Northern States Tour – Day 31

Day’s distance: 278 miles
Total trip distance so far: 6,957 miles

The weather was nice with temperatures in the 70’s and the sun out all day. There was some wind to contend with but much of the time I was headed into it, which was better than having cross winds.

I crossed the Mississippi River into Burlington, Iowa today at about 10:35am. That means I have ridden this motorcycle into every state in the US accessible by road. In looking back at the map, there is a park near the bridge on the Iowa side, but when I was looking for one while on the bridge, I didn’t see it. Oh well.

So, below is the first taken in Iowa, in Batavia. I was here in Iowa and in every other state of the United States (except Hawaii).

The landscape was similar to yesterday’s and I chose 4 lane highways, mostly, so I didn’t take many photos today. I did stop at the Des Moines River where Hwy 92 crossed.

I was curious how high the water levels were given that there was flooding in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area recently. This is probably high for this time of year, but it appears to have a few feet of room under the bridge.

Since the weather was perfect for camping, and since I’ll be staying in a suite on the Missouri River waterfront for two days while in Sioux City, I thought I’d save a few bucks.

I’m set up at Walnut Woods State Park, near Des Moines.

On my way into Sioux City tomorrow, I’ll be stopping by the local BMW dealer. They have ordered a replacement left-side combination switch for me. That is the multi-function switch that controls the horn, high beams, ESA (electronic supsension adjustment), windscreen height, flashers and cruise control. The cruise control switch is malfunctioning. The replacement and labor to replace it should be covered under my extended service agreement.

I’m looking forward to meeting my good friend Charles from Oklahoma City tomorrow. We’ll hang out for my day off the bike on Thursday.