Enjoy....hope you love my old stomping grounds... Love MI and PA...lots of

beauty to see. Be careful...still flooded places in some areas, I am told. When you

are at Sleeping Bear....please check out Traverse City....Touristy...but a great fun time.

At least you are going to Des Moines which means you will not be using I-29 north of KC. It is closed and it will be a while before it reopens. Part of the problem in several areas is the levees built to keep the water in the rivers also keep water from flowing back into the rivers and streams. NWS out of Pleasant Hill posted on the 23rd the official site at MCI airport had received 31.89 inches at that time so things are very wet.

Anyone planning road trips anywhere in the eastern plains and Midwest need to check each day on the road conditions for the area they are planning on driving through.

I have wondered what the fishing is/will be in these overflow areas.

"Tomorrow, the meandering starts"

You are an inspiration!!! I look forward to reading of your travels!

Enjoy your travels!

Safe travels!

Sounds like a wonderful trip. Glad you are getting in some biking that you love but not the whole trip centered around it.

We were in Ohio a few weeks ago for DH’s high school reunion. Too bad our schedules couldn’t align. Would have loved a meet-up. Have fun and travel safely!

Have a great trip!

Your living "the life" Moni! Never stop the adventure! Happy trails!

Look forward to reading more on your blog.! Have a safe and enjoyable Journey!

Check out Legg's Inn if you are near it. You won't be sorry, it has such a wonderful history. Legg's Inn

It's north of Traverse City in Cross Village. Was built by an old Polish artist with help from the Indians. Was an inn for a while, but now just a restaurant with a beautiful overlook of Lake Michigan.

Looking forward to going on the trip with you through your blog.

Safe travels and enjoy your friendships.

I would love to see the Lavender Labyrinth. I was out looking at my Lavender this morning and listening to the bees and watching the butterflies in it as well. Saw a hummingbird in my Lewisia at the same time.

I don't know if you have any interest in the US Civil War (1860-1865). There are two major Civil War battlefield parks in Pennsylvania and Maryland: Gettysburg in Pennsylvania and Antietam in Maryland.

Moni, safe travels, i will be looking forward to your blog!! where in PA are you going??

Lars, enjoy Philly!! you are in my neck of the woods!! i am assuming Kevin is going to the Convention Center? if so, Reading Terminal Market is right next to it! Great food!! go to DiNic's, never disappoints. Bassett's ice cream, YUM!!

so much great food, so little time... if you like Middle Eastern, Suraya, just fabulous, & around the corner is Evil Genius Brewery. these are in Fishtown.

hope its not too humid... any questions, just ask!!

I agree with Kathy. Legg's Inn is very unique and the food is delicious!

Fishtown is a historical landmark in Leland, Mi. I love to visit there. With all the rain that side of the state has been having I hope it wasn't damaged in any way.

Kathy G, I forgot which area you live in... I am still soooo grateful to you, for when you organized a place for me to park my van near Missoula. I wonder, if we couldn't meet up on this trip?

Moni

you can reach me via monisother@yahoo.com

but please put Kathy G in the subject line.

Lars, during the last week of July I will be traveling back to Oklahoma.. as my time and money are going to run out.

Sorry to miss the chance.

Moni

Jemdandy, after meeting up (hopefully) with Rose and Lisa near Erie, Pennsylvania I really have to start heading home... Gettysburg is just really way out of the way.

Moni

Sprtphntc I will be as far east as Erie Pennsylvania... before heading back west and home.

Moni

Marylmi I wonder, if I can find some back roads or trails from Maple City to reach all three places...

Traverse City, Sleeping Bear dunes and Leland. That could be ideal 3 days of riding out and back...

Moni

you can reach me via monisother@yahoo.com
but please put Marylmi from the KT in the subject line

What a fun adventure! Wishing for fun times and safe travels for you!

I'm sure that you have mapped your return route to home from Pennsylvania and I don't know what it is, so the advice herein is based on what I have experienced in Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri.

1. Avoid the section of I-80 from South Bend, IN to Gary, IN and Chicago. That thing is the pits during the busy hours which is most of he daylight hours. Its a main trucking route and has perpetual construction.

2. I-70 running across Indiana and on the St. Louis is recommended. Its uneventful except for Indianapolis, IN and St. Louis. Getting around Indianapolis is bearable if you take the southern belt around town. (Parke Co., IN has about 30 covered bridges.) The main problem with this route across Indiana and Illinois is staying awake.

3. St. Louis -- I do not recommend taking I-70 into downtown St. Louis. Mid-town St. Louis traffic is hectic and fast. Drivers seem to mint their own rules. Instead, take the southern belt around St. Louis (I-255 and I-270) to meet I-44 to Oklahoma.

4. Missouri

The Ozark region of Missouri has a number of large "springs" and antique water mills exist on several of these springs (photo opportunity). This is a karst region laced with underground streams. The large springs are really places where an underground stream pops out. To find these locations, search the internet using terms, Missouri "water mill" spring. Best color photography is fall when the leaves first turn with most still on the trees, although the green of summer is lovely also. I have not been there after a snow-fall, but I suspect there would be photo-opps.

Many of Missouri's pioneer mills are gone. Several mills remain in the Ozark region with the Bollinger Mill and bridge being the best. During the Civil War, Confederate Troops hung its Miller because they suspected that he had milled flour for Union Troops.

The production rate of these mills were slow despite being housed in a large 3 story building. A few mills doubled their rate by sporting two grind-stone sets; One could be making wheat flour while the other was turning out a more coarse product such as corn meal.

In the not too distant future, your photos of these old mills may gain importance because these edifices of bygone years are disappearing. Once gone, only replicas will remind us of the past.

WOW, Jem, good advice, and great pointers about the mills. Nope, so far, I had not mapped myself home. I am copy and pasting your info so I have an easier time to find it.

Moni

Have a wonderful trip, Moni! It sounds like so much fun!

You have a really fun sounding trip planned. The combination of car/bike is a good idea; that should save your knees. Have fun; I'll be looking forward to reading/hearing about your adventures!

Shoot, we were just in Manistique Michigan on Monday. Cute little town.

Just updated: http://meanderdotlife.wordpress.com/

This sounds like a great trip, and thank you for sharing your blog link.

I'll add a few things about St. Louis and offer perhaps a dissenting view from Jemdandy's above, if you care to consider. If you stay on 70 thru St. Louis, you'll cross the Mississippi River on the new Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge, which is (as bridges go) pretty neat. I love driving that section, too, because the building murals and other landmarks are quite interesting. St. Louis traffic is not that daunting even in rush hour (and the bridge has alleviated some of the overall congestion crossing the river).

Wherever you decide to cross the Mississippi in or around St. Louis, I recommend reading up on the bridges. They each have a good story and history on their own.

Safe travels!