Iowa and Illinois

AUGUST 15, 2010 - DAY 11 - WEST DES MOINES, IA TO URBANA, IL

Boy did I call that one. We each slept like a rock and slept in later than expected. We waved good-bye to Dan-the-Man at Reception as we headed out to load down our bikes. We had already made lists of all the H-D dealerships to hit along our way and were excited to hit the road. Suddenly we realized it was Sunday and we were not in California. We pulled out my H.O.G. Atlas and, sure enough, of the six we had located only one was open today. And reality turned out that we were an hour too late once we arrived in that town as it had already closed.

So we shrug and head a couple blocks in the wrong direction for breakfast. We have once again located a Starbucks. We can tell that this is the beginning of a great day.

We go south on I-35 to the next exit and head east on I-235 until Hwy 163, where we encounter all of the State Fair traffic. For being one of, if not the largest State Fair, I do have to say that the driving conditions were much better than anything I've ever seen in California for any sort of event.

As we have seen for the past two or three days, the Mid-West is filled with fields of corn, corn and more corn. However, I also keep seeing one other row crop that I cannot identify. But I honestly didn't realize just how many states grow corn everywhere that there aren't buildings. And believe you me, most of these states are not buildings.

As we headed out along Hwy 163 we returned to the fun of meandering through the small towns as we had done in the beginning, before heat and exhaustion had delayed us and made for rough conditions.

Our first foray is to Pella, IA, a cute little Dutch community. Oh, they have their obligatory Wal-Mart on the outskirts, but they have done a beautiful job of focusing on their history and heritage. And as we first begin to enter town I look off to my right and see a beautiful regal looking boxer, sitting on his front porch alone, just looking out to the roadway and watching the world go by. I immediately think of Charlie, my daughter Melissa's boxer who has spent the summer at my house. They just moved up to Portland, Oregon on Friday and won't be home when I return.

As we ride past some of these Iowa farmlands we can still see plenty of flooding. There are trees down in rivers and creeks. Water reaches out across it's banks enveloping telephone poles and stopping just before our roads. However, though the roads we are on are dry you can easily see all the dirt still on them, left by the high flood waters such a short time ago. You can also see the damage to so many acres of crops, and those that are still being destroyed. It is so sad to see, and especially to know of the hardships that will befall these farmers all across this state.

As we pass through Ottumwa it is easy to see why they call it the City of Bridges. The river cuts through the town, making it necessary for so many bridges to be built to connect the streets. We get to where we are leaving 163 for Hwy 34 East when we need a pit stop. The snaggle-toothed clerk at the local Kum & Go recounts how once a customer asked her and another employee to take a photo with the store sign, saying his buddies at home with never believe "this". Then she takes the time to show us all sorts of items for sale with their logo, from cups, t-shirts, flip-flops, hats and such. We leave almost doubled over laughing as we walk back to the bikes.

We wind our way southeast, enjoying our trips off the main highway and through the quaint small towns with their historic buildings and town squares. I love these places and wish I could just stop, take a seat and watch life pass by. But the reality is that by the time we stop finish lunch in Fairfield, IA, it is 3 p.m. We have spent 5 hours on the road and only traveled 135 miles. The only thing we are upset about is knowing that this means we can no longer take all of the side trips because we still have four hours of travel time left to go.

When we cross into Illinois I finally find a sign amongst the fields which identifies that mystery crop for me: soybeans. And it appears that this state has changed many of it's corn field to soybean fields because the latter seems to have the occasional single stalk of corn peeking out above the plants.

However, we do have one more brief stop to make despite claiming to be done. This stop is in Monmouth, IL. It is the birthplace of Wyatt Earp. There are very few signs to send you in the right direction, but it is on 3rd street past the city square and to the right.

After seeing the house and corral we gas up and head out. We are making better time now, having covered another 120 miles in only two hours. However, there are still two and a half hours to go so we push on. We plan for a halfway stop for liquids and then hope to arrive by 8 p.m.

As we are closing in on Urbana the sun moves into our mirrors. It was once again a deep orange and reminds me of something out of a sci-fi movie because I can see the orb in each of my mirrors, as though there are two suns. Just as it drops below the horizon we have but a couple miles to go, which is good since we are both still wearing sunglasses.

We get off the bikes with smiles on our faces. We have had a great day of riding and feel like we are back on track. It has got to be the combination of no threats of foul weather, visiting small towns along the way, and having beautiful blue skies that held just enough cotton balls clouds and the gentle breeze that moved them along.

Our hotel almost looks deserted by looking at the parking lot and that is fine with us.
It is centrally located, has a free breakfast, and we are already used to hearing the highway noise so we will have no problem sleeping again tonight.

Tomorrow we have salon appointments starting at 10 a.m. Even on the road a girl has got to keep up her rituals. So we will load up then head out after breakfast. Once we are done we must head straight to Columbus, OH, with our only detours the H-D dealerships to stop & shop.

Then again, maybe it's visiting Starbucks again and the knowledge we will have both Starbucks and H-D shopping tomorrow that makes the end of our day so wonderful.

Today's stats: 382.7 miles and 10 hours