Day 21 Columbia to Chester IL 63mi

Wendy and I had an early breakfast with Mark and Linda, packed our gear back on our bikes, then said our goodbyes and headed out towards the home of Popeye the Sailor, Chester IL.

We were on a road called Bluff Rd with fairly flat bottom land farmland to our right between us and the Mississippi which was not within sight most of the day.  To our left was often bluffs and steep hillsides.  The road managed to thread the needle and avoided alot of elevation changes.  With the wind at or backs and the fair weather we managed to maintain a quick pace throughout the day.

This is an example of some vertical cliffs that would have been to the left side of the road as we headed south.  Ancient cultures may have used this area to provide some partial shelter.  Today, the roof of the cliffs housed a bird species.

We stopped at a midway point for a sandwich stop in the town of Priarie du Rocher. 

Closing in on Chester we get a hilltop view of the Mississippi for the first time all day.

Chester is a town spread across a high hilly bluff overlooking the Mississippi River.  It is also the home if the creator of the various Popeye characters.  Statues of different characters are scattered throughout the town.  We plan to capture some of the artwork on our way out of town and hope to share it with you tomorrow.  

Day 20 Meet me in St. Louis 50 mi Pere Marquette St. Pk. to Columbia, IL

End of the ride photo fun at the Gateway Arch, St Louis.

Both Wendy and I agree that we had one of the most enjoyable rides of the MRT today.  The scenery and hustle and bustle along the river and bike paths seemed to be ever changing today culminating with the crossing of the Chain of Rocks bridge crossing, the bikeway into St Louis, and visit to the Gateway Arch.  However the most enjoyable part of today occurred after the ride was over when we got to visit our hosts for tonight, Mark and Linda.

Yesturday's rain was a distant memory.  Traveling toward Alton IL was highlighted by sun sparkling off the Mississippi as the road took us right along the river.

It was a day to catch barge traffic moving goods up the river.

We stopped at the Alton's Saturday market near the bridge to purchase a vendor's Oowey Gooey Pastries then a quick stop at the McDs for coffee and a sandwich before exiting town on the Missouri Confluence  Trail leading out of town toward the Chain of Rocks bridge.

The trail was glued to the levy adjacent to the river.  

Here we are about to cross onto the Chain of Rocks bridge known for being one of the links along Route 66 as well as making a bend in the bridge as it crosses the Mississippi.  This information Kiosk was playing " Get your kicks on Route 66"  which explains why I was snapping my fingers and Wendy was doing a high kick.

The bend in the bridge.

Old Chain of Rocks Bridge gets my vote for best bicycle  bridge crossing on the Mississippi.

Next, the riverfront trail took us through some industrial and historic sections north of St Louis.

Part of the Freedom Trail from Missouri to Illinois.

Wendy and I at the Gateway Arch on a radient blue sky day. Time to take alot of photos. Here were some of them.

Wendy's husband, Mike, has a colleague who lives in Columbia,  a suburb of St Louis.  Mark and Linda, graciously offered to pick us up from the Arch and bring us to their home for an overnight stay, a hot meal, and lively conversation.  I can't say enough about how much we enjoyed their company and warm hospitality.

Cheers, from Columbia, IL

Day 19 Hannibal MO to Grafton IL 95mi

MRT - more rain today.  We left Hannibal by crossing back into IL after breakfast. Viking Cruise Line had one of their river ships docked in Hannibal this morning.

Wendy and I would be traversing a peninsula between the Illinois and the Mississippi River all day then conclude with a ferry crossing to the east side of the Illinois River to get to the Pere Marquette St Pk.

Rain started at about noon then didn't really stop until close to 6 when we were closing in on the ferry.   We warmed up in a senior center in Hardin, IL for 30 min then headed to a Subway restaurant next door for some hot soup and a sandwich before riding the last 26+ miles to the Brussels Ferry.

Day 18 Keokuk to Hannibal MO via IL 63 mi

Wendy and I put IA in our rear view mirrors for the rest of the adventure as we crossed the bridge from Keokuk into IL this morning.  Weather wise we had improving sunshine with a robust tailwind directly from the N.   The IL town of Warsaw is just across the river from Keokuk.  Alot of the towns we have been riding through lately have that "could use a little TLC" look to them.  There was still a cement factory on the outskirts of town.  Cement making seems to be one of the more noticable industries next to farming.

This is my "vista grande" view of the IL cornfields from a slightly elevated roadway S of Warsaw.

The only major city we would be passing through today was Quincy IL.

Wendy captured a nice photo of me down at Quincy's riverfront park.  

Our transportation parked outside of the cafe we stopped at in Quincy.  We both went for sourdough bread sandwiches and a coffee to hold us over till we reached Hannibal.

Time to head back to the river and get out of Dodge (Quincy in this case).

The after lunch ride was on a more trafficed road with a narrow shoulder.   We concentrated on riding a narrow fine line on the edge of the pavement and the drivers obliged by moving towards the center of the road to pass us.

We used an interstate bridge with a wide shoulder to cross into Hannibal.

The man behind the visitor desk gave us some recommendations on all things Mark Twain to see.

The Tom Sawyer character is based on Mark Twains personal childhood.

A lot of Mark Twain quotes throughout the displays in the museum sites in town.

Hannibal has a lot of building murals around town as well.

We ended the day like we end a lot of days on this tour by heading down to the river in the evening to check out the activity on the great waterway.

Day 17 Burlington IA to Keokuk IA 51mi

Today started off looking like a promising weather day.  Rain had passed through early in the morning and was supposed to be over.  Wendy and I were told about Burlington's Snake Alley which dates back to the early days of Burlington when it was necessary  for horses to pull carts up and down the sides of this hill.  It's a series of switchbacks on a bricked street, not unlike another famous road in San Francisco.  Today it's just another fun way to get around town for pedestrian and bicycle traffic only.

We headed to the waterfront after leaving Snake Alley to check out Burlington's Mississippi River bridge crossing.

Wendy was checking on our way out of town.   We came across another cyclist who verified the route to Fort Madison, IA that was or designated lunch stop.   

Somewhere short of Fort Madison the low chance of rain that we heard about at breakfast time became 100%.  The skies opened up and the scene turned into a frog drowning shower.  

Here I am under the roof at the gas station in town.  Even my bike flag was all wet and stuck to itself.

We biked through the rain to a cafe at the south edge of town to dry out and hope for the latest wave of rain to pass.  The coffee, hot bowl of soup, and banana cream pie helped get my hopes up that the showers would soon end.   

After lunch and a bit further down the road, it was apparent that the rain wasn't planning on ending soon.   We ended the day in Keokuk, IA.  We chose a local motel to overnight and dry our gear off at.  Not all meals are at a restaurant.  Tonight we bought our meal at the grocery store to bring back and eat at the hotel.  Tomorrow we plan to head for one of Mark Twain's stomping grounds in Hannibal, MO.To get there, we plan to travel on the IL side of the river most of the day.