Tuesday September 3rd
We’re off heading to Huntington, WV for the night and then on to Richmond, IN Wednesday.
Thursday
Today we rode 20 miles of the Cardinal Greenway north from Richmond. It was a long ride until we returned but we wanted to get a feel for the scenery along the trail. We had planned to ride again tomorrow but the weather is not cooperating! The trail is paved, well maintained and a joy to ride!
Friday
We found Thistlethwaite Falls. They are man made! An entrepreneur diverted the river over the rock ledge so he could build mills! Neat!
Next we went to the Richmond Art Museum located in the high School; the only one in the USA in a high school. It is also free of charge so anyone can enjoy their art collection! It’s a private, upscale museum established in the early 1900s by wealthy industrialists who lived in Richmond. The art collection is amazing! RAM is truly one of those wonderful unexpected experiences you stumble across on trips!
Saturday 9/7
Galesburg (IL) is our destination today. Tomorrow we will ride the Rock Island Trail into Peoria.
We began our ride about 15 miles west of Peoria. The trail was paved as we rode through the suburbs. Then it became a narrow path with high weeds on each side. Ten miles into the ride the trail dumped us on a pot hole filled street in a poor section of town. We had it! We just made the decision to turn around and drop the idea of doing a YouTube video of this trail!l
On Monday we wanted to see downtown Peoria. The water front looks like a well done urban renewal project. But nothing was open on Monday! Later, we did visit Galesburg near our campground. They have preserved the entire downtown! It was impressive.
Tuesday 9/10
We drove to Green Bay. Our campground was on the Door Peninsula. On Wednesday we explored the peninsula. We drove up the Green Bay coast with its quaint vacation towns.
Even in September, they were pretty busy! Farms are found in the middle, and we found a very neat lighthouse on the Lake Michigan coast. They had a great tour!
Cana Island Light House built in 1869
89 feet high
Thursday we went into Green Bay, first to Packer Stadium! It is mind boggling and shows what can be built with 395 million! We didn’t take the tour but we ate lunch there.
Our next stop was the Green Bay Botanical Garden. It is a beautiful spot with different types of gardens, an amphitheater, and an education center! We wished it was cooler; it was just too hot to stroll through the gardens at the pace we normally enjoy!
We did stop in a winery (rated in the top ten) in Algoma on our way back to the campground. We didn’t buy any bottles! We’re glad we finally got to Green Bay. It was an enjoyable visit!
Friday 9/13
Northern WI, here we come to ride the Heart of Vilas County Bike Trail that connects a series of small towns! Our campground is on a small lake with mostly seasonal campers.
We rode 39 miles of the trail from Sayner to Boulder Junction to Manitowish. It is a beautiful, relaxing ride and a great plus for the small towns!
We have never been to the areas in Wisconsin we’ve been on this trip…and we’re so glad we came!
Monday 9/16
Can one drive from Boulder Junction, WI to Brainerd, MN entirely on secondary roads? The answer is yes, and the roads were great. Our campground is on a lake here as well.
We rode two days on the Paul Bunyan Trail between Brainerd and Jenkins covering about 25 miles of this famous trail. Weather prevented us from riding a third day. We think the trail lived up to it’s reputation!
So, what’s up with the Blue Ox?
Winter was so cold one year the snow turned blue! Paul Bunyan was walking in the woods and saw a teeny baby ox. Paul warmed the ox and he dried out, but he remained as blue as the snow that stained him. Hence, Babe the Blue Ox!
Friday 9/20
On to Rochester to see Liz and Jeff and the family. It will be a fun time! On Saturday, we went to Minneapolis to see the Arenz and Signorelli families! Christine and Patrick hosted a fun afternoon at their house with great food and fellowship! It was great to see everyone!
Jeff, Liz, Sophia, Lisa, Luca, and Adriana
While we were in Rochester, we rode two days on the Root River trail, a nice paved trail through rolling hills and farmland! And we spent time with Liz and Jeff everyday! We loved being with you two! Thanks so much for your hospitality and the wonderful meals!
Thursday 9/26
We decided to forgo going to Lexington due to the hurricane. So we will spend three days driving a more northern route home! We definitely made some decisions on this trip. We will not drive across country again. Our camping trips will be driving a few days to a destination and then staying weeks so we don’t have to set up and break camp a lot or unload and reload bikes a lot! Easier on the old folks and hence, more enjoyable!
Overall, this has been a great trip! We had no problems except a nail in the front truck tire which was fixed within 10 miles of where we discovered the low tire pressure! We loved the trails we rode and the WI and MN lake countries were beautiful!
