ON OUR TRIPS TO ARIZONA THESE PAST FOUR YEARS HAVEN'T SEE MUCH OF ANYTHING UNUSUAL. WE HAVE ENJOYED SEEING MORE OF THE USA EACH YEAR AND COUNT OUR BLESSINGS. WE HAVE USED I-40 ,I-80 AND RECENTLY I-70 FROM KANSAS CITY. YOU CAN DRIVE THRU KANSAS AT THE LEGAL SPEED AND ENJOY THE TRIP AND THE COUNTRY SIDE AS TRAFFIC IS LIGHT AND TRUCKS ARE SELDOM SEEN UNTIL WE GET EAST OF DENVER WHICH WE BYPASS AND GO ON A HIGHWAY THAT BRINGS US ONTO I-25 SOUTH OF COLORADO SPRINGS.

WE LEFT MIDDLETON JUST AFTER NOON AND 0NTO WIS. H-151 WHICH TAKES US TO IOWA. TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT AND A VERY NICE DAY. AT DODGEVILLE WE TURNED SOUTH TO GET TO PLATTEVILLE. TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT BUT THE USUAL TRUCKS WHERE ALONG THE WAY BUT NO CONCERN. WE HAD GONE BUT A SHORT DISTANCE WHEN WE SAW A PATROL CAR IN THE CROSSOVER FOR THIS FOUR LANE HIGHWAY. I SAID TO GRACE THEY MUST BE WATCHING FOR SPEEDERS...HOPEFULLY NOT US. AT THE NEXT CROSSOVER THERE WAS ANOTHER PATROL CAR. I WAS GLAD WE WERE NOT SPEEDING.

TRAFFIC SEEMED TO BE ONLY TRUCKS AS WE DROVE ON AND WE DID NOT SEE MANY CARS AS WE CRUISED ON TOWARD MINERAL POINT AND BELMONT. WE THEN SAW THAT AT ALL CROSSOVERS THERE WERE FIRE TRUCKS, COUNTY HIGHWAY TRUCKS AS WELL AS STATE TRUCKS. THERE WERE EVEN COUNTY POLICE, STATE PATROL, AMBULANCES AND ONE THAT LOOKED LIKE A PLUMBER'S TRUCK. WE NOTICED THAT ALL ENTRANCES TO H-152 WERE ALSO BLOCKED TO TRAFFIC COMING ONTO THE HIGHWAY.

AS WE DROVE ON WE FOUND THERE WAS NO TRAFFIC BEHIND US AS THEY HAD PASSED US AND WE WERE THE ONLY CARS ON THE HIGHWAY. TRAFFIC WAS NORMAL ON H-151 GOING NORTH. WE DISCUSSED AS TO WHETHER THERE HAD BEEN A ROBBERY AT A BANK; A DRUG BUST OR EVEN A MURDER!!!!

WE WISHED FOR NONE OF THE ABOVE. WE DID STOP AND ASKED A YOUNG LADY WHO HAD A PICKUP BLOCKING THE CROSSOVER AS TO WHAT WAS GOING ON. HER ADVICE WAS TO KEEP MOVING OR YOU MAY HAVE TO GET OFF THE ROAD AS SOMEONE IMPORTANT WAS COMING! WE TOOK HER AT HER WORD AND KEPT MOVING.

AS WE GOT TO THE DETOUR AT PLATTEVILLE A BIG HELICOPTER FLEW OVER FOLLOWED A LITTLE LATER BY A SMALLER ONE. ALL TRAFFIC ON THE ENTRANCE TO H-151 IN ANY DIRECTION WAS BLOCKED AT PLATTEVILLE. WE STILL DID NOT KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON AS WE ENTERED ONTO THE DETOUR TO CUBA CITY, THE NEXT TOWN. THERE WAS NO TRAFFIC COMING TOWARD US FROM CUBA CITY AND AS WE DROVE FOUND POLICE AT ALL INTERSECTIONS ON THE RURAL HIGHWAY. WE SAW THE HELICOPTERS AT A SMALL AIRPORT WITH THEIR ROTORS SPINNING.

THERE WERE MANY CARS BACKED UP AS WE DROVE BY AND SOME OF THE POLICE WATCHED US IN WONDER. FINALLY AFTER A FEW MILES ONE OF THEM WAVED IN SORT OF A FRENZY TO PULL OVER. WE STILL DROVE ON AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN I SAW FLASHING LIGHTS BEHIND US. THERE WAS MORE THAN ONE AND I SAID TO GRACE WE BETTER PULL OVER. WE PULLED IN ALONG SIDE A FEED MILL AND WAITED. ALL THE CARS WENT BY AT A HIGH SPEED...SOME POLICE AND SOME PLAIN. BUT THE LAST CAR STOPPED BESIDE US.

THIS WAS A HIGHWAY POLICE CAR WITH A FEMALE OFFICER. SHE SAID WE HAD TO PULL INTO THE FEED MILL LOT AND NOT GET OUT OF OUR CAR. I ASKED WHAT IS GOING ON? SHE SAID THE PRESIDENT IS COMING THRU

WOW!

AND HERE WE ARE THE ONLY OTHER CAR ON THE HIGHWAY.

AS DIRECTED, WE BACKED INTO THE FEED MILL LOT AND MADE SURE WE WERE IN A POSITION TO SEE WHAT WAS COMING. SHE BACKED UP TO BLOCK US AND CAME ALONG SIDE TO TELL US TO STAY IN OUR CAR. WE DID. I ASKED IF I COULD TAKE A PICTURE AND SHE SAID "YES, BUT STAY IN THE CAR!" I DID. SHE SAID THE PRESIDENT WAS IN ONALASKA AND STAYED ALL NIGHT IN LA CROSSE AND THEN STOPPED IN RICHLAND CENTER TO MAKE A SPEECH. NOW HE WAS ON HIS WAY TO CUBA CITY. SHE TOLD US THE PRESIDENT HAS THIS TYPE SERVICE WHEREVER HE GOES, BUT THE VP AND KERRY DO NOT GET THE SAME TREATMENT. OF COURSE, THEY DO GET SECRET SERVICE PROTECTION.

CUBA CITY WAS ONLY A FEW MILES SOUTH OF WHERE WE STOPPED. FINALLY AFTER 8 OR 9 MINUTES WE COULD SEE THE BUSES, POLICE CARS, AND PLAIN CARS GOING BY AT A HIGH SPEED. THE FIRST TWO BUSES WERE PAINTED UP WITH SPECIAL COLORS AND THE NEXT 2 OR 3 WERE PLAIN. WE ASSUMED SOME HAD NEWS PEOPLE ON THEM AND OTHER SPECIAL PEOPLE.

I WAS ABLE TO TAKE TWO PICTURES, BUT I DOUBT THEY WILL SHOW MUCH AND MAY BE A BLUR.

WE GOT BACK ONTO THE ROAD AGAIN AND THERE WERE POLICE IN FRONT AND BEHIND US. I AM SURE SOME WERE GOING ON AHEAD TO BLOCK OTHER ROADS ON THE WAY TO IOWA AFTER THE PRESIDENT LEFT THE HIGH SCHOOL IN CUBA CITY. THE PEOPLE IN CUBA CITY WERE STILL OUT THE SIDEWALKS TO SEE THE PRESIDENT AND SOME WERE STANDING AND TALKING ABOUT HIM. THERE SIGNS FOR BOTH HE AND THE OTHER GUY. WE DROVE VERY SLOW IN CUBA CITY AS ALL THE SIDE STREETS WERE BLOCKED. THE ENTRANCE INTO CUBA CITY WAS STILL BLOCKED FROM THE SOUTH. WE DROVE ON AND COULD SEE THE STREET WAS BLOCKED TO THE HIGH SCHOOL WHERE HE WAS TO SPEAK.

AS WE WENT ON WE SAW THE POLICE WERE STARTING TO BLOCK THE ENTRANCES TO THE HIGHWAY TO IOWA.

THE MYSTERY WAS OVER AS TO OUR HIGHWAY EXPERIENCE BUT WE ENJOYED IT SO MUCH WE WANTED TO PASS IT ON TO OTHERS.