Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia
Lake Carlyle, IL, our first stop across the Mississippi.
An interesting restoration of an old tavern midway between Vincennes and St. Louis.
Route 50, our new route, looks a lot like the old Route 66. Note the old truss bridge on the closed portion.
The farms around here use very big sprinklers for their crops.
Our first view of Indiana was the George Rogers Clark memorial.
The Washington, IN, Chamber of Commerce helped us plan our route and kept us out of the rain. The city was hit by a tornado a few days later.
Typical corn (right) and wheat (left) fields in Indiana and Illinois.
We found a real gem in the Spring Mill Inn in the Indiana state park of the same name.
The park's Pioneer Village has wonderful restored dwellings, taverns, and craft shops.
And an impressive working grist mill that grinds and sells cornmeal.
The miller and his product at his feet.
Leaving the park, we headed for Madison, In. and our first look at the Ohio River.
Madison has some impressive houses and has restored its waterfront with a park.
The car show at Madison featured lots of hot rods and a few rare antiques.
Along the road, we passed this river barge tow going upriver against a strong current.
Later, we ran across this combination dam and bridge between Indiana and Kentucky.
Due to very wet weather, we pulled into the Rising Sun Casino to escape a thunderstorm.
Finally, on Memorial Day, we entered Cincinnati. Our first landmark was the Anderson Ferry, which has operated here despite bridges and interstates since the 1800's. We took a round trip.
Later, looking for a luncheon spot, we were told about he "Purple People Bridge", which leads across the river to Kentucky's Newport Levee complex (sort of like Quincy Market). This view looks back at the gentrified Cincinnati waterfront and the bridge from our luncheon table.
Lastly, an icon (sorry its out of focus) of our trip from St. Louis. The screeching, flying, intrusive, ubiquitous ciccada.
Today (6/3/04) the ciccadas have disappeared, and eastern Ohio is beautiful rolling countryside that somehow manages to build roads that stay relatively flat.
Leaving Ohio, we crossed this bridge (on the right sidewalk - to stay out of heavy traffic.)
Downtown Parkersburg has an old hotel, the Blennerhassett, that has undergone spectacular renovation. We found a room.
To see just how good a room, view Her Highness, Jan, taking a rest from her travels. (It's not your typical motel.)
Leaving Parkersburg, we used the North Bend Rail Trail for 70+ miles. Trail Day on the trail featured covered wagon rides and a marathon.
On the trail, we walked/rode through at least 8 old railroad tunnels. They are DARK inside!
The wet and stormy weather also dropped trees across the road.
Salem, West Virginia, is a nice small college town on the trail.
Trail foundation headquarters is an unusual recycled bank building in Cairo, WV.
Finally, trail's end, after two days of riding.
The West Virginia hills grow into mountains (not high but steep) as you move eastward.
As we left the state, this little waterfall was beside the road.
