A*S*H. These are two of the few highways in Iowa that don't run directly north-south or east-west.
We camped at Lake Wapello State Park near Drakesville. There are signs along Route 273 between Drakesville and the state park that warn of horse-drawn carriages on the roadway. Well, by golly, they were right! Of course, the horses leave behind additional hazards to motorcyclists. (By the way, never follow a livestock trailer too closely on a motorcycle. I've seen slippery stuff come sloshing out from under their rear doors.)
It was a dark and stormy night at the campground, at least some of the time. The overhead lights at the toilets across the street from out tents kept switching on and off all night, but that didn't bother us much. The thunderstorm that passed within about a mile and a half was more troublesome. It rained buckets for a while, but we stayed dry in out tents. I must remember to go back to the Asheville Outfitter's Store of the Nantahala Outdoor Center and thank them for their recommendations. [I did.] [Sadly, the Asheville Outfitter's Store has closed. Their web site has locations and directions to their other stores.]
Wednesday, July 12, 2000
Icarians
in Nauvoo, IL
Gordon and I rode east on Route 2 out of Iowa and across the Mississippi River, then south on Route 9 in Illinois to Nauvoo.
Nauvoo is best known as the home of the Mormons before their exodus to Utah. Joseph Smith led the Mormons to Nauvoo to escape religious persecution in Missouri. After turning the riverside swampland into a successful town, they were again driven away. This group, led by Brigham Young, left everything behind and moved on to Utah.
Another group, the Icarians, emigrated from France to build a communal society. They originally settled in Texas and becamd the first socialist society in America. When they learned the Mormons had abandoned Nauvoo, they moved there and built homes, stores and schools. The society eventually dissolved as people, dissatisfied with socialism, began to move away.
Melody's great-grandmother, Marie Marchand Ross, was the first child born in the Icarian group after they settled at Nauvoo. Marie's father was among the last of the Icarians to leave Nauvoo. He moved his family to Corning, Iowa, where Marie met Melody's great-grandfather. Late in her life, Marie wrote the book, Child of Icaria, about her life in Nauvoo, and Melody has a copy. Gordon and I stopped to visit the Icarian museum, but it was closed.
We crossed the Mississippi River into Missouri at Quincy, then rode US-61 past Hannibal, home of M*A*S*H's Col. Sherman Potter, and on down to St. Louis.
There's a scenic route around St. Louis that takes ferries across the Mississippi River at Golden Eagle and the Illinois River just north of Grafton. Rain and the late hour convinced us to instead just scoot across St. Louis on I-70. We crossed the Mississippi River once again, then took I-64 to our motel in Fairview Heights, Illinois.
Thursday, July 13, 2000
Chester, IL,
Home of Popeye
Popeye Statue
Popeye Statue
When Melody and I lived in Belleville, our favorite Saturday or Sunday morning restaurant was the Pie Pantry. I usually took a slice of pie home for later. Gordon wasn't interested in breakfast, but I went anyway. Fortunately, Polly, everybody's favorite waitress, was working this morning. She said she missed us, and Patty and Brian, too.
I then stopped at Belleville Honda just at they opened and had my Gold Wing's oil changed. From there, I went to Scott Air Force Base to visit at the old office. Lyndell W's business trip had been cancelled, so he was there. Several people were out, including Mike G. who was vacationing in Idaho. Some people had the day off or had moved to different offices or different agencies, but I still got to talk to several friends.
Somewhere during this long journey, I decided, since I had been all the way to the Pacific Coast, the trip wouldn't be complete unless I also visited the Atlantic Coast. Melody thought that sounded reasonable and approved a short trip extension. When I mentioned that at Scott AFB, someone asked, "What about the Gulf Coast?" I said, "I haven't been to the Great Lakes yet, either." When I mentioned that conversation later to Melody, she just said "no!"
Gordon joined me and some of the office bunch for lunch at Shu Shu's Mongolian Barbecue, then we were on our way out of town. Shu Shu said she missed us too.
On our way out of Belleville, we detoured past my old house. It's being kept nicely; not much has changed except for some garden borders. We took Route 3, also known as the Great River Road, south to Chester so I could get a picture of the Popeye statue at the Segar Memorial Park next to the Mississippi River. Popeye's creator, Elzie Crisler Segar, was born in Chester in 1894.
From there, we rode south to Grimsby, went east on Routes 149 and 13 through Carbondale, and then into Kentucky on Route 56 and US-60 to Henderson. We camped overnight at the John James Audubon State Park. It was extremely hot and humid and much too close to the busy highway for tent camping. Campers in air-conditioned trailers and motorhomes probably never heard the trucks passing by all night, but Gordon and I didn't get much sleep in our tents.
Friday, July 14, 2000
There's not much to report; we're just heading for home. We crossed Kentucky on the Audubon Parkway, the William H. Hatcher Parkway, and the Cumberland Parkway to Somerset, US-27 south to Pine Knot, Route 92 east to Tinsley, then south on US-25E. We camped in Cumberland Gap National Historical Park and slept much better than last night.
Saturday, July 15, 2000
We took US-58 from Cumberland Gap. Gordon had to be home tonight, so we parted company at Gate City, Virginia, just north of Kingsport, Tennessee. He rode south toward Asheville, and I continued east on US-58 across southern Virginia.
Gordon hadn't brought a camping guide for Virginia, but he had one at home, so I called him for campground locations. He suggested Occoneechee State Park near Clarksville. It was great! There were no immediate neighbors, and it was nice and quiet for a Saturday night.
Sunday, July 16, 2000
I kept riding east on US-58 across Virginia and stopped for breakfast at the first open restaurant I found.
Earlier during our trip, Gordon told me a story about his wife and her father. When Mickie and her father were traveling once, he asked for redeye gravy at every breakfast stop, but nobody knew what it was, and he never got any. At the Wilson Brothers Bar-B-Q Restaurant in South Hill, Virginia, the waitress asked me, to my surprise, if I wanted redeye gravy. I'll have to tell Gordon and Mikki where it is. [I did.]
[I did. I also looked up the recipe on the internet. Save the drippings of ham steaks (purists insist on country ham), add coffee (options include water and a touch of brown sugar), then boil the mixture until it thickens. Serve on boiled rice, grits, biscuits or whatever.]
I've never liked coffee, so I didn't sample the redeye gravy.
I continued east to Chesapeake where I turned south on Route 168 toward the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I had to detour from Route 168 back to US-17 because of construction. I could have saved some time if the Virginia DOT had made it clear early enough to take US-17 in the first place.
At South Mills, North Carolina, I took Route 343 south to Camden, then rode on through the rain from there to Barco and US-158 south to Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks. The rain all but stopped, but a threatening sky convinced me to hole up in a motel (expensive so close to the ocean this time of year) instead of camp. I made the right choice; it rained up a storm while I was at the Black Pelican Restaurant enjoying a nice dinner of Blackened Tuna Nagano. It is a cross between blackened tuna and sushi; seared on the outside and raw on the inside. Since I like both, I wasn't disappointed.