And it continues...

Sorry to have left you all hanging, I didn't have an Internet connection for a few days.

Early the next morning Willa and I made our way to the Chain of Rocks Bridge and for some folks who didn't know this is part of old Route 66.

I unloaded the bike, set up the trailer got the water bottles and Willa into the trailer and made my way across the old bridge(which is 1 mile across).

The day was sunny with a slight breeze. We made our first stop after the bridge  at the Rt 66 Rest Area, we took a quick picture and then headed towards  the Arch.

The entire trail was paved. We made a few stops for rest breaks and photo ops.

  After three hours we made it to the Arch.

We took a 30 minute break then made our way, very,  very, very slowly back to the Chain of Rocks Bridge.

I had started this little adventure at 9 am we made it to the Arch about noon and we got back to the car at 4 pm. The cool breeze had left me somewhere between the Arch and the bridge and it had become hot!

For someone who road the bike a couple blocks to the store and back, making the the trip to the Arch was a great  accomplishment!

So after the 25.6 mile round trip we made a run to WalMart for some aspirin, we made it back to the KOA.

We had a good dinner and turned in early. We needed to get up early to head for Hannibal, MO.

Friday, Oct 8:

We headed out  about 9 am headed to Hannibal MO. We took route 79 out and ended up with a detour back to the road I wanted to avoid, Highway 61. I followed it on into Hannibal caught the exit that took me to down town Hannibal and very easily found  Mark Twain's boyhood home.

 We took a quick tour of the outside of the home which took 10 minutes. We then walked down to the water front. We found a statue of Mark Twain and a plack that talked about his time on the river.

Willa put her paws into the mighty Mississippi and then took a few laps of the water.
We walked on down and and took pictures of the Paddle Wheeler called the Mark Twain.

Leaving the water front we then walked back to downtown. We took a moment to take in the architecture of the old buildings and to appreciate the details of the workmanship.

Loading up we headed out and across the bridge into IL and to our destination in

Colchester.

Oct 9:

We made it! Now we are heading out with my friend to do the Spoon River Scenic Drive.
Teresa drove because she knows the roads better than me. Our first stop was at London Mills. There were allot of crafts, food and my favorite, junk! There was also a Civil War encampment.

 I of course had to go to the camp. I chatted it up with a couple of the soldiers and they explained camp life and the artillery. I was allowed to hold a hand gun and then a rifle, with and without a bayonet. I had inquired about the balance of the gun with the bayonet and he let me feel the difference first hand. I gave the rifle back and he then asked if I would like to shoot it off! I was so suprised I wasn't sure he had been speaking to me! YES I wanted to scream, but just gave a quick nod of my head. I watched as he loaded it then handed the gun back to me.

 "Pull the hammer back so that it clicks two times." I heard him say, "Then squeeze the trigger." I pulled the hammer back the required two clicks and gentle squeezed the trigger. The butt of the rifle nudged me in the shoulder, the hammer hit the cap which fired off the wad.(I hope I got that all correct) It was so cool!

But poor Willa, didn't think it was so cool and was ready to hit the road!
In all my excitement I only got one picture!

Civil War encampment

Oct 10

Day two off the Scenic Drive! We are off to Elisville then down to Lewiston. We chatted it up with a blacksmith, listen to some karaoke, had lunch and took some fun pictures of Willa.

Willa at the Old Post Office

Willa in front of a tepee

A view of Elisville, IL

Next stop Lewiston.

 We caught site of a sign on the highway and followed them out to Marigold Farms. There was a little log cabin and a food vendor but what caught our attention were the three teams of draft horses. We soon got to see the big drafts doing what they do best, work. They plowed a field(ok part of it, ok ok one row!) folks were allowed to walk around them and ask questions. Me being a hands on kinda person wanted to get my hands on the reins. However one fellow wanted to work the plow so the demonstrator allowed him to work the plow while he handled the horses. He did a good job for a bit but couldn't keep up with the team. Just shows that farming back then was real hard work!

The team plowing

Throughout the entire two days Willa was a celebrity! Everyone thought she was a great dog or they would say how cute she was and Willa being the kinda dog that doesn't let popularity go to her head took it all in! She loved everyone!!

One tired Corgi!!

Oct 11
We are now in Lacon, IL. We are visiting with my cousin and talking genealogy. In the morning we are planning on going over to Pontiac to a cemetery. All for family heritage.