I'm in northwestern Virginia, if you decide to come this far east. Would love to see you!

Rose, I really hadn't thought of going that far east... but if I get to stay with Linda again, near Onstead MI, it would be only about 270 miles... so, lets just wait and see, how my meandering around Michigan goes. :)

Wanda, Virginia is really to far off my route... even if I use the car this time. Sorry. I will be mostly on both shores of Lake Michigan, and then as far east as Onstead... but can't promise further east at this time.

Moni

YIKES! Rose, Lisa, how could I not have mentioned you in the original post of this???? I need a lashing with a wet noodle for sure. ;)

Everyone, I met/got picked up by Rose, and was allowed to take a day off riding at her house. Lisa came to meet with both of us, and we went sight seeing together. Sorry ladies, for not putting that in the original post.. which of course, I can't edit any more by now.

Moni

Moni, you lead such an interesting life!

The Lavender Labyrinth looks like a fun place to spend a day!

Rusty

So happy for you. You have a great life

Try to see Kitch-iti-kipi while you are in the U.P!

Really beautiful. Near Manistique.

Great trip and at the best time of the year for that location. Northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan tend to have a rainy season starting after May 15th and lasting through June 15th. However, this is not predictable; Each year is different.

I live west of Milwaukee and have traveled roads in Illinois, I do have advice about potential routes from Missouri to Upper Michigan. I do not know which route you will be taking. The best route for a trip like this one is to explore and let the road take you to points of interest, an unplanned amble. I do have an aversion to certain locations when I'm on a pleasure trip. Listed below are places best avoided.

1. Traveling from west to east through the heart of St. Louis to cross the Mississippi into Illinois. It can be congested, drivers ignoring the rules of the road, with potential for accident.

2. Chicago: Traveling south to north on the toll way. Yep, I94 is a tollway in Illinois from I80 north to the Wisconsin border. Avoid the morning and evening rush hours plus noon time. Sometimes, this route works and sometimes it does not. The best way to handle tolls here is to purchase a transponder at an Oasis or other locations. Go on-line and fill it with $20 to $40. This section of the tollway has high speed gates suspended over the road. The only rule is don't change lanes while passing through the gate. In the Chicago area, toll charges using the transponder is half of that for the manual gates. This is an I-Pass system and works for many other toll roads in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, etc. An e-mail notification is sent when the account runs low on cash. Also, you will be notified by e-mail when it is time to exchange the transponder. Apparently, it is battery powered and needs to be changed out when the battery runs low, or replaced by a revised unit. Typically, the unit we have lasts about 5 years.

3. Milwaukee can't seem to ever finish building an expressway before revising it. Summer is road construction season with lane closures. Almost every morning during rush hour, there is an accident in this system. Its assured if it rains or snows.

With the above comments in mind, these are the routes I recommend.

For passing trough St. Louis from the SW, bypass the city. If you are arriving via I-44, take the beltline, I-270, to the east and cross the river, then follow this road north to I-55/I-70. Of course, this will shunt you around the St. Louis Arch. If you wish to visit this item, you'll have to deal with the city.

Travel northward on I-55 past Springfield and Lincoln to Bloomington. Here, decide if you will continue on I-55 to Chicago, or turn due north. I recommend due north on I-39 to Wisconsin. The main problem you'll have on this stretch is staying awake. There is very little food or fuel stops on this part and radio stations don't have decent music. Bring you own music if that is what you like while traveling.

At Rockford, IL, I-39/US-51 blends into I-90. This part to the state line is tollway.

A short distance north of the state line, turn NE onto I-43. This road will be uncongested until the outskirts of Milwaukee. Unless you are familiar with the local roads, there is not good way around Milwaukee, therefore, I'll plot a path keeping to the main highways with minimal road changes. When I-43 meets the beltline of the city, go east. It should be labeled i-43. At the east side of town, turn north. It should be labeled I-43. Stay on this to go north out of town and continue the trip.

I-43 goes to Green Bay (Home of the Packers!). There, pickup US-41 to take you to Marinette, WI, and Menominee, Mich.

Points of Interest:

A. If you are interested in geology, this part of Wisconsin has features left over from the last glacier. Geologically speaking, it was not long ago, only about 10,000 to 11,000 years. These features are found in the South and North Kettle Moraine units. The best kettles, eskers, and kames are in the north unit. There good examples of drumlins where I live and I know the location of a crevasse fill. It is more rare than the other features. The western part of Wisconsin was not covered by the last glacier.

B. Milwaukee County Zoo. This is a very good zoo. You can spend most of a day viewing the exhibits.

C. Milwaukee Baseball Stadium. It has a retractable cover over the entire field with a heating system.

D. Port Washington (north of Milwaukee). One hundred years ago, this was a fishing village. Today, its a quaint small town nestled by Lake Michigan with a marina catering to sport fishermen. It has restaurants in full view of the lake. Standard fare is Fish Fry on Friday nights.

E. Sheboygan. The best sausage and bratwurst in Wisconsin are made here.

F. Elkhart Lake. Road America Race Track.

G. Green Bay. Home of the Green Bay Packers Football Team.

H. Summer Fest Grounds. These grounds are located in downtown Milwaukee and on the Lake Front. Several weeks of the summer are filled with ethnic festivals. Irish Fest is one of the largest Irish festivals in the world.

I. Cedarburg Covered Bridge. This bridge on Cedar Creek is the last remaining covered bridge in Wisconsin. There are a few other small covered bridges, but these are mostly late model props to attract clients. The Cedarburg bridge was open to traffic until 1961 when it was retired. Its unique feature is that no nails or bolts were used to hold the frame together. It is fastened with 2 inch dia. wood pegs.

J. Oshkosh. EAA Air Museum with examples of old aircraft. Oshkosh airport is the location of the annual week long EAA Fly In and show.

K. Milwaukee: Harley-Davidson Museum

Menomonee Falls: Harley-Davidson Factory.

Jem, I am actually going via Des Moines and St. Cloud to visit friends on the way up north.

Saw a lot of what you mention, as far as towns, when I rode my bike north two summers ago.

Moni

OklaMoni:

That is a much different route than I had imaged. I have lived in Davenport, IA for 6 yrs when a student, but left in 1960 after graduation, so know very little about the interior of that state except its a major corn producer. I have traveled across it several times since, and my impression is that most major highways are easy driving. The first Machine Shed Restaurant was north of Davenport. Its now a chain of restaurants.

I wish you a good trip and many pleasant meetings with friends.

You are amazing OklaMoni.

Moni, It sounds like a great trip for you again this summer. If it works, I'd love to see you again. If not, I hope you get to meet other KTer and enjoy them as much as I enjoyed meeting you.