here's a synopsis of the trip.
We left Friday June 20 at about 4:00pm from Festus, MO. We stopped in Litchfield, IL for a bathroom break and happened upon a Route 66 festival. Our next stop was Springfield, IL for dinner at a nice steakhouse, Alexander's I believe it was called. That night we stayed in Decatur, IL because I got a smokin deal on a jacuzzi room there. The next morning we headed north on 51 to Bloomington, IL for our first break. Then Odell, IL where we hit the mother road all the way up to Joliet, IL then on to Naperville to see my buddy Jarod. We had some stuffed pizza that evening and a great european breakfast the following morning before heading off that evening towards Iowa. We made our way on the two lane roads about halfway or more to Moline, IL when Danielle was getting tired so we hit I-80 to kick it up a notch. I have no idea where we stopped, but eventually we hit Moline, IL (where the Mississippi is at least 3 miles out of it's bank), Davenport, IA and on to Muscatine, IA for the third night. We knew we would have long day ahead but needed to relax.
We set off on day four southbound on US-61 but after less than 20 miles on the road we started getting detoured. We detoured through Columbus Junction, IA and on to the four lane to head for Keokuk, IA. North of Keokuk, IA, 61 was back open so we hopped back on the four lane (61) to enter Keokuk. After a quick bite there, we found that 61S was closed and so we had to find another detour.
Entering Illinois.... Again.
We crossed back to Illinois on a brand new road of gravel constructed on two lanes of a four lane highway to keep traffic moving in spite of the high water. It was pretty wild riding on the makeshift levee. We took the Great River Road south to Quincy, IL and got detoured about five miles there too. Continuing on the River road, we saw lots of flooding especially around Marblehead, IL. Dinner was in Atlas, IL at a tiny diner there. The diner sat at the crossroads of two roads, both of which had signs indicating they were closed. Some investigating (and google mapping via cell phone) found us a detour through Nebo, IL where we nearly slaughtered one of the 20 or so deer.
Once we hit Pearl, IL the flooding got as bad as we had seen. The Illinois riiver was very swollen and things were looking ominous for the detour. Kampsville, IL has been hit very hard by the flood and everyone south or east of that town must be ruined. As we rolled into the heart of town, we saw what looked like our doom. Our route was not only blocked by taunting orange signs, but water from apparently both the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. After trying in vain to find a backroad detour, Danielle noticed some men working to the east of our position. Further inspection determined a ferry was running and was the sole route out of town other than the road on which we rode in. The IL-108 ferry would give us passage across the Illinois and on to Carrollton, IL and Hwy 67 to lead us home via the Alton, IL bridge.
All in all, we had a fun time and saw some amazing things in the 925 miles out on the road. If you get a chance, check out the pictures and their captions as that tells the story too. Reply back or comment on facebook if you'd like.
Dirk
