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As I came into Winona the evening before, I rode past a Harley Davidson dealer, which was already closed for the evening. When I left the hotel Monday morning, I decided to head down before I hit the road to purchase a t-shirt. Just my luck: they were closed on Mondays! Oh well. The sun was shining; little white fluffy clouds hung in the deep blue sky; and the temperature was in the upper 60s. I was looking forward to a great ride. I took some pictures from the parking lot of the Super 8 just before leaving the hotel:
Since I had been in this area before, my intentions were to hit some roads that I hadn't taken yet. I headed south out of Winona on Pleasant Ridge Road, which met up with 76. I took 76 to 16, which took me into the southern part of La Crescent. This little 1 hour detour was well worth it, as these roads were well kept, with long, winding curves, and nice elevation changes throughout. I encountered some wildlife along this route: 4 deer running through a freshly plowed field, and shortly after that I passed a big fat wild turkey just hanging out a few yards from the side of the road. I've included a map of my route below:
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I had never ridden Minnesota's Great River Rd south of La Crescent, so I headed south on 61. As I've told people in the past, it seems as though the Wisconsin Great River Road is set back further from the bluffs than on the Minnesota and Iowa side. When riding the roads on the west side of the river, the road sits a only few yards from the bluffs. This obviously proves that the signs marked "Watch for Fallen/Falling Rock" are no joke. These roads wind up and down the river, providing small changes of elevation, allowing some spectacular views of the water and bluffs popping up over the Wisconsin side.
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Here's a picture I took shortly after entering Iowa from one of their scenic overlooks:
I crossed the Mississippi back into Wisconsin on 18 from Marquette, IA. I stopped off at a Walgreens in Prairie Du Chien, WI, to get something to drink and munch on. As I stood in the parking lot, an older gentleman pulled in on a little Honda Spree scooter. He parked in the spot next to me, and asked me "do you want to race?" I laughed at his suggestion, and replied "Sure!." He was obviously kidding, but his comment broke the ice. We discussed our machines for a bit, and then I was on my way to Wyalusing State Park.
Another goal for this trip was to ride south from Prairie Du Chien into Illinois. I had never ridden the Wisconsin Great River Road south of Prairie Du Chien, so the next few hours was more brand new territory. I crossed the Wisconsin River into Wyalusing State Park. I actually hadn't intended on stopping in the actual park, but I figured I'd pull in for a few minutes. Wisconsin and Minnesota charge fees to visit their state parks, and they are usually $5 for an hour. I followed a car into the park entrance and up to the visitor's menu. As I waited for the car ahead of me to pay, I enjoyed the view of the hummingbird feeder 5 feet from my head. I was a bit unnerved at first, as I've only witnessed a hummingbird in the wild one time in my life. There were at least 10 at the feeders, hovering from hole to hole, and flying past only a few feet from my face. It was my turn to pay, so I pulled up to the window. The ranger asked me if I'd ever been to the park, then pulled out a map and pointed out all the things to do within my hour. The most popular destination was the scenic lookout overlooking the merger of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers.
I followed the signs to the overlook and parked my bike. As I was walking towards the lookout, an employee was mowing the grass. He pulled off with a wave as I stepped out in front of the placard:
To my dismay, it seemed as though the landscaping had awoken every single blood sucking insect in the area. I was only able to enjoy the view for a couple of minutes before making my way back to the bike as quickly as I could, without actually running. Luckily, I was able to snap a panoramic, as well as a short video (you should be able to see the bugs swirling around in front of my lens in the video):
After leaving Wyalusing, I followed the signs pointing out the Great River Road, since the road is shared with 35 and little county roads as you go south of Prairie Du Chien. I actually stopped just outside of Bagley, WI to put my camera back in my saddlebag. I took my time, and sat there for a good ten minutes. Not one car passed me going either way, and I was surrounded by nothing but the sounds of nature. I hopped back on the bike, and was very excited to witness this portion of the state.
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This section of the ride was quite impressive, as the road swerved up and down through farmland. Plenty of sweeping, scenic curves, and many elevation changes. I was about 45 minutes into this portion of the ride when I realized that I hadn't passed 1 gas station since leaving Prairie Du Chien! Luckily, I was not too far from Potosi, WI, where I stopped for a short break and fuel. After refueling the bike, I moved it over to the side of the station, when I happened to stumble upon this spectacular view, which is a great representation of the views from this section of the road:
I was less than an hour outside of Galena, IL, where I had initially planned to stop for lunch. But it was already past 4pm, which meant lunch was now dinner. This also meant if I stopped to eat in Galena, I could expect to make it home well after sunset. The issue isn't that I don't ride at night: I ride regularly in the evenings, since I'm also a daily rider. The issue is that a scenic ride ceases to be scenic once the sun sets, so I passed through the Galena Territory on my way home. I needed to stop one more time for fuel, which I did just outside of Stockton, IL. There is a McDonalds attached to the station, so I had a quick snack and jumped back on the bike. Stockton is in the vicinity of where the driftless area ends. Though I had already been on the road for well over 8 hours, with a couple more to go, I couldn't help but start to plan my next trip to the area.
I pulled into my driveway just before 8pm. The weather cooperated throughout the day, and the sky stayed blue the entire trip. Another successful journey into the greatest riding area in the upper midwest! Long Live the Driftless Area and Mississippi River Valley! I can't wait to visit again.
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