Kentucky is kind of Tennessee lite. Lots of trees, small farms, hills, but somehow different. Even though this has been a commute, I'm at least enjoying the scenery and the ride through Tennessee and Kentucky. I don't care much for freeways but sometimes they are the best way to get where you're going. We might as well try to enjoy the ride.

Since we're going through the corners of states, we're soon into Illinois, where I have to pick up I-24 West. It's also time to pick up something to eat so we pull off the freeway at SR 45 for gas and stop at a McDonalds in Metropolis, IL. Lucky move since I meet a trucker who's getting into his cab and ask him how far to I-57. He asks where I'm headed and when I tell him DeSoto, MO, he redirects me off the Interstate all together and shows me some pretty back roads that we really enjoyed. We owe him a big thank you for his local knowledge and the time he took looking at his atlas to give me the exact road numbers.

We finished our lunch and turned right instead of our intended left. Soon we were leaving Metropolis behind and into some meandering country roads that took us through tree-covered byways, small farms and rolling hills. Somehow we missed a large statue of Superman that is supposed to be in the town. We just didn't see it. We actually joked about the town's name and the fact that Superman or Batman lived here, we couldn't remember which, and had no idea there was a statue to Ol' Sup somewhere close by. We'll see him on the next trip.

The southwestern part of Illinois is very nice, and reminds me a lot of Missouri (photo 1). After riding at breakneck speed over freeways the last few days, it was a real pleasure to slow down and sightsee for a while. We know we are going to make it to my sister's house today, it make take us an hour or two more than the freeway route, but we'll be there and we'll have enjoyed the ride much more. Thanks again to that trucker.

As we turn north and south, working our way west, we finally get to SR 3, which takes us north alongside the Mississippi River. It's a little disappointing because we were hoping to be able to see the river that sits out of sight somewhere on our left. We still need to find a way across the Mighty Miss and when we get to Chester, IL, we cross the bridge that will take us into Missouri.

Illinois seems to be the home to several cartoon characters in one form or another, and Chester is "famous" for being the birthplace of the cartoonist, Elzie Segar, who created Popeye (photos 2 & 3). There is a statue erected to my favorite sailor and a plaque to his creator right at the end of the bridge before you cross the Mississippi into Missouri. Chester is a nice little town also.

We cross the bridge (photo 4) and follow Missouri SR 51 west to I-55 north and are back again on freeways. That's OK, because we're getting close and now want to get there ASAP. I'm starting to get low on gas and when I pull off the freeway to take on fuel, I meet another rider at the station. As is often the case, he came over to us and started asking about our trip. He gives us some local knowledge about how to get to DeSoto from the gas station and within a half hour, we are sitting in my sister's backyard, looking at Valle Lake, where she lives.

This has been a very enjoyable ride.

Today's Route: I-75 through TN, KY, to Illinois, I-24 to SR 45 North, to SR 106, to SR 3 North to Chester, IL. MO SR 51 West to I-55 to SR 67 West, to SR 110 to DeSoto.