Genuine Fake Airplanes - May 26

Saturday, May 26

I ride the few miles back to Lacon, in order to speak a bit more with Cotten and take pics of the stuff he wants to go to Denmark. Also get a tour of his basement, which is a bit like the catacombs of Rome or Paris, but with tools and motorcycle parts (like old tyres), in lieu of human skulls and bones. Then it off northwards again, along the river, and after some boring straight stretches, I end up on the very beautiful & curvy Illinois River Road to Ottawa, Illinois. From there it's just north to Maple Park, where one of the Nimbus club members live.
   Vayu, the Hindu 'God of The Winds', remains helpful all the way.

Harley-Davidson Knucklehead bobber, that Cotton built years ago, but never rode.

Small park along the Illinois River, and a riverboat hauling cargo.

On the way I notice the many people, often military veterans, that stand at intersections collecting money for the Memorial Day festivities on Monday. There are also many motorcycles out, as usual mostly big dressers, and very, very few of their riders wear helmets. Or any other kind of safety equipment.

At some point I take a wrong turn, and accidentally stumble over a small airplane museum, with cold war era jets, helicopters and no less than four WW2 fighter planes parked outdoors. So what are the chances of such a museum with a dozen weathered planes having a Me 109F? Pretty slim, as it turns out, because the four oldies are all full-scale fiberglass copies....

Lightweight fiberglass Messerschmitt Me 109 and behind it a similar P-47 Thunderbolt.

I didn't notice anything peculiar until I saw the lack of cooling fins on the P-47's large radial engine.

Craig Keller is part of  'Nimbusklubben Midwest', a 30-year old club with a dwindling number of members. In the past they twice sent a bunch of their Nimbuses over Denmark, to participate in the national Nimbus rallies. We've met in person over there, but this time it's my turn to show up at his doorstep. He greets me just before driving off, but after a few hours of rest I meet his wife Christa, who is of part Danish descent and actually speaks the language.

I knew they worked with plants for a year in Denmark, but little did I know over here they run a multi-million dollar business growing & selling plants. In addition to up-to-date business facilities, right outside their home they have re-established 2 acres of prairie, which at nightfall is loud with life of insects and birds. Later, as I sit with Christa and daughter Lydia at an ice cream parlor in nearby St. Charles (my first sundae since 1982), I find that after two weeks in The Midwest, I have finally learned to distinguish between the roars of a Harley, of a jacked-up pickup truck and of a locomotive, without turning around to check the source.

Me, Lydia and Christa at Alice's Place, the best place around here to get ice cream. Should've gotten a selfie stick.

The trip so far....