The Badlands

Day 44 - 198 Miles

I was really glad I took the time to go into Buffalo Gap National Grasslands and the Badlands National Park. Last year, after Sturgis the weather was mediocre and I skipped this... and now I know what I missed.

The weather is perfect and so is the sky... so the grass is very green and the lakes are very very blue. (A bad picture... but you get the idea... Time for a new camera maybe...)



And then you come to the badlands and boy... it's abrupt! And magnificent.







I drove the entire length of the park except the 25 mile stretch of gravel roads... not with these tires.








I bought some stuff for lunch at the visitor center / lodge, and headed back into the park to a picnic area near the famous "Pig Dig" and checked that out too.





Then onto Rapid City where they serviced my bike immediately. No whitewalls, but at least the tires match. Looks okay too. Different but okay. Then onto Sturgis, but the main attraction this time of year are the biker bars and that's not my bag... at least not at this point. Too many miles to go and I don't drink and drive the bike.

Then onto Belle Fourche. Center of the USA.


Total Miles: 12,244

The Plains

Day 43 - 485 Miles

After taking a few days off, just resting and roaming the area, it was time to move on from Minnesota. My rear tire is looking like a slick and the front is not much better... I wouldn't want to ride them through another torrential rain, let alone a light street slickening drizzle, so I chose Rapid City as an eventual destination... I know that Rice Honda is there (from my Sturgis trip last year) and I'm hoping they'll have my tires there.

I met some South Dakota bikers near the Minnesota border and they gave me some ideas of places to go, but most of those places are on the Interstate and I'm intent on following US-14. That worked out well but it's straight and mostly flat through South Dakota.





I liked this custom trike one of the ladies was riding



The detours though... whew... through dirt roaded residential areas... and across some of the slowest freight lines. This one took 15 minutes to pass.



I did note that the S.D. farmers aren't all hopping onto the corn bandwagon and saw a lot of wheat, oat, and other grain fields. None-the-less, all the gas stations also pump E85 (meaing 85% ethanol). But they also offer ethanol-free regular gas. So the 89 octane with 10% ethanol is actually cheaper than the 87 octane gas... and my bike has been running fine on 10% ethanol that's offered in the rest of the country in the regular. The E85 is about 75 cents to a dollar cheaper than the cheapest gas... but I don't know if that makes up for the premium you pay for an ethanol burning car/truck. Are the convertible? Or are you stuck driving them in S.D. and the nearby states because I didn't see a lot of it offered further east or south and it's certainly not in California yet.

I ended the day in Wall South Dakota and took in the "famous" Wall Drugs. The town is dedicated to tourism at the entry to the Badlands.








Total Miles: 12,046

Roaming Minnesota

Day 42 - 80 Miles

Here you go... I ran across my first ethanol distillery.





The corn goes in...



...and the ethanol comes out.



Also a museum, of sorts, of buildings that have been collected and saved.







The lakes of Minnesota are beautiful...






Total Miles: 11,561

Illinois-Iowa-Minnesota

Day 41 - 380 Miles

More corn! I ended up in Moline last night and took off up the Mississippi River from there. I decided to confine myself to the Illinois side initially in case the Iowa side was still flooded but apparently it's not so bad after a half-week of drier weather. Very impressive though. Clearly the Mighty Mississippi is holding all the water it possibly can. I suspect a lot of the flooding is from the creeks and tributary rivers that were backed up, unable to drain into the Mississippi.







another reminder of the Civil War care of Grant's home...



The low lands between the roads and rails are draining but many are still full of still and somewhat stagnant water. Black whereever there are woods, and green with algae out under the sun.

I cut through Iowa, somewhat inland, still more corn... and into Minnesota and more corn... but at least in Minnesota it doesn't look like they're foregoing all other crops. At least someone is still growing food. LOL

The scenic routes in Minnesota take advantage of the rural nature of much of the state I guess... and I saw everything from really old farmhouses and barns, to futuristic schools, and a fair number of wind farms, despite being strictly flatlands.












Total Miles: 11,481

Illinois

Day 40. - 298 Miles

Corn!! It's everywhere. And a lot of fields that have clearly just been planted. No way it will be "knee high by the fourth of July" as they say. Only some that I can tell (from signs) is sweet corn, and most is most likely to take advantage of the ethanol boom. Can't blame the farmers, there's a shortage of corn now and why not make all the money you can for your efforts. I just wonder what food isn't being planted that we will be coming up short of next.

A visit to the Tippecanoe Battle site and Museum was interesting.



And the Bridge over the River Kanakee was an unexpected discovery for me.



The local State Parks along the river have designated reservable "hunting areas" along the river... water fowl I imagine... but one wonders how many hunters had to shoot each other to get such a system in place. LOL

I decided to forgo the Interstate again and took US-6 across the state. I'm very glad I did. It winds along the banks of the Illinois River flood plain and is a delightful motorcycle ride, yet you're never far from the "amenities" of the nearby Interstate.

Total Miles: 11,101

Indiana

Day 39 - 311 Miles

Just another cruising day. I seem to get into that mode when I'm on my way to meet a new internet friend... hurrying to arrive, reluctant to move on. LOL

On my way, I passed a local Harley Davidson dealership that was having a parking lot rally/sale. I "won" the "came the farthest" accolade. LOL

Total Miles: 10,803

Detroit

Day 38. - 249 Miles

Yes... Detroit. But only because I feel the need to visit my childhood homesteads and see what they look like now. Talk about a development boom... but then I shouldn't have expected less, not after 40 years. (38 since I last visited, my High School Adventure.)

Somehow, reentering Michigan made me smile. I went to Grove Drive in Livonia and stopped at the first home I really have strong memories for. The neighborhood really is small, a really short road... it seemed so long when I was a kid. But no more fields, all sold and developed. And the road is paved, where when I lived there, it was oiled dirt and often swallowed cars into post-winter thaw sinkholes.

The house though is as I remember it. I took pictures and thought it would be nice to look out back, so I knocked on the door to ask for permission. 45 years since we lived here... but the people who answered were the very people who bought the house from my parents. They remembered his name... proof enough for me. Laffin, because Earl's memory flashed back and he thought for a moment I was my father... then realized my father had to be older than him.





Best of all, they invited me in and I got to see and get choked up within. My old room, everything. The finished basement, bar, even the old Hi-fi rig my father originally installed. I mean, we're talking pre-stereo here.







And the basement room where we played scrabble, monopoly, and of course, strip-poker. ;^D



Then on to Ronsdale Drive in Beverly Hills Village... but no one was home, and they had changed the house exterior considerably.



I decided I'd done enough remembering and found lodging for the night.

Total Miles: 10,492

Akron

Day 37. - 330 Miles

I left the Rochester area after two delightful nights in western upstate NY. I was actually about 20 miles from Rochester and it really is green and peaceful here. I discovered that I was just off of the Erie Canal, and am jealous of what looks like a really great bicycle riding area.







Maybe my next trip will be by van with my recumbent bicycle. That would be trick, find a campsight, ride the area, and move on to the next. Something to contemplate.

I really enjoy riding the rural roads. Who knew that New York was growing so much wine grape crops. Well, maybe wine afficionados know, but I didn't.



On through the small part of Pennsylvania that has access to Lake Erie, (my third transit into/through Penn....) and into Ohio.

It was an easy cruising day to Akron to visit my wiccan friend. Tomorrow is the Summer Soltice. I wonder how we'll "celebrate".

Total Miles: 10,243

Back in the USA!

Day 36. - 468 Miles

The continental breakfast was actually good... far better than the shrink wrapped donut and old-tasting coffee they serve at the Super-8... but I like a little protein in the morning, especially as it's already cold and raining out there. Through Quebec City, Montreal, the route Roy suggested (which was in turn suggested to him,) worked... but my oh my, the traffic was thick on the other side of the bridge. Still, better than the maze through the tunnel and you get to see more from the bridge. No stopping of course, so you'll just have to imagine it.

Through Cornwall, where I crossed back into New York. Yay!! I remembered to take off the shades, so I only suffered a quick look in my saddlebags... and didn't have to unpack all the rain covers... and then on to tonight's destination.

But first, a short detour to the Eisenhower Lock on the St. Lawrence. I got lucky and there was a ship ready to enter the locks, so I spent the next hour watching the locks operate. This was a downstream bound Great Lakes wheat hauler, and it was impressive how "fast" it "sank" as they emptied the lock.











Then on to Rochester via the scenic routes, and of course it rained on me again. LOL

Rochester New York, visiting more online friends. PC and Erat and 10 month old Diana, (whom I'll get to meet in the morning.)

Total Miles: 9913