Finally, internet access. Sorry if you worried but even places that were supposed to have internet didn't. We have made it into North Dakota. We are staying in Minot, ND and taking the 4th off. We are sitting in a Cyber Cafe sipping iced tea and coffee and eating goodies and trying to catch up. Head winds and hot weather have bothered the riders some. They have now experienced 4 of the 5 "H's" heat, headwinds, hills and high mileage. There have been so few places along the way the last few days with services for our riders that we have had to take water out to them several times to beat the heat. So we are all pretty exhausted and ready for this day off. We had a pretty exciting problem a couple of nights ago when our battery on the camper over heated. God sent us a guardian angel in the form of an experienced camper who pulled it out of the case in a hurry and put it far away from the camper. It exploded shortly after and split the sides and popped the top covers for the cells off. Way off! Since the battery is stored in front of the propane tank we feel it could have been serious! We now have a new battery and everything seems to be perking along fine! Thank you God and Guardian Angel! As soon as we crossed into North Dakota we noticed a difference in the terrain. Interspersed with the hills were green fields. something we hadn't seen in a while. We have been following the Lewis and Clark Trail for some time now and spent a couple of days on route 1804, named after the year that they traveled it. We have crossed the Milk River so many times in the previous days that we decided we had to find out why it was called that. We found that Lewis commented that the River had a peculiar whiteness about the color of a cup of tea with the addition of a tablespoon of milk, and so they called it Milk River. Today's picture wouldn't go in when I tried in Minot, so added it today. Jim says the mountains in the foreground are manmade and the ones in the background are God made. We are going out to Roosevelt Park soon to take in the festivities and find what food they have for sale there. Cooks have closed the kitchen for the day! Happy 4th!

Rugby, ND is the geographical center of North America. We are here in a nice campsite with shade. Our riders did 65 miles today. We are about half way now. We have had our daily ice cream and showers, so all is right with the world. The riders also noted 3 miles of dragonflies! Swarms of them. And not small ones either! Yesterday while we were still in Minot we found a great pizza place called Sammy's. If anyone is ever there be sure to go there. We went back again for Italian supper. Leftovers tonight . Yummy. Pastas seem to really work well for the riders. Guess it fuels up those muscles! Tomorrow is a little longer day, something in the mid 80's mile wise and mid 90's temperature wise. I expect they will make an early morning start and should be able to as we are right on the route and they can just hop on their bikes when ready in the morning. Charlotte Elizabeth has a new tooth! That makes 7 now. Be sure to call her Piggy when you see her next.

Hot! Had a hard time finding a place to stay tonight. Luckily I talked with a man in the laundry room who came from Devil's Lake and told us of the place he stayed last week. We weren't sure about it as it is at a Casino, but it really was nice and shady and had a shower etc. By the way Devil's Lake has an Indian Legend connected with it. The Sioux and the Chippewa tribes wereboth camped in the area of the "Spirit Lake" when the Sioux decided to go against what the spirits said and attack the Chippewa tribe. On the way back while they were shouting and celebrating their canoes overturned and every one of them drowned even though they were accomplished swimmers. The Indians said it was Evil Spirits Lake and when the white man translated the name it became Devil's Lake.I've included a couple of pictures as it was such a big lake-the largest in the area. All the dead trees certainly make you think of Evil, don't they? On to Binford tomorrow.

Stayed in a city park in Binford, home of Binford Tools. Anyone a Home Improvement fan? Certainly a biker friendly community. We ate twice in the Binford Cafe and they treated us like we were family. We signed the journal they keep of bicyclists who pass through their little town of just over 200 people. I think we made it 207. Over 200 bicyclists have signed the book and wrote comments. Very interesting reading, much of it we agreed with-like where is the west wind we've been promised for the last two states? Everyone said it would push us across North Dakota and we only have a day or two left and have had nothing but head winds and heat! Well, today was different! See the picture--that is a tail wind! Instead of taking two days to finish North Dakota the bikers rode 109 miles and we are in Minnesota tonight. That tail wind was excellent and all three riders gave today's ride a grade of A! The last 10 miles were a little warm, they admit, but, oh that tail wind. Tomorrow is a day off and we are in the Fargo ND and Moorehead, MN area. They are separated by the Red River but actually the two towns pretty much are one, joined by a bridge. We are all looking forward to a day of rest!

We haven't had internet lately. Tonight we didn't even have a campground so are staying in a Motel 8. The good news is that now we have internet! We are nearly through Minnesota after riding 1900 miles. As we crossed in to Minnesota it seemed we noticed the difference immediately. First, the black cattle gave way to those white and black spotted ones and the fields changed to grains and corn. The land of 10,000 lakes means we see lakes every where and it is beautiful. Each little town we pass through has at least a church, usually Lutheran, with stately white spires turning our thought heavenward. The people continue to be wonderful Americans, friendly and helpful. The cyclists have battled heat and head winds through Minnesota, but they keep on keeping on and today racked up 84 miles in 91 degree heat. Most of the little towns we are going through you probably haven't heard of as we are going through less traveled roads. Many are nestled in among those lakes and are all very well kept. The poverty we saw earlier has given way to middle class homes and it is plain that they value education as the schools are very nice. We have passed lots of turkey and chicken condos. Logan says he can smell them for miles with the headwinds bringing the smell to him. The wheat fields have turned golden and with the sun shining on them make you sing America, America, louder than ever. The Monarch butterflies have also been in abundance. It appears that one more day and we will be through this state. Supper time-everyone has finished showers. We have to eat out tonight since we aren't camping. Jess and I are so sad! LOL

Riders rode about 50 miles today and finished across Minnesota. Since we are going straight down the state tomorrow and not across it until we reach Iowa they decided they would ride south in the car and then continue our easterly trek. So we met them in Harris and drove as far as Albert Lea/Austin area. We are staying in a KOA here and enjoying the breeze and shade and the wireless internet. We have finished repacking the cars as Jess, Baby Girl and I are leaving after we reach Muscatine, Iowa. Phyllis, Shawn's other Mom (actually her "real one") will meet up there and relieve us for a week. We are actually going home to tend to things there! Landon is coming with Phyllis to assist her in the support duties. We will rejoin them when they approach Michigan, probably after riding Illinois and Indiana. They expect to be able to do that in a week. It's pretty flat. We've ridden across Illinois before so we know this. We have a saying, Beans...Corn...Beans...Corn as that is what we saw when we crossed Illinois. That's not to say that we didn't enjoy it, because we did it with a very nice group of bicyclists from Illinlois and had a great time. Anyway...you won't be hearing from me unless I get some information via email from the riders that I can share with you. Be back in a week.

We did drive south to a state park on the Mississippi last night. It was a nice park. I took a picture, but then left the camera with Jim before leaving for home so he can continue the picture story. You'll get them later. Jess and I both arrived home about 1:00 this morning. I just received a call from Shawn and Jim saying that they crossed the Mississippi River this morning and stopped in Orion, Illinois where they were invited in for a glass of ice water. At 95 degrees it was a welcome thing. As it turned out it was the Mayor of Orion and he told them all about the area. It was a pleasant interlude. They then went on to complete 80 miles. And in this heat! They are planning 82 tomorrow and 73 Monday and then cross in to Indiana. Logan got picked up early to help support person Phyllis set up camper etc. It has been a little hard adjustment for her to follow the route, as she wasn't a bicyclist and not used to following cue sheets. Therefore, she got lost a little and needed help. Also the terrain is a little different with street names instead of the nice route signs we have been used to. The trip home was a hoot! Contruction around the Chicago area caused a standstill and I also was held up by a 7 car collision. The 6 hour trip home turned into 71/2 for me. I don't know about Jess, but I was mighty glad for my nice bed when I arrived. Of course, being the morning person that I am I was still awake and up by 5:30. I think it will be an early night tonight. I miss not being out there!

We have received calls from our bicyclists and things are going well. However, I was supposed to mention Mark Twain's quote about Muscatine, IA while they were camping there on the Mississippi River. According to Twain he remembers Muscatine for its summer sunsets. And although I hope someone got a picture of one while there, I'm sure he describes it as vividly as any picture. "They used the broad smooth river as a canvas, and painted on it every imaginable dream of color, from the mottled daintinesses and delicacies of the opal, all the way up, through cumulative intensities, to blinding purple and crimson conflagrations which were enchanting to the eye." He goes on to call it the true Sunset Land. He admits the sunrises are said to be as fine...but he doesn't know! Jim also said to say thanks to Larry and Lindy for the nice lunch and catch up chat we were able to have as we passed through Ames, IA. He also was able to chat with another High School chum in Illinois on their way through that area, although, I think that chat was by telephone. They have been seeing lots of T-A-L-L corn. Dekalb and Pioneer are two of the seed corn companies that Jim worked for some 50+ years ago. Brings back memories. They have finished riding Illinois and started into Indiana today. The terrain has been relatively flat and the two states a lot alike at this point. At least today is a bit cooler. They are looking forward to a day off, possibly Thursday, depending on the mileage they are able to get. That should get them most of the way across Indiana. It sounds like Phyllis and Landon are doing a good job. I told Phyllis not to spoil the bikers too much while we were gone or they would expect us to continue when we return! Jim is continuing his "quest" to eat in a MacDonald's in every state and they did that last night. Onward!

Cyclists are on their bikes and heading to Bowling Green, Ohio today. Support staff is going to join them later today in Perrysburg as the camp ground in Bowling Green was booked up. It is getting harder to find a campground where needed as we are now full swing into the vacation season. Therefore, the cyclists will have to be ported the 25 miles from Bowling Green to Perrysburg tonight as that is too many extra out-of-the-way miles for them to take on. Tomorrow is a day off. I have cooked up chicken tenders and ground beef to put in pasta meals and have it frozen ready to take. That should help with the food preparation during the hot weather. Hate to heat up the camper just as they are trying to cool down from their ride. This way we use the microwave and it cuts down on the heat. They say it is a little cooler, but still, 80's is hot. Jim says he has a full camera waiting for me to download onto my computer and upload to journal site. Did I get that computerese language right? I'm into the computer age and hanging on by a thread! I'll see what I can do to make the pictures have meaning to the ride. Hopefully on the day off they will fill me in. Gotta finish packing and say goodbye to my dishwasher, personal shower and my water bed. It was nice to be home for some family birthdays and of course to see my parents who are doing well. Now it is time to rejoin the adventure!

Today is a day off at the KOA in Perrysburg, OH. We try to take a day off after every six days or so. Days off give us time to do the laundry, clean the bikes and shop for the items we have used up or worn out. It is also a day to sleep past 5:30! They have traveled some pretty soft tar roads from all the heat. The tar and small stones adhere to the bicycles making it difficult to ride. We have completed six weeks of bicycling and have three more to go. Yesterday went well. No one got lost! And were all done by 12:30. I arrived about 5:00 in time to go to Pizza. Another day off tradition! Jess and Baby Girl are expected tomorrow so Phyllis and Landon are staying over until they arrive. There are approximately 1200 miles left to go and should have some more great scenery and history to report. I have some pictures to add and will go back and add some of them to the last couple of days so that they fit in with the text.

We went from a campground on Lake Erie in Huron to a State Park at Geneva. The first picture was taken in the afternoon that we arrived and the others in the morning before we left. See, we do get up early! This park was actually a park where campers stay all summer, but they made room for us and were very helpful and friendly. Jess and Baby Girl came back yesterday and Phyllis and Landon left. Baby Girl's eyes sparkled when she came into the camper and saw all "her people." She had to reach out and touch us all evening and giggled and giggled. She was glad to be back. The riders reported bad roads, more traffic and more populated areas. Detours made the going a little longer and the riders ended up with 104 miles today. We passed big beautiful homes with well tended professional gardens. If you look at an Ohio map you will see how much of Lake Erie shoreline we traveled along. The route through Cleveland that was dreaded actually turned out to be a very well laid out route. The State Park in Geneva was very nice. Good showers and a nice laundry. Amazing how important simple things are becoming.

Today we were in three states. We finished Ohio, rode about 45 miles across the tip of Pennsylvania and are camping in New York tonight. Pennsylvania was fascinating with its fields and fields of Grape Vineyards. They were as far as the eye could see in all directions. There were a lot of winerys also. It is a good thing we didn't take part in all the wine tasting that they offerred or I'm sure we wouldn't have made it to camp tonight nor would we have been able to get up in the morning. We also passed Welch's processing plant. Jess and Charlotte Elizabeth rode bike a little way in Pennsylvania. CE loved it! She's going to be a biker we know, she loves ice cream! Number one priority. Our riders chalked up 94 miles today, mainly due to a bridge being out and the detour that caused. Logan didn't ride today as he wasn't feeling well at all. A combination of not eating enough and not drinking enough, we think! The nausea is passing and he is planning on riding tomorrow. Can't keep a good biker down for long! We are staying in a KOA tonight where there is wireless internet. Always a treat. We may be staying in Canada tomorrow as we go to Niagra Falls. Still trying to decide on the route.

We are staying in a great KOA in Canada. Our bikers rode another 94 mile day today and are ready for our day off! We feel like this KOA is a great place to spend it. Three outdoor swimming pools and one indoor pool. Two playgrounds, one for young children. And the shower room is fantastic. It even has a bathtub. The workers make checks frequently and check all the facilities and even wipe out sinks. And I mean sinks--twelve of them and there must be that many showers and toilets. We went down to see the falls both in the daytime and at night so we could see it with the lights on. We had lunch in Lackawanna with our riders, picking up subs on the way. We ate in the beautiful gardens of Our Lady of Victory Basilica and National Shrine. The riders reported more beautiful homes along the Lakeshore Drive they traveled, even more spacious and luxurious than the ones we have been seeing. We saw more grape vineyards stretching out on each side of the road. Passing into Canada was easy and we hope going back into the US will prove uneventful. We sure have a lot of "stuff" if they decide to search! Could take a while.

We made it across the bridge from Canada back to the US. We were over an hour and a half sitting on the bridge waiting to go through customs. we saw cars ahead of us with all four doors open and the trunk up and we were concerned but when we finally got to the customs booth it was just a few simple questions and we were told to have a good stay in New York. We stayed in a State Park on Lake Ontario. A beautiful place. We've been traveling through area of New York with orchards, cherry, peach, nectarine, apricots, as far as the eye can see. Also blueberries and other berries for miles. Baby Girl LOVES blueberries. We saw the largest greenhouse I have ever seen! It reached back out of sight. We've had corn on the cob. Didn't want to miss out on the corn while we were gone. I guess we were all thinking the same thing as it seemed to be a hit! Riders rode along the Erie Canal for several days. So interesting to be where so much history was formed. We've seen lots of cobblestone houses. As we neared Rochester I was thinking about my German Ancestors who settled in that area when I came across a museum that was in a Cobblestone building. It told about the stone along the Erie being used and that it was considered a thing of pride to own a Cobblestone house. In my great great grandfather's probate papers he wills his house to his wife and further mentioned that it was a stone house. Interesting. The terrain is getting hilly and we are getting close to the mountains. Probably tomorrow. The mileage will get shorter. You've already noticed that internet access has been hard to come by. I am in a library in Pulaski, New York right now. We stayed in the largest RV park I have ever see last night. There were well over 2,000 sites. It was called the Brennan RV Park in Pulaski just down the road from Port Ontario. It was quiet and shady, but no internet access. I couldn't believe it! Yesterday was Jim and my anniversary (12 years) so we went to a Chinese Restaurant and spent a little time just the two of us. Seemed funny. The others went to Ponderosa. We all had ice cream, of course! Baby Girl and Jessica and Shawn rode down to the beach area of Lake Ontario so Baby Girl had earned her ice cream. When she sees her helmet she gets excited about the ice cream that she knows is coming! Well, probably only nine more riding days and we will be home in twelve. We are going to start eight hour days instead of mileage and do some porting in and out again. Seems to be the easiest way when camping spots are hard to come by and the mountains ....So need to get back on the route so I can catch up with them. Don't know when I'll be on again. Probably not in New York.

We have been traveling along the Moose River and are finally in the Adirondack Mountains. There was a chain of lakes today and I remember seeing Lake eight, at least. Jim says they would like seats like the chair in picture three instead of bike seats. It has been very hot today and the bikers expected to do 67 miles, however as they approached 67 they got a tail wind and were ready to go down a mountain so continued riding. They did 93 miles! They sure are getting to be strong riders. They all did over 40 miles an hour going down. Logan clocked 46, Shawn admitted to touching the brakes a couple of times and only got 42! Wow! We have completed over 3,000 miles and have about 430 more to go to reach Bar harbor, Maine. We are staying in a Yogi Bear Park and are thinking about staying another day and taking a day off. One more day and we will be in Vermont. It is August already! Where did the summer go?

Well, it's been a long time with no internet access. A lot has happened to make us be more flexible. After we left Jelly Stone Park our bikers continued their ride up the mountains of New York. We did take an extra day and did some sight seeing in Ticonderoga, NY. It is a very beautiful and historic place. We visited the Ticonderoga Fort which played such an important part in two wars. Most importantly it was the site of the first American battle won against the British in our war for independence. We also visited the site of the Paper Mill there, which is now a historical museum. That is where our favorite pencils, the Ticonderoga pencils came from. Jim even gets Ticonderoga pencils in his Christmas stocking! Notice the large pencil in one of the photos. The next day the tour through New York was completed and we all took the ferry across to Vermont. What a beautiful state, so lush and green. It is easy to see why the French named it Vermont, for the green mountains. The green mountain boys were also the ones who helped win that first great battle in the Revolutionary War. We also passed a trail with a marker about Robert Frost, who was the poet laureate of Vermont. Yes, there were two trails, and one was the one not taken, I'm sure. Then, however, is when our troubles began and we had to step back and punt. As the support staff was attempting to put up the camper in our next site, either the chain broke or the box holding the whole apparatus became disfunctional and we couldn't get our camper to crank up. We went into Montpelier and spent the night in a hotel with the hopes of getting an RV repair person that had been recommened to us to repair it the following day. However, it was impossible to get the part needed as it was on back order. So no more camper! Now we are scrambling to find motel rooms that will allow us all to stay together at a reasonable price. It also means eating most of our meals out as we can't get to our food! Do you think that will stop the adventure? Of course not! Read on!

This has been the day of going through covered bridges, mostly in New Hampshire. The last two states have been small enough that we have been able to cover them in one day. We also stopped at a flower/greenhouse along the way that happened to have an ice cream cone on its sign. We needed directions and felt honor bound to get an ice cream cone. Charlotte Elizabeth agreed. She also allowed us to take her picture at a beautiful trellis in the garden there. We had to do it quickly, however, as she really wanted to pick the beautiful big purple flower. Today Jim wasn't feeling well and when his bike got a flat tire that was the clincher. Well, actually it was a little more than that. While changing the tube it was discovered that his rear tire was completely worn through. Since his spare tire was back at the motel he opted to be ported in so he could get the bike ready for the large mountain they had facing them the following day. So while Jessica and Charlotte Elizabeth went swimming in the pool that accompanied our motel for the night I went out and picked up Jim. The next morning as the riders started out for the 2200 foot mountain with the 13 per cent grade we noticed that Shawn's rear tire looked in as bad shape as Jim's had the day before, so that meant a delay while she and Logan both changed their rear tires. They all finished that big mountain with NO trouble! What strong riders they are becoming.

Maine flew by in a flurry of finding motels and following our riders closely on their routes of rough and dangerous roads. Road construction made one way lanes of the roads that were already broken up, with no shoulders and so curvy it was impossible to guess what might be coming. The traffic was heavy with lots and lots of tourists in the little towns the maps sent us through. It seemed like each tourist had two cars ...how can that be? Maine was beautiful with all the coastline and lakes and trees and rocks...big rocks! Maine is also proud of its wild blueberries, so we ate a lot of those, blueberry ice cream, blueberries ON blueberry ice cream, blueberries on cheesecake, blueberry muffins, and even boought chocolate covered blueberries. Finally the last day, as signified in the picture with our riders ready to leave and raising that one finger showing it is one more day of the ride. Even Baby Girl is ready as she and Jessica join the riders for the final ride into Bar Harbor, or Baa Haa Baa, as they say. Jim managed to put out the usual road kill offering for Jessica. A little thing we have done on our rides is to put stickers on a piece of road kill with the price of 2/$3.00 or 2 for the price of 1, so that the other riders in our group can find them and know we were there saying, have a good ride! Not sure others outside our group found it as amusing as we did! Maine had very little road kill that we could find (other than a couple of skunks that we decided to let lie). Then the descent into the bay to dip their front tires in the ocean to say, WE DID IT! Over 3,600 miles! After the ride we did a little sight seeing and visited the only light house you can reach by land. The rocky shores sure show why one was necessary. So, the journey that started for the riders on June 9 ended on August 9. We celebrated together at a lighthouse restaurant with steak and lobster. Strange little creatures, those lobsters. I almost felt sorry for them, but were they ever good! The last morning we were up early, like we were now anxious to head for home. In two days we should be pulling into our driveways glad for the experience and glad to be home, thanks be to God, safely! It's a great country and again the words of America, America come to mind. America, America, God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea. Amen and Amen!

We all arrived home safely late Friday night. So after riding 3,600 miles on bike and over twice that in the car it is over! What an adventure! In going back over our experiences we marvel at how little problems on the road we had. Jim had two flats, Logan one and Shawn none. They had to change worn out tires, but that was done at the campsite. We stopped to help one of the women riders that we had met on the ride one day. She was walking her bike which had a flat and she didn't have a spare tube. She had already had ten (10) flats on the ride and this was still with three more states to go. Her riding mates had also had many more than we had. Was it the Armadillo tires Dave recommended? Possibly. Whatever it was, we are thankful. The problems we had with the camper are being addressed now at the RV dealers. Our Equinox is at the car dealers getting an oil change and tire rotation as well as a new windshield from a rock that we had picked up on the route. Shawn is back at work as school is getting ready to start and she is trying to locate her "stuff" from the move into a new building that occurred while she was on the tour. (These are the reasons for the delay in getting back for the epilogue to our journal.) Baby Girl is getting back into the swing of "normal" as she gets reacquainted with "her" things. Jess is glad to have a few more days before starting back to work. Logan is getting ready to return to college and seeing all his friends that he didn't see this summer. We all are busily unpacking, cleaning, and putting away a lot of equipment. Hope you enjoyed taking the trip with us. Thanks for all your emails along the way. We'd be glad to talk with you when we see you if you have any questions. But be prepared to hear a lot. Meanwhile, we still want to ride our bicycles, we want to ride our bikes, we want to ride our bicycles, anywhere ...

This lens will be updated with lots of helpful links to places and things along the trip.

Photo slideshow underway.