#148f Slow Down Through the Corn!

Fleeter Log #148f

Slow Down Through the Corn!

2009 September 1

Entire trip here on Spotwalla  

After witnessing the start of the IBR in Spartanburg, South Carolina, then welcoming the ralliers at the first check-in point near Chicago, I wish them well as they continue the rally to the West Coast. Myself? I feel an inner tug to stretch my trip west of the Mississippi and into Minnesota before turning back to the East Coast.

Day 12 - Tuesday

September 1, 2009

419 miles

 
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Dodgeville, WI to Warren, IN

Today's plan is to wander south and take a left at El Paso, then head to Indiana for the night.

Word is that the best dam fishing is in Argyle, and this photo shows the dam on the Pecatonica River where those fish are found.

Dam on the Pecatonica River in Argyle, Wisconsin

In 1905, John Young organized the first high school band in Wisconsin.

Argyle, Wisconsin

I love finding small town post offices with good parking out front.

Browntown, Wisconsin

Polo, Illinois

Woosung, Illinois

Veteran's Memorial Arch has been welcoming visitors to Dixon, Illinois since 1919. It must have looked big and impressive to a nine year old Ronald "Dutch" Reagan when he and his family moved here in 1920.

I pass through Ohio on the way to El Paso. Sometimes fleetering geography can be confusing.




























Just a small sign, maybe 3ft x 4ft. painted wood, on the side of the road was all it took for me to take a right in search of my next target. Yes, "I Brake for Covered Bridges."

It didn't take long. I detoured less than a mile before I was rewarded.

The Bureau Bridge, originally built in 1863, is one of only six covered bridges left in Illinois.

The bridge was renovated in 1973 and was damaged in the high floods of 2008, but it is currently open again for traffic.

After making my left turn at El Paso, I start a long straight haul due east on US24.

After about 60 miles of enjoying US24 through the cornfields, I decided to take a stop in Crescent City for a couple photos.

The GS of the Corn

I enter Indiana about 7:30pm and the sudden reality of changing time zones slaps me. I knew that I may be getting in a tad later than usual tonight -- I was thinking maybe a bit after 9pm. But as I cross the state line from Illinois into Indiana, I enter the Eastern Time Zone and lose an hour. This somehow comes as a surprise to me. You may think that I would have this time zone thing down pat by now.

In fact, I do have a method in dealing with crossing time zones as I fleeter the country. Going west, I completely ignore it on the day I gain an hour so that I may enjoy waking up the next morning with (surprise!) an extra hour in my day. Going back east is a bit more of a challenge. No matter how I plan, seems that I always get caught short of time at the end of the day.

So here I am, crossing into Indiana about 7:30pm with over 100 miles left between me and where I hope to lay my head tonight. I've stayed in the Comfort Inn near Warren, Indiana before. It's newly remodeled, less than $50, and next door to Ugalde's Restaurant. This is where I'm headed. But now my estimated arrival time is after 10pm.



This time change and my revised ETA is running through my mind as I push my way through the cornfields of Indiana with the sun sinking lower and lower behind me.

Apparently, in my need to get as far through the land of the corn as possible before dark, I wasn't giving enough thought to how far out of town the small farm communities place their official city limit signs ... and, therefore, reduced speed limit signs. Wolcott, Indiana is one of those small towns. It has a high expectation of  traffic quickly slowing down from the 55mph posted limit to a leisurely 35mph posted limit as they enter their small hamlet. I don't slow down quick enough. Mr Constable stopped me to let me know.

Even though it was a slow Tuesday night, he didn't get overly anxious about wasting ink on me. He did have a question though for me. After running my DL through NCIC and Indiana's version of same, he asked me, "Just how does a person get a Negative 2 Points on their record?"

I had no good answer for him. Nor did I have any idea what my driving record showed. "Beats me," I answered, "maybe I'm such a good driver they gave me points when I moved from Texas to Virginia?"  I said it with a sincere smile. He chuckled. Said he had never had a record come back with a negative number.

Of course, I apologized for speeding in his wonderful little town. I also explained how I have a sorry way of dealing with traveling east across time zones. He took pity on me or he was very impressed with my negative points on my DL record. Either way, he smiled as he returned my DL and warned me to slow it down. No ticket. I smile and ride on ... a bit slower.

It's after dark when I make a fuel stop in Wabash. I see a few motel options, but decide to push on the remaining 35 miles to Warren. Then just 5 miles from the Comfort Inn, I run up on this sign blocking the highway!  Not only a bit of surprise, but not any clue as to how many miles ahead the impediment is located or a suggested detour to avoid the unknown interruption. Thank goodness for a GPS. I zoom in and start dragging the map around to find a path to connect me back to my original route. What I don't know is ... will my newly plotted path put me back on my route before or after the impediment?

My detour was successful and didn't add too many miles or time to my ride. It's 10:30pm by the time I get checked into the hotel and make my way over to Ugalde's Restaurant for my first real food of the day. My last snack was when I finished off my Cheese & Crackers on the side of the road near Polo, Illinois. 

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