Day 2.
Monday July 21st, 2014.

After a good nights’ sleep, I awoke feeling very refreshed.
No time clock today!
I packed my belongings and loaded the bike up. After the continental breakfast offered by the hotel, my journey continued southwestward across Iowa.
My morning route took me through farmlands that sported seemingly endless rows of corn and wheat. The farms went on for as far as I could see. An amazing sight to witness for myself and pause for reflection and appreciation for the abundance of food products in this beloved country of ours.
Not long into the morning as I passed through the town of Desoto, IA I found myself approaching the town of Winterset, IA.
A roadside sign announced the birthplace of John Wayne 14miles further along the way.
Now that was an unplanned surprise.
As a little boy growing up in Ghana, West Africa – Yes, we got to watch “westerns” too! We called them cowboy films.
Those were days of Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, Gabby Hayes and the likes of that era.
So a visit to John Wayne’s birthplace and boyhood home was now in the works.
Barely a couple miles along the way I made a detour in search of a covered bridge. Riding an unpaved road, I had to be very careful as the Honda is not best suited for this kind of road surface. Off-road Adventure Tourer she is not. She was not designed for that so it was up to me to keep her upright and well planted.
I found the Hogback Covered Bridge sitting 7 miles at the end of this dirt road, in all it’s glory. Out of a total of 19 covered bridges, it is 1 of only 6 remaining of it’s kind in Madison County, Iowa and yes, one of “The Covered Bridges of Madison County”.
I have a very healthy respect for a lot of the technology from earlier generations. Robust and very practical designs, proven and time tested. In short, “Applied, appropriate technology. Built to perform a function and perform it well over a very long time span. Time spans that in most cases far exceeds its design lifespan. To me, that speaks a lot and commands my attention and respect.
With a short visit and walk around, I admired the design properties and the quality of woodwork design.

I headed back to the main road and continued my journey towards Winterset, childhood home of John Wayne.

Leaving Winterset, my route took me towards and through the towns of Creston and Clarinda in search of and in anticipation of making it to the Missouri Stateline.
The sun was now high in the sky and there was very little breeze except for what I was generating by moving on the bike.
I began to feel de-hydrated and ready for a snack break. Glancing down at the instrument clock, it reported right around 3 p.m. Realizing the I had crossed into a different time zone and gained an hour of time, it was a no-brainer that I had to stop and take a break.
So making this time to have lunch/a snack, I set up and took some photos of this tranquil and beautiful area I found myself in/at.
As I ate and drank, I watched the nearby wind turbines turning so slowly in the now gentle breeze. It seemed to slow time down. There was no rush. I was not in any hurry. I was taking it all in stride.

So with photo session and a snack dispensed with, I pushed on through the northwestern corner of Missouri towards Nebraska.
The riding was enjoyable, despite the heat. I had quite forgotten what outdoor heat could really feel like. The cooler/cold Cleveland days had made sure of that. It was good to be in the heat. I felt alive. It reminded me of the Tropical African heat and sunshine I grew up in.
Late afternoon found me in Beatrice, Nebraska. I had traversed part of Nebraska highway 136 through Auburn, Tecumseh, Crab Orchard and Filley to this point. Each town passed by quicker than I approached it. They began to bear a very strange and close resemblance to each other, giving me a feeling of having-been-through-here-before. I began to laugh at the questionable thought of: “Could I be riding in one big circle?”
As I have traveled to many places and through many small towns across this nation, they are all beginning to look the same. Quaint and quiet but each with its own personal character.
One thing I cannot overlook though, is the journey through many others that have become almost ghost towns. Void of vibrant activity with lots of closed store fronts and businesses, lots of sale signs adorning properties, all smacking to the recent and dominant times of crises in our countryside’s economic existence.
The asphalt had been close to excellent. Very well maintained roads, straight, wide and with little vehicular traffic. This made for a very relaxing ride in the summer heat of the day. The fresh smell of cornfields and farmlands made for the experience that I had so long ago dreamed of one day experiencing. And here I was, living that part of my dream that I so long ago never thought that I could or would ever experience.
Not using a GPS unit on this trip, I pulled into a gas station somewhere on main street, here in Beatrice, NE. I quenched my bikes thirst with a just shy of 3 gals. of fuel and sought directions of the pretty young clerk behind the counter who greeted me with a big smile, for the nearest campground if she knew of one. Glancing at the wall clock in the store it was now 4:57 p.m. A good time to begin looking for my lodging for this night.
Armed with directions, it was my turn to answer her curious questions about my journey. I obliged her and went along my way.
I went in search of the campground, found it and checked it out. It would cost $5.00 for the night. It was clean, well-located, full, no breeze and HOT! I glanced down at my instrument cluster on the Honda. It reported that it was 7:30 p.m. and 105’F. I reminded myself that I was now in CST time zone so that made it 6:30 p.m. local time. I contemplated my options. It had been a 13 hr. riding day. Previous day had been 14 hrs. in the saddle. Weighing my options I wimped out and opted for a hotel/motel room for the night. I think I’ll treat myself again!
So I drove around town for a bit in search of a Micky Dee’s for my evening meal. As usual, I took advantage of their internet connectivtiy and began to search for a hotel room.
The only one I found was 7 miles out of town and was the only one in the whole area with an available room, only because the regular construction worker/tenant would not be showing up that evening.
At least here was a town that had so much construction work going on that the whole place was taken up. Good economic activity I guess. Money had been appropriated and committed and was being spent. Yup. That has to be a good thing for the local economy.
So after a hot shower, I settled down, made a few journal notes, looked up google maps for a broad overview of the coming days ride/travel and “hit the sack” for the night.
It was just after 7:30 p.m. I was out like a light before I could say ST1300!
It had been a day of bucolic farmlands, great asphalt, fresh green corn, soybean, alfalfa, wheat, wide-open spaces and glorious weather. I had ridden half the width of Nebraska today. The ST had transported us 292miles.
All making for a blessed, safe and enjoyable day of another riding experience.

Next - CS Day 3.