Grafton, Il to Granite City, Il

We had a descent breakfast at the Ruebel hotel in Grafton, after a good nights sleep (no ghost's bothered us).

We rode the Van somethingergin trail east from Grafton.

I got my 2nd flat of the trip, this time on the front right. I have not looked at the tube yet to figure out why it went flat....nothing obvious. It was probably something sharp on the bike lane. Man I hate bike lanes. This lane was being used mostly to catch road debris, chunks of tar, construction signs, and a place to dump extra gravel in nice piles.

We did pass warning signs for falling rocks. The cliffs were over our head, the stuff falling would not be seen until they were already fallen.

The Legend of Piasa was neat. There is a hunting story behind it; the story is similar to those of modern day men trying to get out of trouble with their wives for being gone so long. The picture of the slain beast is on the bluff.

In Afton we went to the Just Desserts place for lunch. It was less than stellar. The girls really didn't like their food....though I think the fresh squeezed lemonade was great. The MRT museum is apparantly not done yet.

We spent quite a bit of time riding on top of a levee. It was tedius with the stupid gates at each road crossing. I wouldn't ride the trail if I lived in the area. The parallel power lines also were emmitting a horrid buzz. Laura was concerned for our health.

The Mississippi River museum was neat, though the teenager wasn't interested in most of it. She tried a barge simulator, and was able to pass the first 2 levels. Upon trying to enter a lock & dam she failed....quite miserably. I was unable to find life vests, and the alarm switch did not appear to do anything. The other people around didn't seem to panic at all......nerves of steel.

Chuck enjoyed using a machine that gave you control over time.....he enjoyed it a little too much. A strange look was in his eyes....

Roger dipped his tire in their mini mississippi river, then slipped and dunked his feet too. Good times. This photo is right before he slipped in and dunked both of his feet.

This is right after.

We kept running into construction, on the roads, bike paths, levees, everywhere.

Every road required maneuvering bikes through gates. What a pain.

We began hotel hunting after Afton, and didn't find one until Granite City. We missed the darn Lewis and Clark museum by 20 minutes. DANG! I really wanted to see that too.

We walked to Hardees for a pathetic excuse for dinner and went to bed.

Google Earth File
36 miles (616 miles total)