It was Monday.... the start of another work week when I discovered that I had no work on Friday. Time to plan another day trip! I jumped on Google Maps in search of my destination for the day. Looking at Wisconsin I remembered camping at Devil's Lake and thought, why not make another visit? I spent a few minutes mapping out my route, avoiding large cities wherever possible.
I left Westmont at 6:30 am under mostly cloudy skies. I-355 took me up to I-90 west, where I slabbed it out to Rockford.
I even passed a castle along the way.
I made it to Wisconsin in record time.
I stopped at the General Atkinson Indian Burial mound area.
Passing through Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin.
Crossing the Rock River.
I stopped for some water at Aztalan State Park.
I rode through Waterloo Wisconsin and kept heading northwest.
Rolling into Rio, Wisconsin.
Heading north.
Entering the Wisconsin Dells.
Past the hell of the tourist strip, I began to see the natural parts of the Dells.
Lake Deltran.
I got on T, which was a blast.
Riding through Baraboo, Wisconsin.
The first sign for Devil's Lake.
Devil's Lake State Park.
I rode around the park to the south shore.
After touring around the state park I was thinking I would stop by my mom's property where house construction has just gotten started. It's about 20 miles north near Brooks, Wisconsin.
I rode by the Ho-Chunk Casino.
The construction site.
After a bacon cheeseburger at The Redneck Saloon with my mom and Steve, I started off towards home. I went through Portage, Wisconsin which was a pretty cool looking little town right on the river.
I passed through Fall River, Wisconsin.
Then Marshall, Wisconsin.
I followed a couple on a Goldwing for a while before pulling off for gas.
Back on the road I passed through Cambridge, Wisconsin.
And then Darien, Wisconsin.
As I came closer to the Illinois state line, I got stuck behind a trio of Harley riders that were intent on slowing me down and forcing me to listen to their obnoxious exhausts. It felt like an eternity before I could get around them.
I was going to ride past my dad's house, so I figured I'd stop in for a surprise visit.
He has a couple of guitar projects going and it's always cool to see his progress. The electric guitar in the foreground of this picture is his most recent creation. It was not a kit - it was entirely hand made by him in his spare time.
I took 20 east to 25 along the Fox River.
Getting closer to home I rode past The Morton Arboretum. I got married there!
Lisle, Il
Downers Grove means that I'm very close to home....
I pulled into my driveway, feeling fairly sore after putting in an unexpected 510 miles today. That's about 100 miles more than I've ever done in a day!