Miles total: 10,032
Riding I-74 was unavoidable today ... it went pretty much exactly where I needed to go (for the first couple of hundred miles anyway) and there aren’t any obvious interesting alternatives. I rode it to near Peoria, then exited and took back roads from Pekin to around Champaign. From there I was back on 74 until just past the Indiana border.
After that it was a complicated zigzag through Terre Haute and rural southwest Indiana. Started running into issues again finding gas. Had to stop at 4 stations before I found any, and when I did I was lucky because I was the last one to fill up before the station closed its pumps. I heard there might be gas shortages this weekend ...
I got to within 15 miles of my destination only to find the last critical bit was closed. Which forced me to take some more bad local roads (reminiscent of Napa). At least I was able to dodge the rain for another day.
The West Baden Springs hotel is a pretty spectacular building. The rooms surround huge atrium beneath a 200 foot diameter dome - the largest free-spanning dome in the US when the hotel was built in 1901. It held that record until the Charlotte Coliseum was built in 1955.
Impressive Dome, and Hotel. Those final miles home are my least favorite on any trip. Glad you find something of interest.
ReplyDelete