Headed off and checked out the Cadillac Ranch before we had breakfast. From there the day was spent weaving under over and beside the Interstate and sometimes on it to follow Route 66, it was a challenge, but we got lots of photo ops for everyone. A shame to see how much deterioration there has been since 2015 when we were last here and of course that was also pre COVID. In any case we are finally in and will be heading out to dinner soon. Another big day of riding and we will have another tomorrow.

Some interesting facts: Elevation above sea level.
South Santa Fe USA – 2,199m
Mount Kosciusko Australia – 2,228m (only 34m higher)
Traralgon Australia (hometown) – 60m
Highest point through the pass on our way in today – 3,000m

A reminder that the Cadillac Ranch is in fact a working ranch. Was pleased to see there weren't any spray cans spread about this time, so people are using the bins provided, mind you the 2 skips at the gate mainly had rubbish bags in them, I assume from vans. Grr.

Midpoint on Route 66. Literally 1,139miles (1,833kms) from Chicago and 1,139miles (1,833kms) from Los Angeles.

And a cute little diner beside the souvenir shop.

And took this one of a wall for our friend Adrian who couldn’t make it for the trip.

Tee Pee Curios in Tucumcari NM.

And the Blue Swallow Motel also in Tucumcari NM.

Santa Fe turnoff where we pulled up for a break and stretch. Note the geography and vegetation behind, it could easily be heading north to the Pilbara at home. Very familiar.

An example of a total lack of respect. A traveler (me) needing to get the kinks out of my back and stretch the tendon which makes me walk like I have done a center bearing on the diff …. which was effective by the way, but I was still very glad to get off the bike when we got in. Glad I did so much resilience training before we came but it’s still a challenge.

Last night’s Accommodation:

Courtyard Amarillo Downtown.

A beautiful building and spacious room. Restaurant on site but cash only so we lodged our complaint and went to the Mexican across the road for a cheap and delicious dinner, also had breakfast elsewhere for the same reason since it wasn’t included.

Headed off hoping to beat a bit of the rain forecast and rode through ferocious winds skirting a storm and tornado warnings behind us. Stopped a bit early for lunch as the sky looked bad with potential of tails touching down but thankfully it turned around and headed away from us and we headed off again in calmer weather and towards clearer skies. The wind ramped up again as we entered Texas but remained clear. Overall, we managed to stay on Route 66 more than other days and that was also a bit slower pace so kinder on ourselves and bikes especially in the heavy winds.

El Reno, cute little main street. I hope it got on okay today because there were tornado warnings around there when we had lunch further along.

The stormy sky while we were having lunch. You can see three lines heading down. Was a relief it turned back on itself.

The Historic Conoco Servo at Shamrock plus bikes. This was the servo depicted in the 'Cars' video.

Conoco Servo Tow Truck.

Britten water tank. Quirky.

Street view in Amarillo.

Last 2 night’s Accommodation.

Country Inn & Suites by Radisson
A lovely spot for two nights. Comes with breakfast and parking. Nice and spacious, walk in shower, and capacity to self-cater if wanted. No restaurant but free shuttle to town and good value compared to last stay (which was heavy on quirky but low on value).

A warm and sunny day so got the washing done and dried and Norm tidied up the bikes after the drenching they got with filthy floodwater and road runoff yesterday and I had a kick back morning getting the blog up to date. The others did some exploring and checked out the Bricktown Canal tour and the OKV National Monument, a very moving experience as we previously found, then the Cowboys Museum and we joined them to do some more exploring and dinner before returning to our hotel. The pictures can tell the story.

A working shot from our hotel window. Train line, concrete batching plant with working trucks and another train line and locomotives.

Part of the OKV Memorial.

Horse carriage transport around Bricktown.

And back to the Bricktown brewery for dinner. Awesome use of an old building. The atmosphere was great....and the food...and beer.

We started in rain and headed for sights on Route 66 under a tornado warning but after very wet shots for photos we were hit with a massive rainstorm and the cameras and phones stayed locked away for the rest of the day and instead of the sights, we had planned to track down we opted for getting in out of the weather. In that time, we encountered torrential rain, thunder and lightning (very very frightening), flood waters and incredible wind trying to blow us off or throw us over for the rest of the day. Were a bit concerned to see very dark clouds late in the afternoon forming a circle with a clear patch in the middle, so it wasn't really a surprise to hear a small tornado had touched down later in the day. The rain stopped from lunchtime on (murphy was obviously confused) so only got in wet instead of wet and dripping but we saw lots of lovely countryside and a progressing Spring with green buds well progressed to leaves so a happy outcome. Had lunch at the Buffalo Ranch Roadhouse where there were a couple of live buffalo in the yard but by the time Lyn had her gloves off, they’d gotten bored and lay down out of view, so she had to satisfy herself with a photo of the mounted one in the shop. If I can pinch the photo I will. It was good to get in and a hot shower revived us enough for a lovely dinner at the Bricktown Brewery.

Gary Parita Sinclair Servo Ashgrove.

And another old bridge, glad nothing came along while we were here.

A shot from our second last coffee and stretch stop from the security camera in store. Check out some very worn-out travelers.

And the last stop before we were in. I had enough oomph to ride forward but not enough to back up so was suitably rubbished by my fellow travelers, hence the photo. Note the faint hint of approaching blue skies!

Dinner at the Bricktown Brewery which was great, awesome atmosphere beer food and company.

Last night’s Accommodation.

Best Western Route 66 Rail Haven

A quirky little stop which has been here since the 30’s and has modernized without losing a touch of the Route 66 Main Street era including a mini diner look to the breakfast area. Comfortable bed and one row back from the road so quiet to sleep. A few bikes at the entry making it look even better.

A Goldilocks day for riding mainly warm and sunny and comfortable and very little traffic on Route 66 proper which we sought wherever we could, but haphazard signage was a challenge. We saw some of the countryside in both directions as a result. Saw heaps of trucks on the Interstate and they were close to two full lanes coming out of Springfield whereas we had a relatively clear run. Our first Mexican meal tonight. Beautiful and fresh and cheap so great for the budget. A bigger day coming up tomorrow.

Quirky Bar & Grill at Bourbon must be on the coach tour circuit as one was pulled in at lunchtime.

Wagon Wheel Motel next door, making an effort.

Coroners building in Cuba.

The bridge at Devil's Elbow.

Road Ranger Truck Stop where we stopped for a stretch and drink on our way into Springfield.

Some of the memorabilia at tonight's motel where Elvis Presley stayed once before he was famous in Suite 409 which is available to rent but it looks a lot like a shrine so a little creepy. We didn't stay in it.

A pretty specie car under the roof in the picnic area at the motel.

Last 2 night’s Accommodation.

Pear Street Inn

Another comfortable accommodation including a hotel breakfast as well as happy hour with nibble each night so very generous. Bed lovely and comfortable also. Undercover parking was good but oops we forgot to take a picture.

Everyone else went to check out the Arch and I stayed behind to figure out how to resize pics for the blog …. without success then walked down to the Union Station to join them for lunch and enjoy the beauty of the building. May try to keep working on the pic issue as we travel or if no success will do it when I get home, if I don’t throw the notebook away before then!

Sort of managed, but still not happy. Will keep working on it. Pics from phones downsize okay but I must need to change a setting on the camera as I don't get the option to get them right and they are out of whack!! Grr.

Norm and I walked back from lunch to our hotel amidst rain thunder and lightning, very very frightening so we decided to eat in again rather than heading out to an Irish Pub for dinner.

Red brick Greenway a walking path beside a huge stadium between our hotel and the Historic Union Station. If you look in the distance down the street, you can get a glimpse of the Arch.

A wet view of the St Louis Arch. Last year we took the lift to the top for the view which was awesome.

The Historic Union Station which is a magnificent building where Norm and I stayed when we were last here. We took the others to see it and have lunch and found a very obliging hotel employee who gave us a terrific tour on his break. It was great! So, the only photos I have are from there.

A stained-glass mural above the original entrance on ground level. It depicts New York, Saint Louis and Los Angeles which the rail line represents. There were 42 lines in and out of the station, and this was where the change from East to West took place. It's supposed to be long, sorry. Around the edges are all the fruits each area produced.

The Lobby on the mezzanine level. There is also a bar here and a light show over the doe takes place each night from 5 - 11pm. Very speccie.

The reception area at the end of the Lobby. Note the mural above, it was unearthed and restored during reclamation of the station after it had been abandoned for many years.

Going upstairs these are a quirky bench top in the alcove. Very well done. A couple of tourists taking a pic also!

The Lobby from above. Stairs down to the ticketing level to the left and bar to the right and reception straight ahead. Through the end arch Railroad head offices for all the companies who operated through the station. The railroad offices now suites have retained the doors as it is a listed building. There were originally around 50 guest suites in the hotel, now over 600 as there are the originals, the railroad offices now suites and a whole lot more built out over the area where the trains used to reverse into the platforms.

An example of the magnificent arch work detailing.

And a schedule of the one days of trains Sunday November 2nd 1930.

Started out walking past the Old Capitol Building then a tour of the new one finished in 1888. Just beautiful. We were guided by a young tour guide through the Parliament and also what was the original Supreme Court. The photos don’t do it justice. After that we rode by Abraham Lincolns home (not open until May) then got onto the road proper and pretty much stuck to the old Route 66 with an occasional diversion through vast harvested cornfields. The scale of farming reminiscent of through the wheatbelt at home. Lots of road maintenance visible in both Springfield and St Louis.

Truckstop for coffee complete with Blues Brothers and Route 66 themes.

And some quirky signs to the Loo's and stating the obvious that women are always right ..... just saying

Some Aussies visiting the Capitol Building (Where Government is enacted for the State of Illinois). I love that they are all reminiscent of the White House in Washington

In the building one of the halls around the center dome.

Looking directly up at the dome. Several Storeys

Part of the original brick road (about 2kms)

Old Chain of Rocks Bridge over the mighty Mississippi River

And again

And again with the new one we travelled over still being improved in view

And a very picturesque farmhouse we saw on the way into St Louis

Last night’s accommodation

Carpenter Street Hotel

Comfortable stay. Lovely comfortable beds again and good facilities. USA Hotel breakfast included and a short ride to some sites before departure...and thankfully pulling up a lot better than the citizen on the left!

The bikes parked up at the front of the hotel, also one being ridden by a German guy doing a Route 66 tour.

A long day today weaving our way in and out of little communities trying to stick to what remains of Route 66, often only an old road beside the one we travelled on visible and many tired towns trying to stay relevant followed by a frustrating night trying to get a home delivery dinner and being let down by IT a number of times finally having dinner after 11pm and walking to get it …. Bikes parked at front door of hotel which felt good until told they were best there under the cameras!

Also, a special thankyou to Chris Humphrey Office National at home in Traralgon who helped me with an IT issue supposedly from Russia!! Office Supplies, Stationery & Furniture - Chris Humphrey Office National

Old servo at Odell. Also had a lovely lunch in a local Cafe.

Pontiac Route 66 Museum in an old Fire and Police Station. Checked out the old cells and glad I wasn’t a guest.

Largest Mural depicting Route 66 behind the museum, brick roadway under bikes from the original road. 

Last 2 night’s accommodation

Hampton Inn Chicago-Carol Stream

A comfortable stay. Lovely comfortable beds and great facilities. USA Hotel breakfast included and handy to the bike shop. About to head off on the big trip. Nice to see signs of Spring everywhere.

After close on 20hours in the air and on land via Dallas Fort Worth we arrived in Chicago to dinner in a local pizza restaurant and a loong sleep then off to collect the bikes ready to start the trip tomorrow.

Celebrating with bubbles in the lounge at Tullamarine before departure. How decadent at 10am in the morning!

 Flying in over Lake Michigan and over the city complete with one of many other planes in the air if you look closely.

On the ground at O’Hare airport with hundreds more.

Bikes picked up from DuPage Honda Yamaha.

And with the rest of the crew, our 5th time and the 1st for the others.

We last did some exploring around the USA and Canada on our motorbikes in 2019 and our plan was to return the next year to do some more but then COVID hit and life took over but now it’s almost time to head back to do some more exploring so come along and join us for the ride and I’ll try and keep you up to date here as best I can. Grateful thanks to our housesitters in our absence.

It has been another lovely sunny day just made for bike travel. Not too cool to start and not too hot to finish. Bit of a Cinderella ride really albeit with not a lot of photo opportunities spending most of the ride on Interstates but at least that meant we had plenty to occupy our time and attention so there wasn’t any likelihood of being mesmerised and needing to have a nap before we got here. Where we started in Canada was obviously an English settled location with London and then Chatham Kent Windsor and Blenheim (and they’re only the names I can remember) all being passed through. We saw heaps of interesting truck configurations and suspect these are known as Michigan Mules (within the industry anyway, if you need more weight add an axle principle). They look a bit bizarre to us but apparently do the job so some shots of those. We got in by 3.30pm so Norm is tidying up the bikes as we will be returning them tomorrow for storage, so he wants them looking good for the handover. A bit sad the journey is close to finishing. Boo hoo on that front and yippee on getting home to catch up with family and friends but especially new grandson snuggles!

Lots of roadworks early in the day, narrow lane between concrete barriers for the other direction. All 80kmh.

Norm was on a mission when we stopped for coffee to talk to a driver about the axle situation, this is the truck he was driving.

So, the trailer is a triaxle with 1 single axle in front of the tri and 2 single steer axles (1 at the very back of the trailer and 1 just behind the legs). All up this allows him to carry a payload of 40 tonnes.

And obviously circumstances / different freight tasks call for different configurations.

And again.

And again.

Flat and windy and many wind turbines here amongst the corn.

Ambassador Bridge. A privately-owned bridge so our toll transponders wouldn’t work. Glad it was dry when it came to fish for cash.

And it's crossing a big body of water with serious shipping underneath.

And back into the USA we go.

We love the many and varied water towers at all the towns, this one in Summit Township.

Pumpkins and flowers for sale. Have seen lots of these coming up to Halloween and they vary from being quite professional like this and plenty with them lined up on cardboard under trees as well.

And some interesting things for sale for would be collectors.

Our hotel for the night the Holiday Inn Express & Suites. This is where Norm cleaned up the bikes so he could remain in the shade.

To start, I should announce that my phone was ringing when we got into our hotel room last night and we were shocked to see our daughter Rosey with a newborn baby, she was supposed to be induced today but ended up with an emergency caesarean. Little Arlo is in the special care nursery but doing well and will hopefully be out of there very soon. It goes without saying that he is perfect!

Back to the trip. We left the long johns in the case today figuring that we weren’t going to have any mountain riding like yesterday and that most of the hills were behind us and we were right with mostly undulating to flat land throughout today and comfortable temperatures throughout. We rode through heaps of corn fields and all sorts of agriculture including orchards, berries, pumpkin and vegetables of all descriptions, some of which we were struggling to identify. We have been in Canada since the first few minutes of our trip and have found the housing quite different to the USA. Overall there appears to be very little marginal housing and more brick being used as well as various timber finishes rather than vinyl cladding and consistently good quality along Route where we travelled. The big highlight was to visit Niagara Falls

And there we are in Niagara Falls.

One of the Fall faces.

And the other, the horseshoe.

And all together.

Some of the manicured gardens at the falls.

Our parking ticket and the infringement issued when we had 30 minutes left! Norm tracked down the Policeman who was apologetic. $12 to park was enough without a fine on top when we weren’t out of time.

And it’s all happening back from the falls.

And again.

Farm autumn colour (since we are in Canada) and wind turbine. Have seen a few throughout our trip.

Another barn.

80km straight roads nearly all day is mesmerising …. nap time.

And some work shots. Rigs in yard.

And again.

And what exactly is that???

Some more nice real estate.

And again

And tonight, is a highlight staying at the Idlewyld Inn & Spa in London Ontario. All kinds of lovely including a delicious dinner and a buffet breakfast will start our day in the morning. The only downside was a slowere mthan ideal Wifi but I guess you can't have everything.

And a view of the bikes from our dinner spot which is the front of the little round room on the right above. Heavenly.

Well we had an absolutely awesome trip from start to finish and with this being our 5th trip OS on bikes I guess we would need to be getting the hang of it after all. Lot's of people make one of two comments.

1. I'd love to do that but I doubt I ever will - Our response- If you really want to you need to plan it to make it happen and you will .... and then work like mad for 40 odd years to make sure it does.

2. You did what? Man how lucky are you! - Our response - Yep and the harder we work the luckier we get.

Bit of a theme happening here I think.

The favourite part of our trip as always is being out and about together….being immersed in spectacular geography and on the bikes was a great bonus!

What worked well:

• Packed less and still didn't use it all .... again. Better get it right next year it will be the last year in the USA and we will have extra bits to bring home!

• Circling all destination towns on map so we could track weather from the weather channel and make decisions for more / less direct routes, also to divert off 4 lane highways to more rural roads and to key in other sights / must sees locals have told us about (often highlights of our day).

• Norm arranged a birthday present for me (driving lights for my bike) so I could be seen and be safe and his new bike had them also, shame we had to disconnect his so they could be rewired but his headlight was awesome anyway so he was still very visible.

• Thankfully our health was good and the old bodies didn't let us down. I had a restless nights sleep a few nights before we got to Chicago to return the bikes and apparently slipped a tendon to the wrong side of my shoulder which wasn't too comfortable but I could comfortably ride which was just as well and it's now sorted.

•  Last minute failure of my GPS before we left for our trip and difficulty by the bike shop getting another mount for my bike saw me without a GPS for a few days until we came across GARMIN HQ... who says there isn't a God! They were brilliantly helpful and nothing was a bother. I would NEVER consider such a trip, especially into and out of large cities as we do without one especially if on your own unless you want to quickly go round the bend ... as in the insanity one.

• Had a number of comments of how visible we were on the road with the yellow 'rain coat covers' we have over our suitcases. Good feedback.

• The roads overall were excellent, surface and camber good and even the older ones maintained well. Travelled over more than 100km on gravel roads this year ... what were we thinking? Thinking we wanted to get to or from somewhere we couldn't otherwise do is what. VERY variable surfaces on these as you would expect .... enough said.

• Norm solved an age old problem of flat feather pillows suffocating him and not being comfortable......shove one pillow into the pillowcase of another pillow. Worked a treat!

Balanced Rock-heard about it from the locals. NO signs until almost right on top of it. The Canyon area surrounding this was literally in the middle of a lot of fields of corn. Bizarre.

What didn't /could improve

• Some things we have little / no real control over other than feedback to hotels and that is often like a 'talk to the hand ' experience. Only 2 hotels on the whole trip had luggage stands for 2 suitcases. Seriously? I don't think I've ever seen a couple travelling with 1 suitcase and it sort of defeats the purpose of having a nice armchair if it's covered with a suitcase.

• While I'm at it I think a lot of hotel bathroom installation people must have chiropractic businesses as a sideline for all the overstretched necks arms and backs from trying to access a toilet roll while using a toilet!

• Enough whingeing. Small things only but both things from the customers perspective which would be simple to fix with little cost.

• I need to try and review rooms better also so we can hopefully have enough floor to stretch out on to do our morning flexibility exercises to keep everything where it should be and be willing to work like we need it to.

• The blog was on a new format and wasn't as user friendly as it should have been so I'm hanging out for the capacity to upload multiple photos at a time among other things. Still working on that.

• I used my Samsung Galaxy 10.1 to do the blog and we're still getting used to each other so not sure what the final outcome of that will be .... we will see.

Reasonable size but only one chair, had to use the floor for the second case when we didn't have one.

What was different / better than last time / expected

• The USA economy (and citizens) both seemed more positive.

• The people in business clearly wanted to be there and there were fewer retirees working in fast food stores and looking like they wanted to be anywhere but there and overall apart from really small communities, there seemed fewer empty shops and big shopping centres generally had more parking spaces being used and more people in shops.

• Truck configurations were also vastly different to what we saw last year. Not sure if that is differing state rules or just more practical application since the GFC.

• Last year there were predominantly tandem drive and tandem axle semi's. This year there were countless tri-axle semi's and heaps of flat top open trailers where we hardly saw any of those last year and they were almost always loaded.

• Like in Australia in both the USA and Canada there were many young people from other countries, university students and others of similar age, working in seasonal workplaces and apparently there are many adds in Universities of work coming up in University break times, I assume it is the same in Australia. Heaps of Aussies working in Whistler and other places which are snow ski sites as well as summer attractions.

• Conclusion - the economy has improved, infrastructure works are increasing (and road maintenance was definitely more noticeable this year) and fewer operators doing what has always been done i.e. taut liners from point to point. We talked to truckers at roadside stops and roadhouses but not enough to really know.

A more creative combination than was usual to see last year

Planning for 2015 USA.

• Well underway so we can be poised and ready to swoop on specials for airfares!

• Travelling part of the way again this year with Sharen and Ken our usual travelling companions so we are looking forward to that.

• Have just finalised the route for 2015 as opposed to theory and making sure we can take advantage of 'must sees' along the way, now to getting onto booking accommodation.

Got the Map marked up with most of our last 2 trips on it except where the map didn’t spread far enough.

A shot of yet another attractive Art Deco building in Madison.

We had a lovely ride into Chicago today. We were heading for Rockford initially but some sort of glitch in Norm's GPS meant we overshot the mark. Not to worry we still saw and rode plenty of minor roads so it is officially farewell for a few months to the lovely farming country we have seen and this is a shot of a tidy family farm unit. Liked the the different sorts of barns.

And an example of a community size collective for storage.

And a more seriously commercial one.

Getting closer to Chicago we came across an attractive little town called Sycamore and this is the Dekalb County Courthouse there.

With plenty of time on our hands I managed to convince Norm I could cruise through some nice houses. This is in a relatively new subdivision called Fox Mill on the outskirts of St Charles.

And this is in St Charles in a well established area.

As is this one.

And lastly a lovely garden. Beautiful leafy and colorful mix without being too structured.

Bits and Bobs:

A shot of 4 cute butts at a rest stop this morning.

And a reminder for us that as well as looking ahead to what is coming up we also need to reflect on what has passed so we can savour the moments as they happen and once they have passed as well.

And that's it for another trip until, I get home and do a debrief of what worked / didn't, what was different to last year and other plans for next year.

Last Night's Accommodation:

Best Western Plus Inn on Park, 22 Carroll Street, Madison, WI 53703

Gracious comfortable place and room very nice but a lot of furniture which reduces space overall. Free parking and wifi. On site bar restauarant and pool. Breakfast not included but available. Staff helpful and engage well. Comfortable bed and fridge so cold water to take tomorrow. Reasonble value. Lovely area and it would be nice to have an extra day to explore. 

Tonight's Accomodation:

Hotel Baker, 100 W Main Street, Saint Charles, IL 60174

Lovely Art Deco building which looks very cool and has been beautifully maintained. Comfortable roomy suite with outlook over the river. Complimentary deluxe continental breakfast, parking and wifi. On site restaurant where we dined on the last night last year but decided on the new Mexican restaurant tonight.

Thumbnail is a shot of a fountain in the warterfront near our hotel, the column has a statue of a great eagle on top. Beautiful.

Today we chose the road less travelled again and were rewarded with minimal traffic and winding roads rather than the opposite on both fronts as well as being rewarded by an absoloutely delightful ride. We rode through beautiful lush country alternating from intensive cropping on tablelands and narrow to broad valleys with just trees and little pockets of sweet corn or grassland and beautiful ascents or descents along limestone bluffs. What a treat. This is a sign we came across which explained the strip planting of crops we had seen. What a gutsy move by all involved many years ago and it continues today as they have seen the positive results. 

And this is a small example.

And the big old sandy Wisconsin River. No matter where we came acoss it there were large areas of sand evident.

Lunch in Fennimore saw us across the road fom the Railroad Museum and a model train ride. A universal attraction for all ages and they did good business in the time we were there.

A County building in Dodgeville as we tried to find some locals to get diretions to the Frank Lloyd Wright Building we were trying to track down.

And this is the waterfall at the entry to 'Talesin' at Spring Green and what a treat it was to visit the property. The Architect lived and worked here on the property his Maternal Grandmother's family lived on. Apparently this was a favourite picnic spot, This was a waterfall built by Frank Lloyd Wright to dam the flow of a natural spring on the property. It was a beautiful place and was no doubt of great solace to him as he rebuilt the home two times after it was burnt down, the first time when his second wife died in the fire, so we saw a combination of the original farming buildings used for the Apprentices and Fellows in his Architectural School to live in, his Studio and his own home. We got there just in time to go on a 2 hour tour of the home and property but that meant we got in much later tonight than we intended.

And a shot of what was once part of the dairy and is now apartments for some of those doing an Architectural Fellwoship here.

And a shot from the garden towards what is known as the Garden Room which used to be an outside open area until Samuel Guggnheim was coming to talk about Frank Lloyd Wright building a Museum for him and Wright thought it was desireable to have it built in and set his Apprentices the task to do it in a very short space of time.

And a view from the garden across the property which was just lovely. I took heaps of photos but outside only as no photos are allowed indoors even so I just love the look.

When we did get into Madison tonight we discovered our hotel right on the park which surrounds the Wisconsin State Capitol Building and here it is.

Bits and Bobs:

A truly profound sign we saw as we headed out of La crosse this morning. Norm was about to head out onto the road to take it full on when a police car pulled up so he thought .... perhaps not.

And a more friendly sign we came across in Viroqua where we had a coffee and found some beautiful homes as well.

Last Night's Accommodation:

Courtyard Marriott La Crosse, 500 Front Street, La Crosse, WI 54601

Lovely comfortable room and hotel. We have had great beds all the time we have been here with one exception but this was the best for me. Ahhh. Staff very welcoming and facilities designed for relaxing guests. On site pool, bar and bistro. Comfortable patio overlooking the Mississippi River complete with gas fire pit. Included parking and wifi. Spacious comfortable room and good value overall.

Thumbnail is a shot of a City building in Minneapolis, one of many which we love which surprises us as we are not city people. By the way, the hotel staff told me today it isn't a power station next door but a steam distribution point from the steam generated out of town by the rubbish furnaces.

Today's ride has been just lovely. Norm plotted a course so we could have more country road riding than interstates and it has been a delight and a huge bonus is that the traffic, once we lost an hour in stop start traffic on road works getting out of Minneapolis, has been minimal so a treat. The countryside has been gently undulating to small hills and bluff areas and heaps of farmland, mainly cropping with some dairy along the way, and not dairy as we know it but in barns and the fragrance of all that concentrated excreta is NOT fragrant. That aside, most of the activity is on the flat to undulating land and for the most part the hills have been smothered in luxuriant forest growth somewhat reminiscent of the forest areas we rode through last year in the east of the state though the colours are many shades of green rather than being clothed in a fall mantle of orange red and gold though we did find one plant along the side of the road today which was totally confused as to the season and was a brilliant combination of fall colours.

Soon after we left we came to St Croix and this was a quirky railway bridge we found crossing the river. We didn't find Ellsworh Falls which were supposedly close to here , not sure how we missed them.

Then into Ellsworth For a coffee and this is the Pierce County Courthouse, one of the most significant buildings in town as they often are.

One of the things we enjoyed about the ride today was that there was pretty intensive farming in small holdings with lots of communities small and large along the way and that is close to an absolute opposite of the land and communities we experienced as we followed the Oregon Trail heading west, even where water was plentiful on the Trail the terrain lent itself to large broad acre holdings so communities were sparse on the ground. This is an example of a tidy little farm, one of many we saw on our travels.

And this is an example of a community hub ahead.

We called in to see Crystal Lake but most of it was covered in a green growth of some sort and not so crystal clear so we proceeded on to Black River Falls, but the only remains of the falls we could find were beside the dam wall to hold the Black River back. Ah well.

Ths is a shot of another significant courthouse the Jackson County Courthouse in Black River Falls. This was only about a third of the building and the Police / Sheriff offices were beside it and extended at least half the distance again on from that so substantial.

And a street scape shot again in Black River Falls. This was a substantial and well maintained town.

And here we are in La Crosse and this is a shot of the waterfront on the mighty Mississippi River.

And another courthouse, this time the Courthouse and Law Enforcement Building, a more recent build than those already shown today.

And the Weber Centre for the Performing Arts which is next door to our hotel on the banks of the Mississippi.

And this is the bridge across the river literally next to our hotel.

And a shot under one side of the bridge at the edge of the car park. 

Bits and Bobs:

The little town of Black River Falls, apart from having many Art Deco buildings, had lots of murals and dedications to their history both significant historically and to the regular population. This is one example of the latter.

And this was a bike stand near our hotel tonight in La Crosse which looks great.

Last 2 Night's Accommodation:

Best Western Normandy Inn & Suites, 405 South 8th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55404

A nice welcoming hotel with multiple options of places to sit and relax, comfortable space in our room and bed lovely. Restaurant and bar on site but many options close by as well. Included parking and wifi.. On site guest laundry, gym and swimming pool. A handy spot to the downtown and good value.

Thumbnail is a night shot of some of the skyline visible from near our hotel. The Foshey Tower on the left was once the tallest building in Minneapolis .... a long time ago I'm thinking.

Heading out this morning feeling fresh and enthusiastic. A shot with an interesting mix of buildings on our way to breakfast at the 'HenHouse Eatery' which was delicious after a big sleep in. We ultimately nearly walked our legs off today, so much for having a quiet day but we decided we like Minneapolis. It sort of has a Chicago feel about it in that there are lots of different architectural styles in buildings without really detracting from their neighbours. There were many low rise Art Deco examples again around 3 - 4 storey only but also much higher with beautiful brickwork and lots of much newer interesting shapes and styles which works well together.

And a street sculpture after we turned into the walking Mall with foot traffic only except for buses and emergency service vehicles. Lots of eating options here as well as the majority of retail options and also connected overhead by walkways to many shopping malls in the 1st storey of office buildings.

Great efforts have been made to incorporate lovely leafy areas around hotels and residential apartment areas. Loved it. This is one near the Hyatt Hotel and many apartments on our trek to the Loring Park and Sculpture Park.

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And I found this squirrel which was so still I thought it was a cute sculpture in the park until I saw the fluffy tail and it managed to stay still long enough for me to fish out the camera. Yay.

There were many areas for sports activities on our way to the Sculpture Park as well as some pretty gardens and this is a shot across some gardens to the bridge across some water.

And the apparently world famous Spoon and Cherry Sculpture which we hadn't heard of until last night.

Heading back to the city area we came across this lovely fountain where we sat to cool off and enjoyed seeing the local children cooling off in the water.

A nifty address (1221) and a quirky view of the building and it's neighbours.

Another interesting street scape.The building with the big veranda looking extension is the new Public Library.

The ancient Stone Arch Bridge.

And a shot of St Anthony Falls, dam and lock to the left hand side. Quite a level drop in the lock.

And a shot of the Guthrie Theatre from the rear but I just didn't have it in me to find the front.

This area was known as the Mills Area where flour was milled for many years and these ruins at the front are pretty much all that is left and the buildings behind are now apartments. Looks good.

And last but not least, figured you wouldn't believe us if we told you there was a power station next door to our hotel in the middle of Minneapolis so here is a shot to prove it. Hotel left hand side, power station on the right.

Bits and Bobs:

We were having a coffee in a Caribou Coffee shop today and amongst a lot , of other guff we read we came across some words which pretty much describe Norm and I and how we seem to have the capacity to egg each other on and have come up with what we think describes us ...... " When What if runs away hand in hand with Why not". Ha ha, be interested to see if our kids agree with that statement!

All but one we saw were on the leash.

A cute idea in the middle of a predominantly residential apartment area.

And a temporary fix ... I hope.

Thumbnail is a shot of the Indoor Pool complex at Craguns Hotel and Resort and yes that is carpet. The bar and cafe tables are behind me as I took the shot. Incredible and as I said somewhere yesterday this is a great spot for families to relax and have fun but also for water sports and golfers. Sharen and Ken should have been with us because we got 2 complimentary walk the course golf games and since we don't play they could have had 2 each on a choice of courses while we went to the State Park and got eaten by mosquitos. Cragun's are very excited about their courses and tell us they have all been designed by very important people in the golfing world and from the untrained eye (mine) they all look impeccably well groomed and very attractive.

We decided to head north around some lakes today before we headed south to Minneapolis to do more riding on smaller roads and less on Interstate grade roads and it was an enjoyable ride through lush forest and farming land intersected by lakes large and small. We stopped for a photo opportunity on the shores of Serpent Lake at Crosby and discovered a very impressive Serpent beside it and considering it was between the lake and a caravan park and across a car park from a very impressive playground I wish them well with their 'Please don't climb on the serpent' sign.

Next stop was Deerwood and of course there had to be a Deer there.

Then onto Aitkin which had some lovely little quaint shops and this is their Rialto Theatre again with a neon sign.

And the brickwork on this building is what caught my eye as we rode along the main street which made me turn up the street. Don't know if I like it or not but it does catch the eye.

And an excuse for a break and a stretch and to get off the bikes at a Scenic Overlook of a lake .... but they didn't tell us which one.

A bit after lunch I got the nods really badly so we stopped to catch 40 winks under an interstate overpass and given the size of some of the ants we have seen the bike was the safest place to settle in on. Whoever woke up last was always going to be snapped, I was just relived it wasn't me. Apparently I stood on something dry in the grass as I was about to snap Norm and disturbed him hence the embarrassed grin on his face.

From there before we knew it we were in the suburbs of Minneapolis and rushing headlong with half the world for the CBD area, it was a relief to finally get onto a ramp which descended in between towering buildings and onto a city street. We didn't have far to go to get to our hotel and we will be here for 2 days so I'm doing the blog while my washing washes and dries and am thankful it is the first hotel laundry which is a comfortable cool temperature. We will do some exploring tomorrow.

Last Night's Accommodation:

Craguns Hotel and Resort, 11000 Craguns Drive, Brainerd MN 56401

A really intrigueing spot to visit. Comfortable space to sleep and relax in our suite with fridge and microwave so capacity to be partly self sufficient. Arm chairs to relax and a gas log fireplace and balcony. Also outside fire pits for the outdoors types and many sporting possibilities with boating, beach volleyball, lake swimming pool as well as the largest indoor pool we have ever seen complete with bar and cafe and carpeted area as well as balcony views from some rooms. Multiple eating options from dining room, bar and restaurant. Included parking and wifi which works well. Great spot for families with multiple accommodation options including lodge suites and self contained cabins. Not bad value given all the entertainment options on the doorstep.

Thumbnail is a shot of a great neon sign on the picture theatre in Fargo.This is one of many such signs in Broadway. Really enjoyed seeing them.

And a shot of St Mary's Cathedral on our way out of Fargo on Broadway which I took Norm on to see all the cute flower baskets, neon signs and Art Deco buildings.

Where yesterday's geography was undulating plains with intensive broad acre agriculture disappearing off into the distance to low lying ranges. Today we have ventured into Minnesota the State of 10,000 Lakes, or so their vehicle registration plates say and I could believe it. We seemed to climb up onto tableland which is incredibly green and lush with lakes from tiny to huge and every size in between scattered randomly across the land and as a result there is much less intensive broad acre farming but still a lot of farming and the trees aren't just growing along the waterways. Quite lovely really. This was our first stop out of town in a place called Detroit Lakes so I guess the lake is called Detroit Lake but who knows?  By the way, the black line on the top left hand side of the screen is a stick hanging on a spiders web.

Next stop for lunch was a quirky little town called New York Mills where we had lunch at a Subway store situated in a tin shed! Looked the same as any other Subway inside thankfully. This is a shot of some of the main street, very cute.

And a little out of town when we were making sure the few bits of compilations of old farm machinery really was the Sculpture park we found this sorry sight, a poor old barn has finally succumbed to lack of maintenance neglect and time. Going on the condition of the little house next to it I suspect the smaller one will suffer the same fate. Norm said sometimes at the end of the day he feels like the barn looks ... can't be pleasant.

After we booked into our accommodation on Gull Lake we headed off to visit the Crow Wing State Park which was a nice spot for a picnic or camping or fishing so long as you can keep the mosquito repellent handy. There used to be a town here called Crow Wing and was the site of a great Indian battle between the Dakota and Ojibwe in 1768 to gain possession as it was a prolific fishing and hunting area situated on the Mississippi River where the Crow Wing River merges with it around the Crow Wing Island. Ultimately fur traders set up here and a thriving industry with timber and trade and Ox-wagon crossings developed however when the railroad eventually got here they decided to cross the Mississippi at Brainerd which ultimately led to the demise of Crow Wing. This is a shot of the Mississippi and while it might not exactly be 'mighty' yet it was running strongly and clearly had fish in it which were jumping. Glad the mosquitos are a bonus to some. The park reflected a lot of what we had seen on the way today and I'll sum it up by saying "Uhm thinkin there's a lot'a huntin an fishin done in these hiya parts".

As we were heading back to Gull Lake we took a shot of this Art Deco inspired hotel in Brainerd and this was one of many buildings of this era.

And another of the water towers in Brainerd.

And a shot across Gull Lake from our accommodation. This is a huge resort which is used summer and winter and caters well for families and sports enthusiasts. They have accomodation for 1,000 people and their best season is summer but they also have snow boarders and ice fishers here in the winter with 2 feet of ice on the lake in winter!!!

Bits and Bobs:

A Travel tip learn't by sheer frustration for all those who have wrestled with feather pillows which seem to flaten the instant your head settles in them and when you put one on top of the other they just manage to wrap themselves about your face in an attempt to smother you. Norm having come across this problem on several ocassions stumbled on a soloution some days ago when in frustration he shoved a second pillow into a pillowcase with another pillow and lo and behold, it was solid enough for him to enjoy a good nights sleep!

And this shot shows you how the City of Fargo keep their flower baskets looking good.

Last Night's Accommodation:

Radisson Hotel Fargo, 201 Fifth Street North Fargo, ND 5812

A lovely hotel, comfortable room and bathroom, furnishings well proportioned, undercover parking available for $3.00, Included wifi which worked well, on-site bar, lounge, business centre, day spa and restaurant. Lovely comfortable spaces to relax in and Staff very helpful. Breakfast not included but a reasonable cost. Definitely the quality we have come to expect with the brand. Very good value.

Thumbnail is a shot of a Church we took as we went for a stroll after our dinner in Bismarck last night. We were amazed at the acres and acres of empty car parking spaces around University Hospitals and all sorts of Medical suites. After sleeping in this morning they were all full. We also spotted an Oil Refinery on the outskirts of town coming in last night so we know where a lot of the oil is going, and lots of oil tanker trains today.

After the glut on mountains we have had we expected flat featureless plains today but enjoyed the rolling plains we experienced with lush agriculture and land disappearing in patches to low ranges in the distance. Clearly the access to water varied as did the crops and it made for an interesting view as we passed. Again, the development is fast and furious. We were on an Interstate Highway all day but most of the towns / localities which now have access on and off the Interstate are new and many of the access roads lead to dirt tracks so a promise of access and development to come I guess. Early in our trip this is a shot of a Veterans Memorial Garden behind the Kidder County Courthouse in Steele ND.

And I took a shot as we headed into Medina to give an idea of the rolling terrain but in a 2 dimensional view it looks ridiculous so instead this is a shot of the very cute Water Tower with Silos on the rail line behind.

We lunched in Jamestown, the largest town since we left Bismarck and this is St James Church.

And a shot of a house to give you a taste of the quality of the town. The towns / villages / localities up until here have been pretty much all transportable buildings or close to it.

Not far out of Jamestown we saw this massive Silo Complex again on the rail line across paddocks. We saw many of these both smaller and larger today.

Next stop was Valley City, the self proclaimed 'City of Bridges' and this is one from the town area across to the Valley City State University (VCSU) a Teacher's University.

And a shot from the other side toward the University which was nicely laid out.

And a streetscape in Fargo.

And a shot in a residential street just one behind the commercial stuff and yes she asked me what I was doing but was happy I was just clicking away on holidays.

Bits and Bobs:

This is a shot of two long legged birds, one the 'World's Largest Sandhill Crane' in Steele ND and one little old me.....not surprised this is the largest known sandhill crane.

And as we negotiated the detour and unmade road in all the confusion as we made our way back to I-94 this is a shot Norm got of a very 'Oversize Load'. They were trucks with a tank each we got stuck behind in the rain yesterday which had pulled onto the road from a muddy yard and in the course of their travel washed the underside of their vehicles clean from all the downpour we had which was sheeting across the road. When I got off my bike for our first stop once we passed them I had a collection of mud and gravel on the seat between my legs. Cannot believe local municipalities allow this and every road coming in had mud stripes coming in .... mind you, it looks like the development in this area (related to oil) is barely keeping up to demand.

A shot of the 

Last Night's Accommodation:

Radisson Hotel Bismarck, 605 East Broadway Avenue, Bismarck ND 58501

Comfortable hotel but room appears unnecessarily small with 2 beds and a large armchair jammed in the space. Tiny but practical bathroom. Generous amenities but no refrigerator. Restaurant on site which was good for dinner and just as well as we walked for blocks afterwards and all we found were hospital and related medical buildings, car parks and some residential buildings. Nice furnishings but the laundry service they are using is letting them down. Table linen in the restaurant is just washed and folded and looks awful and the bed linen is not any better, a bit surprising overall given our experience with the brand in other times and this and other countries.