Travelogue -- Dr Bob's US Northwest Motorcycle Ride
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14 June 2013, 9:00 PM CT, York, NE

Yesterday and today I have been in two states I had never been in before, Iowa and Nebraska. I left Mt Pleasant, Iowa about 8:30 this morning. I knew there was bad weather ahead. There was an area of storms approaching Des Moines, just where I was headed. At the appropriate time I put on my rain jacket and my gaiters (boot covers to keep my boots dry -- I didn't use them the other day and it took two days for my boots to dry). I wasn't sure if I would make it all the way to Des Moines because it looked bad on radar (Ralph, I am using the myradar app, thanks for suggesting it). I didn't know if I would divert to the north, or hole up for an hour. I didn't have to do either, there was a bright area in the middle of the darkness ahead and that's exactly where my road was going. I was in light rain, even arriving at Des Moines. I got my pictures in the rain and got out.

Here's the Iowa Capitol (in the rain).

I rode downtown and was headed out when I spotted this real neat pedestrian bridge with the Capitol in the background. I circled the block, in the rain, parked again, and got this picture.

As I headed west, the sky behind me was dark and ahead was bright. I stopped on an exit ramp to get this picture looking back. That's where I had just been.

As soon as I spotted a McDonalds, I stopped, got my chocolate shake, and grabbed this radar picture. I have circled in red Mount Pleasant where I started the day and Des Moines where I had just been getting pictures. I marked a red X where I was sitting sipping my chocolate shake. I went through all that rain and the rain was always light where I happened to be. Some times you get lucky.

I headed on west, to Lincoln, Nebraska. Here's the Capitol picture.

Here's a telephoto shot of the statue on top, it is "The Sower".

This is the Governor's Mansion, just across the street from the Capitol.

This is St Mary's Catholic Church. I took the picture because I liked the style.

I quit riding earlier than I had planned this evening, I wanted to go another hundred miles. I stopped to get gas, saw that the sky was dark ahead, and looked at radar on my iPhone. When I saw how bad it was, I decided immediately to stop for the night. There was a Comfort Inn next door to the gas station, so I checked in. Here's another radar picture. When I stopped the storm was about ten miles away. This radar picture was taken when the rain started. I am at the tip of the arrow. You can see Lincoln to the right, and Omaha further to the right and up a bit. We had some hail, but my bike was safely parked under the portico of the motel.

Here are some shots of the sky just before the rain started.

You can see lightning in this one. And you can see where my bike is, on the left under the portico just next to the column.

A wrap up detail -- I rode only 389 miles today, I wanted to get 450 to 500. But that's the way it goes. See you all tomorrow.