Riding the Great River Road

Going up to Wisconsin to see some family. I’ve always wanted to ride the River Road along the Mississippi River and Wisconsin Rivers up to Merrill Wisconsin. So this is a good excuse to get it done.  


The Mississippi River is the lifeblood of the Nation. Most of the water that flows between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains makes it to this river.  Before motorized travel, it and its tributaries were the highways of our nation. My parents were born in a small river town alongside the Wisconsin River which is part of this great watershed.  The journey there from Tennessee is one that I need to make. 


It was a unique experience riding along these rivers, on a motorcycle following the Mississippi and Wisconsin river all the way to this small river town called Merrill.  These River towns hold many stories of America, many good and some not so good.  


So I spend 3 days riding 1020 miles on these river roads, and I'm much better for it.  I see a part of America that is a forgotten mystery, almost drowned by the water itself.  The great motorcycle roads like Illinois Route 3, Missouri Route 79 and Wisconsin Route 78 revealed this mystery. The sites and the slow hum of the V-Twin while taking a tight turn along a river can reveal a lot.  It can generate new questions also.


So I ride from Wickliffe Kentucky, through St. Louis, to Hannibal Missouri of Mark Twain fame, and beyond on the way to Merrill, learning much and understanding little.  One of my favorite quotes explains it all, "Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it."