Mark Twain Cave Campground, Missouri 2022

Mark Twain Cave Campground, Missouri 2022

Brad found the RV campground that would accommodate his rock star bus.  When we parked the RV, there was an RV in the spot next door with Michigan tags. Made some small talk with the couple from Michigan and they were leaving the next day. We watched a pull behind RV trailer back in to a camping spot. I learned that it was something to do as an RV camper.  To sit and watch people back into their assigned spots. It can be entertaining.  The driver backs up, pulls up, backs up again, adjusts position without hitting anything all the while communicating with someone outside the vehicle call the ground guide.  The ground guide is usually their significant other displaying hand and arm signals. On occasion some shouting can be heard especially during challenging spots. Turns out the family that we watched park and set up their RV was from Utah.  The Utah family walked the loop road in front of the campers and spotted the Utah tags on Brad’s RV. We chat with the family briefly and in the end didn’t seem to click.

The campground and RV served as our basecamp while we rode to explore different routes in the area. The day Brad and I stayed at a hotel, a new RV camper arrived and parked next to Brad’s RV.  The new neighbors saw our RV empty and wondered where we were.  Other campers identified us as friendly and we took off on motorcycles early in the morning.  So the neighbors were a little concerned when we remained away overnight.  The next day when we arrived at the RV they were excited to meet up.  They greeted us with cookies and invited us to sit around their campfire. We learned it was two couples first time in an RV. It was a brother and sister with their spouses. Brad and I enjoyed the cookies and shared some stories around the campfire. 

Tipsy Bricks, Hannibal Missouri

 Tipsy Bricks, Hannibal Missouri

Hannibal was an interesting town.  Our first time walking the town looking for a lunch spot was memorable.  A parade of hot rods and classic cars cruised up and down the street.  It was a rolling car show with participants of all ages. New and old cars, trucks and motorcycles. Brad and I stood on one street corner and watched.  People told us this happens every week during the summer.  We found a place for chow.  Then we walked the town square where an outdoor musical concert was underway. We walked to the edge of town and found a bar called Tipsy Bricks.  Brad and I were the first customers this early during the day with the festivities around town. There was an older than us gentleman inside the bar.  He learned that we were out of town. He handed us two push pins and insisted we be the first to place pins on the map near the entrance.  It was one of those US maps using push pins to show where customers traveled from.  Brad and I obliged and then the gentlemen gave us a drink on the house.  

Two evenings later Brad and I decide to return to Tipsy Bricks.  Our plan was to park at Tipsy, walk to get some chow then finish at Tipsy Bricks.  As soon as we park our bikes, the same push pin gentleman starts aggressively yelling at us.  He tells us to move our bikes. We cannot park in their parking lot. I think it was just after noon and they were not going to open for another hour. We explained our plan to leave our bikes, walk to eat and return to Tipsy Bricks.  We told him we were there a couple days prior with the first push pins on the map. The gentleman paused and remembered us.  He explained that people try to park in their lot and walk to the concert in the nearby town square.  After a brief discussion we were granted permission to leave our motorcycles in their parking lot while we ate lunch down the street. 

Tipsy Bricks turned out to be a popular hang out for many locals. There is a small bar area with a pool table in a room adjacent to the bar.  There is an outside deck with picnic tables. Brad and I visited the bar a few nights in a row. I remember one night was karaoke night with a large crowd and a lot of singers! Tipsy Bricks didn’t offer any kitchen service. We ordered a pizza one evening and ate it at picnic table on the deck.  Ordering the pizza was a challenge. I called Dominoes as the bartender told us that they routinely deliver to the bar. Dominoes needed the full address and zip code for Tipsy Bricks. I reply that we are a few minutes away from Dominoes and the driver should already know where Tipsy Bricks was located. We’ve witnessed the Dominoes driver deliver pizza there earlier that evening. The voice on the phone insisted she needed the street address and zip code. I am puzzled.  I’ve also had a couple of drinks.  It has been years since I have called and ordered a pizza.  I worked at a Dominoes Pizza in the early 1990s in Hawaii.  I answered the phone, took orders, made pizza and delivered it in 30 minutes or less.  I was dumbfounded that the voice on the phone said she needed the exact street address and zip code. The name of the bar wasn’t enough.  I am asking how many Tipsy Brick bars are located in Hannibal?  Of course when I worked for Dominoes, the drivers matched the order address to the large paper map on the wall and located the delivery location. No phones or GPS! I begin to think that I was speaking to someone in China to place an order from a store two blocks from me. I was at a well know location in a small town.  I explained to the voice multiple times where I was located and stated I was from out of town. I’d ride down and pick up the pizza if I didn’t have any beers.  There was no negotiating this requirement for a street address and zip code. Brad gets the information from the bartender and relays it to me. I relay the street information to the voice on the phone to complete the order.  She has one last question for me.  She asked if I’d like a 2 liter bottle of soda!  My reply, “WTH? I told you that I was getting liqueured up at Tipsy Bricks, a bar! What and I gonna do with a bottle of soda?”  

Brad and I stayed in a hotel room that pizza night.  We had planned to drink a little and stay out late.  We don’t drink alcohol and ride.  We didn’t want to risk hitting a deer on the ride home late at night either.  That pizza was really good!  I remember that I was still sitting on the picnic table on the deck when the bar closed that night.  Brad and I walked around the corner to the hotel to sleep it off.    

VFW Poker Run - Start in Hannibal, Missouri

VFW Poker Run - Start in Hannibal, Missouri

My favorite part of  visiting Hannibal was participating in a VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Poker Run. Brad and I will seek out local VFWs to stop and visit during our rides.  Hannibal has a VFW with a small bar and good participation from members. We learned that this particular bar tender was very talented at managing electricity.  Why? I am glad you asked.  Brad and I were sitting at the bar one afternoon drinking our tea.  Now keep in mind some of these establishments have a good selection of what I call snack foods. Foods like small bags of potato chips, frozen personal pizzas and maybe one of those hot dog warmer machines. So as we sat at the bar, another patron orders a personal pizza. We watch as something unusual happens.  The bartender yells at someone in the room behind the bar.  Perhaps to turn off something. Then she unplugs the refrigerator and plugs in the microwave.  As the microwave cooks the pizza Brad asks why she had to unplug refrigerator to use the microwave. We were informed that because of the remodeling, if the refrigerator was plugged in while using the microwave then the electric breaker will trip causing the lights to go off. Now watching the bartender plug and unplug the refrigerator and the microwave was entertainment! We had to order another round and stay awhile! 

The poker run started at the Hannibal VFW and ended at the same location.  The requirements were to draw a poker card from each VFW along the way.  The Hannibal VFW had quite a few items being raffled for fundraising.  Ticket sales and the items were prominently on display despite the renovation underway. Brad and I drew our first poker card and received the instructions for the game.  Pretty much we had to visit a few specific locations in the surrounding area.  Then return to the Hannibal VFW by the deadline to draw the fifth and last card.  I remember visiting another VFW where there were offering lunch as another fund raiser. We drew our second cards, admired the historic photos and memorabilia on display and rode onto our next stop.  We noticed a school bus full of adults pulling into these locations as we were heading out.  We learned that the VFW offered a school bus to transport poker run players.  Luckily the bus was always showing up as we were leaving so we didn’t have to wait in line to draw our poker cards. It was a neat way ride and see the area with a purpose.  Although after my second and third cards I knew that I didn’t have a chance to win the poker game.

Brad and I enjoyed meeting and speaking with the veterans along the route. We rode over Mark Twain Lake which was a neat sight. I remember riding thru some small railroad towns. I always enjoy seeing older towns in the midwest with the railroad tracks, tall buildings and conveyers to support train loads.  We spoke with a lot of good people.  Somehow folks started calling us Utah and Virginia after the license tags on our motorcycles.  We sure came a long distance for their poker run.  I didn’t like the guy we nicknamed “Machine Gun Kelly.” This guy was supposedly a veteran who sat at the bar loudly proclaiming how many people he killed during the war.  Luckily he left before we had to shut him up.  

There we were, sitting at a bar, one stop away from the final card for our charity poker run game. It would take us 10-15 minutes to ride to the Hannibal VFW to finish the poker run.  We were about to leave when a crowd of people show up.  A guy we remember as “Mario Andretti” was first to the bar.  Mario sat beside Brad and ordered two double shots of something. Brad introduces himself and makes small talk about the double shots.  Mario declared that the crowd that invaded the small bar was on the bus from the poker run.  Mario downed his two drinks rather quickly and ordered another one.  Somehow during Brad’s small talk, I heard Mario challenge us to a race.  As it turns out, Mario was on the poker run too.  He was headed to draw his final card just as we were.  Brad and I think there are two routes directly to the finish. So we inquire as to what type of motorcycle Mario was riding and which route he’d take to beat us in a race.  To our surprise Mario declared he was driving the big yellow school bus and he’d still beat us racing back!  Whoa! We need to slow this down and make sure everyone makes it to the finish safely.  For the record there was no race and everyone did arrive at the final location safely.  We witnessed no laws broken; this is just a story from my fuzzy memory.

At the final stop for the poker run we draw our last card.  Nothing good for my poker hand. The organizer takes our record showing the cards we drew at the other locations.  Brad and I squeeze in at the crowded bar to wait for the announcement of the winner and any official remarks.  Brad warns folks not to order any pizza because the refrigerator would need to be unplugged and the drinks will get warm. Everyone was laughing, telling stories and enjoying themselves. The host begins the awards ceremony.  The winners of the raffles are announced. Then the winner with the best poker hand was announced.  I had tuned out while the announcer spoke about poker.  I tuned out mainly because I had a bad poker hand.  Then I start to hear a voice stating, “Virginia, Virginia, is your name Bill?”  I answered affirmatively and asked why.  The announcer declared that I had won the worst poker hand category!  I won just under $300! Wahoo!  I followed suit with the real poker winner and donated my winnings to the VFW.  It was a good day!   

Conesville, Iowa to Hannibal, Missouri May 2022

May 2022 Hannibal, Missouri

Brad and I have rode north along the Mississippi River and ended up staying in Savanna, Illinois a few times.  Poopies, Iron Horse Social Club and east to Psycho Silo have been the highlight stops.  For 2022 we did something different.  We followed the Mississippi River south from Conesville, Iowa.  Hannibal is a small town in northeast Missouri known for Mark Twain’s boyhood home.  We camped at a campground near the Mark Twain Cave. The site was just south of city limits along a two lane rural road.  If you follow that same road south, you’d end up following the river to St. Louis. We did ride both sides of the river to and from St. Louis a couple times during our visit to the region. Excellent views on the east side leaving a well known biker destination, Fast Eddies in St. Louis. I remember trying to navigate to Fast Eddies Bar.  The map took me through some rough looking neighborhoods. All was good.

Mark Twain Memorial Light House

Bike Ride 2022 Conesville, Iowa

 Bike ride 2022 Iowa to Missouri. First stop CONESVILLE, IOWA

Motorcycle trip for 2022. Time flies- from Bill's memory: Brad and I met in Conesville, Iowa at the Redneck Revival Rally. The rally is centered around a drag strip in the middle of a grassy field. Participants can race any types of vehicles. I’ve seen all types of motorcycles, cars that are drove every day and elaborate classic race cars. One year those 4x4 side by side off road vehicles races, golf carts raced and a picnic table set up with a small engine zoomed down the race track! 

Brad and I have been meeting in Conesville because we’ve bonded with a few people over the years. Daryl, Connie, Fig, Dawn, Kaci, Paul, and several others seem to have been there consistently during the years I’ve been at the rally. It is always nice to catch up and be surrounded by familiar folks when so far from home. I appreciate the conversations around the campfires and watching the concerts and events with our small group. I’ve learned over the years that the motorcycle rallies are always more memorable and exciting when sharing the experience with friends. I’ve been the lone guy watching at many events. Neat but not as exciting as participating by meeting familiar folks and meeting new people. 

The Conesville rally started off with a windstorm as usual. The winds really do roll across the plains like a freight train picking up power and speed. Sometimes tents are blown over and camp chairs are tossed around for the owners to run and catch. I think there have been a few derechos in this area over the past decade.

Our group plans meals. Daryl usually surprises us with a meal on the first night. Then everyone takes turns cooking a dinner each night. We eat dinner then go off to watch the bands and shows. This year Brad’s bride Krista cooked fajitas for us. Those fajitas were really tasty.  I remember because Brad and I ate them for days after the rally. I have to mention it because there were about fifteen of us to eat that first night.  Brad says Krista cooked 82 pounds of fajitas! Not sure if it was 82 pounds but it was a lot and everyone got plenty to eat. I give Krista credit for always providing enough food for everyone.

At the end of the rally, Krista flew home leaving Brad with the rock star RV bus. We put our bikes on the trailer and drove to Hannibal Missouri. Hannibal is known as Mark Twain’s boyhood home.