We're starting with July 4th, the second day and first major city on our journey - unless you want to count the Tushka Truck Stop in Tushka, OK. Getting out of Texas and Oklahoma was certainly a relief from the heat. We won't have to deal with the heat much again until the day before we get back home. Woooohoooo! The Gateway Arch in St. Louis commemorates Thomas Jefferson and the western expansion of the United States. What more fitting place to be on July 4th! The Arch is 630' at its apex. Construction began in 1963 and was completed in 1965.

Stopped to take a few pics at The Arch in St. Louis on July 4th. If we aren't looking like we are having the time of our lives it is because we just spent the past 30 minutes dodging hundreds of drunks and oblivious pedestrians throughout the UNEVEN old cobblestone streets of downtown St. Louis - did I mention it is July 4th?!?

We headed for a little dive called "The Iron Barley" for lunch/dinner that I'd heard about on the Food Network. They failed to mention it would be closed on July 4th. However, I have my happy face on because I survived the cobblestone streets of St. Louis and managed not to clip any pedestrians in the process. I would say it was due to the depth of motorcycle riding skills I possess - but it was nothing but pure LUCK! Mine, and theirs! I should be out buying a lottery ticket instead of standing here looking like Donald Trump in a hurricane.

This was the norm as we traveled throughout Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio in particular. The corn and other crops looked spectacular across most of the country. I don't remember ever seeing so much corn. I guess ethanol is a popular crop this year.

It is hard to resist stopping for pictures of all the beautiful churches along the way. This one was particularly capitivating in Dover Hill, IN.

These beautiful day lilies were in full bloom and apparently as reproductive as rabbits throughout our ride and we never got tired of them.

There is no question that these folks have seen a lot of rain this year. No problem in "going green".

Great little road here . . . wherever we are. Dale . . . ??

Good to know we were proceeding through a GREEN light instead of a really, really orange/pink light - for a change. Cute little town of . . . . Dale?

I have no idea where I am - my instruction are to "follow the blue bike". Contrary to popular belief, I "mind" well.

The Longaberger Company Main Office in Newark,OH was a Hope-I-Don't-Wreck-My-Bike-Looking kinda of thing. It really IS an office building. Here's some info provided by Longaberger: Offices are situated around a seven-story, 30,000 sq. ft atrium where employees and guests can enjoy the natural daylight from the skylight. Two basket handles are attached to the building with replica copper and wooden rivets. The handles are heated to prevent ice from forming. Two Longaberger tags are attached to the sides of the building. The gold leaf painted tags are 725 lbs each and measure 25' long x 7' tall x 3" thick. A majority of the cherry woodwork in the building was harvested from Longaberger Golf Club® in Hanover, dried and milled in our facility, sawed and shaped at our Construction Woodshop, finished and installed by our Construction Division. Property size: 25 acres Building capacity: 500 employees Building footage: 180,000 square feet Total weight of building: Approximately 9,000 tons Total weight of handles: Approximately 150 tons Number of windows: 84 Seven stories in height 192' long x 126' wide at grade, widening to 208' long x 142' wide at roof 160 times longer, wider and taller than the Medium Market Basket

No doubt barns were very a frequent sighting along our way. Some took advantage of the large "canvas" and added artwork in large variety. This bicentennial artwork was on the side of many barns throughout Ohio and still looked good.

That's a good man . . . .

The Veterans' Memorial Bridge aka The Weirton-Steubenville Bridge, is located between Steubenville, OH and Weirton, WV. It is a distinctive asymmetrical cable-stayed girder design and a truly monumental structure. The bridge is similar in appearance to the Ohio River crossing at East Huntington more than 200 miles to the south, utilizing the same design, only on a much larger scale. The cable‑stayed Veterans Memorial Bridge carrying US 22 between Weirton, West Virginia and Steubenville, Ohio is instead a monolith of both concrete and steel, combining the strengths of both and carrying not two but six lanes of traffic. The cost of the bridge,completed in 1990, was $70 million.

First Energy's Beaver Valley Nuclear Generating Station is located on Hwy 168 in Shippingport, PA. This shot is looking back south at the plant which sits on the Ohio River. Pittsburg is about 34 miles west of here. We actually rode right through the middle of the plant next to the cooling towers. They were massive!

While many think this is polution being released into the air, it is actualy steam.

We're thinkin this place is Jimmy Buffett's vacation home. . . . . .

First Presbyterian Church in Warren County, NY. The stained glass was very beautiful and the church was in pristine condition.

You know, I've found it is easier to take a picture of signs than it is to try and remember where/what things are . . . can anyone relate?

Church is over and it is time to head home.

This buggy was a bit bigger than some in order to make room for the kids.

This young man had obviously been out for a "run" as his horse was as lathered up as we had ever seen. Looked like he had gone to the car wash and forgot to run him through the rinse cycle.

Down river from the power station. That white stuff is . . . yeah, you guessed it . . . poop! Everytime I look at this pic I think I can smell it, too.

Looking at Niagra Falls, Ontario, Canada from the US.

We started to ride across the bridge at Niagra to Canada, but took one look at the line of cars waiting to cross and decided that we didn't want to sit in line just to dip our toes over the border and ride right back. So, toes stayed in the good ol' US of A.

Known simply as the Falls , with the Horseshoe on the Canadian side and the American and Bridal Veil on the U.S. side, these raging cataracts serve as the conduit for shifting water from the four Upper Great Lakes to Lake Ontario and eventually out to the ocean. That's an awful lot of water, as the Great Lakes hold about 20 percent of the world's fresh supply of the precious liquid. The 2,600-foot wide Horseshoe Falls, for example, blast 600,000 gallons per second down their 170-foot face. This is looking from the US toward Canada.

This was a great day! A bit on the warm (almost hot) side, but nonetheless a day we will not forget. Seems like we are missing a couple of things, however . . . . hmmmmmmm . . . . . .

No kidding, you really need to be cautious on the backroads from Indiana throughout the northeast. This sign was in New York on the western edge, close to Lake Ontario. Lots and lots of farmland in New York.

Growing up in the Texas Panhandle, farming and ranching was, and still is, big business. However, it is a rare sight to see grain silos - much less on almost every farm like we saw on this trip. This pic was taken in western New York.

It is obviously Monday and that means washday in Amish country. The traditional quilt was just a bonus to seeing all the beautiful handmade clothing of the family hanging on the line to dry. It was around noon when we came through and the laundry finished and on the line.

Information on Warrensburgh Historical Park, a stop on my car ride through the Adirondacks while Dale was sweating it out at his conference in Albany,NY.

Patriotic Bear Indian Lake, NY

Adirondack Museum Blue Mountain Lake, NY

Many Canoes Indian Lake,NY

Canoes at Indian Lake in Upstate New York

Red and White Sailboat I Indian Lake,NY

Red and White Sailboat II Indian Lake,NY

Cool old truck spotted in Albany,NY