Day 6, Tuesday, June 29th

We stopped for lunch at the town of Bayfield, a quaint little place where the queen was able to inspect her royal navy.

I found this really nice boat for sale.  Wonder if I could tow this home behind my bike?

Lunch at the Pier Plaza.

Advice from the locals.

When we arrived in Duluth we saw this freighter passing under the lift bridge.

Here's the bridge coming down after the ship passed.

Mileage today - 275.  States traveled - WI and MN.

Day 5 - more photos

Day 5, Monday, June 28th

We heard from our friends about their return trip to Memphis and as we suspected and feared they were hammered by rain, hail and wind. Whew, glad they all made it back safe and sound but what a trip!

Our luck ran out today as we began in a light rain and it dogged us all day. We finally had to succumb and 'suit up' early on but the rain was never heavy - just enough to be an aggravation. But man was it ever chilly up here. It never made it to 60 and the low tonight is 48. Geeze Louise that is quite a contrast to Memphis where it is in the upper 90s.

Here is Wrongway modeling his new cold weather headgear.  Looks like tight fit under his helmet.

Cold, did I say cold?  Check out this snowfall thermometer style gauge.  That is some serious snowfall!

                                                                                     

390 Inches of snow.  Sure glad I won't be up here for that.

Lake Superior looks more like and ocean.  Expansive and very pretty.

You may recall that folks called

President Reagan 'The Gipper.' 

Ever wonder how he got that nickname? 

Well here is a hint - the George Gipp memorial in Laurium, Michigan. 

Now go do some research to learn the rest of this amazing story.

Total miles today - 283 - all in WI

Day 4, Sunday, June 27th

Woke up to what in my groggy state of mind at 4 am thought was Harleys cranking up but turned out to be thunder.  A strong noisy and bright batch of thunderstorms roared through the area and I am afraid that our friends heading back to Memphis had to leave in the rain at 5 am.  By 6 am the rain had stopped but we could see on the radar that another batch was not far behind so we decided to hightail it out of Dodge while the gettin' was good and we left about 7 am headed north which turned out to be a good thing because even though we skirtted rain all day we never got more than a few drops and some wet roads where it had rained shortly before.  Motto for the day:  "Ride North and Stay Dry!"  All in all we were very lucky today.

 

Our first stop just outside Milwaukee was to get a photo of the Harley Pilgrim Road Facility and then about 180 miles north of that the facility in Tomakawk, WI.  We asked about where to eat there and were recommended to Billy Bob's a few miles north on one of the lakes.  Well there was a 'little' road construction with dirt and gravel road so we decided not to keep going but ate at the first place we came to, the Junction Restaurant. 

Then on through the lake country to our destination for the day, Eagle River, WI, and the Derby Inn BestWestern. We learned that the 'derby' is the World Championship Snowmobile Races held here each winter literally across the field from the motel at the race track built for this race back in 1963. Man they take this stuff seriously up here. Here are a few shots of just a very small part of the trophies on display in the lobby area.

Mileage today - right at 300, all in Wisconsin.

Day 3, Saturday, June 26th

A beautiful day in Milwaukee with periods of intense sunshine and then clouds but with a nice cool breeze.  All in all a perfect summer day to enjoy the sights.  We began our day with a visit to the Harley-Davidson Museum where we were treated to a deluxe VIP tour thanks to the arrangements by our dealer, Tim Bumpus.  Thanks Tim!  Our tourguide, Amy, was as passionate about Harley as we and she was very knowledgeable.  She is a cureator at the museum and came in especially on her day off to show us around.  She has a masters degree in archival studies and has worked previously for Kimberly Clark and the Smithsonian before coming home to Milwaukee.  She treated us to areas restricted to the general public.  We got a sneak preview of some of the artifacts which will be in the new exhibit about Evel Knievel.  You'll notice on the photo of his jumpsuit that the left leg is shorter.  Amy explained that after his horrific crash at Caesar's Palace his left leg was injured to such a degee that it was about and inch shorter than his right leg.

Then we were off to the ball park for the Brewer's game.  Did you see us on TV?  The ESPN crew came up to the Harley Deck to get some shots of us early on in the game.  Hi Mom!

Then it was back to the hotel for 'happy hour' by the pool with friends from Memphis and our Canadian friends.  What a great group of folks to hang out with!  Wrongway really bonded with his new friend from Canada and was only too happy to give him a ride back to the hotel.

(What's your name??)

Most everyone else who is heading back to Memphis tomorrow is planning to pull out about 5 am.  We plan to leave no later than 8 am headed for points north and more adventure.  See you later!

Photo Gallery

A Great Day of Memories for the Memphis HOG Chapter!

Day 2, Friday, June 25th

Today we traversed the great state of Illinois.  They sure have a lot of corn up here!  We happened upon another group of Memphis H.O.G.s as we were fueling up after lunch at Taco Bell.  PD said we didn't need any gas since lunch had provided plenty but we figured the bikes would like their own!

On down the road we had to do a little roadside repair on TomTom's highway peg at our last gas stop.  It had come loose and was in danger of falling off.  Not good to have metal objects flying around so we took care of that little problem in short order.  While we were doing the repair PitStop was entertaining the others with her acrobatic skills.

Traffic was tolerable even though we had a lot of construction on I-39 but when we got into the Milwaukee metro area at about 3 pm it was brutal.  Everyone handled it quite nicely (if you can handle Memphis drivers who can handle anything!) and we all arrived safely at our hotel after having first stopped at the Mecca of Harley-Davidson owners - the Juneau Avenue facility.

States traveled today:
Illinois and Wisconsin

 Mileage: 360

Day 1, Thursday, June 24th

We began our journey today from Sparky's Exxon in Atoka, TN, at 8:30 am with our little posse of six bikes and 8 people.  Our ride leader was Wrongway followed by his lovely spouse, PitStop.  The middle two were PD and Postman followed by TomTom and us, Sheriff and Queen bringing up the rear and riding sweep.  PamCake followed in her cage since her leg is still in a cast and she has not yet able to ride with Postman.

The day was uneventful save for several key ABCs of touring photo stops in Mt. Vernon, IN, and then in Effingingham, IL, for Effingham County and Illinois.  But when we got to our hotel, Comfort Suites, we were pleasantly surprised to see the greeting on the marquee for our illustrious leader.  Well they do need another 'm' don't they?  Then a fine dinner at the bistro next door completed a wonderful riding day.

States Traveled:  Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois
Total mileage - 431, and thank goodness the temps were tolerable.

Getting ready.

We are preparing for our trip which begins at 8:30 am tomorrow, Thursday, June 24th.  Meeting the gang at Sparky's Exxon in Atoka.  But first we've got to take our 15 year-old Dalmatian to the vet for boarding at his kennel which opens at 7 am.

It has been extremely hot the last week of so with temps in the high 90s approaching 100.  Of course the heat index has been well over 100 and we are hoping that it will be cooler as we head north.  Reports are that temps have just now reached 80 degrees in the U P of Michigan with night time temps in the low 60s.  Heck we may have to break out the heated gear!  After what we've had here we may freeze to death up there.