June 6, 2010 – D-Day on the Road, Missouri’s Wine Country, Who is Hermann?

The day dawned. Seasick and nervous, we climbed down the cargo nets and boarded our landing craft...sorry, wrong re-enactment trip narrative. We breakfasted on Tang™ (didn’t know they still made the stuff) and two pieces of dry toast and hit the road. We made good time in better weather today and arrived at Hartford, IL in the afternoon and sought out the spot where Lewis & Clark pushed their flatboat off on that momentous journey over two hundred years ago. My Lewis & Clark seemed more intent on following rabbit trails than in any historical significance.

We continued west through St. Louis, MO and what we learned is the Missouri Wine Country Region. It has more wineries than France and Italy combined. Or at least more billboards and signs for wineries than France and Italy combined. This is some great motorcycle roadway in this part of the country--lots of dips, rises, twisties and such.

By late evening we had made our way to the Missouri Mosquito Country Region of the state, and its capital, the town of Hermann. The town is named for an ancient Germanic chap who wrested Germania (what Germany was called in ancient days, well before Hitler annexed other things to it) away from somebody else. Hermann evidently saved all the mosquitoes from those who would have swatted them, bringing them here to live in peace and freedom forever.

Here’s the day’s route:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=lexington,+ky&daddr=Lewis+and+Clark+State+Memorial+Park,+Hartford,+IL+to:U.S.+67+%26+Illinois+143,+Alton,+Madison,+Illinois+62002+to:MO-94+and+Church+Road+to:MO-94+and+Kisker+Road+to:MO-94+and+State+Highway+T+to:38.706061,-91.437591&hl=en&geocode=FWJRRAId4LT2-ikl65zMKURCiDHdT4yQQYPwhA%3BFW8eUAIdHwCh-iEnMpWfgVM4qA%3BFYBiUQIddBSg-ilf-e4ElETfhzFmVuYwDzVEFw%3BFYgUUQIdwuqb-ikbOpCYLjvfhzFZYn5q7oyqnw%3BFeUgTwIdSEiZ-inPFuWAC9behzEyNfPeeBaLvg%3BFbwITwIdpQ6O-ikvo-eI4wXchzEsI67-fyJxSw%3B&mra=me&mrcr=5&mrsp=6&sz=17&sll=38.704962,-91.43613&sspn=0.006288,0.009645&ie=UTF8&z=17