Sand Hills of Nebraska

Given all the challenges with the Keystone XL Pipeline, we thought we should tour the infamous Sand Hills. We left Grand Island with the sun shining brightly and headed northwest on Hwy 2 - the Sand Hills scenic byway. Frankly we didn't see anything all that special other than rolling hills, grazing cattle and the odd tree. Some locals informed us that it was a very special ecosystem with lots of biodiversity.

At Broken Bow, the clouds moved in, the temperature dropped to 42 degrees Fah and we battled crosswinds up to 70 km/hr.  We persevered to the railway town of North Platte, AKA in 1866 a town called "Hell on Wheels" as the transcontinental was being built.  Bev's hands were freezing.  She had most of her clothes on, including her rain gear.  She could see the exhaust leaving dave's bike pipes....geezz, nothing like biking in the winter.  People said there was a snowfall last night in eastern Wyoming (that's where they are heading tomorrow.......nooo, say it isn't so)

Western Iowa and Council Bluffs

We left Toledo in the sunshine but the clouds quickly moved in.  We spent most of the days on scenic Iowa backroads surrounded by rolling hills and off and on drizzle...the kind that makes seeing through your windshield hard.  A heavy rain is easier to look through, albeit not as much fun to ride through.
In Council Bluffs, the GPS had to guide us to three different motels before we could book a room.  We no longer like Garth Brooks; his legion of concert attendees filled most hotel rooms in both Omaha and Council Bluffs.  This is the land of country and western music!!
While in Council Bluffs - the starting point of the Union Pacific Railroad west, we visited the Golden Spike Monument and the Union Pacific Museum.  The museum was excellent and well worth the 2 hour visit.

Adventures in Iowa

This blog is called "Bev and Dave's Grand Adventures" and today was full of adventures....not from choice.
(1) We arose to bright sunshine and high winds. We chose to leave our Davenport hotel and cross the Mississippi yet again to Rock Island to visit the Rock Island Arsenal Museum, an active military base that dates from the civil war days. We braved the blustery winds on the bridge and travelled to the Arsenal only to find the bridge to Rock Island closed. BTW, you need a passport to get in, which we had dutifully dug out.
Finding the road closed Dave made a left turn at the next intersection in search of an alternate entrance.  All he could hear was Bev's horn trying to alert him that he was headed down a one way street, the wrong way.  And as embarrassing as it was, Bev had to follow (Bev hates to get lost and just Dave all the time). They were able to pull into a lot and change direction. At that point they gave up on the Quad Cities area and headed west to Interstate 80.
(2) Interstate 80 presented huge wind gusts and "wash" from a steady procession of trucks.  We managed to get to the first exit west of Davenport and arrived at the world's largest truck stop.

(3) After a lunch break, we gave up on I80 and proceeded to cross Iowa on scenic back roads. All went well until we arrived in Iowa City where Dave and Bev got separated at a traffic light.  Dave had to drive a couple of km before he could find a shoulder to pull off on.  Meanwhile Bev was hitting every red light wondering how the heck they would reunite.  She had heard Dave say on the intercom turn left for Hwy 6 (just before the intercom disconnected due to distance).....but she never saw a sign and worried she had missed it.  Bev noticed a cop making a Uturn with flashing lights and hoped there wasn't an accident to put her further behind Dave if indeed she was still on the same road.  It turns out the cop was in hot pursuit of Dave who had pulled over in an absolutely no-stop zone.  As Dave was explaining the sad story of his lost wife, Bev finally pulled over yelling "what's up??" with the Canadian flag flying proudly from the rear of her bike. (no picture of this....the cop might have really been mad.)
(4) We continued westward following the Iowa scenic byway dodging thunderstorms.  Around Belle Plaine our luck ran out and heavy rain set in and we got drenched.  At that point we gave up on the day and stopped at the next town via the GPS as a guide to a hotel in Tolendo.  Of course when we put on raingear the rain stopped and we drove into hot humid sunshine.
(5) After only covering half the distance across Iowa, the hotel provided yet another margarita stop....featuring 22oz drinks for only $5.....we only had one each so Bev's socks will be neatly folded with the rest of her clothes.

Dubuque and the Mississippi

Dubuque is a county seat that takes great pride in its appearance and architecture.  A steep bluff borders the downtown and can be reached via a funicular cable elevator/railway.  It is the steepest and shortest scenic railway in the world.
We took the Great River Road south to Davenport with an ice cream stop in Savanna.  The bridge over to Illinois was high, windy and grated.  Bev was afraid to gear down as the grate continued almost to the stop sign at the other end.  The grate was slippery and the bikes were squirrelly.  Bev wiped off the grates and then came to a sudden stop.  whew.
Davenport is one of the Quad Cities that straddle the Mississippi.

They Built It, We Came

The set for the movie "Field of Dreams" is just outside of Dubuque. We drove along beautiful rolling and green back roads, guided by the trusted GPS. It was too early in the season for the corn to produce baseball players but we still enjoyed to setting.

Cinco de Mayo and Too many Margaritas

May the 5th or Cinco de Mayo is a good excuse to party, particularly in Mexican restaurants that feature 12oz frozen margaritas for only 2 bucks....right next door to the hotel as a bonus!!
We settled in to the bar and met some interesting local and travelling folk (bars are great for that).  We learned about sites to see in Dubuque and the trials and tribulations of driving a 65 foot truck and trailer all around the US. Ultimately we consumed either 3 or 4 margaritas (we actually don't remember the exact number we drank)....the next morning, Bev was looking for her socks and found them still hanging off the bottom of her jeans.  We slept very soundly and surprisingly didn't have a nasty hangover.

1,000 KM to the Mississippi River

We left home on Monday May 4th and drove to western Michigan.  Dave almost didn't make it across the border as he ignored the customs official's direction NOT to proceed to a closed kiosk.  Dave bravely roared in and informed the irate official that the reverse on his bike didn't work and so once he started to proceed there was no turning back!  The guy just shook his head. Eventually he was admitted to the USA after removing his helmet.
The next morning we set off in a light rain for Muskegon and the high speed/cost ferry to Milwaukee Wisconsin. Getting through Milwaukee was challenging due to heavy rain, tons of construction/detours and rough roads.
We continued on through the rain all day and crossed the Mississippi to Dubuque Iowa
(a county seat and most beautiful).