Madison, Wisconsin to Pecatonica, Illinois

July 16, 2016

Bill left about 8:00 this morning to try out the bike path. Since our little hotspot works here, I got busy updating the blog, sending out emails, and posting pictures to Facebook. I finished up around 11:30 and packed up the camper and headed to the truck. When I started up, noticed the gas gauge was almost on E! We were so tired last night, we hadn't noticed! There was a gas station only about a mile away, so I made my way there to fuel up. I pulled in behind an unoccupied car figuring the owner would be out momentarily. Well, the moments added up and I decided to write in my journal for awhile. Who knew I was behind the slowest man on the planet….He ambled slowly out, put up his hood, fished around in the trunk, went back to look at the engine, closed everything then started pumping gas! Then it was on to cleaning the windshield, cleaning the back window, then cleaning the windshield again. I was imagining Bill lying dead in a ditch when he finished and slowly got into his car. As I was ready to start up and move into position at the pumps, saw him start fixing his hair in the mirror. So to just give him a little reminder that I was still there, I inched the truck closer and closer and he finally moved! Hallelujah!  Finished at last and hit the road. We did things a little differently today; Bill is following a bike path while I am on the road. The bike path was built on the base of an old railroad line so went a long ways. The path was great as long as it was paved, but quite a few miles before the Illinois border,

it turned to hard packed gravel and was slow going. After 30 to 40 miles, he decided to go back to road riding. I drove until about 2:30 before I caught up to him on Route 69. He had made a quick change of direction while he was riding and took a fall. He either cracked a rib or bruised it badly. Since he had over 60 miles in, we called it a day and drove just a few more miles to Seward Bluffs State Park. Nice, quiet place and I got a senior discount! :) Since we were here a little early, we went and did laundry at the local Laundromat,

had a quick burger and then picked up a few groceries. He told me about the 1200 foot Stewart Tunnel that Gordon mentioned

and wouldn’t you know, we had forgotten about the flashlight! There's a large curve in the middle so you are in total blackness So here are pictures of the tunnel that he had to literally walk through feeling along the wall.

Also a beautiful little bridge along the path too.

Then it was back to the little beach house on wheels, unload everything, ice Bill’s rib and soak his feet. We were fried by the time we hit the sheets. But you know what? This Sunday morning, we awoke to pouring rain and we already had all those errands done. So since our hotspot works here, we are updating Garmin rides, the blog, and getting more pictures ready for you. Thank-you for following and for reading.

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin to Madison, Wisconsin

This was our day yesterday….

We are headed to Prairie du Chien to meet the police chief there. We met Detective Polodna first and he went in to find the Chief. Chief Abram came out and we told him what we were doing. We talked at length and he told us about the police department there and how it was founded in 1673. One of the first officers down was shot by an arrow in 1844. This was the memorial set up for him.

We traded patches and coins

and took a picture outside their beautiful building. Thank-you officers for your generosity and the job you do!

Then it was on to Madison to meet Gordon Govier. He was an announcer on the Christian radio station back when we did our first trip 27 years ago. He did weekly updates on the radio and interviewed Bill over the phone. And that was pay phone days! LOL! He has followed this trip on Facebook and since we are so close, wanted to see him. We messaged back and forth and found out his brother was the retired sheriff of Prairie du Chien! So Gordon called him and we arranged to meet in the parking lot of a local motel. When we first arrived, we saw a couple on a Harley and Bill flagged them down thinking it was the man we were supposed to meet. It wasn’t him, but we talked for a bit and found out we both have sons in the military that we are proud of. Bill gave him one of our military challenge coins for their son and a patch for them.

They rode away just as Keith Govier drove up and we talked for a bit. We gave him a patch and got a picture and were on our way.

We saw a police car parked on the side of the road in Fennimore, so Bill stopped and talked and said Thank-You. Thank-you sir!

Bill drove into Madison and it was a good thing as it was really tricky pulling our little beach house on wheels through the city. We met up with Gordon Govier at his work

and we walked over and had lunch together at the local supermarket. How nice it was to reconnect after all this time. While we were catching up, a female officer walked by and Bill and I walked over to thank her. Officer Corcoran, or Queen CC, is with the K-9 unit and was moved by what we were doing. Thank-you for the job you do!

We were glad that we could be an encouragement to her. After lunch, we parted with Gordon to meet later for dinner. We found the police department and there was a place big enough to park right across the street. Had to pay 3 meters we were so long. After wandering through the halls for a bit, we found the office of the Assistant Chief of Police, Randall Gaber. After talking with him, he expressed how much he appreciated what we were doing and how much his officers needed to hear it. He gave Bill a water bottle, me a coffee cup and we traded patches and coins.

I shot a photo of him and Bill together,

and he handed us over to Lt. Kelly Donahue. Thank-you sir for your generosity to us and for the job you do! One of the officers had called 27 WKOW and they were sending someone over to do a story in about an hour. We waited inside and Officer Donahue checked in on us once in awhile until the newsman arrived. Hunter Saenz was the reporter that came by and he did a fantastic interview and did some great filming. Thank-you Hunter, great talking to you!

He interviewed Officer Donahue too, but it was unfortunately cut from the final clip.

She is a kind and caring officer and it was a pleasure spending time with her. Thank-you dear lady for your generous heart and for the job you do!

We said heartfelt good-byes and headed to Lake Farm County Campground in Madison. After cleaning up, we met Gordon Govier for dinner and more catching up. It was good to see him and he had been quite helpful in notifying the media and even finding a campground for us. Back to the camper for some much needed rest and Bill will be heading south on a bike trail for most of the day tomorrow. Thank-you for reading. 

Winona, Wisconsin to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin

No wifi so we are playing catchup....Here is July14, 2016

Had a few trains go by last night at the Play-Mor Campground but slept through most of them. Bill was out by 7:30 and I left 2 hours later. Made my way through Dakota and into LaCrosse,Wisconsin. Lots of road construction…barrels, poles, and cement barriers; but I came through it all unscathed. Whew! I’m sitting in a scenic overlook looking out over the Mississippi River. I saw quite a few flocks of large white birds on the river so pulled out my binoculars. What do you know, they’re pelicans! I never knew there were pelicans in western Wisconsin. Took a short video of the river that I will post here. I met up with Bill, refilled his water and we were off. I went about 15 miles and pulled off at a historical marker

and thought I’d spend some quiet time writing. Roar! A train went by about 10 feet away! LOL! I never saw the tracks; they were behind the long grass running right behind the historical marker sign. Lots of midsummer wildflowers blooming here, the perfume is wonderful. I took a few pictures for you to enjoy.

I heard birds overhead calling to each other and when I looked up, there were 3 bald eagles circling. I managed to get a picture of one of them before they circled away.

Bill told me about some signs he had seen a ways back saying that there was a large Wildlife Refuge across the river in Minnesota. Oh! Just had a butterfly fly into the truck! :) It went back out. There’s a nice breeze today, think I will go open up the little beach house on wheels and get some lunch ready. Back on Route 35 again for another 15 miles. Bill should have over 60 miles when he gets here. Prairie du Chien is where we’re headed; it’s about 16 miles from here. This pull off doesn’t have a single wildflower…good thing I got pictures at the last place. I haven’t been in Wisconsin since our children were young. It actually looks a lot like Tennessee in this part of the state; lots of trees and rolling hills. The trees are starting to turn that deep summer green, the cicadas are buzzing and it’s starting to get hot. But I know Bill is well stocked with water so he will be okay. Bill rolled up and had over 70 miles in so we called it a day and drove about 6 miles to the Frenchman’s Landing Campground. They had a spot available for the night and we settled in. Most of the rigs in here are park models with porches and decks…just like a little town. Time for some rest, we’ll be meeting with police officers tomorrow in Prairie du Chien. Thanks for reading.

Help us say Thank-You by donating at Generosity.com

Frontenac, Minnesota to Winona Minnesota

Spent a restful night in the state park, then up at 6 to start the day.

Bill left at 7:15 hoping to get miles in early today. I packed up, washed up a few dishes and met the couple next to us. He was a police officer! So I thanked him and we all talked for a bit. Then I eased my way out of the camping spot. I turned right instead of left so got an unguided tour of the campground but made it to the gate at last and headed on my way. The gasoline in the truck was down to 1/4 tank so I stopped in a Kwik Stop in Kellogg, Minnesota to fill up. Just as it started to rain, I caught up to Bill. He was staying just ahead of the storm and was only slightly damp. I was supposed to find a pull off up ahead to park but there just haven't been any so I'm as far over in the breakdown lane as I can get and I'm not sure how serious the rain is supposed to get. Bill pedaled up and wanted to put some more miles down so off we both went. A few miles down the road, I found a park with a nice big parking lot so pulled in and got some lunch ready. Bill told me about a few places he was able to get pictures...a pretty garden tended by 2 very nice ladies,

pictures of one of the locks along the Mississippi River

(I never knew there were locks there) and a picture of Sugar Loaf Bluff.

And a nice shot of the boats at Pepin Lake

which is actually part of the Mississippi. After lunch it was back on the road again toward Winona, Minnesota where the Playmor Campground is located. I arrived and set up and Bill pedaled in ready to soak up some AC! Playmor is a very nice campground that has been family run for 40 years. A peaceful place for these 2 weary people. Thanks for reading. 

Minnesota to Wisconsin and back to Minnesota!

Back to cycling again. After yesterday, today seems real quiet. We sure made lots of friends in Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Thank-you all so much for your kindness to us; we will continue to pray for all of you. Before we left the campground, the tanks needed to be emptied…the sink was gurgling it was so full! Once that was done, we drove to a nearby WalMart where Bill got everything together to start riding once again. He left about 9:15 and I climbed aboard the truck and proceeded to pull the little beach house on wheels toward Prescott High School in Prescott, Wisconsin.

So far, the plan is to follow Route 35 south along the Mississippi River. So right now, I’m sitting in the parking lot of Prescott Senior High School. Why do high schoolers look so young?! Looks like training for the track team. I wonder what the reaction will be when Bill cycles up…When he arrived, all the kids were gone. So we refilled water and checked the map for the next stop. Hager City was next, so he took off and I found my way to Route 35. Turns out Hager City is somewhere off the main road so I went a few more miles past and stopped at a historical marker. I met another cyclist heading to Maine.

He was having a peanut butter break and needed a little water. I got some from the fridge and we swapped stories and he was on his way. He writes a blog too if you would like to go take a look. The address is SlowOldnStupid.wordpress.com. Tell him Twice Across America sent you! I started some hamburgers and it wasn’t long before Bill pedaled up. As we searched for campgrounds on his phone, we discovered that there didn’t seem to be any campgrounds in this part of Wisconsin. So we were going to have to go back over the Mississippi River and into southern Minnesota to find a place. We set our Garmin for Frontenac State Park Campground and both took off. I found it and paid at the gate. He showed me a map of the campground and I managed to get the only pull through spot. No backing up! Woo! Hoo! It was a mile to the actual camping spot….all uphill! So Bill had a workout to finish up his day. Thank-you for reading. 

Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

On Saturday, we took care of laundry and cleaning up our little camper and got ready for another week. We had originally planned to come up to Forest Lake to meet Pastor Mike at the Maranatha Church. To say this was an amazing church is an understatement. Their dedication to the local police and fire departments is outstanding and their outreach to the community was like nothing we’ve ever seen. The music and message were like a much larger version of Impact Ministries in Wheatland, Wyoming. It was good to be in the house of the Lord. Bill had the opportunity to tell them what we are doing and we were greatly encouraged. We were prayed for and supported and treated with kindness. Pastor Mike treated us to lunch in the 11,000 square foot lobby where we tasted the best oriental food we’ve had in a very long time. The church even had their own challenge coins

and Pastor Mike was generous with them to us. Thank-you Pastor Mike for welcoming us and praying for us. We will continue to pray for you and your ministry there. Jill from the church-owned radio station spoke to us after the service and wanted to arrange an interview. We later received an email letting us know that we were scheduled for 1:30 on Monday. We were up and out at 9:00 this morning heading to Minneapolis to visit the Police Department. It was a little tricky getting there but the building the department was in was just amazing.

It was built in 1891 and we just happened to arrive the day they were holding the 125^th anniversary of the building. It reminded me of a castle and I felt like a tourist gazing up at it. We went in and saw they were getting ready for the celebration.

We thanked the young police officer at the front desk and talked with him a bit. Another gentleman offered us a few of the pins they were going to be handing out at the celebration.

We found the office of Deputy Chief Travis Glampe and were buzzed in. We offered him New Testaments for some of the officers and told him what we were doing. He was very excited and we traded patches and coins.

We chatted for a bit and I got a shot of him with Bill.

By then it was getting close to noon so we had a quick lunch and headed over to the radio interview. Jill was there to greet us and escorted us to the studio.

It was being taped so I didn’t have to worry about imagining thousands of people hearing me talk. Bill did really well and I enjoyed myself.

We thanked them and they prayed for us and we were on our way to see the police in St. Paul. Now, we didn’t know that there was going to be so much trouble in St. Paul when we decided to come up here. We found the police department and talked to a very nice young man, Justin McCray, in the parking lot who was a photographer for Fox 9 KMSP.

The Police Department building was on lockdown so they buzzed us in, bicycle and all and we met a Sargeant that we told our story to. We talked at length and he introduced us to the men and young woman who were the department’s bicycle officers.

We shared New Testaments with a few of them and told them about the ministry of Maranatha Church to police officers. They were the first responders to protests and were hoping for a quiet evening. One of the officers shared a SWAT patch with us and another a personal item that meant much to him.

Please be in prayer for these folks as they stand in the gap for us. We traded patches with the Sargeant

and Justin and the gentleman working with him got permission to interview Bill for a story! So Bill got another chance to share the Thank-You Tour with more people than we can reach face to face.

We thanked all the officers once more and headed back to the little beach house on wheels, after picking up a few groceries at Walmart. So here I am writing to you now and thanking you for reading. 

To keep the Thank-You Tour going, please donate at Generosity.com

Faribeault, Minnesota to Woodbury, Minnesota

Not too long after we set up yesterday in Camp Faribo, it started to rain. Not the violent rain we had the two nights before, but a soft shining rain. Light was shining down through the rain, so I took a short video to see if I could capture the look.

It isn’t quite what my eyes saw, but close. I just love the sound of the rain on the roof of our little beach house on wheels. When morning came, Bill left at 7:15 and I took my time and left at 10.  It was a good thing I relaxed a little this morning as the day’s ride had some very exciting moments. The roads were very busy and this little country girl got just a wee bit tense. Toss in lots of road construction, closed roads, tiny roundabouts, and tight spaces and you have a good part of my day. Miss Garmin was especially enjoying her day as she guided me in circles with multiple left and right turns and down back roads. At some point, I wasn’t even sure where I was, so blindly followed and was pleasantly surprised to end up in Lake Elmo. No, not actually in the lake…it’s the name of the town. LOL! Feeling frazzled, I went to the camper and put on some Young Living Essentials oils…Stress Away and Tranquil and tried not to hyperventilate. ;)

I called Bill and he gave me the address of a campground he found so I punched it in and started out. Wouldn’t you know, I had to drive back through some of the construction and closed road that I had just gone through! That’s okay, I’m parked in the St. Paul East RV Park where the people run a tight ship and are friendly and helpful. Bill was here to meet me and he drove into the spot for me. Nice showers and I’ll be able to do our laundry here too. Bill had a pretty good ride once he found a bike path and went by a field where a couple of pieces of machinery were picking green beans.

When we lived in Wisconsin years ago, Bill worked for a company that built a similar machine. He also got a picture of the bridges over the Mississippi River.

I did remember going over that, fortunately only once today. LOL! On one of the rough roads I was on yesterday, one of the door shelves in the fridge cracked so we went to Hobby Lobby for some model cement and then over to Staples to pick up some business card sheets so we can wrangle all the business cards that have accumulated. Now we’re back in our little camper and it looks like rain again tonight. That’s okay; at least Bill doesn’t have to bicycle in it. Tomorrow will be cleaning and laundry day and then on Sunday we’ll be worshiping with a church up in Forest Lake. Thank-you for reading.