We had a great visit (for a second time!) with our friends in Charlotte. We arrived on the 20th and left the 24th. After spending time to get the oil changed at BMW of Charlotte (another favorite BMW dealer and our third service there!) and working around the house making an alteration to their kitchen counter, we bade them goodbye. Heading back up I-77 towards West Virginia, our plan was to make a big day of it and get into southern Ohio to camp. We had great weather all the way to Shawnee State Park which is located right along the Ohio River. Two stretches of road are worth mentioning- I-77 through West Virginia is a really scenic drive. It is a toll road but for $7.50, we drove from the North Carolina border to Charleston, WV on a really great highway. Also, the drive along the Ohio River on US 52 is a must. Needless to say, it is curvy but not so much so that you can’t enjoy the scenery at the same time. Our camp at Shawnee State Park was great! The cooler temps made for a really nice sleeping night and the low humidity was perfect. The park is definitely worth the stay if in the southern Ohio area.
On Saturday July 25, our first stop was after a short trip down OH 125 in Georgetown, OH. There we saw the boyhood home of Ulysses S. Grant and the schoolhouse just up the street from his home. Grant spent his younger years at the home until he was 17 and left for West Point. Interesting visit and Georgetown, though small, is a quaint town. We left Georgetown and headed north to our next stop(s) in Dayton. First was the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. Next to the visitor center is the bicycle shop the Wright brothers used for about two years from 1895-1897. Very cool. The displays included the machine shop where they made all their parts, a typical turn of the century dry goods store and bicycles from the era. In the Visitor Center next door they had a complete exhibition of the Wright Brother’s accomplishments. Little did we know that even though they are credited with the first flight, it wasn’t until later in a field not far from this bicycle shop (in the present-day Wright-Patterson Air Force Base) did they perfect flying with their Flyer III. This plane was completely controllable, unlike the first flight in North Carolina, and spent 40 minutes flying around the fields. The film presenting all this and more was really good! The whole area is a “don’t miss” and was very inspirational for us. From there, we made our way south-west onto US 50 and our camp for the night at Versailles State Park.
On Sunday, July 26, we continued on US 50 west for quite a ways (we recommend this road too!) until we turned south on US 231 headed towards Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. Nestled deep in southern Indiana, the memorial is an inspiration. If you aren’t familiar with this period in Abraham Lincoln’s life, it is worth closer inspection. Lincoln lived here during his formative years and the story behind it all is moving. We really enjoyed the presentations and the center is filled with original items that Lincoln used, letters written by him and a chest believed to have been made by his father, Thomas. It was great! Also, there is a walking trail that takes you to the Cabin Site Memorial, the Lincoln Spring and Pioneer Cemetery where Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln is buried. It was interesting to walk the grounds our 16th President did and see much of the country as he probably did. From there, we continued west to New Harmonie (spelled correctly) State Park on the banks of the Wabash River. And was it HOT! We got a really nice campsite away from the maddening RVers (who run air conditioners to our envy, all night). We just couldn’t get cool. We even rigged up our fan at the top of the tent but it really only blew hot air on us. By morning, we had a pretty good downpour that set the stage for another hot day of riding the 1600. But hey, we’re riding our BMW!
We left early Monday the 27th hoping to beat the heat but that would prove to be just a dream. We packed our stuff wet and by the time we were on the road (8:00), the sun was out but the temps were nice. We back-tracked a bit to Evansville, IN and caught US 41 north to Vincennes. It was a short run to the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park. There, we learned a bunch about a hero of the Revolution we had never heard of! Clark was the oldest of 10 children, the youngest of who was William Clark of the Lewis and Clark fame. What George accomplished during the winter of 1799 was astonishing! Marching about 200 miles with only 175 troops or so, he and his men braved the Illinois winter (which is unpleasant at the best of times…sorry) and captured the British Lt Governor and secured the Ohio Valley and beyond for the Patriots. This led the way for the British to give up what we now know as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, effectively making the Great Lakes the international border with Canada. It also paved the way for the Louisiana Purchase. Quite a feat huh!? Clark is definitely worth further study. A real unsung hero.
Now back to the heat- we had made plans to hotel it in Sparta, not too far from St Louis and another National Historical Landmark at Fort de Chartres along the Mississippi River. All told, about 200 miles for the day. After leaving George Rogers Clark, it was nice while tooling across US 50 once again right up until about noon. Then it got really hot! I don’t know about you but I say it is just as hot, if not hotter in the Plains than it is in the southwest. At 95 degrees and 70+ percent humidity, it was blazing (along with the sun)! I find the GTL to be pretty hot on my lower legs while moving and really hot when we stop or go slow. I keep the keys to the trailer in the right lower pocket and they get really hot after driving in that heat! Ah, the price we pay for perfection! It was great to get into some air conditioning of our own and watch the thunderstorms from the safety of our hotel room once we were in Sparta, IL.
Tuesday, July 28 started out pretty good but the day before was going to prove to be just a warm-up (pardon the pun) for later today. We had a short run up to St Louis after we found out that Fort de Chartres National Historical Landmark was only open Thursdays through Sundays. That was a bit of a bummer because we won’t be able to count Illinois as a state in our National Parks Tour. Anyway, by the time we got to Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (where the Arch is), it was already 90 degrees at 10:00 am. The forecast was for a heat index of over 110 degrees. We needed to make our visit shorter than we really wanted. Consequently, we didn’t hang around for tickets to go up in the Arch but rather spent time exploring the Memorial. The Memorial is housed in the Old Courthouse, where the first two cases regarding Dred Scott were heard before the Supreme Court heard the case in 1857. The building is amazing! It really dominates the St Louis downtown and is filled with loads of history. We left there and headed south on I-55 for the short run to Ulysses S. Grant National Historical Park. Located on the farm White Haven owned by his father-in-law but later his and Julia’s (his wife), the farm and house are open to guided tours but we didn’t take one. The heat was really building. We did spend time in the Visitor Center and once again, raves for the film about Grant’s life. If you are interested in knowing more, pick-up Grant’s memoirs. An excellent book with loads of information about the Civil War too.
We bugged out of there to get to REI to re-supply (since there are no REI’s in the next two or so states) before it got too hot. Once done, we picked up I-44 south towards Springfield, MO for our second hotel in as many nights. It was HOT! Ninety-eight degrees just about the entire 200 miles. I know the heat index was into the 100’s. Yes, it is as hot, or hotter, in Missouri than the desert southwest. No amount of shade makes the heat less intense! By the time I reached in the side pocket for the keys at our hotel, they were almost too hot to handle! We finished off the day at 275 miles and totally worn out.
Wednesday July 29 started out hot just like the past few days but the weather forecast was for cooler weather Thursday. By Thursday, we planned to be in Russellville, AR. We weren’t going to have it today though! Today, we planned two stops- Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield and George Washington Carver National Monument. Our first stop was only 15 miles from our hotel. In 1861, Wilson’s Creek was the opening battle of the Civil War in Missouri. Though a disaster for the Union, it did focus their attention on the troubles in Missouri. In addition, the Union general, General Lyon was the first general to be killed in the war. His death proved to be a powerful rallying point for the northern people. There was, as usual, a great film and the displays in the Visitor Center were first rate. Another 40 miles and we found ourselves at George Washington Carver National Monument. What a wonderful location! Carver was a VERY talented fellow. Not only a scientist, Carver was a talented painter and knew how to knit and crochet (really well)! Examples of his work are on display in the Visitor Center. Even though his great wisdom, brilliance as an educator and his timeless message for us are outstanding, he will be remembered best for his work in transforming peanuts into a whole host of other products! This National Monument was also a small yet fascinating place to visit and learn something new. We highly recommend the visit. It was getting on about noon and the temps were climbing fast. We blasted out onto I-49 south headed towards Bentonville (Walmart’s headquarters) with a planned exit onto AR 16 over into the Ozarks in the hope the temps would drop some. They did, and by 10 degrees, dropping from 98 to 88 in only a few miles. We made a very brisk (not in the temperature sort of way) ride down AR 16. Another great Arkansas rode seemingly built for motorcycles! By the time we got to Russellville, it was hot again only now 104. Very unpleasant…but knowing we’d be there a while, seemed to make it better.
The wrap-up of July went like this- We drove 3,961 miles in July bringing our total for the year to 20,581 or 11,793 since we left Las Vegas on May 12. We’ve racked up 63 parks for the month totaling 143 for our 2015 National Parks Tour. Our state count grew by 10 for a total of 26, one more than is required to qualify for the Tour. The K1600GTL continues to perform flawlessly producing an average of 44 mpg. It helped a lot to lose the bag from on top of the trailer! The other plus is that the seat we had re-done has broken in nicely and we are both happy with that. Another plus is the protection the Aeroflow K1600GT screen is providing. So, all things are great with the bike too!
After our planned visit with Cynthia’s cousin in Russellville again we’ll be ripping into Kansas, Colorado and then to North and South Dakota. Stay tuned, much more to come! Greg & Cynthia.