Topless for a Day!

I'll bet that heading got your attention! Well it's true.....but not in the way you may have hoped. Not wanting to dive into the winterization of Tourist too quickly we jumped at the suggestion from Nancy to go topless touring for a day to check out the fall colors and maybe hit a few places we had never been.
To start the day we met at Dillon's in Galena for breakfast before dropping our tops and heading out of town. Our first stop was just off Blackjack Road at Horseshoe Mound for a terrific view of the tri state area.

Galena with Iowa in the far left and Wisconsin to the right.

Sorry. No one topless.

Backwaters of the Mississippi near where I grew up.

Goin topless past my old house.

My old house with a few changes since I lived there.

Although we hadn't travelled that far the crew was already parched and needed a break! We stopped at Chestnut Mt. Resort to quench our thirsts and enjoy the view. (www.chestnutmtn.com)

Looking over the ski runs.

View of the Mississippi and a south bound tow.

Looking south from one of the lookout points of Chestnut. (I used to lead trail rides to this point when I was in Junior HS.)

Looking north from that same point.

We enjoyed our time at Chestnut but it was soon time to move on.

Back country roads.

The Flanagan's showing their skill by driving with no hands on the wheel!

Since we were in the lead I decided to take them on a road that led down to the river.

West Diggin Hill Rd. One lane through the woods.

Passing through a tunnel under the BNSF RR tracks.

We made a stop at Blanding Landing. A public area with campground and launch ramp.
The sign is for those who didn't realize they were close to the river.

 Just in case you missed the first sign. Hello Mr. Obvious!

A few miles down the road from Blanding the terrain flattens out.

Our travels took us into Hanover, Il and onto Hwy 84 which we took south to Palisades State Park just north of Savanna. Palisades offers some spectacular views of the river valley from its lookouts.

Walkway to the lookout.

Tourists.

More tourists!

The view.

Looking south toward Savanna.

We've been out there!

Looking down on Hwy 84 and the BNSF RR tracks.

Another look at the southbound tow. We occasionally anchor in the cut just behind the tow.

A topless picture for your viewing pleasure!

Only God knows what's on her mind!

We rolled back down the hill to 84 and went into Savanna. It had been quite awhile since our thirst had been quenched so with that in mind we headed to Poopy's. (www.poopys.com)

Ok. So it's a biker bar.

You can tell it's a classy joint!

M & N picked up a hitchhiker back in the park. He looks quite happy to have found a new home.

Thirsts quenched we drove back through Savanna and took a left across the Hwy 52 bridge which is being replaced. It's easy to see why when you get on the bridge. It's narrow and the decking is a metal grate that you can see through.

No room for error.

A view from the bridge looking north.

Hwy 52 took us through the island town of Sabula, Iowa where Tourist will be stored for the winter. From Sabula we turned north and headed for Bellevue State Park for another breathtaking view of the Mississippi.

The path to the lookout.

Mike & I were rewarded with this lovely view!

We all enjoyed this view of Bellevue and Lock & Dam 12.

By now we were all getting hungry so we slid down the hill and through Bellevue to the Offshore Grill located on the north side of town. Offshore is a nice bar/restaurant located on the bank of the river with a nice view of the channel.
Offshore was our last stop. It was reluctantly the end of our topless outing as the tops went back up to keep us all warm on our journeys home. Guess Pam & I will have to focus in earnest now on getting Tourist ready for a cool rest. Uff Da!