Bro Ride 2016 Mississippi Headwaters

It is with a Bro Ride report that I will begin to write more on my blog.  My brother TJH and I took off this year for the Mississippi Headwaters.  We debated about going to Canada or to the Headwaters and I'm glad we didn't go to Canada.  The main reason is that it would have taken longer to get to Canada and we were pushing it to get home as it was with the slightly shorter trip.
I left home at 7:18 am, met Tom in Lily Lake, Illinois and we headed due West on State Highway 64 to Savanna, Illinois.  We arrived at Poopy's in Savanna at around 3 pm for lunch.  Poopy's is a great place to eat with good reasonably priced food, but reading the menu might turn your stomach.  Unfortunately they stay with the poopy theme and take it a bit too far.  Anyway, they have good service, great food and if you are interested in buying a biker hangout, it's for sale.
We pushed on and rode the Great River Road through the beautiful Iowa countryside all the way up to Dubuque, IA.  If you love beautiful rolling hills, pristine dairy and grain farms this is a ride you won't want to miss.
We crossed over the Mississippi River at Dubuque and then rode up the Wisconsin side all the way to Onalaska, Wisconsin.  All states probably mark the Great River Road to some degree but I Wisconsin does the best of the northern states.  They left no doubt in your mind which way the Great River Road was heading.  I appreciate that since I have a tendency to stop watching for signs due to the distractions of great scenery. 
The farther we went North the more interesting the terrain became.  We saw some amazing rocky hills that supposedly used to be islands many years ago.  Now they stand towering above the road like fortresses.  We didn't stop much, only for gas and we didn't even stop at the Dickeyville Grotto, a place our family has visited for years.  I honked and waved on our way past but not even the new Holy Spirit Park could coax me or my brother off the road. 
After about 12 or 13 hours on the road we stopped for the night.  Dairy Queen got the honors of the evening meal and we crashed at the Onalaska Motel.  It was clean, the lady at the front desk was like a mother hen for travelers.  She let us park our bikes underneath the awning just to keep any rain or dew off of them.
Next morning we were off early to the Headwaters.  I was leading the way and while I got turned around a bit in the construction around Minneapolis/St. Paul, and having to stop and put on our rain gear, we finally made it to Lake Itasca where the Mississippi River has its beginnings.  It was not a disappointment even though it is a low key attraction. One of the best parts was they have a live camera feed at the headwaters so you can share your vacation moment with your favorite people back home.  TJH called my wife, MKH, and we talked to her and waved while she watched us on her computer.  We laughed and laughed at this novelty. 
It's funny how on the way through Minnesota I kept noticing all these quaint little ma and pa motor lodges that would be nice to stay at for the night.  On our way back, we didn't see any such thing.  They all disappeared or turned their lights out and we kept riding and riding until about 9:30 pm.  That's later than we like to ride.  I kept thinking I was going to run into the back of my brother because we both were scanning the roadside looking for a motel.  We finally stopped at a Comfort Inn and Suites.  Ha.  That was way too nice and expensive for the kind of place we usually stay.  We were however able to talk down the price some and the girl at the front desk finally gave in and let us park our bikes under the big drive through awning for the night.  It was a good thing too because it rained and actually we had to set out in the rain.  Continued in Part 2.