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Pre-Rally Look |
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Pre-Rally
at Home
Appleton,
Wisconsin
The pre-ride look
of the bike.
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Pre-Rally
at Home
Appleton,
Wisconsin
Trying out my new
fuel cell. I had a local tailor add the straps for the flashlight
and a similar one on the other side for an umbrella. They both
worked great!
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LEG 1 - Illinois to North
Dakota (28 hours) |
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Office With
A View
Somewhere,
Illinois
Here's a view of
my work station for the rally.
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Leg One
Bonus Plan
Somewhere,
Illinois
I started out
with a detailed plan of the bonii I would be hunting for the next 30+
hours. With the prior night available for planning, I could
figure lots of options.
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Lover's
Leap Bonus
Hannibal, Missouri
This is the wrong
marker at the site. This one talks about two people who jumped
off.
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Lover's
Leap Bonus
Hannibal, Missouri
This is the
correct marker. The instructions called for writing down the
names of the three people that disappeared at Lover's Leap.
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B Edwards
Marker
Paris, Missouri
Find the marker
in the town square. Easy right? Until I found out there
were dozens of markers at this town square.
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B Edwards
Marker
Paris, Missouri
My official
photo. At this point, I was taking digital and Polaroid photos.
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Lincoln
Highway Bridge
Tama, Iowa
One of the last
remaining bridges of the old Lincoln Highway.
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Lincoln
Highway Bridge
Tama, Iowa
A nearby marker
tells a little of the story.
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Wiseman
Memorial
Obert, Nebraska
A memorial down a
10 mile dirt road in the back country of Nebraska.
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Wiseman
Memorial
Obert, Nebraska
Tragic event from
years gone by.
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Endangered/Threatened
Species
Running Water,
South Dakota
This is a
beautiful area of the country, just across the river from Niobara.
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Endangered/Threatened
Species
Running Water,
South Dakota
Name the three
species that are endangered.
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The Deep
Hole
Gregory, South
Dakota
There is an
Outhouse Museum in the little town of Gregory. Gregory is also
prime Pheasant country.
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The Deep
Hole
Gregory, South
Dakota
Get a photo of
the rally flag and The Deep Hole.
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The Deep
Hole
Gregory, South
Dakota
A collection of
outhouses.
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The Deep
Hole
Gregory, South
Dakota
A collection of
outhouses.
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Lower Brule
Sioux Tribe
Lower Brule,
South Dakota
Count the number
of teepees in front of the Admin Building. About a half mile away
is a group of twenty-some teepees, which I thought was the bonus
location. Fortunately, I re-read the description and saw "on the
hill" in it. The other location was closer to the river and the
flats.
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Lower Brule
Sioux Tribe
Lower Brule,
South Dakota
Admin Building
photo, just to convince my brain I'm in the right place.
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Cedar Hill
Cemetery
Fort Pierre,
South Dakota
This was a
surreal place. It was a little foggy. I arrived a the
cemetery before anyone else. As I was walking out, flashlights
from the other riders cut through the fog. What other group of
people meet at 4 in morning, in the middle of nowhere, and have a great
time doing it?
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Checkpoint
Number One
Mandan, North
Dakota
The bike at the
end of leg one. I had an extra 20 pounds of dirt stuck on the
bike from taking a digger on the road to the Cedar Hill Cemetery bonus.
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LEG 2 - North Dakota to New
Mexico (33 hours) |
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Devil's
Tower Monument
Devil's Tower
Nat'l Monument, Wyoming
We had to get our
rally sheet stamped with the passport stamp in the Gift Shop.
But, Derek Dickson was kind enough to take my photo in this amazing
place.
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The REAL
Last Railroad Spike
Strasburg,
Colorado
Forget what you
know about the Golden Spike in Utah. This is the REAL last
section of track for the transcontinental railroad.
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No Bonus -
Cool Pic
Golden, Colorado
This is the
welcome to Golden as seen in the middle of the night. I bet this
would be a fun place to visit any other time of the day.
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Smallest
Bicentennial Town
Lost Springs,
Wyoming
Another marker in
the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night.
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How Far To
Paris?
Golden, Colorado
I broke my
digital camera on this one.
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How Far To
Paris?
Golden, Colorado
My attempt to
take a photo to read the mileage.
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Casa Bonita
Bonus
Lakewood, Colorado
It's real!
Cartman said Casa Bonita is "the happiest place in Colorado!".
The inside of this place is amazing. I wish I could have spent
more time.
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LEG 3 - New Mexico to North
Carolina |
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The Derrick
Floor Monument
Artesia, New
Mexico
This town was
filled with sculptures. I have to go back someday and enjoy it.
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Super
Secret Celebrity #16
Memphis, Tennessee
This is a
description of the bonus.
(Yes, there were
two SSC #16's)
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Super
Secret Celebrity #16
Paris, Texas
Remember John
Wayne? The Chisum Trail? Cattle baron, John Chisum, was a
real person from a real place in Texas.
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Super
Secret Celebrity #16
Paris, Texas
I wish I had time
to see the famous boot in this town. But, time is always against
the LD Rider. I also wish I had not broke my digital
camera. The Polaroid just can't focus without bright light.
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Robert
Johnson Display
San Antonio, Texas
A remembrance of
Robert Johnson and his time in San Antonio.
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China Grove
Bonus
China Grove, Texas
"..when the sun
comes up on a sleepy little town..down around San Antoine"
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Luckenbach
Post Office
Luckenbach, Texas
"Let's go to
Lukenback, Texas, with Waylon and Willie and the boys.."
What great place
to visit!
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Louisiana
Purchase Monument
Brinkley, Arkansas
This bonus had
gates that automatically closed at sundown. The only bonus I know
that could trap the rider.
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LEG 4 - North Carolina to
Illinois |
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Last Bonus
- Paris
Paris, Illinois
The rally
required the very last bonus to be a Paris bonus.
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<Bonus
Name>
Tangier, Indiana
Lost one of my
ear speakers in Tangier.
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The
Forevertron
Baraboo, Wisconsin
Probably one of
the top three bonus locations of the entire rally.
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Hollow
Earth Theory Monument
Hamilton, Ohio
I think I forgot
to claim this bonus. Not that it would have made a difference.
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Super
Secret Celebrity
Metropolis,
Illinois
The grave site of
the bird man of Alcatraz.
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Super
Secret Celebrity
Hampden, West
Virginia
The cemetery of
the Hatfield's.
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Super
Secret Celebrity
Hampden, West
Virginia
The cemetery of
the Hatfield's. Probably my favorite bonus this rally.
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Super
Secret Celebrity
Hampden, West
Virginia
The cemetery of
the Hatfield's.
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Pioneer
Mother Monument
Vandalia, Illinois
A monument to the
women of the plains and without them there would be no settling of the
west.
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Illinois
First Flight Marker
Decatur, Illinois
This was a marker
for the first flight in Illinois, but it was moved from the actual
location.
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Third
Principal Meridian Geographic Marker
Centralia,
Illinois
The TPM was a
baseline for surveying the west. This was a two part bonus and
the only one I lost at the scoring table. I got the photo, of
course, but I forgot to transfer the date established from the
description sheet to the answer sheet. Oh well.
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Third
Principal Meridian Geographic Marker
Centralia,
Illinois
This is the
actual monument.
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