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!
Britt, As I was reading about your journey, I got this phrase going through my head: "Man, this guy is putting on the miles". At the end you do provide the tally. Then I got to thinking: "Man, let me know about this Corbin seat!". (I've got a Corbin, too) On your way to Hwy T you might have traveled on Hwy A at Lake Delton. Spring '08 Lake Delton was flooded and the dam under Hwy A burst - sending all the water down the Wisconsin River (and then down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico). :smile: No miracle, but I walked across Lake Delton last summer. Glad to see it's all sorted now. GregPaul P.S. Got any tips for taking photographs while moving? I was thinking wide angle and crop later, hang the camera around the neck and use the left hand to press the shutter button. Anything else? I'm mainly concerned with the safety aspect. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for the great pics and sharing. I've been around the area before, but never through there. Maybe next time!
GregPaul, I saw the news coverage of Lake Delton when it drained, and a co-worker knows someone who helped collect and haul off the dead fish that were left over. I passed lots of billboards for the all new Tommy Bartlett show that said "Even the water is new!" My motorcycle photography setup is pretty simple. I use a tank bag that has pockets on each side that are perfect for a camera. I just keep it in the left pocket so I can pull it out with my left hand while moving. It's a little awkward taking pictures left handed (considering the controls on any camera I've seen are on the right side) but I do pretty well. I don't look at my shot on the camera - I basically point and shoot while keeping my eyes on the road and glancing at where I'm trying to shoot. I miss a few shots here and there, but I'm getting better at capturing what I'm after! I've had friends joke that they worry about me riding around one handed, but I'm really just pulling the camera out when I see something worth shooting. I feel very confident taking pictures while moving, and I wouldn't do it in a situation where I didn't feel good about it. I can drop the camera back into the bag quickly if I'm going to need to stop. It's an old camera (Canon PowerShot A530) and if I had to drop it so I could grab the clutch quickly, it wouldn't be the end of the world. I tried using my larger Sony DSC-H2 hanging from around my neck, but it kept bumping the gas tank. It really was no easier for me. Plus, if I ever had an accident it didn't feel safe having a large camera tethered around my neck without a way for it to let go if pulled hard. I've seen folks mount a camera to their left handlebar and have it set up so they can rotate it and snap pics. It makes it very convenient, and would make it less likely that the camera could be dropped. The downside is that the camera is out in the elements the entire trip, so it's getting plastered with bugs, grime, etc. I have a lot of fun taking pictures while riding. I don't use a camera that is capable of taking wide angle shots (I simply keep it zoomed all the way out). I do spend quite a bit of time with Photoshop making adjustments, cropping, etc, after I get home. I'm sure that if I was more skilled with Photoshop, I could do a lot more with the pictures....
My neck of the woods, great pic's, if you want another good day trip. Head over to Galena & head north, cut over to Wildcat State Park & then back to the west in the bluffs along the Mississippi to La Crosse.
