People keep asking me two questions. Here they are, and here are the answers:

WHERE HAVE YOU GONE LATELY?

     Nowhere. I've been busy. Okay? I've spent most of my free time with Gerri since October; and that's a lot more enjoyable that riding in the rain or eating dust and bugs.

     Now, Gerri LOVES to ride, too; but we've agreed that I won't take her out unless it's sunny and at least 50 degrees. (Last time we did otherwise, she got terribly sick.) So we've been waiting for this nicer weather.

WHERE ARE YOU GOING NEXT?

     Alaska. That WAS my plan. That would be my "big trip" for the year -- and probably the last really big trip I'd try on the bike. But, as you know, things change.
     But I made the decision to NOT make the trip -- at least not in the foreseeable future. Honestly, life with Gerri has been too terrific for me to interrupt things now with a 6- or 7-week absence. Given the choice of spending weeks searching for campgrounds, sleeping on the ground, fighting off mosquitoes and bears (and other critters of varying sized in between); and spending time enjoying life with Gerri -- well, Gerri won out!

     So NOW what's my next trip? Hard to say. We're already discussing trips (either by car or bike) to Minnesota, Arizona, Virginia, Florida (multiple trips), and anywhere else that sounds interesting. Until Gerri decides to seek gainful employment again, we're just going to enjoy each other's company and go where we like. Life don't get much better than that.
     In the meantime, updates to the "Lone Wolfe Chronicles" may be somewhat sparse; but you can keep up with US on the "LarryGerri" blog - linked at the top-right of this page. For now, it's on with love and life!

.....

If you're looking for the exploits of Larry and Gerri, please see the NEW Blog set up especially for all things related to our escapades. At the top of this page, you'll see a link to the "LarryGerri" blog. Just click on it and you'll be whisked away to that new repository of worthless drivel.

Meanwhile, THIS blog will again focus primarily on my trips, whether interesting or boring. Stay tuned, I'm bound to go somewhere again! (But honestly, I'm having a LOT more fun spending my free time with Gerri! Take a look at the new blog and you'll see.)

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A wee group rides the Natchez Trace!

A small group is heading off to ride the "Natchez Trace Parkway." If you're not familiar with it, here's how Wikipedia describes it:

The Natchez Trace, a 440-mile-long path extending from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee, linked the Cumberland, Tennessee and Mississippi rivers. It was a traditional Native Americans trail and was later also used by early European explorers as both a trade and transit route in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Today, the trail has been commemorated by the 444-mile-long Natchez Trace Parkway, which follows the approximate path of the trace.

On the trip, Jim and Sandra Penner (the whole trip was Jim's idea, so we're blaming him if anything goes wrong), Calvin and Molly Nelson, Louie and Paula Hall, Bill and Ann Marshall, and myself (Jack will have to be MY "better half" on the ride).

Bill and Ann rode/drove (Bill on his Harley Ultra, Ann in her cool Toyota Prius) from their villa in North Carolina to Prattville on Friday, Oct 12, to spend the night before we all left town. That's good for me; it gives me the opportunity to have a pleasant dinner (or "supper," depending on your political affiliation) with them again.

Saturday, October 13, 2008
Prattville to Natchez, MS

Had a nice time with Bill and Ann last night. Ate at a local barbeque place. I had something called a "Classic Rib Sandwich." Being a regular customer of McDonald's where they often feature their Rib Sandwich -- processed pork rib meat slab and flavored ketchup on a bun -- I assumed I'd see something similar. What I didn't expect was to find four ribs on a small bun. Ribs. Bone and all. Silly me. I ended up with a fractional rack of rib with a bun chaser. It was good, though.

We all met this morning at the local Holiday Inn, which is where Bill and Ann spent the night. After a little chatting, coffee, and pee breaks, we were on the road.

Had a fairly uneventful trip over to Natchez. Saw one lonely cow that got out of the fence and was trying to cross the road in front of us. (Why DID the cow cross the road?) We all avoided him, with thanks to Jim who led the group and pointed him out to us before we got to him.

Jim and Sandra had made this ride a few weeks ago, so Jim suggested we stop at a little "caboose restaurant" where they served barbeque and chicken. He warned us ahead of time, they had very, VERY limited hours, so they might not even be open when we got there.

They weren't open. And it wasn't a caboose. It was a large, red cargo trailer -- presumably with a stove and refrigerator inside. "Well, it was RED," Jim said. Caboose. Trailer. About the same -- less the tracks.

We finally stopped for lunch at a no-name place just outside Laurel, MS. I think its name was "Mr T's Dairy Barn," because that was at the top of a menu page inside the place. But otherwise, it was just a dumpy old building along the road. The food? As Molly said, 'It's a MUST STOP PLACE if you ever get through here." I was good, too.

Sandra asked one of the employees if they had restrooms in the place. "Yes, it's out back. You have to go around to the back of the building behind the dumpster, and there's a door there." Amazing place. Not a AAA Five-Star restroom, that's for sure. But it worked.

When we stopped in Selma, just 40 miles or so from our starting point, we bumped into another member of our HOG Chapter -- Ken Eddy. He and a number of other guys were riding west to the Natchez Trace as well. Amazingly enough, we left Selma about the same time; they stopped for fuel, food, and necessaries at different times and different places than we did; and by the time we got to Natchez some 350 miles later, we were almost in one big group. We'll probably see 'em again tomorrow.

Gas prices stayed fairly constant along the route, running in the $3.00-3.30 range. We saw it below $3/gallon once. And not everyplace HAD gas. But we made it anyway.

We only had one "problem" on the way... Sandra's new bike "just quit" part way across Mississippi. Don't know why. She pulled off the road and stopped, hit the starter, and it cranked back up again. So we're clueless; but praying that it continues running for another 700 miles or so.

Speaking of Sandra... At our last stop about 10 miles shy of Natchez, she came up to me and said, "I hope you've noticed that I've been ignoring you this whole trip." (I hated to admit that I hadn't! ... and wisely didn't.) Seems that was her way of "getting back at me" for giving her a little "thank you gift" after buying me dinner in Milwaukee. Gosh, I was just trying to be NICE for a change.

Once I got settled in the campground, Bill and Ann got settled in their hotel, and the other six (YOU go look up their names) got settled into their Monmouth Plantation rooms, we all got together in the courtyard to chat until time to eat. We had reservations at the spectacular dining room at the Monmouth. The place is really cool. ALL truly antiques everywhere, heavy velvet drapes, plush carpet in the hallway and what were probably original wood floors in the dining area, flowers and portraits all over... and on and on. Amazing place that Jim & Sandra found.....I have no idea how, though.

The dining room was ultra elegant. (The chandeliers didn't contain lights -- they had old-style GAS flames. How's that for posh?) And more silverware than Ann could fit into her purse. She said next time she'll bring a pillow case!

The dinner? Wow. We lost track of the "courses." At 6:30 we had oar-derves (hey, YOU try to spell it while sitting on the ground!). We were chimed (actually, "belled," but that doesn't sound as sofisticated) to dinner at 7:30. The meal started off with cheese biscuits and lovely little patties of butter. Then came the "seafood brisk." Basically fishy tasting broth served in a flat saucer -- I'd have felt like a cat lapping milk, except they gave us a monster spoon to scoop it out with. Then a colorful and exotic green salad with some white stuff poured in the middle of it. Then another serving of cheese biscuits -- daintily served one to a customer with silver tongs. Somehow that lost the charm when I'd seen a handyman carrying a plastic bag slung over his shoulder, with the bag full of 'em, into the building before dinner.

Then we got a real treat. Shave Ice! Not much -- barely a spoonful. I guess you call it "shave ice" when it fills a cup, and "sour bay" when it's just a dab. Still, it was tasty.

The main course; you had your choice of beef (insert fancy name here), chicken (insert fancy name here), or fish (insert fancy name here); each served up with potatoes and spinach. And all were masterfully decorated by their resident "chef." No, really. A real chef! This place spares no expense when fixing a meal (as long as they can pass it along to the customers, I'm sure). That was followed by a lovely (if not tiny) dessert - a "rum, Kahlua tiramisu" (or however it's spelled). That consisted of two bites' worth; but they were wonderful bites! I think we finally left the dining room at about 9:45, all stuffed and ready for a good night's sleep.

What a great night! One of those "once in a lifetime" things.

On the way back to the campground, I spotted 8 deer on the road or shoulder, and at least a couple more just into the woods. And, I also spotted about 4 armadillos on the road that were -- please, if you're not already sitting down, sit down now, take a deep breath -- they were ALIVE! Hell, I never knew they were live at any point. I thought God just created dead carcasses on roadways. Learn something new.....

Sunday, October 14, 2008
Natchez to Tupelo, MS

The worst part of this trip so far was getting up early to leave on Saturday morning. Having gotten to sleep at about 2:30 a.m., 6:30 came way too early. The second worse was getting up THIS morning. Unlike most previous trips, I was sleeping like a rather chunky rock, even though it was my first night on the road (usually it takes several days to "get comfortable" on the ground again.) But a McDonald's with WiFi a few miles away made the morning feel almost civilized.

Then the REAL day began ... and what a day it was.

Bill had the honors of leading us up the Natchez Trace Parkway, since he had a GPS and sounded like he knew what he was doing. Our first stop came at the very beginning -- a group photo opportunity too good to pass up.

Then it was on up the Trace. Almost perfect roads, beautiful scenery, and less traffic than you'd see in Deep River at Midnight. And LOTS of places to pull over and look around -- sometimes just nature, sometimes historic sites, sometimes unique views of the original Trace, and on rare, RARE occasion, you'd find a restroom. (Rule To Remember: If you ride or drive The Trace, bring along an ample supply of toilet paper. You'll need it when you lean back against a tree!)

We rolled along the Trace, stopping about every 10-20 miles (okay, sometimes 5) to look around. "How often DID you stop?" you may ask. Well, let's just way that Paula and Molly decided to ride along with Ann in her car, just so they wouldn't have to keep putting on and taking off their helmets!

Our FIRST stop was at a Women's Academy, which operated in the first half of the 1800's. This stop was noteworthy because TWO cameras fell to the ground. I started getting ready to take another group photo using my camera and tripod. I mounted the camera and started extending the legs of the tripod. ...at which point the head of the tripod flew off, taking my camera to its brush with death on the asphalt. The fall broke my filter and the retaining ring; but I think it's still working okay. So it wasn't terminal. However, just a few minutes later, Sandra borrowed a camera from someone -- sorry, I forgot whose it was, but it doesn't much matter. While taking a picture, she dropped it. One dead camera. Sandra said her "allowance" for the next two months will go to buy a new camera to replace it. (Budgets are hell, ain't they?)

Having left downtown Natchez at 8:30, we made some spectacular time on the parkway. By Noon, we'd already gone 50 miles. (Yes, fifty miles in 3 1/2 hours.) Funny. On the way over to Natchez, we pondered how we'd ever fill the days ahead, with only about 240 miles to ride on each leg. We had SO MUCH time, we figured we'd have time for shopping and leisurely meals along the way. Now here we were, facing the stark reality that we were getting somewhere, but not fast!

And since it was getting to be LUNCH TIME, Bill poked around on his GPS and found a restaurant that sounded interesting. So he made a turn off the parkway and headed west. Five miles later, with MY GPS showing no signs of civilization anywhere near, I radioed to Bill to see if he knew where he was leading us! He sounded like he did. After riding 20 miles and coming to within a mile of being back in Louisiana again, we pulled into an old shopping mall -- in Vicksburg! (You'd have to see the map to know how far we were off track!)

The place he picked just because he liked the name? "Horse Face Harry's cafe." Well, we HAD to check that out. We quickly learned that this little hole-in-the-wall cafe in a dying strip mall had TERRIFIC food. Tea and water served in quart-sized Mason jars, vegetables all FRESH from the fields, biscuits made right there, and meats that had more flavor than you could handle. Turned out to be a great side trip, even if it was 40 miles out of our way. I suggested we come back again next year JUST to eat here again. Good idea.

On the way back to the Trace, we were riding along this nice country highway. As we passed one side street, I noticed a guy standing in the street next to his mailbox. And on top of his mailbox he'd balanced a laptop computer, and was busy working away. I radioed to the group that maybe folks down here just didn't quite get the hang of "E-Mail"! Well, maybe that's true. But then Jim hopped on the radio with a more logical explanation. He said the guy probably had an account on AOL, and every time it said "You've Got Mail!, the guy would run out to the mailbox with his computer fetch his mail! Yeah, sounds about right.

By 3:30 this afternoon, we'd made our way only as far as Jackson, MS. That meant almost 200 miles TO GO to get to Tupelo. We had to concede that we had to stop stopping. So we hit the road again, but now we were only stopping when necessary -- like when we found a bathroom, the one time we just happened to stumble across a much-needed gas station, and when folks needed to peel their butts off the leather for a few minutes. We made it to Tupelo at about 7:30 tonight. Nobody much liked driving in the dark, but we really had little choice. With a LONG ride ahead of us again tomorrow, we really needed to reach our daily goals.

The other six folks headed to a local hotel, and I found my way to a State Park where I'd reserved a camp site. I think it's a nice place, but it's too dark to see. It's QUIET, though, so that's a plus! If I sleep as well as I did last night, I'll be thrilled.

Tomorrow it's on to the end of the Trace (we're at about milepost 260 now, and it ends at 444) near Nashville, then slip across town to our hotel there. Then it's dinner at Buca de Beppo's! We can't wait.

Monday, October 15, 2008
Tupelo to Nashville

What a busy day. We covered the remaining 200 miles or so, stopping often, laughing MORE often, and generally having the time of our lives. To be honest right up front, much of the day seems a blur right now. So much happened in such a short time. All I remember for certain is that we had a blast!

We headed out of Tupelo and went a good, solid mile without stopping. And from there on, we stopped whenever anything looked interesting. With fewer miles to cover, we knew we had the luxury of spending more time seeing things up close. (If you ever want to tour the Trace and do a good job of it, allow at least 3 days, 4 if you're really into history.)

As we rolled along to the north, the temperatures dropped a degree or two, and the trees slowly turned more numerous and deeper colors. Fall is definitely here, especially in Tennessee. The colors got brighter and the air got cleaner with every passing mile.

One of the most significant stops we made was at the "death and burial place" of Meriwether Lewis -- among other things, he was governor of the Louisiana Purchase and part of that whole "Lewis and Clark" comedy team. The grave site and memorial was interesting, as was the Grinder House where he died. If you're into history, this was a Mecca.

For lunch, we again turned to Bill's GPS. We found several possibilities, and Bill decided we'd try a place called "Jadd's Burgers" in Florence, Alabama -- about 13 miles away as a crow flies; about 30 miles as Harleys roll. As we rounded the final corner leading up to Jadd's, Bill said over the radio, "Hey, WHO KNEW?" Jadd's was a drive-through quick-stop burger and BBQ place. Unfazed, we walked up and ordered off the drive-through menu, then had a little picnic at some tables across the parking lot. Made for a nice little lunch. Then again, we didn't want much to eat, since we ALL had our sights set on Buca di Beppo's for dinner tonight.

I'd like to tell you about all the fun we had trying to get out of Florence and back on the Trace; but I don't think I could do it. We made so many turns and U-turns and were on so many different streets (including going the wrong way through a Crystal's drive-through!) that I lost track. One thing's for certain. In all the commotion, Sandra put the finishing touches on making a 10-point turn with her Harley! Nice going!

We also stopped at an old (but obviously still functional) tobacco farm. Jim, who's been without a smoke now for a full MONTH, did well here. He faced the temptation of hundreds of pounds of drying tobacco leaves and walked away clean. ... but with three lollipops in his mouth!

On the final "run to the end," we made a stop at a pull-out where there was a solid, made-of-brick restroom. Ah, luxury. Little did we know, it turned out to be one of the best spots of the entire Trace. As we walked toward the potty, we saw, some 30-40 feet below us, a fantastic little picnic area down in an old river valley. Now, only a small stream of crystal clear water flowed slowly, winding around the area. We took a path down into the valley and found ourselves surrounded by the banks of the now-gone river, carved through rock and leaving amazing formations. Trees covered the entire area. Sitting in that valley covered by trees, it was the most peaceful place we'd seen on the trip -- and one of the most peaceful most of us had ever seen. Pictures just didn't to it justice.

Despite my attempts to the contrary, I did manage to learn some new things -- about the Trace, about life in those times, and about a couple other things. Made my head hurt.

We got to the hotel tonight by about 5:30. We made a quick turn-around and headed to Buca's for dinner. For those who may not know, Buca di Beppo's is an Italian food chain that serves HUGE portions of GREAT food in a "family style" way. A platter of lasagna can feed a small army. They also serve up some very magical Sangria -- the small group went through three pitchers during the meal.

We had a great evening talking about this ride and those we've shared in the past. We ate, we drank, we laughed until we hurt, and we celebrated both Jim's and Paula's birthdays. What a marvelous way to end up the trip. (And we did it all without getting thrown out of the place!)

Tomorrow is our last time together. Bill and Ann have a long ride/drive ahead of them as they head back to North Carolina. The rest of us will head south, getting home again tomorrow afternoon. I'll issue a final wrap-up note tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Tuesday, October 16, 2008
Nashville to home

We all managed to drag our tails out of our nice, comfy beds at the hotel in Nashville, had a light continental breakfast, and it was time to move on. We bid farewell to Bill and Ann and they went on their way. The rest of us headed south by Interstate -- an odd feeling after having spent the last two days riding at 55 mph - at best.

We made a quick stop in Huntsville, as several of the group wanted to re-visit a coffee shop in the "old downtown" area. From there, Jim and Sandra decided to follow some state highways home -- more scenic and a slower, more relaxing ride. The rest of us (the Halls and Nelsons) took the Interstate the rest of the way.

It's always good to get home; this was no exception. And I'm looking forward to NOT getting up at 6:30 in the morning. Why these folks always wanted to get on the road by 8:00-8:30 in the mornings is beyond me. That was downright inhuman. Cruel, even. Now I can sleep until Noon again.

Overall, the trip involved 25 1/2 hours of saddle time and covering about 1,270 miles (except for Bill, who had to ride a LOT further and longer, as he made the round trip from Statesville, NC).

And so ends the trip. Now, keep this in mind: These are only MY thoughts and stories. There were a LOT more interesting things happen that I didn't see, didn't hear about, didn't know about, or just didn't feel like making up. All those other stories will take on a life of their own as time goes by.

Bill took a lot of cool photos, and I've posted them to the photo album as well. They may appear at the end or the beginning of the album; they're kinda hard to control -- kinda like our riding group. Anyway, it gives you more stuff to laugh at!

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The Annual Oktoberfest Trek

I know, I know. The "To Helen Back" is a much-overused pun; and admittedly not a very good one at that. But I've never used it in a blog before, so I thought I'd take this rare opportunity to share this trite expression with all of you who undoubtedly don't give a shit.

My dear Big Sister DARED ME to post this photos of me and my first "bike." Well... I can take a dare, because I don't care. The training wheels are no big deals. Because as I grew older, I gave them the shoulder; "It's No Harley!" I soon would declare.

Anyway, I'm off to Helen, Georgia, again. Just in time for their "Oktoberfest" celebration; which, in Helen, lasts about 11 months each year. They just "ratchet up a notch" during September, October and November; which translates to higher prices and more traffic.

My friend Bill Marshall (who deserted all his friends in Alabama and moved to North Carolina) started this annual ride back in 2003. Our chapter has made this trek ever year since then -- except for this year. Bill lined up special rates and a large block of rooms at a nice hotel in Helen. But after advertising the ride and discounts for several months, the hotel had booked exactly two rooms - one for Bill and one for me. Last year we had more than 60 bikes make the trip to Helen; but for a wide variety of disconnected reasons, nobody else wanted to (or could) make the ride this year.

So a few of us (Bill and his wife Ann, our District Attorney Randall Houston and wife Stacey, and a number of RH's staff [yes, Beverly, I'll mention your name, too] and friends) decided we'd go on our own. It's a week earlier than normal, but that's to accommodate RH's busy social calendar.

So we're heading to Helen on Thursday to eat, ride, eat, see some sights, eat, relax, and possibly take some time to eat. Should be a FUN 4-day trip! You can find photos at the same "photo album link" in the right-hand column. So, ..... C'mon along now, hea'?

Thursday, September 18

Before I get too far into the trip, let me formally introduce our cast of characters:

• RH - Randall Houston, our esteemed District Attorney.

• Stacey - RH's wife.

• Beverly - RH's "Special Assistant" (think "Special Olympics" and you'll get the idea).

• Jennifer - one of RH's staff.

• JC - Jennifer's husband.

• Todd - JC's brother, who joined us in Heflin, AL.

• Todd's wife. Okay, I'm ashamed to say it, but I've not yet even heard her name. I'm assuming she has one. I'll add it if she does.

• Bill - my old friend (and when I say "old" ... well, I mean it) who used to live in the Montgomery area and was very active in our chapter

• Ann - Bill's wife, who was also very active in our chapter, and (I think by sheer coincidence) also lived in the Montgomery area.

Now, I'd heard that traveling with RH (that's Randall Houston, our District Attorney) is always quite an adventure; so I knew this would be an exciting trip. And the "fun" started even before we left -- the day before, actually. Beverly went over to help RH unload the bikes, and as soon as his got on the gravel they learned the battery was dead. Then when they tried to moved his BIG truck so they could roll the bike under the shelter out of the morning rain, they found that the TWO batteries in the truck were dead as well! They removed the battery from the bike and took it to the dealership (to make sure that was the problem), and ended up buying a new battery and got it installed. So finally RH had his ride ready to go.

We had a very pleasant ride up to Helen. It took about 7 hours to cover the 270-something miles. We stopped a lot. In fact, our first stop came after almost 10 miles! Seems RH had a phone call he had to take, so we had to pull off within shouting distance of his office. After that call, he either limited his calls to times when we stopped for food or gas, or had Jenny make the calls for him.

In all, we had 5 motorcycles and a total of 8 people from Montgomery, plus Bill on his bike and Ann in their Toyota Prius from Statesville, NC. Jenny and Stacey piloted their SUV, which RH kept referring to as the "Cargo Van." I have to admit that reference was fairly accurate. They carried a lot of stuff -- they lashed 4 bicycles on the back of the SUV, and carried more cargo inside than Hannibal packed on all his elephants as he crossed the Alps.

Somewhere in the wastelands of western Georgia, RH came on the CB radio and said he'd received three phone calls from some phone number he didn't recognize. He could SEE that he'd gotten the calls, but couldn't answer or call them back while riding. So he asked Jenny if she'd call that unknown number and see who it was -- and, we all assume, what the person wanted. In the end, Stacey made the call. About 15 minutes after his request, RH came back on the radio, asking if they'd called that number. Stacey dutifully reported that she'd had a very nice conversation (about 10 minutes worth), and they'd talked about their kids, the ride, their lives, and other stuff. ...okay, but who was it? Stacey said, "Well, I don't know!" She finally admitted that whoever it was that had called RH -- and whoever it was she'd just talked to for 10 miles -- was so nice and seemed so familiar, she was embarrassed to ask who the heck she was talking to! Okay, so she won't live that down for a long time!

When we got to Helen, Bill and Ann were sitting outside the hotel waiting for us. After we got settled, we all headed down to a local German(ish) restaurant for dinner. (I think maybe Bill and Ann got the better of the deal - they'd previously eaten some great food at a local Mexican place; with better service, more food, and lower prices.) I'd like to say, "We'll learn," but this IS Helen, after all.

But this town is eerie right now. Normally, the town is crowded -- CROWDED -- with people and traffic. Last year when we came up a day early on a Thursday, it was MUCH less crowded. But tonight? It's like a ghost town. There was our group and two police cars. I guess that's a proportional response to the threat. Still, it seems strange to see the streets so deserted. Kind cool, too.

Tomorrow we're planning to ..... well, ..... gosh. Actually, we have NO plans so far. I trust we'll come up with something when we wake up.

Friday, September 19

Marie! Finally, "Mrs. Todd" finally has a first name. Cool. I guess it's like Stacey and her mystery phone call -- there comes a point where you're just too uncomfortable to ask someone, "Okay, just who the hell are you?" We no longer have to do that.

I met up with Bill and Ann for breakfast this morning. (Actually, I was sleeping like a bear in hibernation when they called.) Went to a local Huddle House. Every table and chair was filled, and only four people working the whole place. It may have been quicker to ride 30 miles down the road to a larger town for a McDonald's breakfast, but we stuck it out. One thing Helen does not excel at -- service. I can't remember a single restaurant we've ever used that didn't have poor service. Maybe it's the German influence?

I led our little group (just four bikes) to our first (and arguably our only planned destination for the day, a little town called Hoschton about 50 miles south of Helen. This small town set out to break the World Record for the most scarecrows in one town. (We all need to claim some kind of fame in life, don't we?) The world record had been something north of 3,000 scarecrows. As of today, according to a reliable city official (in that he just happened to be wearing a shirt that said "City of Hoschton" on it -- and I think the word "sanitation" or "inmate" or something like that -- they have created and posted WAY more than 5,000 scarecrows. And they're not done yet. So they've easily shattered the world record. Some cool sights, too....see the photo album if you'd like to see them.

From there, we did a quick U-turn (okay, that was NOT okay with everyone) at the scarecrow football field (see the photos), and then things went straight downhill fast -- at least according to the other three bikers on this little ride. We decided to head to a small town near here called Dahlonega. It's a very cool, quaint little town with lots of shops, cool things to see, and lots of local history. I used my trusty GPS to plot us a route south of Lake Lanier (neither I nor the GPS had ever gone that way before) and then north to Dahlonega. Unfortunately, that route was perilously close to some Atlanta-ish traffic and involved about 20 miles of Interstate travel. None of that was well received. But heck; on the bright side, maybe they won't ask me to lead the way again!

From there, we took a route we've used often, through some scenic rolling hills and involved some great "twisty" roads. I think everyone like that. Tried and true comes through. Back in town (which is still fairly deserted), folks are heading different directions for dinner. I'll head out with Bill and Ann. Since we've already eaten TWICE today, I'll just have dessert while they chow down on schnitzel and wurst. And I should note, that the "wurst" here is the kind that you EAT .... it is NOT the wurst for WEAR.

Ugh. Sorry. Good Night, Gracie.

Saturday, September 20

And Sunday is a Day of Rest. Amen.

Most folks decided to really "chill" today. Some took it easy in Helen until time to watch a football game on the tube. Others probably found some shady, quiet bike trails to ride their bicycles. And a couple (I won't mention either Bill or Ann) just sat outside their room and watched the water flow down the stream. Restful.

But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to ride; so I did. Headed up into North Carolina, where I found myself some seriously twisted roads. I'm glad my GPS keeps track of where I've been, because I gotta remember some of those roads. Beautiful scenery, sparse traffic, good pavement, and a WIDE variety of riding conditions; up hills, down hills, across hills, left turns, right turns, wide sweeping turns and tighter-than-hairpin turns -- and sometimes all at the same time!

As I was going along, I encountered a couple signs; one said, "Reduced Speed Ahead," followed by one that set the speed limit at "45 mph". 45? FORTY-FIVE? For the past half hour, I'd never been able to get going that fast! The roads were so twisted and narrow that doing 30 was "pushing it."

One town I came through was exceptionally cool. A place called Cashiers, North Carolina. A beautiful town, with lots of shops and activities, beautifully landscaped main street, little side streets full of shops, and other "tourist stuff." (Bill/Ann, I'm sure you're familiar with it. If not, check it out!)

Hard to see - I know. Check out the larger copy in the photo album. This map shows the side trips: Friday's rides to the south of Helen, and my rides on Saturday to the northeast.

Two corners on today's ride stand out....just don't ask me where they were. On one, I literally found myself looking "backwards" over my right shoulder in order to see the road ahead of me. Honest. This was probably the second-tightest corner I've ever seen on a highway. (The tightest being near the top of Mt. Evans in Colorado.) That was fun! The other was banked (or not, or something) in such a way that I actually dragged one of my highway pegs on the road! Heck, I didn't even know that was possible! I've dragged my foot-boards many times on tight corners, but never a highway peg -- which sets up over a foot above the ground. Maybe I don't want to go back to that particular corner.

I came through one little town in South Carolina and was minding my own business on this four-lane road. I was doing at or under the speed limit on the inside lane going South. Then I noticed a sheriff's car pulling up behind me. He got right up on my asphalt-hugging rear tire and stayed there. Followed me like that for several blocks. Then some kids (or thugs or vandals or juveniles or whatever) came up on the outside lane and passed us both. As soon as they were past me, the sheriff pulled around me and tucked in right behind the kids in their pickup truck. They continued to speed down the highway. At that point, I guess the sheriff just couldn't contain himself any longer and flipped on his lights. And at that point the kids' "pickup truck" became a "picked-up truck." Can YOU say, Duh!

And tomorrow morning we pack up and head for home. WOW, the time went SO FAST! Then again, I warned you this was gonna be a quick, short trip!

Sunday, September 21

Had a great time last night after I posted the blog. I was going to take a walk down through the shops on main street, and managed to convince Bill and Ann to go with me. (Ann didn't mind at all -- Bill's arm probably still hasn't returned to its socket.) Amazingly enough, we ran into everyone from our Montgomery and Heflin group at some point; and saw RH on two separate trips. (It seems he has a ritual of going to town for fudge and candy during football's half-time show.)

Now, far be it for me to pick on anyone by name, so I won't mention names. But just after we bumped into RH and Stacey, one of their cell phones started ringing. I won't point fingers, but when she finally fished her phone out of her purse, sure that she'd missed the call, she stuck it up to her ear and yelled, "Hello? Hello!" Nobody there. A moment later she realized it'd been a text message and not a call. But I won't say who did that!

Bill, Ann and I eventually ended up at the Troll Tavern for dinner. Excellent dinner and great company. And it was so much more enjoyable once Bill figured out which light was flickering on and off. (Long story. If you have any brains at all, you won't ask.) Anyway, thanks again, Bill, for buying dinner. I think I now owe you a month's worth of groceries.

Homeward bound....Homeward bound.....

Our Alabama contingent headed South this morning while Bill and Ann headed North. As we stood together in the parking lot just before leaving, I realized this whole group had only been together twice this whole trip -- once for dinner the night we arrived, and now just as we're leaving. It's neat that Helen has so much variety that we could be there together but doing different things.

The trip back was fairly uneventful. We hit a couple spritzes of light rain, but not enough to get us wet. And, of course, we had our share of close calls with maniac drivers. Todd and Marie left us where we'd found them, in Heflin, Alabama. And we made the rest of the trip in good time.

This has been a perfect trip in so many ways. JUST the right people (and the right number of people), great location, ideal weather for ANY activity, good food, and nice people around town. No Diary Queen or McDonald's, but maybe that's too much to ask of Helen; as adding anything like that would ruin the aura.

Check out all the new photos added to the album. Bill and Ann took some pictures -- some on a separate trip they made to Hoschton (a/k/a "scarecrow city"). They're worth a few moments of your time.

Pardon me while I relax a while. I'm going to sit at home and "chill" for several weeks before I head off on another delightful adventure. Stay tuned for the Fall Season Premiere on October 11th.

.......

The Need for Speed

Another adventure begins. I'll be heading out for Milwaukee, Wisconsin -- a 5,000-mile trip.

Okay, normally it'd be an 800-mile ride. But, you see, I'm taking another shortcut. I'll start off going to Des Moines, Iowa (and please, it's pronounced like "De Moyne" -- don't do the whole "s" thing), for the Iowa State Fair.

Then I'll turn left and visit a few National Parks in southern Colorado and Utah and eastern Nevada.

Then comes the "speed" part -- a stop at the Bonneville Salt Flats for the annual "Speed Week" competitions. With luck, I may see some new records set!

Only after that will I head toward Milwaukee, stopping at a few more parks and attractions - and a brief stop in Waseca - along the way.

So, "Why Milwaukee?" Two reasons. First, the Harley Owner's Group celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year. Second, the Harley-Davidson company celebrates their 105th Anniversary at the same time. Plus, the new Harley-Davidson museum is now open, and I have reserved tickets to visit the shrine. In all, it'll be a four-day event where I'll hopefully meet up with many of my friends from the Montgomery HOG chapter.

Stay tuned ... I'll post updates whenever I can!

Wednesday, August 13
Alabama toward Iowa
(Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri)


My goal for the day was to get to a familiar campground just west of St. Louis. Been there before, and liked it. And I made it there successfully, I should add.

I changed my route several times on the way up. Once to check out (in more detail) a strange "castle tower" Charlie, my best buddy, and I have seen numerous times on our many trips to Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This strange turret sits atop a hill along the road somewhere south of Nashville. We've always been on a schedule to get to Murfreesboro, and never had a chance to stop. So THIS time, I made a special trip to investigate further.

Charlie, it ain't nothin' to write home about. What we saw from the highway is all there is to see. The rest is hidden by a large wooded lot, fenced off as private property. From what I could tell from outside the locked gates, someone actually lives there! And the address -- it's on "New Castle Road." How fitting.

Otherwise, it was a fairly uneventful day of riding. Bike problem #1 -- the knob that controls my cruise control fell off somewhere in Northern Alabama. It left a brass pin sticking out of the handlebar, so I still have control. Otherwise, without cruise control, hell, I'd have turned around and gone home!

Other glitch -- the credit card I have from BP quit working. At the third station where it was refused, I went in and talked to the clerk . (I know, it's like talking to a dog about physics, but I had to try.) She said it looked like the BP company had put a "security lock" on it, thinking maybe someone had stolen the card and was using it on the road. Grrr. I'll call BP and get that fixed. All the traveling I've done in the past few years with that card and never a problem. Why now? Lucky, I guess. Maybe this is an omen that I'll win the lottery, too.

I got to the campground right at dusk. No problem, though, as I was familiar with the grounds and the check-in process. THIS time I was greeted with the lovely serenade of locusts -- or cicada. While checking in with the host, he gave me a lesson on the singing bugs. Apparently these were Cicadas; locusts being an entirely different animal. News to me, but what do I know. My little electronic dictionary says they're the same species; yet, who am I to argue with my host. In any event, I had BOTH around (and on) my tent.

I had a little trouble getting to sleep, though. So I started to count the cicada as I heard their songs:

1 Cicada.
2 Cicada.
3 Cicada.
.....
I gave up when I counted about a bazillion! Glad I brought ear plugs!

Thursday, August 14
Missouri to Iowa

I stuck entirely to back roads all the way up from the campgrounds -- 5 hours without seeing an Interstate. Made for an interesting (though slow) ride. However, I DID encounter a Taco John's!!! Needless to say, I Stopped!

Encountered a little light rain - just enough to warrant breaking out the rain gear, but not enough to actually get it wet.

(NOTE TO SELF: Remember to make sure your rain gear is DRY before packing it up again next time. Otherwise, the red outer covering turns black and the white inner side turns green -- and fuzzy. Not pleasant. Duh.)

Saw a heartwarming patriotic display in Wellsville, Missouri. A small park in the middle of town FILLED with American Flags, marked with signs to "Remember our Honored Veterans," and with small signs heralding all their military members past and present. Pretty cool -- check the photo album.

Made it to my campsite for the next two nights, just north of Des Moines. It's a campground built by the Corps of Engineers -- looming over me to the north is an earthen dam and reservoir, and dropping off behind me is the spillway. I'm hoping it won't rain TOO much while I'm here!

Tomorrow I'll head into town to take in the Iowa State Fair. It's been more than 40 years since I've been there, so this should be fun.

Friday, August 15
Iowa State Fair

I guess you could say I had a perfectly "fair day." Bad, I know. I got to thinking about the Iowa State Fair, and figured it must've been something like 15 years since I've been to one. So it was about time. And this year -- Iowa's 154th annual fair (with two years "off" during World War II -- just to have full disclosure).

Overall, I had a great time. I already had a good idea of SOME of the things I wanted to do and see when I got there, so that sorta helped plan my day. However, nothing can prepare you for the Iowa State Fair -- except for the Iowa State Fair. There are some big state fairs. And there are some huge state fairs. Then, on top of them all, there's Iowa's. Wow.

It's huge in size - about the size of the Magic Kingdom at Disney World, I think. At least that's what my feet said about it. And crowds? More people-per-square-yard than I've ever seen at Disney parks. And this was only Friday! I'd hate to see tomorrow and Sunday, the end of the fair. And all somewhat "typical" upper-Midwest-type folks -- if you know what that means. Down-to-earth, mostly farming-related, considerate, out to have a good time, and maybe a bit tubby.

But they had good reason to be tubby. The food. The food at the Iowa fair is awesome. And more types and styles than you can shake a corn dog stick at. And you can't walk more than a few steps without seeing something interesting to eat or drink.

And in many cases, there are free samples offered by vendors, organizations, associations, or other businesses. One group sponsored a buttered-corn-on-the-cob feast -- all for free. Needless to say, the crowd around their tables was huge -- looked like feeding time in the Swine Barn!

One thing's for sure, I lost NO weight at the fair! Actually, I didn't eat that many things -- but when they offer up food at the Iowa State Fair, be prepared. The portions are monstrous. You could, for example, get a plate full of "grater fries" -- looks like potato chips all strung together. A paper plate -- heaped about a foot high! Yes, awesome.

I had several "shows" on my to-do list for the fair. One was an interesting event called the "Husband Calling Contest." I'm sure it was fun and interesting, but I didn't quite make it that far. I got to the contest venue on time; but they started off with a "special event" - a "Mom Calling Contest." I quickly learned that whenever there's something interesting happening, they let the kids go first. So the first contest had about 25 kids each taking the microphone (with much-too-loud PA system) and SCREAM for their moms. (One at a time, of course.) That was annoying enough in itself. And it only took about 20 minutes. But then they brought all the kids up on stage and asked each one to introduce themselves by name, age, and where they lived.

First kid.
Emcee; "Number one, you go first."
Kid: (silence)
Emcee: Number one, introduce yourself.
Kid: (silence again)
Emcee: Number one, what's your name.
Kid: [mumbled softly]
Emcee: What was that?
Kid: Johnny
Emcee: Johnny what?
Kid: Johnny, sir.
Emcee: No, Johnny, what's your LAST name
Kid: Emmerson
Emcee: Okay, Johnny. And.....
Kid: what?
Emcee: And how old are you?
Kid: five
Emcee: And where are you from?
Kid: [mumble, garble]
Emcee: Where?
Kid: Clinton
Emcee: Okay, great. Thank you. You can step back now.

And knowing they had some 24 other runts to go, I gave up and left. The Husband Calling Contest was next, I'm sure, but I just couldn't stand the wait.

There was also a big talent contest; an annual event that's extremely popular here. Again, the "Sprout Division" went first. Little tykes pretending to dance, do gymnastics (they fall down a lot easier when they're young, you know), and "singing" (Webster's turning over in his grave for me using that word to describe what I heard). It was painful, but I sat through it. Then the "Senior Division" came up -- meaning those folks over 15. (Seniors? Geez, what am I then?

I also took in one of the most amazing demonstrations I've ever seen -- a "hypnotist show." This guy is a clinical hypnotherapist who works his medical business three months a year and travels the other 9 doing shows all over the country. He starts his show by explaining the myths about hypnosis, and explains what he's going to do and why it works. After about 30 minutes of educational and entertaining monologue, he randomly picked about 30 people to put on the stage. He gave them instructions, played music, "did his thing," and most of the group essentially went right to sleep. As he predicted, some didn't -- he'd warned everyone that hypnosis does NOT work on everyone. So those folks left the stage.

Then he set about giving the remaining folks various suggestions, having them sit up or stand up and with a wave of his hand or a single word would put them back to sleep, .... and on and on. It was amazing -- and hysterical.

He gave one gal a suggestion that any time he rubbed his forehead, her belly button would fly off and roll across the stage. And SHE, of course, would be compelled to get up and go get it and put it back on. He did. She did. Funny as hell. Repeated several times.

Then once, she got up and looked around, and walked back to him and said, "I can't find it!" He says, "Can't find WHAT?" "My belly button. It fell off!" He put his arm around her and turned her and said, "Look... Look over here. Here it is," as he pointed elsewhere on the stage. They walked over to it together. And JUST as they got to it, he made a kicking motion with his foot, "Whoooop" he said. And he pointed off into the audience. He said, "There it is. Out there. You go get it." And she did, wandering through the audience looking around until she found it. When she finally DID find it, she lifted up her shirt and stuffed her belly button back on. What a great show. "Ron Diamond" is the guy's name.

I also had a good time going through some of the various buildings. 4-H exhibits and projects, horse barn, cow barn, swine barn, sheep and goat barn, rabbit and poultry barn (which had no poultry, but a LOT of rabbits, horticulture building (Kim, there's a special photo in the album just for you!), contest pavilions, model train exhibit building, arts and crafts, animal learning center, and more. If you couldn't find something of interest at this place, you're obviously not a Yankee.

Just east of the main fairgrounds is an equally large area for campers -- meaning "RV'ers". It's essentially a huge town in itself! And all the camping sites are booked WAY in advance -- it's a really big deal.

One thing that surprised me was the number of people who camped without RVs -- but still brought along all the "necessities."

They brought things like beds (regular mattress types), sleeping bags and cots, tables (some complete with table cloths) and chairs, televisions, small refrigerators, microwaves, coffee pots, and lots of other shit. (I mean, "manure.") You see, these were folks who stayed in stalls in the Swine Barn! Are you serious??? I also noticed folks in the horse barn who did the same thing -- had reserved extra stalls for themselves. Oddly enough, exhibitors in the Rabbit Barn did NOT stay in cages next to their critters.

In all, they had tons of food, lots of shows and concerts going on at three different stages virtually all day and the grandstand at night, probably 20-25 special demonstrations and classes at ANY time of the day (like learning how to arrange flowers or give CPR), and street performers popping up at random. Add in all the equipment on display (almost ALL was farm-related, as you might imagine), and there was always something new to see.

There was also an area where they had some OLD equipment. I mean, OLD! Some were gasoline engines that truly demonstrated the use of "fly wheels." They'd fire about once every 12-14 revolutions -- they fly wheel kept the machinery running in between. And a special photo in the album is just for Steve (you'll know!).

While walking around, I was drawn to about six different lovely mid-western ladies. I did my best, too. I offered them the opportunity to ride thousands of miles across the country on the back of a thundering, rumbling, vibrating Harley. To ride through rain, dust, bugs, and probably sand storms. To burn up during the day and freeze at night. To stop only when gasoline was needed ("Don't drink too much!"). Stop for food only once a day. And at the end of every day, sleep on the ground inside a tiny tent that smelled funny.

I don't understand it, though. Of the six that I approached, five turned me down outright. But I had hope when I DID have one "taker." A gal named Shea, from Council Bluffs, said it sounded like FUN. So I was truly excited. Then she asked who'd she be riding with. When I said it was ME, of course ..... well, it's a good thing I like riding alone anyway.

A long day. Got back to the campground at 11:30. Showered, climbed into an extremely wet tent (lots of condensation due to the humidity and change of temperature at night), and slept like a rock.

Okay, two more food pictures.

Now you can see why I'm not losing much weight on this trip!

Saturday, August 16
Iowa and Nebraska

Got off to a later start than I'd hoped for, so didn't get to work on my blog at all. Weather was great, as I headed west.

My first stop was over in Council Bluffs. (No, I didn't bother to look up Shea -- she made her preferences quite clear.) There's an old jail there that's pretty unique. It's called a Squirrel Cage Jail!

The one-of-a-kind jail was built in 1885 and was used until 1969. Of 18 revolving jails ever built, this was the only three-story jail. It has three floors of revolving pie-shaped cells inside a cage. This type of jail was created to allow one jailer to control a large jailed population with minimum personal contact.

Only 3 other revolving jails remain: one in Gallatin, Missouri, and one in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

Then I headed down the road through Omaha, and to the Strategic Air Command's Air and Space Museum. It was pretty cool, and had some aircraft there that you just don't see at every other museum. Not as nice as the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, but still pretty nice.

Of course, SAC had one of the old SR-71 aircraft displayed in the lobby, so I was happy. Love that plane. Wish it was still in service.

And about 80 miles further down the road was The Great Platte River Road Archway. It's an interesting museum documenting the movement of "America" across the plains to the west. This monstrous structure was build alongside the Interstate; and when finished, it was MOVED to its current position, OVER the Interstate.

With all this activity, I was tired. So I found a campground about half-way across Nebraska and settled in early for the night. Ah, rest. Tomorrow, I'll try to find a McDonald's with WiFi so I can get this stuff updated!

Sunday, August 17
Nebraska into Colorado

Well, this was a different kind of day! I found a McDonald's with WiFi within 10 miles of the campground this morning, so I got the blog updated. Then I checked the weather radar for the route I'd planned. (Planned, being the operative word -- I changed it so much today, it wasn't even similar!) The weather called for one streak of light rain just after I crossed into Colorado.

I didn't quite make it to Colorado before the rain hit. Fortunately, I found a place to pull off and get my rain gear on before I got too wet. (That's unusual for me -- I usually end up soaked before I get pulled over.) From there to Denver, I hit rain three times, completely drying out between each storm -- but just barely.

As I rode through Denver, one small company along the Interstate caught my eye. Odd name. The "Maverick Stimulation Company." Never heard of that before, but they must be really, really good at what they do -- I got an erection just riding past the place.

I had planned to ride to the top of Mt. Evans outside of Denver -- I love the road; twisty, challenging, beautiful, and is the highest paved road in North America. But with the weather so strange and the hour getting late, I changed my route.

From Denver south through Colorado Springs it was one rain storm after another; again, with just enough dry roads between each one to almost get dry. Then I turned off and started across the Rockies on some back roads I'd NOT charted or planned to travel. My gas light came on as I was leaving Colorado Springs, but I was sure I'd find gas within a few miles, as there was so much "civilization" in the area.

Yes, you guessed it. NO gas for miles and miles. I think I went 50-55 miles on that last gallon of gas. I think the altitude helped. But I did finally find gas before I ran out completely.

My first "sight-seeing" stop of the day (and this was at almost 5 p.m.!) was the Royal Gorge Bridge. Near Canon City, Colorado, it's the world's highest suspension bridge. It spans a massive granite gorge 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River. You'll have to take a look at the photos in the album to appreciate this engineering feat. The bridge is HUGE - especially when you consider where it's located -- out in the middle of almost-nothing.

This little "park" also boasts having the world's longest single-span Aerial Tram as well as the world's steepest Incline Railway (yes, even steeper than the one outside Chattanooga). Plus lots of other things to do and see. However, there's a hefty admission (I think it was $20), so I passed it up. Besides, I had places to go, things to do.

So I headed off for my next stop -- a place I found in RoadsideAmerica (oddities along the highways). It's the UFO Lookout Tower, and is located somewhere in Colorado; truly out in the middle of nothingness -- all you can see for 30 miles in any direction is flat scrub land. It was all I'd hoped for, and less. Got a picture. Then I was off in search of a campground. And since I'd deviated so far from my planned route, it was just "winging it."

Fortunately, the Great Sand Dunes National Park was nearby -- again, somewhere in Colorado, though I'm not too sure just where the heck I am. I got here about 9:30 p.m. in the dark; but like so many other sophisticated parks, they have a self-check-in process. Found what I think is a GREAT campsite -- though I'll know more when I wake up in the morning. I think it directly overlooks the sand dunes. Too dark to tell. It could be a landfill, too, for all I can tell. If it's nice, I'll take pictures and add them to the blog tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I've got everything set up in the tent -- except a heater, which I wish I had. Temperature is to go to about 40 tonight. The whole ride today was at temperatures of 60 or below; either the temperatures were falling because of the storms or they were falling because I was getting higher into the mountains. So I couldn't win. I am, however, very glad I brought along my heated gear! Made the day tolerable.

Monday, August 18
Across Colorado

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears; Oh my!

Well, no tigers, but signs around the campground warned of mountain lions and black bears, both in abundance in the area. "Please don't feed the animals..." I hope the critters don't eat PEOPLE! I imagine that at 8,300 feet, life is different in many ways.

And my campsite ... I was right. A great site. If I do say so myself (and, let's face it, nobody else would say this), I selected -- in the dark -- probably the best campsite in the park. Not only was it flat and soft with the motorcycle just 4 feet away, but when I opened up my front "door" this morning, there laid the Great Sand Dunes right in front of me. Nothing between me and them -- although there were campsites across the road from me all up and down the length of the campground, none were directly across from mine. How cool is that. Check out my early morning view in the photo album.

Overall, the weather was perfect today. The temperatures stayed at between 50-60 degrees all day -- right up until about 5:30 this afternoon. I guess it's the geography of where I was, but this afternoon I pulled into Durango, and the temperature hopped up to 85. But within 20 minutes, I'd stopped and put my heated gear back on. Never a dull moment.

My next stop was hours and hours away -- up near Gunnison, Colorado. On the way, I traveled what were obviously the "roads less traveled." At times, I'd go 20-30 minutes without seeing another person. But the scenery -- absolutely stunning. (And perfect weather didn't hurt.) I remember reading an article in AARP's magazine on why it's so great to be over 50: It said, "Before I turned 50, I was always pushing to do more. Now I'm able to step back mentally and just look around. Was all this beauty here all along?" I kept thinking about that as I rounded corners to see new mountains, rivers, savannahs, lakes, ... you name it.

It took just over 5 hours of driving before I found a McDonald's -- the only one within 100 miles of my route, too. Fortunately, they had WiFi, so I got my blog updated and my tummy filled at the same stop.

Then I headed up the road to the Morrow Point Dam. I'd driven right past in on my last trip through Colorado, not even knowing it was there. But I found out about it on the Internet, and decided it was worth a 4-mile side-trip. It was. From engineeringsights.org: "Morrow Point Dam, 469 feet high, is reputed to be the first double-curvature, thin-arch concrete dam in the U.S. Described as an "engineer's dream," it is just 12 feet thick at its crest and 52 feet thick at its base. Other unusual features include an overhang on the downstream face, an undercut on the upstream face, and four large openings near the top of the dam for a spillway. ... The underground power plant has a total generating capacity of 120,000 kilowatts."

It was pretty amazing, since you could walk almost right up to the base of the dam where the water flowed out of the generators. Cool pictures, of course. And right beside it was a remaining narrow-gauge railway train (engine, car and caboose) left over from, believe it or not, "before my time." Honest. The mining trains used to go right through this area, and this one sits on the remains of an old trestle. Much of the rest of the railway tracks were either torn up for highways in one direction, or are now submerged under the reservoir in the other.

From there, I headed west so I could ride "The Million Dollar Highway." Everyone's told me it was a "must ride," and I can see why. Beautiful scenery, twisty road (just recently repaved, too), cool, and not too heavily traveled. Disconcerting: No guardrails along the roadway, and in some cases it was absolutely straight down right from the edge of the pavement. No kidding. Sheer vertical cliff -- and some of that new pavement actually fell off in several places! And if it's true that when riding a motorcycle you "go where you look," you didn't want to look that way!

Lots of interesting sights along the highway -- a few are in the photo album. Abandoned mines of all types almost every mile. A cascading river along the highway that defies description -- and probably defies photography. Imagine a brilliant orange river pounding down through orange-tinged rocks, cutting their way through what's left of white snow banks. Made me strangely hungry for orange ice cream.

From engineeringsights.org: "The name "Million Dollar Highway" applies to the stretch of the San Juan Skyway that follows the original roadbed of the toll road built in 1882-84 by Otto Mears. Some say the "million dollar" label refers to the cost of rebuilding the road from 1921-24, while others say it's the value of the gold mine tailings in the roadbed."

Finally, it was on to my next stop, the Mesa Verde National Park. Since it was getting late again, I figured I'd camp here for the night. Much more expensive here than at the Great Sand Dunes NP (it was only $7 there -- $14 here); but then again, I have a shower here....not that I need one!

As I was setting up my tent, two things happened. First, a park employee came by asking if I had any food. If I did, he'd take it from me and store it up at the office. He said the park ONLY does this for motorcyclists, since we don't have anyplace to store food safely. And with the wildlife around here -- especially the black bears, bobcats, mountain lions, and other assorted critters -- they took serious measures to keep food protected from the animals. I also learned that leaving food outside (in a cooler, on a table, or even hung up in a tree like the Boy Scouts teach you), the park Rangers will; a) confiscate it, and b) fine you $75. Fortunately, I don't carry any food.

Second, while talking with this guy, I noticed a doe, a deer, a female deer (can't you just hear the music?) eating leaves from a tree about 50 feet up the road. He glanced at it, shrugged, and said, "Yeah, there's a LOT of 'em here." As I was setting up my tent, I moved my foot sideways in the gravel and made a bit of noise. The doe's ears perked up and she looked at me, then went back to eating. I assumed I wasn't much of a threat. But I was way off on how I thought the deer behaved. She (and the four others that joined her shortly) were SO unafraid of humans, that people would walk by within 10-15 feet of them, and cars would drive by within a foot of them -- and even stop next to them. Scarcely a glance. Later this evening after it got dark, two walked across in front of me about 5 feet away. I talked to 'em. They stopped, looked at me, then (as do most humans) casually ignored me and walked on. Amazing.

One thing Mesa Verde prides itself on is the lack of "light pollution." While folks DO have lights around their camp sites, there's almost NO artificial lighting in the park at night. It's dark. Pitch black dark. And it sits so high (the campground is just over 8,000 feet) that the air is clear. The result, those "billions and billions of stars" (says Carl Segan) are brilliant. I'm camping without the rain cover tonight, so I'll lay and star-gaze a while.

Tomorrow? After I spend some time looking around Mesa Verde NP, I'll head elsewhere in Southwestern Colorado. I'll have to check my maps.

Oh, I forgot to mention. I stopped at a Taco John's for breakfast a couple days ago. I wanted to try one of their "Potato Ole' Scramblers" breakfasts. I ordered a small one. The gal screwed it up and gave me a large. It was a LOT to eat, but OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH, are they good!

Tuesday, August 19
Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah

Well, today's weather was a departure from the "normal" for this trip. At one time, the temperature got all the way down to 80. Generally speaking, it was 95-105 all day. Not my idea of great riding weather. However, planning ahead, I did order a "hydration cooling vest" about 3 weeks before I left -- get it wet, put it on, and the evaporation keeps you cool! Only problem -- the company I ordered it from hadn't even shipped it by the time I left home. But NEXT time......

I started the day touring a small part of Mesa Verde National Park. Trust me, you need more than one day to see everything here. It's a 40-mile drive from one end of the park to the other! And side roads, pull-offs, exhibits, unique sights, and other attractions abound. Still, I got to see a lot of the park's features -- cliffs and interesting geological formations, plus a lot of the adobe structures (both on flat land and the "cave dwelling sites) throughout the park. Very interesting.

Next I headed to the extreme southwest corner of Colorado -- to a place y'all have heard about; Four Corners Monument. The only place in the US were four states touch. So, I managed to position myself (as everybody does) so I was in five states at once: in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. Five states? Well, yes. You all know I'm always in the state of confusion, so I counted that as the fifth.

Then I headed out toward The Valley of the Gods in southeastern Utah. I've heard it's a magnificent place. Located almost next door to Monument Valley, I pretty much knew what to expect. Everything except the 17-mile road that makes up the Valley of the Gods. It's a 17-mile road that, if you were to call it "a gravel road," you'd be overly polite. Deep gravel in places, boulders in others, dirt and dust most everywhere else. And in between all those ingredients -- holes. It just so happens that a car stopped to chat with me; a husband and wife from New Jersey who'd been on the road since January. They gave me an overview of the 17-mile stretch -- they were "speeding" along at 15 mph most of the time, and it was still very uncomfortable. The guy, a former biker, said he wouldn't even try it on a bike; but if I did, I'd enjoy the scenery.

Well, being as behind in my "planned route" as I already was, I decided to skip the tooth-rattling road and head on to Monument Valley.

I've been here before, and love the area. The buttes are so immense and unique, you can't not stand in awe. The last time I was here, I found the spot where they filmed the final scene from the movie "Electraglide in Blue." I took pictures, of course. The only thing missing was the body (of the police officer, or anyone else for that matter) sitting in the middle of the highway. So THIS time, I decided I'd go back and get that picture, substituting ME for the officer. Despite some unusually heavy traffic -- like a car almost every minute -- I managed to get the shot off. I'll probably add it to the album.

You know, I REALLY should have left home a week earlier. There were SO many places on my planned route that I wanted to see, and I've already been skipping past them like they were dead skunks. I'd planned to be in Bonneville tomorrow (Wednesday), but I'll be lucky if I'm out of southern Utah by then. But that's okay. there's a little flexibility built into my schedule. The first "appointment" I have to meet is to be in Waseca, Minnesota, by Tuesday, the 26th....and even that's flexible. Still, I've got a lot on my list that will require another trip out here. Darn.

I headed north toward Moab (that name is probably familiar to anyone who's been out this way), and a planned stop at Arches National Park. Again, since it was getting late in the day, I decided to camp there for the night. However (and this is a first for me), I got there and they didn't have room for me -- not even an empty spot of dirt for a tiny tent! So I headed off down a road that New Jersey couple told me about, and quickly found a campground run by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM, as I'll be staying on their grounds again this trip). The main reason I picked this spot -- it's in the shade. In fact, the whole campground (all 18 sites) sits on the edge of the Colorado River, and in the afternoon shadow of a cliff it carved over the hundreds of centuries -- probably 600 feet high, or more. So while it's still hot, at least it's a "non-sunny hot."

As I was sitting here working on this text and the photos, a guy came up and struck up a conversation. Nothing strange about that in campgrounds, I've learned. But this one ended strangely. He asked if I'd do him a favor..... Would I "split" my campsite with him and let him share the space. The campground is now full (all 18 spots), and he needed a place to bed down. And the site I took is big enough for TWO RVs; my bike and tent look terribly out of place. So I said, Sure. This kid is from Montana, heading down to Taos, New Mexico. Long hair tied in a pony tail, scruffy goatee and mustache, shorts and sanders, and a multi-colored bead necklace. Hell, he's a damn peace-loving, flower-child, beatnik hippy freak from the 60s! I hope he doesn't mix up bombs in the back of his car. And to complete the already all-too-stereotypical image, on top of his Subaru he has a bicycle, one of the first things he unloaded was his guitar, and his "abode" for the night is a blanket laid out on the ground. Strange.

I'm heading into Moab in a bit to grab some food and water. Hopefully the McD's there will have WiFi so I can update everything. If not, the next McD's is some 90 miles away. And I just know y'all can't wait for these updates!

NOTE: Sorry, but it took me two dats to find a WiFi signal anywhere, and I haven't seen a McDonalds in all that time, either. But I AM able to update from the National Park I'm in now -- amazing as that seems.

Wednesday, August 20
Utah

Well, I got out of that dusty campground. Yippee. The ground was "sand" -- but it was SO fine, it was like flour. Had there been any wind at all, it'd have filled my tent right through the fine-screened windows. Thankfully, it was calm.

Went to a McDonald's last night, and I had a good feeling about the place. Very new, very large (two dining rooms!), with video rentals, an ATM, and other uncommon ammenities. And I did get a WiFi signal, but not from them -- probably a nearby business. Didn't work well, though, and couldn't update my stuff. Sorry again.

My first stop was where I left off last night -- at Arches National Park. What can I say about that place. Awesome. Magnificent sandstone arches all over the place. What I found most interesting, if you look closely, you can see where some arches used to be but now have eroded and gone. And likewise, you can see places where new arches are being born today; and other places where you can tell by the geology that there likely will be arches there in several (hundred) thousand more years. The only thing I didn't like was that to SEE any of the arches, you had to walk -- anywhere from 1/2 up to 3.5 miles. My body gave out before I saw them all.

I went to see one - called the Delicate Arch. (Don't worry, there's a photo in the album.) It was only 1/2 mile, but warned there was a 200-foot elevation change to get to the end of the trail. I walked and walked and walked, what seemed like forever, and wasn't going up much at all. Just a nagging, frustrating minor incline. I started thinking to myself, "I wish they'd just have you climb straight up 200 feet all at once and just get it over with." Sorry I thought that. Two twists in the trail later, and there it was. A 45-degree steep climb ahead of me. Be careful what you wish for!

But it's a magnificent park. I must go back when I have more time, more energy, and more water.

Then I headed WAY down the road toward my next stop. But as I rode north out of Moab, I knew I'd be needing gas sometime soon -- like within the next 100 miles or so. So I started looking. And looking. And LOOKING. I knew Interstate 70 was just 20 miles ahead of me, and still no signs of civilization. And my GPS said the only gas was either way behind me (like 30 miles behind me in Moab) or about 100 miles east -- the wrong direction. But me being the smarter-than-a-GPS-kinda-guy, I knew there'd be gas at the Interstate. Wrong.

Down I-70 I go, westward, into what appeared to be an endless desert. (I think it really is, too.) Still no mention of gas ahead, either by signs or GPS database. I saw a town about 30 miles ahead, so pulled up a map of it on my GPS, and saw it had a couple hotels and a country club. I figured if it had that, it HAD to have a gas station.

Let me tell you, Garmin GPS units are fine; but the database is unbelievably worthless out here. When I got to that town, there were about 10 gas sations, a dozen fast food places (likewise, the GPS showed zero), plus lots of other civilization. Big sigh of relief. Got gas! And as I got back on the Interstate, about 5 miles past the last exit, there was a sign, "No services for the next 100 miles." Glad I stopped FIRST.

All along the way, it was one amazing scene after another. Spectacular formations and incredible vastness of nothing. Sometimes there'd be huge monoliths, cliffs, and exotic formations on one side of the road for as far as you could see, and nothing but flat desert on the other side of the road, also for as far as you could see. Enough to give you visual whiplash.

My next goal was a park I've never been to -- honestly, never even heard of it before I started researching this trip. It's called the Capitol Reef National Park. In this case, a "reef" is what the old prospectors called "a fold." And "a fold" is what the official name is for a continuous mountain ridge made of sandstone. This long ridge essentially cut off the east from the west in the area, and prospectors managed to find only one route through it ... and t hat's now a scenic highway -- a 20-mile one-way route. Absolutely awesome --- have I used that word too much yet? Spectacular scenes, changing from one mile to the next. I learned there are several very distinct types of sandstone (don't you dare ask me to name 'em), and they all look and behave differently. Together, they're incredible.

Then I headed about 100 miles further down the road to another National Park, one I've been to before -- Bryce Canyon National Park. I love the place, mostly for its geological formations. (Gosh, like what out in this area aren't geological formations? I can't describe it, so just look at the photos.

Along the way I saw numerous places where there were signs of past flash floods -- and recently. Dirt and dust washed across the roadway, though most of it had been either plowed off or blown off by the traffic. Still, in several spots, I could see the dust on the road, though not thick enough to hide the asphalt. But I quickly learned that this fine stuff was VERY slick. Even though you could barely see it in places, it was enough to cause the tires to "drift" if you hit it on any type of curve. Made me much more careful for the rest of that leg of the ride!

When I got to the park, it was about 5:30, and I was getting tired. So, I decided that if the park campground had showers, I'd stay here for the night. They did, so I found me a lovely little campsite and will stay here. Unfortunately, I got here a bit late to really see the formations, as the sun was getting too far down in the west. (All the formations lie to the east of the roads here.) I grabbed a few photos and will add them to the album, but they're not as amazing as they could have been. Just one more good reason for y'all to come here and see for yourselves.

What I didn't find out until later, though, was that the showers were coin operated. Costs $2 in quarters for a 10-minute shower. So I got change, went and got my shower stuff and some clean clothes, and headed to the shower room. Each shower stall has a metal box in it for the coins -- just like the coin mechanisms on coin-operated laundry machines. Stack 8 quarters into 8 slots, push all the way in, and pull all the way out. Okay, so I get into one of the stalls, and even before I laid down my gear, I noticed that the coin "plunger" was already pushed all the way in. Well, not wanting to get settled in a stall that didn't work, I checked that plunger to see if I could pull it out to put in my money. Nope. Wouldn't budge. So I thought maybe if I pushed it inward a little further, it'd click and come back out. I pushed it real hard, and sure enough, it went just one notch further in. WHOOOOSSSSSHHHHH! The water started running! Apparently someone had stuck their money into it, pushed it in (but not quite far enough to make it start), and left in frustration.

So now the water's running -- and on someone else's money! Damn. And I'm still standing here fully dressed with my hands full of shower stuff! Literally "with the meter running" on it's 10-minute timer, I hurridly got undressed. "Hurridly?" Hell, I couldn't have gotten undressed faster if there'd been sex involved. This was, after all, a matter of money. And I sure didn't want to waste my chance at getting someone else's two dollars' worth!

In the end, I was successful. It's amazing how fast you can take a shower when it costs essentially 20 cents a minute.

Since the park has FREE WiFi (and I know my frugality is showing through again), I'll stop at the park office in the morning and update the blog with this info and current pictures.

The next two days will be toward or at the Bonneville Salt Flats. I may make it there tomorrow night; I'll see how it goes. But either way, it's doubtful I'll update this again until Friday night or sometime Saturday. I know you can wait.

(Oh, by the way -- for all my fellow Harley bikers. I know it's sacreligious, and probably even a little bit illegal, but I've been using mid-grade gasoline this entire trip; not premium. And you know what difference it's made? None. Except my gas receipts have been smaller. Tim will probably now tell me I'm destroying my engine or I've voided my warranty; but a dime a gallon savings..... well, you know me.)

Thursday, August 21
Utah and Nevada

I know, I took pictures yesterday at Bryce Canyon and posted them to the photo album. Well, I did it again -- BUT WITH GOOD REASON! The photos I added today are from a seldom-seen area of the park called "Fairyland Canyon." The turn-off to it is actually on National Park property but just before you get to the entrance gate (or immediately after leaving the park if you're going the other way). The result of that -- very few people stop at it, or even hear about it. I stumbled across a reference to it only while in the park at their store, so stopped at the canyon on the way out. Some of the most spectacular views in the park. Period. Okay, judge for yourself.

Then it was on to a northwesterly route toward Bonneville.

Leaving Bryce Canyon, the next scenic area you go through is Red Canyon. It's amazingly beautiful in its own right. "Red" in the name should tell it all. Red mountains, red formations, red valleys -- it'll make you SEE red. I spent a lot of time there several years ago when I was here and took a lot of pictures then. This time, I pretty much just blew through the area. However, I did have to take a picture of one little tree. Let me explain.

When I was here several years ago (either 2 or three; time goes by...) I stopped and took a picture of this very tall formation -- probably 150-200 feet tall -- right next to the road. Nothing but "rock" or whatever these things are made of. Except for one thing. At the very top of it, a tiny little tree grew. All by itself. And it was so amazing to me. I called that photo "Perseverance." And when I rode by there yesterday, I noticed it was still there, and still thriving. Hasn't grown more than an inch or three in the past few years, but that it even survives speaks volumes of the little tyke. You can see the whole formation in the album....if you've a mind.

From there, I rode northwesterly across what I later found out are several areas called "Great Basins." These are areas that are large (and that's understating it) flat areas between mountain ranges that have no escape routes for water. Any precipitation flows to the lowest part where salty lakes develop, then dry out. Very barren lands; deserts, arid, nothingness.

In fact, just after I left the first little town at the edge of the first basin, I saw a road sign that said, "Nothing for the next 83 miles." And it wasn't kidding.

One interesting sight. I'm fairly convinced I saw a string of very old telegraph poles. Take a look at the album. These poles were spaced about 200 feet apart, made up of TWO poles (one pole sunk into the ground, and an above-ground pole bolted to it) using NON-machined lumber, two un-insulated wires running along them and connected to the poles with old glass insulators, and all stood about 20-25 feet tall. And they weren't in use, as many times there'd be sections missing, or only fragments of the base pole stuck up. And the lines went straight as an arrow for tens of miles across the nothingness. Anyway, in MY mind, they were telegraph poles from the OLD days.

And the roads out there went equally straight as arrows for 7-10 miles, then took a turn to go around some large hill or mountain, then proceeded another 7-10 miles straight. Boring? It got that way. But one thing really surprised me. I was about half-way across this basin (some 40+ miles) when I passed a bicyclist! Physical fitness is one thing, but biking across that desert in the 95-degree and 2%-humidity? The guy was nuts.

My last stop before Bonneville was at Great Basin National Park -- which is really in only ONE of the many great basins in the 4-state (or 5?) area. Not much there, really, and I wouldn't overly recommend going out of your way to GO there (and trust me, you have to go out of the way to get there). However, I did get an amazing photo of the basin from atop the mountain. The picture can't do it justice. Heck, even standing there was overwhelming. Just too vast to comprehend.

From there, it was a long, LONG ride to Bonneville. My first goal was to get gas. Fortunately, my trusty GPS said there was a station just 45 miles up the road. I had about 135 miles on my tank, so knew I could easily make another 45. Okay, so here's a quiz: When does 45 equal 70?

Answer: When you're talking miles and GPSs. One is how far the gas station is from the GPS (45 miles) and the other is how far it'll take you to actually GET TO IT while driving. I discovered (or remembered) that little trivia while I was WAY out of range of any stations behind me. When I realized there's no way I could make the distance under "normal" driving conditions, I slowed down and went the rest of the way riding 45-55 mph, coasting down any inclines I could find, and generally praying my butt off. Fortunately, all that worked, and I made it with several drops of gas to spare.

The next leg was a 110-mile straight road up to Wendover, across another arid desert. Hot, dry, windy -- honestly, it nearly wore me out.

Got to Wendover, Utah (and West Wendover, Nevada) at about 4:30. My first stop was a Burger King to get something to drink. While riding around the big city (one street), I saw a LOT of cars and trucks that had already been out to the Bonneville Salt Flats. They were all very easy to spot. Their wheels and wheel wells were covered with thick layers of white salt, and huge masses of salt hung from the bodies of their vehicles behind each wheel -- just like snow. So thick, the stuff would occasionally drop off in huge chunks. Trust me when I say I'm having second thoughts about taking my bike out onto those flats. Salt and a Harley do not play well together! I know from experience.

I went west from there to find a quiet, cool little campground in Nevada. It's really out of the way, too -- 10 miles from the nearest sign of civilization, and just sitting here on a mountainside for no apparent reason. As I was setting up my tent, I noticed that there were several "paths" worn down through the weeds nearby, and one spot right next to my site where a large mass of weeds had been crushed flat, and recently. I was wondering if it was deer. Or maybe (please tell me no) bears. A little later, my mind was put to rest. The paths and resting spots were made by cows. Yes, I'm sharing my campground with a herd of cows. Wanna make somethin' of it?

Tomorrow I'll make my way over to the Bonneville Salt Flats to watch a little of the "Speed Week 2008" land speed trials. Should be interesting, as I've already seen some of the cars that have run the track - and they're not what you'd see in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

Friday, August 22
Bonneville Salt Flats and elsewhere in Utah

Great day! Started off finding a McDonald's (and with WiFi) where my GPS said there were none. So got my stuff updated and checked E-mail early. Then a pleasant, cool drive over into Utah and onto Bonneville Salt Flats.

The "Salt Flats" is just what the name implies. It's FLAT, and it's made up of SALT -- regular old NaCl, table salt.

I got the to flats at about 11:00 a.m. (by the way, ALL the times I mention are "Alabama Time," just so there's no confusion -- right Harley crew?) Things were already hopping. There are three different courses, so folks use whichever one serves their purposes the best. Two are shorter 3-mile courses -- for slower speeds or for test runs. Then the long course is 7 miles long, used for runs of 3 or 5 miles. That's where the REAL speed demons dwell.

I've added a number of pictures to the photo album showing some of the vehicles and scenes at the track. A couple are worth special mention, though.

One is a custom car called "Blowfish," a very cool-looking vehicle. I knew when I saw it on the truck that it'd be fast; and the crew of about 8 people all had professional-looking team polo shirts, so there was obviously a lot of money backing the team. Sure enough. They were trying to beat the record for their class -- of 262 miles per hour. Their speed? 284. Yeah, I'd say they were fast.

But one other car held the lion's share of attention. Don't know the name of it...if it even has one. I'd have to look at the photos myself. It's a streamlined beauty designed and built by engineering students at the University of Ohio. And it's hydrogen powered. Not a hydrogen fuel cell, mind you, but by pure hydrogen (plus a little oxygen to make things interesting, I'm sure).

As it got to the starting line, I took up a position off to the side to watch it leave on its run. A guy walked up to me and started to talk to me about the car -- he obviously needed someone to brag to. His "younger brother" (who's 56 himself) was driving that car. So even though the guy just wanted his ego stroked, it worked out great for me, as I got some inside information about the car.

It seems the Discovery Channel (plus some other media outlets) have been covering the car's progress for the past year. He said the special would be out this fall....so I'll keep my eyes open. That explained all the camera crews hovering around the car at all times.

Seems a girl (hey, his term, not just mine) engineering student designed the car's body from the ground up. It was so groundbreaking and efficient, BMW hired her before graduation and whisked her off to their design center overseas.

The engine was built to generate 600 horsepower, and was doing amazing things last year. But one young boy (a guy, but I'll use "boy" just to be fair) said he had an idea that might "tweak" the horsepower a little. So he fiddled with the computer programming. The end result, his tweak increased it to 800 horsepower! That's where it was for today's run.

As of the beginning of last year's run, the record top speed for a vehicle of that class was 80 miles an hour. New technology, you know. They fired up this car and shattered the record by going 225. The guy standing with me said the kids hoped the car would hit 250 on today's run. At the end of the third mile, it had set a new record of 280 mph -- and was NOT full throttle. They were hoping to make another, faster run either this afternoon or tomorrow; but it was getting late, and I was ready to move on. So I don't know how they did. Well, I'm sure.

Other trivia? How about riding a Harley at 151 mph? Not me, thank you. And that wasn't a super-fast bike -- it really looked like something you'd see on the highway (well, almost). And the power of some of these beasts. One car just SOUNDED powerful - and was. I watched as he spun his wheels getting started. Still spinning his tires as he went up the track. As he shifted gears, more spinning. The engine torque just so great that he had trouble keeping traction. Even when he passed the 3-mile point, he was STILL overpowering the wheels. And he was running regular gasoline, too. I want one.

One interesting note. Because of the (insert correct word here) over the salt flats, when you looked WAY OUT, you saw this shimmering as if it were either water or a reflection of the mountains way off in the distance. What was exceptionally cool was when using binoculars, the cars would get about 1 1/2 miles down the track, then appeared to start "floating" up into the air above the track, slowly gaining altitude. They looked like planes taking off. Just a trick of the light, but it sure was cool. Wish I could have gotten a photo of it.

The Salt Flats. Flats, eh? If there was ever any wonder, I rode away some 30 miles down the Interstate before the elevation changed by A FOOT. Yes, I'd call 'em Flats.

After I left the flats, I headed for the Kennicott Copper Mine. I've read about it -- it's the largest open mine in the world, and is so huge it's one of only two manmade landmarks visible with the naked eye from the space shuttle (the other being the Great Wall of China). Unfortunately, I got to the gate to learn that as of last year, they don't allow motorcycles up the road to the mine -- had some fatal accidents that turned them off. But the guard told me of another route to the top of a mountain overlooking the mine. Fine by me -- but I was running out of gas -- yes, again. Still, I was already 18 miles from a gas station, and figured, "Hey, how far could it be?" Duh.

Anyway, I rode the road he told me about. It was a very narrow, terribly twisted, rock-littered road that rose up 2,329 feet in 6.7 miles, with some 154 turns along the way. In truth, the road was longer than that. I got to the 6.7 mile mark and the road turned to steep gravel. No thanks. So I was this close to getting to see the mine, but it didn't work out.

And being really, really low on fuel, I put the bike in neutral and coasted down the entire route. Sure was interesting. Sounded like I was riding a Honda!

Then I got gas, fought my way through the tail end of rush hour through Salt Lake City, and started looking for food and a campground. Found food, but no campgrounds; at least none that had an open spot. So I settled for a nice Motel 6 -- nice bed, private shower, WiFi, and a place to do my laundry. What else do I need? (Other than Shea, that is.)

(Norm, you'll be happy to know I put my night light back into my travel kit. And now, for the first time, I have a place to plug it in!)

Saturday, August 23
Wyoming and South Dakota

I got up at my leisure ... meaning I slept in. The bed felt too nice. Took my sweet time getting the bike packed up, then stopped for breakfast before doing any serious traveling.

Then I rode across Wyoming. That's it. Across Wyoming. Hey, ain't that enough? I mean, it ain't like trying to get across Texas, but it's no Rhode Island, either.

Only a couple interesting spots along the way. One was the town of Lost Springs, Wyoming. Population, 1. I think this makes it the smallest town in the country, except for an imaginary town in Iowa that has no residents at all. (But the property taxes are great!)

The other -- a small lake or pond. I don't know. Take a look at the photo album to see for yourself.

So in absence of anything substantial today, just some stray thoughts that entered my brain while riding (and riding and riding) across Wyoming.

This trip has given me the opportunity to finish the Dark Tower series of books by Stephen King. I read the first book in 1990; and he finally published the last book a couple years ago. There were 7 volumes in all, and it took Stephen King 20 years from start to finish - to finish. The first book was small. The rest were epics in themselves. This last book (audio version) came on 24 CDs -- about 30 hours of listening. In all, it's been a very interesting and involving story, and I never would have guessed how it turned out. I doubt King did, either.

Bike problem #2 of the trip: One of my auxiliary lights leaked water during some of the rain I encountered early on. Ended up shattering the bulb. So I finally got that replaced tonight. Now I can see all the deer that I'm about ready to hit.

Here's something that really pissed me off. I almost stopped and slugged this sucker. On a corner in a town somewhere in Wyoming (Yeah, I know, that doesn't narrow it down much, but do you really care what town it was?) this guy was standing with a sign. On one side of the sign it said something like; I'm a homeless vet, need food, I'm not lazy, I just need help, please give, God Bless You, and so on. Some 12 lines of writing! So far, okay. He's a freakin' loser, but that's his business. But to keep things lively, he also had a "message" on the other side of the sign, and he'd flip it back and forth every 30 seconds or so. I guess he assumed a bit of "humor" would help get him handouts. The message on the reverse side? "The good thing about dating homeless women is that you can drop them off anywhere." How freakin' insulting is that to all veterans? I wish I'd just shot him as I drove by.

I don't know how to explain these large metal contraptions they use to irrigate large fields, but I'm sure you've seen 'em. They're LONG large pipes suspended over the ground on rolling supports, and they spray water over the entire field as they roll along., Well, I saw the most awesome sight. Here's this absolutely perfectly lush green field with one of these systems spraying water -- a swath about 40 feet wide and several hundred yards long. And right at the edge of this "artificial rain" that was glistening in the sunlight -- mom and dad antelope, both standing just out of water's reach, watching, while their two baby antelope ran, romped, and played in the water. It was absolutely priceless. Sorry, no picture. I was afraid if I'd stopped, it have spooked them, since they were very close to the road. You'll just have to imagine....

So far, 4,600 miles on the trip. Geez, am I there yet?

Hey, Steve. Was that you that passed me this morning on I-80? It looked exactly like your bike, and the guy was driving as fast as you normally do. But I couldn't see the guy's face, since -- well -- he was driving as fast as you normally do!

Found a campsite just inside South Dakota - Wind Cave National Park. Never been here, so don't know what's here to see - if anything. But it's connected to Custer State Park, which will be my next BRIEF stop tomorrow.

I'm running way behind, and my brother asked if I could be in Waseca by Monday afternoon. So I'm cutting a lot of my planned stops from the route. Nothing major, just stuff that sounded interesting. I'll make it. Besides, my butt's getting tired of the seat again. How long have I been in that saddle so far? I don't know. My GPS actually keeps track of route information like that, but it only goes up to 99 hours, and it's long since gone past that. It now just blinks "12:00" at me.

Sunday, August 24
South Dakota

I left the campground by way of Custer State Park. Been here before, and it's beautiful. Lots of wildlife, too, from what I'd seen before. But I was NOT prepared for all the wildlife I saw on this trip. At first it was deer -- even more than I'd seen last night, and that's a lot.

Then the buffalo. Last time I was here, I saw ONE. This time, I never saw less than 3 in a spot. In one herd, there must've been about 50! And while they were minding their business in a large open field, they LEFT their "business" in large clumps on the road. Felt like I was riding some kind of obstacle course -- which, duh, I was.

Then the antelope. Lots of 'em. And they weren't shy at all about being on the road, blocking your way while staring you in the eye, or making themselves photo objects.

Several times I saw something that was amazing. It was as if some huge invisible tree had dropped thousands of large leaves on the ground, and some strong gusty wind which you couldn't feel was blowing them around in swirls on the ground in front of me. They weren't leaves. They were prairie dogs. Hundreds. And when they heard and saw me coming, they'd all scurry for the correct holes in the ground, leaving a few "up top" to stand as guards. Hey, maybe this is where the term "guard dogs" came from!

Overall, a wonderful ride through the parks. Then it was onto the open road across South Dakota.

I made a swing through the Badlands, of course. Couldn't help myself. Y'all have seen it before, so I won't bore you with too many photos, I promise. But I'll add a few just to show I WAS there.

While on a remote road in the Badlands, I stopped at an outhouse -- a "pit" variety. Thanks to an odd combination of the design of the place and the prevailing winds of the day, when you sat down, it ... well, let's say it blew your skirt up! Imagine that -- getting a blow job in the Badlands.

I stopped for some breakfast in Rapid City. When I ordered a Coke, the gal asked me, "What size would you like your pop; large, medium or small." It's not too often you hear folks use the term "pop" for soda or coke, and I didn't think I was in the right part of the country for that. Guess I was....or she was an immigrant.

Then it was on the road again. I stopped in Mitchell for several reasons: gas, Taco John's! (which also translates into gas), and to see the Corn Palace. "Check" on the first two. Failed on the latter. There seems to be some kind of huge carnival going on right down main street and in front of the palace, so I've decided to avoid the crowd and just press on toward a campground somewhere in eastern South Dakota. That puts me in "striking distance" of Waseca tomorrow. Yippee -- back on schedule!

With luck I'll find a WiFi connection somewhere tonight and can get this updated before I head into Minnesota. Once I get to Waseca, it's doubtful you'll see any updates ... at least until I get to Milwaukee! (I heard that. Stop cheering.)

*** Oh, wow. I can't believe it. Taco John's has a wireless connection -- and it's open. I'll TAKE IT! Updating now.***

Monday, August 25
South Dakota and Minnesota - into Waseca

First and foremost -- AHHHH. Taco John's for breakfast again. And THIS time I also got me a Churro!!! Mmmmmmmmm. Breakfast of champions -- and ugly old bikers.

Then, onward to Minnesota. Along the way, I stopped to see a couple windmills. Yes, they're very much alive and well throughout the country. But this one was special. Actually, not just one, but many. A farmer in rural southeastern Minnesota has an interesting "hobby" of collecting and displaying windmills from around the world. (Hey, somebody's gotta do it!) So I made a little side trip to see what he had to offer. Check the photo album if you care.

Then the rest of the way was a blur -- Interstates and a few local roads. Got to Waseca and met up with Norm & Ive. It's been SO long since we've been together -- seems like almost a whole month has gone by.

The big success story was that I was able to fix Norm's little computer glitch, so now I can sleep well and feel good about leaving on Wednesday. Now all I have left to do is help our friend John set up a bluetooth connection between his phone and his new car, and teach him how to use the GPS built into it. Okay, that could take most of tomorrow, but it'll be fun.

All for THIS episode..... (almost)

. . . .

(From the "Forgotten Memories" department: I stopped at a little "country" convenience gas station in a small town on evening. I went inside. As I entered the door, I was set back just a little bit. Standing there at the counter was a "couple" (I know, I'm assuming that). Man and woman in their late 40s; but it was hard to tell, as they both looked like they'd been ridden hard and put away wet for many, many years. The woman -- well, she could have been attractive if it weren't for her straggly, mangled hair. And the dirt and warts on her face, the bones showing through her skin, shabby clothes and all those missing teeth. And the guy; well, if you've seen the movie Deliverance, you've seen him and his kin-folk. The two were there to buy their (and again I assume) nightly supply of beer and smokes.

Now, so far, that didn't bother me much, and wouldn't have attracted my attention at all. What did attract my attention is that they were standing very close together. Both staring straight ahead. And her hand was resting firmly on his crotch. And I probably would have stopped after my "on second thought" after seeing that; but she was FONDLING him! Now that was more than a bit, shall we say, unsettling.

But then again, I know I'm being too quick to judge. After all, for all I know, he could have been her brother.)

Tuesday, August 26
Waseca (and Minneapolis), Minnesota

(Sorry. No new photos today.)

Another relaxing day in my old hometown of Waseca. We started off with a great breakfast at --- need you ask --- Taco John's. Both Ive and Norm agreed that this is probably the best-kept breakfast secret around. After that kind of food in the morning, the sun shown just a wee bit brighter.

Then I spent several hours working with our house host, John, with his new car. He bought a new Toyota Prius, which is more like a moving computer than anything else. Every "bell and whistle" you can think of in terms of electronics. And John LOVES electronic gadgets. Doesn't know how to make 'em work, but loves 'em. So I was called upon to configure their two cell phones to work with the car's Bluetooth-enabled navigation system, upload their address books, and teach John how to use it all. Then it was on to lessons on using the GPS system; which, for a built-in car system, was pretty impressive. I know he learned a lot; now I just hope he remembers it long enough to put it to use.

Before we headed out of town again, Norm (who'd been out walking earlier) said he wanted to take us for a little surprise trip -- a "nature" adventure. So we drove out to a small park around one of the lakes here in town. There, up in the huge oak trees, were perhaps thousands of Monarch butterflies. Apparently on their way somewhere, and were resting in the sunlight. Beautiful sight -- and fun, since they'd occasionally drop off their leaf-perches and flutter around us! Cool. (Unfortunately, since it was a "surprise trip," I didn't get a chance to take my camera. And since my brother's as cheap as I am, we didn't make a special trip back to get any pictures. So you can blame him.)

Finally, we headed to Minneapolis (about 60 miles north) so Ive could attend a "Defensive Driving Course." Long story, but she tried to make it through a light in Arizona, and got caught on camera on the red light -- by 0.15 seconds. But that was enough for a ticket; and going to the course was a way to get out of having this on her driving record. So for the 4 1/2 hours she was "back in school," Norm and I had dinner at a quaint (which does not translate into "good") Chinese restaurant. Then we headed for a local mall where we walked a bit and sat a lot. Had a great time just chatting.

We got home by midnight, and were READY for bed!

Wednesday, August 27
Minnesota and Wisconsin

I knew I was gonna be in trouble when I opened my eyes at a little after 8:00 a.m. and it wasn't very sunny outside. When I opened the door, I saw, smelled, and felt the rain. Drat. Being about 6 hours from Milwaukee, that didn't excite me much. After getting the bike packed up, I came back inside to check the weather, and was surprised to see that the forecast was for this rain system to stop just the other side of Rochester -- after about 2 hours of riding. So I was reluctantly and cautiously hopeful.

I got all "rain geared up" and headed out. And while it got colder as I headed east (enough that I got my heated gear on and fired up), I NEVER saw so much as a drop of rain. Nice.

Made it to the campground about when I wanted to -- early enough to get settled and relax a bit. Since the place is so large, everyone gets a personal "escort" (via golf carts) to each individual campsite.

I feel very fortunate. My site is right between the "draw horse barn" and the "warm-up riding pen." While that may not sound pleasant, it's perfect. There's a sliver of grass just wide enough for a single row of camp sites, with nobody on the east or west sides of us. And the only "neighbors" we have are the 15 or so campers on the strip. So it'll be nice and quiet -- and relatively secure.

I've already sampled the fine cuisine here -- it looks like the food area at any State Fair. I had a a nice fresh corn dog. (That Nut Goodie bar I had for breakfast just didn't last that long!) I'll head back shortly and sample some other junk foods. Then the concert tonight starts in two hours -- the "big name" for the entire event here at the County Fairgrounds is tonight's headliner -- Lynyrd Skynyrd. I KNOW y'all have heard of him. I'd remind you of some of his greatest smash hits ..... but I honestly don't know any.

Anyway, over the next few days I'll add some random photos as I take them at the HOG and Harley events. With FREE WiFi at the campground, I'll try to do a better job of staying "current" with my report.

Now, off to find food and the showers.

Thursday, August 28
Milwaukee (and surrounding areas)

Well, last night was interesting. The "big name" band was that Lynyrd Skynyrd dude and his band. "Sweet Home Alabama" is apparently one of his more famous/popular songs. But what do I know. Anyway, the stage was right here in the Fairgrounds park. Obviously, everyone camping here -- and that's a lot of folks were ready for the show (included in our camping package). But they also opened up the fairgrounds to the general public -- for a fee, of course. Well, the bikers swarmed in in droves for the concert. Lots of 'em. I'm not really good at estimating crowds, but I think if I guessed there were 80,000 people here, it'd be a very safe, very conservative estimate. It was mind-blowing to see so many people packed in front of a small stage. When they all raised their arms and waved, it looked like a Kansas wheat field.

And "the big show" kicked off at 8:30 last night. And Lynyrd and his band played and rocked and carried on until ... well .... 9:30. "An hour?" Yup. Then he wrapped it up. I can't believe he played for just an hour. If I cared, I'd be upset.

For the next couple hours, there was nothing but a constant roar as bikes fired up and left the campground -- and some of those that STAYED in the campground were fired up and doing "burn outs" or otherwise carrying on. I think this is as close to the "Sturgis experience" as I'll ever come......and as close as I ever want to come.

I was really looking forward to a shower when I got here last night. And that's where I headed after I updated my blog. But while I was typing away, they closed the showers. For some reason, they're only keeping them open until 7 p.m. each day. Puts a real crimp in my lifestyle; so now everyone will be fighting for shower time in the early morning hours. Maybe we can use the "buddy system" and double-up on showers, I'll try the women's showers and see if I can find any takers.

Bike Problem #3: Blew out a bulb in one of my driving lights. No big deal, and I've got a spare at the house. I'll wait until I get home to replace it. Not gonna buy another bulb here, as the darn things are about $30.

Tent Problem #1. As I was getting organized this morning, I heard a loud BANG on the tent. Sounded like someone hit one of the poles with a stick. I looked around inside and saw nothing. When I got outside, I noticed an odd protuberance up on the top -- seems one of the poles had snapped in half at a joint. Never dreamt it would do that. So I found a couple repair kits in town today and got it fixed. I'll have to replace the poles when I get home. They just don't make things like they used to. Then again, they used to make tent poles out of bamboo, so maybe it's a good thing!

My "next door neighbor" (a solo rider from Tacoma, Washington) and I went to the Harley Museum this morning. I had two tickets, he had none and wanted to go, so I got rid of my extra and it made his day. (If you didn't "score" a ticket through a random lottery like I did, you simply couldn't get in until after Labor Day.) We spent over 3 hours there; and could have spent 5-50 more, but both of us suffered from brain overload. What a magnificent museum! It'd be a very interesting trip even if you didn't like bikes!

Then I went down to a Buell Motorcycle plant (about 30 miles away) for a tour. Buell is a subsidiary of Harley, so those bikes are sorta cousins of the Hogs. Was interesting, too. Completely self-paced and self-guided; so I spend as much time as I felt like, just watching the folks assemble the bikes, test them, and so on. Very casual.

Then I went down to the Harley Owner's Group celebration party at "Miller Stadium" -- also known as the home of the Milwaukee Brewers. Huge stadium, massive grounds, and every square inch was covered with either a Harley motorcycle or a Harley rider/passenger looking for beer. It was a real madhouse. 150-200 thousand folks easily. Probably more. And you know how much I like crowds. Yuck. But I survived.

One of my main goals was to see the Fort Lauderdale Drill Team. And I did. They're pretty darned awesome. 12 bikes doing some very intricate maneuvers, and showing off a LOT of skill. After them, I left early, and came home to my quiet little tent; and got here JUST as it started raining. Perfect timing.

The rain's stopped, so maybe I can walk across the fairgrounds and get this updated to the Internet. The rains were supposed to stop completely by midnight tonight, and the weather is to be perfect for the rest of the celebration -- all the way through at least Monday. Nice. I won't complain! (Okay, I might still bitch about some aspect of the weather, but not about not raining.)

Friday, August 29
Milwaukee (the Harley 105th)

First day of the big Harley-Davidson 105th Anniversary celebration. Actually, of all the things going on at the "party," I don't have many things highlighted to DO there.

I took my time getting on the road. Checked E-mail and worked on the District Attorney's web site for a couple hours. (His site has been down for a couple months, so now that we've finally gotten the attention of the technical folks in the system, we've finally made progress.)

(I'm sitting in a McDonald's near the Juneau Avenue H-D offices, and there's a guy sitting next to me carrying on a very lively, LOUD conversation. People sure look funny when they're seemingly talking to themselves using a cell-phone headset to place a call. Of course, this guy doesn't have a cell phone, and nobody's listening. But then again, we can't all be rocket scientists.)

I finally headed out to the "party" location -- an area along the eastern edge of Milwaukee, right along the shoreline. I ended up having to park right next to a sign that said, "Welcome to Canada - Have Passports Ready." So it was a long, long walk down to the various activities.

I spent a couple hours watching the Harley-Davidson-sponsored Police Motorcycle competition. Motor cops from 26 states and 3 other countries were represented, riding through a very difficult maze of cones. Saw some extremely talented riders -- and some of them laid their bikes down in corners, and some even just lost control in nearly straight stretches. Actually, they were all awesome. I should be so good!

Then I walked downtown to meet with Jim & Sandra Penner, Molly and Calvin Nelson, and DJ Lucas; the two couples from Montgomery, and DJ is a former co-worker at Regions who now lives in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Had a GREAT little get-together, and had a great Italian dinner at a local restaurant.

Then it was a fight back through some terrible traffic to get out of town and back to the campground, where I fell asleep somewhere between the bike and the tent. I guess someone shoved me into my tent while I slept, because that's where I woke up. I just wonder who undressed me. And I wonder who now has my shorts.

(Oh, geez. The guy went outside, and is now standing beside the building continuing his conversation. It's odd. He talks for a while like he's interrupting someone, then stops to listen to his imaginary friends talk for a couple minutes. Then he straightens them out with his insightful guidance. I want one of whatever he's been drinking.)

Saturday, August 30
Milwaukee

Another hot day. So I started off indoors. I'd called Sandy's (my niece) daughter Alice, who is going to school here in Milwaukee to see if she was going to watch the parade. But she never let me know if or where she'd be, so I didn't even bother going. I slept in instead. That was nice, too!

One of the benefits of my campsite is its proximity to some celebrities -- the Budweiser Clydesdale horses. Their custom tent and caretaker staff is about 100 yards from my tent; but the warm-up ring is about 100 feet, and their "wash stall" is about 30 feet. So we get a nice close-up view of these magnificent steeds. And, of course, we steeds gotta stay close to one another!

The technical wizards at the Courts system finally got the District Attorney's site set up (meaning the name was on the Internet, but no pages were loaded yet), and sent me the software and information I needed to connect. I managed to get into the network and load all the site's pages (some 9 MB worth of files) and got the site back up and running - first time since sometime in early August. YIPPEE!

I stopped off at the Pilgrim Road Powertrain Operations Plant, where they build most of the engines for Harleys. Had a nice, educational self-guided tour of the place. It's amazing what they do with raw materials, and how quickly they can take raw steel and churn it into a Harley engine.

I decided I'd make a stop at the Milwaukee Harley-Davidson dealership. My trusty GPS got me right to the place. However, one thing a GPS can't do well -- find a parking space. After riding around for a while and seeing the thousands of bikes parked so close together that I now know where baby scooters come from, I decided to forget the dealership and ride on,

I'd planned to stop tomorrow at the Juneau Avenue H-D buildings -- the real home of Harley-Davidson. But since I was already in the general area, I figured I'd kill some time there today. So I stopped, had a look around, and took pictures (of course). They have a replica of the original building the Harley and Davidson guys used to build their first motorcycles - 10 feet by 15 feet. Hard to imagine even parking a bike in that shed, much less building one in there!

Then it was on over to the celebration area. There was one place I didn't get to yesterday, so I made that my first (and only) stop at the party grounds. I was "on a schedule" at this point, and I needed to meet some of our Montgomery crew for dinner.

And dinner for the evening was at a Buca Di Beppo's "Immigrant Italian" restaurant - YUMMMMMMMM. Great food. And had great company. The Nelsons and Penners mentioned earlier, plus our wonderful H-D dealer, Tim Russom. We had a great time, too. Then again, whenever Sandra is around, you know to expect the unexpected. And Molly? ... well, she's fuel to the fire!

After dinner we all headed to the "grand finale" of the party, a concert by Bruce Springsteen and The E-Street Band. It was quite an event, too. Lots of noise, music, noise, beer, noise, people, noise, and more noise. I wish I'd remembered my earplugs like Tim did!

We were quite a ways back, but still had a good view of the show. Unfortunately, not close enough to get any good pictures. Believe it or not, but I took about 500 pictures at the concert. Not that the concert was that interesting, but I'm hoping that ONE will turn out! Too far away, too dark, and too much movement. But I tried.

Just after we found a spot to squat upon, I -- well -- I needed to pee. So I headed off to the nearby Port-a-potty. I made short work of it, and headed back to ..... well, to where the group HAD BEEN! While I was peeing, they moved! I finally found 'em again, but Hey, I can take a hint! They were kind enough to put up with me for a while longer, but they left the concert early. I'm sure it was because of me, and not because they were all feeling our age. But after they'd gone, I fixed 'em -- then I moved! They never did find me again. So there! And before I left for the tent, I stopped at one of those Port-a-potties again. This time, Bruce and his band was playing. Sitting in that light-weight contraption was interesting -- have you ever sat in a commode that felt like it had "Magic Fingers" rumbling beneath your behind? (I gotta tell ya, it was cool!)

I don't know how many people were at the concert, but the crowd looked about like the population of most small third-world countries....though probably less civilized. I was glad to get away from the mob, though.

(By The Way: My plan.... Tomorrow there's a band performing downtown I want to go see. They played a concert yesterday but I missed them. [Buca Di Beppo's with friends was a MUCH better idea.] So I'll go see them when they play again today. And that's about all I have on my agenda. It'll be too late to update the blog tonight when I get back. Then I'll head out tomorrow for home, and MAY just go non-stop to get home tomorrow night. My GPS says it's a 13-hour ride, which is easy enough. So IF I do that, I won't update this again until I get home. Just so you know....)

Sunday, August 31
Milwaukee

My last day in town. And very little on my agenda for the day.

I stopped first at a small H-D Dealership in nearby West Bend. To my surprise, they had a replacement cruise control knob for my bike -- a part that no other dealership where I've stopped has had. So I got that replaced, and it feels odd now! I got used to the stabbing pain of that brass pin digging into my finger every time I changed the cruise setting.

To kill some time, I took a little ride through the local countryside. Beautiful country; but no pictures. I know you're thrilled. I also stopped at the H-D Dealership in Milwaukee and took a few photos -- mostly of the GIRLS. Yes, THIS is where the good-lookin' young gals have been hiding. NOW I find out.

Then it was on to the ONE "to do" item today. The band. I hope you won't think less of me (yeah, right -- like that's even possible), but the group is called Blue Oyster Cult. Yes, strange name. Hard rock music, for lack of a better description. And I wanted to see them for only one song that they sing -- in fact, it's the only song they sing that I care for at all. And needless to say, they sang that song LAST. So I suffered through 90 minutes of chest-pounding, bass-thumping, ear-splitting, headache- and nausea-inducing percussive noise just to hear that song. Of course, the crowd went wild. Me -- I not only enjoyed it, but managed to video record it. Yippee.

Then I came back to the campground for an early shower -- and I FINALLY found out that one of the four trailers that house the showers have LARGE showers. One trailer has showers that are slightly larger than George Bush's head, with almost no "dressing area" at all. The other two trailers are larger, but still you can't put both hands on your hips without doing serious damage to your elbows --and the walls. But the fourth trailer -- the showers are about twice as large -- as large as in some motels. NOW I find out. Anyway, I feel fresh all over my body.

I'll pack up most of my gear tonight, and be ready to hit the road first thing in the morning. IF I go straight through to Alabama tomorrow, I should only have about 3-4 hours of riding in the rains -- the effects of Tropical Storm or Hurricane Gustav, whatever he is now. But this won't be the first hurricane that's greeted me when returning from a trip; I think this is the fourth time. Hey, it'll finally get some of the bugs and clumps of dirt off the bike.

Overall, I think I can safely say that a very large percentage of Harley riders who were here at the celebrations fall into one or more of several categories: inexperienced, rude, reckless (even when they're sober), discourteous, self-centered, and "show-off-ish" (meaning LOUD!). I wonder if some of these folks ever ride their Harleys anywhere but to rallies so (they think) they look cool. Doesn't fool me, though. Wish they'd stayed home.

Monday, September 1
Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama
(a/k/a, Campground to HOME!)

Got up at an early hour and decided to make a run for the house. My GPS said it'd take 12 1/2 hours to go that 856 miles, and it's always a little conservative. But I figured I could possibly be home by 10 p.m. And since it'd save me $6 in campground fees ... well, you know. It ended up taking me exactly 13 hours, and I got home at just after 8 p.m. That gave me time to unpack and relax before I dove into my own bed!

Overall, a nice ride, but long and sometimes boring. It was nice to get back to some serious Interstate riding -- gas stations, rest areas, limited cross traffic. My kind of riding! Just before I got into Kentucky, the traffic started picking up very significantly. I thought it was the Lexington crowd. Wrong. The traffic was pretty heavy (and some very aggressive drivers) for the rest of the way home. Kept me on my toes.

At one point I saw a motorcycle sitting along the side of the Interstate ahead of me, so I moved over and stopped next to him. He and passenger were sitting on the bike. The guy was looking down at the handlebars and dashboard -- I almost had to throw something at him to get his attention. I asked if everything was okay. This redneck said, buried somewhere in about 10 fairly incomprehensible strings of words, that he was just trying to figure out how to make all them darn buttons work, and that he'd stopped to figure out how to get the radio station he wanted. What a nimrod.

I got into only a little rain - about 2 miles worth somewhere in northern Tennessee. It was just enough to get the bike wet, and start washing off some of the grime, dust, dirt, and dead bugs. As I was going trough this sprinkle, I looked down and saw a large "trickle" of water washing up over the top of the tank. It looked like a one-inch-tall wave of mud, heading right for my crotch. Thankfully the rain was short, and the "wave" stopped before it did any serious damage.

I was surprised (and delighted) to see that Hurricane Gustav wasn't dumping copious amounts of rain on the northern parts of Alabama when I got down this way. Close to Prattville the streets were still wet, but I didn't get any rain from him.

And, of course, it was nice to get back to my own shower. Now, the showers at the campground were okay -- at least they had hot and cold running water. You'd turn 'em on, and they'd be cold. Then they'd suddenly get hot. Then turn cold. Then hot. Then cold. Then....... I'm not sure why, but I guess that kept people from complaining; they were too confused by the time they finished.

I tried to keep track of the "critters" I had to maneuver around while riding. These weren't the critters I SAW, but those on the road that I had to actively steer around. Let's see. They included: deer (duh, lots of them); two herds of cows, a red fox (not Redd Foxx - had it been that slimy urchin, I'd have run the vile little creep over); wild turkey; peacocks, both male and female, and one gal with 6 babies chasing behind; tumbleweed (hey, my Big Sister would count it!); chipmunks, squirrels, antelope, prairie dogs and other little critters; and wild stallions.

Overall, the trip was 7,060 miles. And now, my shower and my bed beckon.

Stay tuned for my next adventure ... coming on September 18 when we head back to Helen, Georgia.

.....

Friday, June 20

I'll be heading out toward Duluth, Minnesota, on Saturday, June 21st. I'll check in at my camp site just outside Duluth on the 26th. "FIVE DAYS to get there?" you may ask. Sure, why not. I've got several places to stop on the way up, including Indianapolis, IN; Sandusky, OH; Dearborn, MI; and Baraboo, WI.

So hold on tight as I begin another insane trip.

Saturday, June 21
Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky

Well, I almost didn't leave town as planned. . . It was all up to the weather. And I judged that it was going to cooperate -- most of the way, at least. So I left home a bit after 10 a.m.

My first shock came after just four miles when I stopped at my first gas station before hitting the freeway. People were waiting in lines to get to the pumps! At over $4/gallon, who'da thunk it. And where were they all going?

My second was as I merged onto the Interstate a few hundred feet away. CROWDS! Almost bumper-to-bumper, in both directions. I don't know where all the people were going headed south; but about half the cars that passed me going north bore Kentucky license plates. I'm not sure why so many Kentucky people would be heading northward through southern Alabama, but there they were -- jamming up the roads.

As I got into Northern Alabama, I took off went over some local highways until I got into Tennessee. I knew I should have gotten gas on the Interstate before I pulled off, but …. hey, there's gas stations all along these local highways. . . . right? Okay, I can hear you already. After my little gas light went on, I continued on up the highway 30, 40, then 50 miles. (I normally get only 35 miles after the light comes on!) And my trusty GPS said there was a truck stop just 8 miles away -- as the crow flies, of course. And, of course, I'm not a crow. But I headed toward it anyway, safe in the knowledge that I HAD a container of spare gas in my saddlebag if needed. I got within 5 miles of the station when the bike died -- the first time. It sputtered, choked, and the motor stopped. I pulled in the clutch and coasted until I got down to about 15 mph. (Fortunately, NOBODY was on the road with me.) Then I hit the starter and it fired up. I went another mile or so, and it quit again. Coasted. Started. Rode further. I kept going like that all the way to the gas station, and enjoyed the fact that it sputtered to death as I pulled up to the pump. This time, I let it die. Filled up with ------ (insert suitable drum roll here) ----- 5.48 gallons! Please note, Harley says it's a 5-gallon tank. I'm guessing even the hose to the carburetor was empty.

As I headed out on the Interstate again -- having changed courses a couple times to dodge a storm -- I saw another storm ahead of me. . . right past the Rest Area. I quickly pulled in -- and the storm quickly pulled in on top of me. While I was putting on my rain gear, I watched as cars, campers, vans, trucks, and anything else with wheels pulled in and looked for a place to park. Wisely, the Tennessee authorities had positioned a Security Officer in the parking area to direct traffic! And she was needed, too. Cars were backed up onto the Interstate waiting to get in; apparently because of the sudden downpour.

On the road again with my rain gear on, I went another 3 miles and was in sunshine again….of course. Why do I bother?

I pulled off I-65 near Cave City, Kentucky, to stop and take some pictures of my first "attraction" of the trip. (Hint, hint -- more to come.) A WigWam Hotel. Seeing is believing.

Then I headed due east toward an area with several Corps of Engineers and State parks. Did you know there's Amish Country through south-central Kentucky? Yup. And I came through the middle of it.

You KNOW you're in Amish Country when you have to weave through a maze of "exhaust" lying on the roads -- dropped from the one-horse powered carriages they use. Such fun.

It took me about two hours to get to this area and find a campground that wasn't already full -- not easy at this time of year in this part of the country and on a Saturday night! But I did. Nice little park near … well, near…. Well, it's in Kentucky somewhere. I'll use my GPS to find my way out of here tomorrow.

When I finally got my tent set up, it was starting to get dark -- and I needed to pee. So I headed over to the community bathroom building. From afar, I could see both doors, but couldn't tell which was the men's and which was the women's. And I like to KNOW, you know, since I always like to at least TRY to look like I know what I’m doing. Fortunately, there was a guy heading to the john about 200 feet ahead of me. So I started to follow him. …until I got closer and realized he'd gone to the ladies room. Well, I guess you meet a better class of folks there. Or maybe he was looking for a date. (Kentucky, after all.)

One thing that surprised me here. Just in this little corner of the campground there are several camping groups who set up portable screens and brought out their LCD projectors to watch movies. A personal Drive-In Theater of sorts. Pretty smart. Of course, you have to deal with the occasional mosquitoes and other bugs, but for larger families or groups, it's a cool idea. Sure beats me watching my little 1.5" black-and-white portable TV -- and I seriously doubt there are any stations near enough to see. Good thing I'm tired.

Unfortunately, I've noticed what I hope isn't a new trend in camping. Bringing along the family yapping dogs to the campground. One yapped outside until about 1 a.m. Felt just like home!

Good Night, Gracie.

Sunday, June 22
Kentucky and Indiana

Another fun-filled day on the road. I managed to dodge a couple nasty storms (either by taking a detour or stopping at a gas station for half an hour). Now that I'm camped, I don't much care -- and it's a good thing. A biggie is on the way. At least it's cooling off.

Then again, it already cooled off. Just before I got to Indianapolis, the temperature dropped 20 degrees in about 15 miles. Made it seem downright cold!

A couple weeks ago I was in the southernmost part of Alabama, and found a couple cornfields that were already taller than me. Head-height. Amazing. As I've come north, the crops are getting shorter. In Tennessee I came by one field that was barely shoulder-high. In Kentucky, they were waist-high at best. And in Indiana/Ohio, I've seen a couple fields that were barely ankle-high. A few miles sure makes a difference!

Coming north, I made a couple planned s tops, and several unplanned -- I'll call them "photo ops." I'd planned to see the World's Largest "bats" (yes, plural, sorta). But I also followed a road sign to Fort Knox. But those folks are just plain rude up here. Not only would they not let me take a tour, they refused to even give me a tiny little sample. The soldiers at the gate did say that if I didn't turn around and leave, they would give me a sample bullet -- but I wasn't thrilled about their method of delivery, so I left.

And I'm now somewhat perplexed about the good President Abraham Lincoln. Of course, we all know that Illinois is "the Land of Lincoln." It says so on every car license plate! But now I wonder why. Coming up through Kentucky I followed a couple signs for National Historic Parks. One was for Lincoln's birthplace. A well-preserved log cabin (if you can preserve one of them well), completely enclosed in a monstrous granite monument -- which, no big surprise, resembles the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. A few miles up the road is a place promoted as "Lincoln's Boyhood Home." And, not surprisingly, there's also a "Lincoln Museum" right up the street. Fast forward to this afternoon. I saw an official "Welcome to Indiana" sign -- and below that statement it said -- proudly, no doubt -- "Boyhood Home of Abraham Lincoln." So why is Illinois the "Land of Lincoln." And if so many states are claiming Lincoln, why can't Alabama? …..Okay, forget Alabama -- I don't think that'd work. But still….

The storm got here. I had to make a somewhat hurried migration from my outside patio (a/k/a, a dirty picnic table) into my den (a/k/a, my tent). Thunder and lightning all around. And rain? Did it rain? "Like a cow pissin' on a flat rock." Except this was mo' bigger than a cow, and the "flat rock" was my tent. Well, at least I can see where the leaks are now.

All for tonight. Batteries are about dead -- both in the computer and in me.

Good Night, and Good Luck.

Monday, June 23
Indiana and Ohio

Ah, but a blissful night. After it finally stopped storming, things settled down and was downright peaceful. 56 degrees and 95% humidity, but peaceful.

It was a short ride to my first stop of the day -- back to the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.

Yes, I was just there last year; but I didn't have time to visit two of the major hangars. They house the exhibits of Presidential aircraft and the Research and Development aircraft. So that's where I went first, and spent a couple hours there. What a blast. And since these two hangars are ON the Air Force Base, folks visiting the museum must be brought in by bus and escorted -- and they only let one busload at a time in the hangar areas. So most of my time there, the whole place was MINE. COOL.

Heading further north toward my next campground in Sandusky, Ohio, I dodged storms until I couldn't dodge no more. I got stuck for a couple hours in Plain City, Ohio, as a couple huge thunderstorms rolled across my path to the north. I just waited them out at a McDonald's, and got caught up on my E-mail and blog. Not what I'd planned, but I'm flexible! For the next 80 miles, I pretty much avoided the rains, though in some places the roads were still wet, and in others I could see the storm clouds setting their sites on me.

I finally made it to Camp Sandusky for the night. BIG campground, and they have WiFi throughout. The only problem, it doesn't work. Why am I not surprised. They're just spreading the signal too thin, I guess. I'll try closer to the office later -- or go to the handy McDonald's across the street. No real hurry, though. There's not much here, and the photos are fairly boring today.

Tomorrow, I'm treating myself to a day at Cedar Point Amusement Park. It ain't Disney, but it doesn't try to be. Just lots of rides and junk food. And the weather is supposed to be nice all day. We'll see. I'm taking my teeny, tiny OLD camera to the park tomorrow, so I'll take pictures -- if it works. If not, you'll just have to envision roller coasters.

Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.

Tuesday, June 24
Ohio - Cedar Point Park

Had a nice day at Cedar Point. If I learned two things today, they were: 1) this ain't no Disney place. And 2) I may be too old for these kinds of rides! It's strictly an amusement park; rides, food, games of chance, and shopping. No themed rides, no themed areas, no stories, and very little done just for show. But the kids love the place -- and that's who their customers are. In fact, almost the entire staff of Cedar Point is college kids on summer break. Good jobs for 'em.

The first ride I took was on the first coaster built at the park. A relatively small, short, out-and-back wooden coaster. I have to admit that it looked good from a distance, but the peeling paint and rotting wooden beams made me a bit hesitant.

A bit later I went on "Mantis," which is a new stand-up coaster. You ride the whole thing standing up, which is a new sensation -- especially with four loops, one at 63 mph. And ROUGH. Geez, I'd rather ride out a hurricane in an old outhouse than try to ride this bucking monster again.

Then there's "Millennium Force." One of the tallest coasters in the world. The lift up the first hill takes a bit over 6 hours, and you're about 7 miles high when you start the trip down. Okay, maybe not, but it seemed like it. A long way up, and when you crest the top, the train noses downward, and downward some more, and more and more… until you're absolutely nose-to-the-ground and picking up speed. I'm not sure how fast we were going, but I heard a sonic boom.

In the loading area, there was a guy and his young daughter (probably 10-12 years old) on the train in front of me. They got all set to launch the train, and the little girl just couldn't take it. She started crying, and crying hard. She was just plain terrified. Good ole "dad" just laughed at her and joked about it. The staff stopped the launch, and a couple of them came over and talked to the girl. She didn't have to ride it, and they'd let her off if she wanted. But in the end, she rode it -- but tears were still in those apprehensive eyes. I suspect she won't speak to "dad" for a week. Poor thing.

There were three rides on my "hit list" for the day -- I'd seen documentaries on all of them, covering their design, engineering and fabrication, construction and testing. Very interesting stuff, so I wanted to see and ride them first-hand. One was Millennium Force.

The second was Top Thrill Dragster. A simple ride. You get in a car, and when the staging lights go green, you head down the track. Through linear induction motors (the big trend on the big coasters now), you go from zero/zip/nada to 120 mph/wow/holycrap in 3.8 seconds. Trust me, it feels more like 3.8 minutes. Once rolling, you shoot up and over a 400-foot tower, then plummet back down vertically while performing a 270-degree twist. If your heart ain't pounding when you get off, you've just died.

The third was Maverick. It, too, uses linear induction motors - one on the start of the ride, and you don't expect it because you're going UP HILL like on a normal chain-driven lift. The other is while you're inside a tunnel; you slow down inside, then suddenly in the darkness you triple or quadruple your speed in a couple seconds. Wow. The whole coaster was constructed very low to the ground, often about 3-5 feet off he grass. So it's a whole new dynamic. And the ride itself is very smooth as these things go, so it was downright enjoyable!

All in all, it was a nice day, and I got to ride more rides than I'd hoped for. And ate junk food. And I saw 37 ladies who I thought could be my next girlfriend. Unfortunately, all 37 ladies said they thought I could be their grandpa, so I guess I struck out. So I left the park early, came back to camp, and am really looking forward to bed.

Tomorrow I head toward Dearborn, Michigan, to see my old friend Dan Hill, then on to Baraboo, Wisconsin where I'll camp for the night…..but, then, I'll tell you all about that tomorrow. So why are you reading this?

And that's the way it is.

Wednesday, June 25
Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin

My first destination of the day was Dearborn, Michigan, to visit my old friend Dan Hill. He and I worked together at Regions … SO many years ago. I count him as one of my very few special friends that I stay in touch with. (Okay, not terribly regularly, but he's too good to lose touch with!)

I managed to dodge the rains on my way to Dearborn, and found him hard at work at AAA District Headquarters, where he's the "Big Guy" over their training program. (I say "Big Guy," as it applies in many ways. He's a key player at AAA, he's got a huge, friendly personality, and he stands something like 7-foot-9, give or take. I feel like a child standing next to him!)

Anyway, we had a great visit. He "forced" me to go to lunch with him, even though my body was still on Central time and it was only 10 a.m. We went to a local Italian place. WOW! Absolutely, without a doubt, the best Italian food I've had this side of Italy. It's worth the trip to Michigan just to go back there! Anyway, it was ALL worth it -- had a great visit with Dan, and I'm glad to see him doing so well in his new job.

A couple hours later, I was on the road again, and this time heading right through the rain storms that I knew I'd hit. My only prayer was that they'd stop before I hit Chicago. My prayers were answered! About 10 miles before I got to Chicago (during rush hour thanks to spending extra time with Dan!), the rain stopped, the skies cleared, and it turned hot and dry. And me with my rain gear on, and nowhere to pull off. So I lost about 5 pounds over the next two hours as I went through Chicago. I don't know why they call it "rush hour," as nobody was moving much of anywhere.

Now that I was running about 3 hours behind my loose schedule -- due to oversleeping a bit, highway construction, a long lunch with Dan, the rains, and Chicago -- I headed straight for Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo, Wisconsin. I've stayed there often, and it's a nice park. (Sorry, Sandy, but I was so late going through Madison, I didn't even consider stopping.) I got to the campground just before dark, and there was just enough light to read the signs that said, "Park Closed" … due to damages caused by flooding. I ultimately found another campground up the road, so pitched camp in the dark.

But I was NOT alone. I had LOTS of company. Mosquitoes. Billions of them! The first bugs I've seen on the entire trip -- and they made up for the luxury I'd enjoyed so far.

Thursday, June 26
Wisconsin and Minnesota

It was a LONG ride on up to Duluth. Not that many miles, but miles and miles of virtually nothing. I did learn that in Northern Wisconsin (north of Eau Claire, at least) that when a road sign says there's a restaurant at the next exit, don't believe it. One listed 6, and I only saw one, even after riding for about 10 miles around the area. Apparently if there's a Taco John's or whatever anywhere within the state, the highway department feels it's okay to post a sign and point people in the general direction, even if it's 100 miles away.

Made a couple stops along the way -- photos are posted on the album. One was a colorful and peaceful Veteran's Memorial Cemetery, and one was a "roadside attraction" I'd discovered on the Internet.

Made it to my campground about 5:00 p.m. and set everything up. The Harley Owner's Group Rally had "early registration" tonight, so I went on into town and got everything set up. So I'm ready to start taking part in whatever activities I can find in the morning…..despite the call for rain and thunderstorms for the next two days. Oh well, it's only water.

I'll probably update the blog again on Sunday when the Rally's over. I'll have lots of photos, too. That's better than lots of words any day!

Until then, Drive Safely; and remember, have your pets Spayed or Neutered.

(((NOTE on July 1. Sorry for dropping so much stuff on this blog all at once. But between the server's database being messed up and me not being able to find a WiFi connection, it kinda backed up. I'll try to NOT do this again....))))

Friday, June 27
Minnesota State HOG Rally

Campgrounds have "quiet hours." Here, it's 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. So why was it that I heard this loud, loud BUZZZZzzzzzz this morning at 6:30? Spraying for mosquitoes. I guess I shouldn't complain. Less mosquitoes is more better.

On the ride into town this morning, it felt a little cool. It didn't occur to me until about an hour later as I went by a time/temperature display -- it was 58 degrees! But no fear. It soon warmed up to the day's high of 62. Downright tropical.

Day one of the Rally. Not too much going on, but things are gearing up. I spent time this morning at the Registration site just meeting folks. Lots of neat people up here. And what surprised me the most was that about half the people I talked to had some kind of ties to Alabama -- they'd lived there, been to Talladega, Birmingham or Dothan (nobody mentioned Montgomery, though), had relatives in Alabama, or had friends who lived there. So I always had something to talk about with everyone.

Rode around a little bit this morning while the weather was good. Snapped a few photos. You can check 'em out on the albums if you like.

Stopped by the Harley dealership and said "HI" to the owner -- a task my most magnificent dealer-friend Tim Russom asked me to take care of for him. Learned a lot about the history of the dealership, too. First class treatment.

Then I went out to take a tour of the Cirrus Designs aircraft manufacturing plant here in Duluth. The plane … well, you have to see it to believe it. It's an absolutely awesome aircraft. Single-engine, beautifully designed, sleek, powerful. I'm absolutely in LOVE with this bird. There are only two major components to the plane's main body -- the body and the wing assembly. Both are high-tech composites and melded into single units. And the attention to detail as they hand-assemble the planes … amazing. Very good tour, too. Unfortunately, they didn't give samples. Heck, they won't even give us a discount if we want to buy one. Still, I can get one of their basic planes for only $500,000.

If your interests are inclined, Cirrus is unveiling it's newest plane -- a jet -- which is scheduled to make its maiden flight in a few days. It'll only cost a million bucks for the basic model; if you want all the frills installed, it'll be $1.1 million. What a deal.

Amazingly enough, while we were there, a guy passed through the lobby on the way to HIS new airplane. He was getting ready to fly it home -- to England! Wow. What confidence.

When we came out of the plant, we found (sadly) that it was raining. Hard. Some of us waited it out for about an hour, but it kept raining. I picked a time when it rained less and headed back for the campground. Raining just too hard to even think about heading downtown Duluth for the parties. As it stands, there are thunderstorm and tornado warnings all around the area. So I'm "chilling" (in more ways that one) in the tent. Hopefully it'll be a little nicer tomorrow.

Before I close for the night, I gotta tell you about a neat TV commercial I saw just now. It was a combination of text and film, but here's the whole thing in a nutshell:

"You Drink.
You Ride.
You Crash.
You Die.

Your brother-in-law gets your bike.

Bummer."

Neat ad…. By the Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Foundation.

"This is Paul Harvey. Good DAY!"

Saturday, June 28
Minnesota State HOG Rally

Buzzzzzz. At 5:15 a.m. it started. Whieeeeeeeennn…. There must be some kind of industry near here (that wasn't here last year), and it sounds like they're running some large milling equipment. It ran today until 9:45 tonight; but the only part that bothered me was this morning when I was trying to sleep. Don't know where it's coming from, but maybe it's from a Whinery???? (Sorry about that.)

The weather was nasty yesterday, raining until about 1 a.m. And the forecast for today was to be raining all day. And the 11:00 p.m. forecast last night reaffirmed that.

Wrong. Today was beautiful! Partly cloudy skies, warmed up to the high 60s, slight breeze, and dry air. Couldn't have been a nicer day for the outdoor activities they'd planned.

I started off my activities with a tour of a large ore-hauling ship, now retired from service and working full-time as a museum. It was US Steel's "flag ship" in the Great Lakes for about 40 years, from 1939 to 1979.

When I got my ticket, the girl at the counter said he next tour will begin in 20 minutes; not "on the hour" as they had posted on signs. I asked why 20 minutes -- "Well, whenever a person wants a tour, we tell them we'll start in 20 minutes. Then whoever comes in for a tour in the next 20 minutes can join the group. Then we won't have another tour until someone new comes in and buys a ticket; then the 20 minutes starts over again." Gee, do they teach this stuff in High School now?

Anyway, we got to see the entire ship, from the bridge to the crew quarters to "guest quarters" (where corporate VIPs and their influential guests could cruise along with the loads) to the engine room to the cargo hold. It was an interesting tour, and only cost $4 thanks to arrangements made by the Rally committee.

Then I rode around the area for the rest of the morning and much of the afternoon. The only time I spent downtown was to watch the "biker games" portion of the Rally. They had some of the typical events; The Slow Ride, Road Kill Clean-up, The Hot Dog Bite (they don't call it the Weenie Bite up here), Bike Wash, and a new game they created for this rally - the Ball Pick. In all, it was fun to watch.

One somewhat troubling moment happened during the Slow Race, though. The ladies were competing for their prizes. One gal was struggling to go the slowest (she later won), and when she finally hit the finish line, she was almost out of control. So, being the "tough biker chick" she thought she was, she revved up the bike and popped the clutch. Needless to say, she went from "zero" to "fast" in about 25 feet. Unfortunately, there was a woman bending over her baby in a stroller about 40 feet from the finish line, and this gal had no hope of stopping in time. Fortunately, she missed the baby and stroller, but clipped the mom. She wasn't seriously hurt, but BOY did some of the "fans" make some comments about the gal on the bike. That was just too close.

The final big event for the day was the big "parade" through town. As with last year's parade, it was escorted by police from Duluth and Superior, Wisconsin, plus state Highway Patrol bikes. It was pretty cool, with a HUGE line of bikes on the roads. This year's ride was much shorter, though -- only about 8 miles, since a recent major traffic mishap forced one of the bridges across into Wisconsin to be shut down. That was one of the key roads in the planned route. Still, it was cool.

And speaking of cool, at least I know I'm alive. After taking a shower tonight, I walked back to my tent, and could watch my breath float along with me. Ah, Minnesota. I'm hoping for snow tomorrow.

Tomorrow there are a few closing events at the rally, then I'll head North in the afternoon and ride up the North Shore of Lake Superior. I tried that last year, but had electrical problems about 50 miles up and had to turn back. Maybe this year I'll get further.

Sunday, June 29
Minnesota

**** Hey, folks. I just took a peek at the Photo Album and the photos for this trip had gone into an "unlisted" album. How come nobody told me!?!? It should be fixed now. Very sorry. Seems this happens every trip for some reason.

Wasn't supposed to rain last night. It did. Was supposed to rain this morning. Didn't. The weather forecasters here are the same as at home. … correct 50% of the time, give or take 70%.

Started off cool and cloudy, though. But by Noon, it was absolutely beautiful. High up around 77.

After the morning festivities (games and awards), I headed back up the Northshore drive. This time I made it all the way to the Canadian border. Didn't go across, but made it there.

The only problem were the dragonflies. BIG bomber-style insects. And all over the place up north. They didn't travel alone or in pairs, either. They traveled in HERDS! I was following a car along the highway at 55 when suddenly the guy hits his brakes and slows down. Seems the herds were crossing and he hit 'em. As I got to that spot, I found you couldn't look in any direction without seeing at least 50 of the bombers -- and when you can see that many while looking sideways and doing 50 mph, you know they're thick!

(Notes to self…. Scrape and clean windshield. Scrape and clean helmet. Burn pants. Forget brushing teeth; just have 'em all pulled and replaced with dishwasher-safe dentures.)

Stopped for a nice dinner at Culvers! Yum. My next stop is McDonald's. No, not to eat more, but to check mail, update this blog, and do other stuff on their WiFi connection.

Tomorrow morning I head toward the Twin Cities, where I'll spend a couple days seeing the areas in Central Wisconsin and Central Minnesota, and have dinner with my old friends Rollie & Nellie Hofmeister. Should be a hoot!

Goodnight, Everybody!

Monday, June 30
Near the Twin Cities
"Twin Cities" -- that's Minneapolis and St. Paul. Of course, you knew that.

Took a long way to get to where I am. About 220 miles to get 85 miles down the road. So I sorta took the scenic route. Went back to see the lot that my family owned when I was but a wee little crapper. It's always amazing to see that little outhouse we built back in (geez, I think it was the late 50s sometime) is still standing. Unfortunately, the guy who owns the lot and lives near the outhouse is building a house further back on the lot, so he'll be removing everything from this site in a couple months. Then nothing will remain to mark where we spent so many wonderful days on vacation up there.

Aside from that, it was just a beautiful, peaceful journey through the woods. Got to the campground early, and relaxed for a while before heading out for dinner with my old high school friend Rollie and his wife Nellie. I'll also make a stop at a McDonald's and see if the blog server is up and running yet. You can tell it is working now -- otherwise how'd you be reading this? Duh.

Tomorrow I'll ride eastward into central Wisconsin, hopefully to take a tour of the Harley plant in Tomahawk. But you never know about those places -- might be open, might not! I'll tell you later.

Peace!

Tuesday, July 1
Into Central Wisconsin

I headed off for Tomahawk, and planned to stop at the first McDonald's I could find and update my blog, photo albums, and other stuff. But the first McD's didn't have a WiFi connection, so I kept going. In all, I rode a total of over 400 miles today, and stopped at every McDonald's (about a dozen) and library (6 or 7), and NONE had WiFi connections. One librarian scrunched up her nose and said, "Well, you might try Rice Lake (about 40 miles North). I think THEY might have that stuff." Talk about being out in the stix.

I finally got back to the campground and kept on going west and into Minnesota. I had to drive all the way to Wyoming to find a McDonald's (that's Wyoming the city, not the state), and IT had WiFi. Ah, civilization at last. And I was happy to see that my blog was back up and running again (the hosting service apologized for the screw-up -- gee, thanks), and the photo album is finally completely up to date. Yippee.

I did make it to Tomahawk, Wisconsin, though. There's a Harley production plant there that makes all the fairings, saddlebags, tour paks, windshields, sidecars, and other plastic-related Harley components. When I got there, I was the only visitor there, and the guide started me on my own private tour. But just a minute after we started, they got a call that another carload of folks were on the way, so we waited. In the end, the tour had only 5 of us. And that was just about right. The tour lasted about half an hour. Let's see; we got to see them make windshields; the sidecar area was in between steps, so there was nobody working there and nothing to see except a finished car; we got to see the inside of the paint shop with two painters going at it -- everything they painted was black; the quality control area was shut down for a break; and the entire injection molding facility (the majority of the plant) was shut down because they'd caught up on making parts. So we didn't get to see much! But, "Been There, Done That, Got The Pin."

Then I headed back toward the campground, still hoping to find a place with WiFi. Irritating that it took so long. But I was happy when I finally got caught up on stuff.

Severe storms are headed this way - hard to believe since the stars are out in full force at the moment. But it's to be nasty all night, and much of the morning. So I may not leave the campground first thing tomorrow -- I'll wait until things look more promising. Then I'm heading to Waseca to meet up with Norm, my Big Brother. Can't wait!

Na-Nu, Na Nu!

Wednesday, July 2
To Waseca

The bad weather last night … never appeared. Starry skies all night. And the rains this morning … also, not. The weather forecasters haven't lost their touch at incorrectness.

Had a lovely 400+ mile day, just wandering around central Minnesota on the way to Waseca. Found a couple photo opportunities -- you can enjoy them in the photo album.

As usual, I relied on my GPS to get me from point to point. Along one highway, I encountered a big road construction project that had the entire state highway closed. Well, my GPS has this little button that says, "Detour", so I clicked it. Within seconds, it had expertly laid out a new route around the closed highway and all that nasty construction. Cool. Of course, it also routed me around all the gas stations within 50 miles, so I spend a good hour puckering and looking for a station. No worries. I found some.

Got to Waseca just in time for dinner with some of the family -- and relatives of family. (Hey, around here, it gets complicated in a hurry, especially when everyone who's ever graduated from high school here is home for a mass reunion!) Next will be trying to unload the bike for a week-long stay here. Then, .. Well, … who knows! I'll tell you when I find out.

Good Night, and God Bless.

Thursday, July 3
Waseca

Ah, a day with one goal (aside from enjoying the perfect weather of a magnificent Minnesota day). Picking up our sister - Es / Marie / mom / grandma / and a dozen other aliases. Norm and I headed off to the Minneapolis airport first thing in the morning. ("First thing" being defined as the time when Marcia - one of our hosts - came down and yelled at Norm to wake up!) It was a short 80-mile drive to Bloomington where we parked at the Mall of America. I think it still holds the title of the largest mall in the US.

No, we didn't go shopping. It's just that in all of the Twin Cities, the Mall has two things that my brother loves the best. FREE parking and a CHEAP train ride. Minneapolis has a light rail system that runs trains from the Mall to downtown Minneapolis. Whether you ride down to the next stop or ride all the way to the end and back, it costs the same -- 50 cents. But since the whole fare business is on the "honor system," I saw lots of folks just get on and ride. So depending on your values, it could be the cheapest ride in town.

We took the train first into downtown Minneapolis to the domed stadium where the Minnesota Twins call home. After a brief stop there, we rode back to the airport. This train very conveniently runs directly under the international airport terminal, so it makes for some easy transportation into and out of that congested area.

We hopped off the train, found our way to Baggage Claim and waited for our sister. She came spilling out the chute on Carousel #9 (apparently it's cheaper to fly as "checked luggage" than as an actual passenger). Happy to be back on the ground, we headed back for the train, the car, and on to Waseca. After a quick shopping trip (as if any shopping trip with my sister could be considered quick) and a nice dinner, we settled in for an evening of catching up.

A nice simple day. I like that.

mmmmmmmmwhhhhhhhhaaaaa..… (That's Dinah Shore throwing you her goodbye kiss)

Friday, July 4
Happy Fourth of July!

Between the normal Fourth of July activities in my small home town, and all the special activities planned for this year's "All School Reunion," and with my friend Rollie coming to town to go for a ride through the countryside, this was definitely going to be a busy day.

However, both Es/Marie and Ive slept in until NOON, so that cut into the day's plans. Still, we had time to enjoy….

During the afternoon, Norm, Ive, and Es went to the park for some great music by a couple local musical celebrities. They had a great time there. Meanwhile, I had another great meeting with my old high school buddy, Rollie, and his younger brother Denny. The sad thing about the meeting … Denny remembered a LOT more about our high school days than Rollie or I ever could. I can't speak for Rollie, but that sure made me feel older….and significantly more senile.

Tonight "the girls" and some other friends are playing cards, dominos, or both. Norm and I are just "chilling" and enjoying the quiet evening in such perfect weather! (Thankfully the city just sprayed for mosquitoes again; otherwise, we'd be confined indoors all day!)

By the way, this "All School Reunion" event is a big 4-day event when all graduates from all years from either of Waseca's big schools are invited back for a mass reunion. This year -- being an "…8" year -- is seeing a lot of "10-year" reunions, dating as far back as the Class of 1948. But there are graduates here from years prior to that. So no matter who you are, you're going to run into someone you know walking down the streets.

Tomorrow -- another day of boring (to you) activities!

Goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow. (-- Chevy Chase, if you needed help)

Saturday, July 5
Waseca

The big day of the All School Reunion; lots of activities, photos, and food.

We started off the day with "class photos" for each year…. For graduates from classes 1919 through 2008. I should point out that not every class had an actual "reunion" at this huge city-wide event; some classes, such as mine, had only a few people attend. My class had a reunion just two years ago, so few showed up for this blow-out. In fact, our 1966 photo had only nine of us in attendance. I recognized several of them from past reunions; one I didn't remember at all, and a couple others I probably wish I could forget. On the other hand, they ALL wanted to forget me; so it worked out well.

Then I took a break and rode out into the countryside for a while. On the way, I headed out a highway and was thoroughly enjoying the weather and light traffic. Suddenly, as I was heading down this long, flat straight-away, I realized that there was a big tractor-trailer rig in my lane. Coming at me. Trying to pass a string of cars, and obviously didn't have enough room to do so. He recognized my presence (with eight -- count 'em, EIGHT -- lights on the front of my bike) at about the same time I saw that he wasn't going to make it. I locked up the rear wheel (I know, shouldn't have, but did) and clamped down on the front, and rode right along top of the white line at the edge of the road. Meanwhile, the trucker swerved once (and almost ran the car he was passing into the ditch), then realizing what he'd almost done, swerved back toward me. Finally, he started bullying his way over into his own lane. (I have NO idea what happened to that poor little car beside him, but I didn't hear any crunches or see any parts fly, so I think they missed each other.) For the briefest of moments, we were 3-wide on that highway. Then it was over. Close. Too close. I'll add more lights when I get home.

Then I headed over to my old High School building, where they'd opened the place up to the public. While they only had one "greeter" in the building to help folks and answer questions, they'd opened up every hallway, room, tunnel, bathroom, staircase, and everything else.

So we had complete run of the place. It was great to walk around through those old places where I'd spent so much time. And to my great surprise, I found I KNEW where every bathroom, water fountain, and fire extinguisher would be located, and I found several of my most memorable classrooms…..including my Kindergarten classroom, and the one where I took German and had one particular class interrupted with the news of JFK's assassination. Ah, the memories, good and bad.

Later, most of the folks headed back to the NEW high school gymnasium where we had a nice dinner. Hundreds and hundreds of people I didn't know, talking VERY LOUDLY (hey, these folks were old, you know), and generally having a great time.

Tonight there's a "Street Dance" downtown -- actually covering about 8 blocks' worth of streets. Several bands will perform, but I doubt anyone will dance. Most of us are too old anyway. But folks WILL be wandering around seeing who they can see and chatting with the survivors from their classes. Me? I'll just go watch. Folks I went to school with didn't want to talk to me then, so they're sure not gonna do it now!

M-I-C; See you real soon…!

Sunday, July 6
Waseca

According to the local newspaper, the reunion committee expected about 5,000 people to attend the big events. Based on what we saw at the Street Party last night, they weren't far off. All the streets were packed with folks, and were entertained by five different bands, all playing on stages scattered around the downtown area. It was really cool.

Of course, one country band caught my attention. Hey, how often do you hear "Okie from Muskogee" sung mit der slight Norvegian Accent? I better not complain about them too much, though; they seemed to be one of the more popular bands.

Once as we were walking along, I heard someone yell, "Hey, Old Man!" Well, hell. That could have been addressed to anyone at the reunion -- after all, we were all old! I kept walking. Then I heard the voice again, this time yelling, "Hey, Scruffy!" So I figured it must be me. When I turned, it was one of my classmates. So I stopped for a short chat.

On one of my recent trips up here, I helped set up a wireless Internet connection using a router here at John's house -- he and his wife are letting us stay here. This trip, they asked if I'd take a look at it and fix it, as it'd stopped working. Ended up the router was fried, so I installed a new one. Up until then, though, we'd been able to use wireless Internet just fine -- we'd just go out back of the house and use a signal from some neighbor. It sure was nice of them to let us piggyback on their connection!

This morning I headed out for a little ride through the countryside -- and ended up in Iowa. No surprise to most folks, I'm sure. On the way back I came through Blue Earth and saw a fella y'all should recognize … his photo will be in the photo album. I also went through a small town with a rather dubious name -- and which made national news many years ago when one of our illustrious presidents made a comment using their town's name in "jest." You'll see….

Then this afternoon we went downtown for the final events of the big reunion. First was the parade. A fairly typical home-town parade, except that for some reason the horses weren't last! No problem, as they had a special crew with a shovel following the horses….just in case. And so typical of a parade up in these parts, tractors. Lots and lots of tractors. Again, check some out in the photo album.

Following the parade, we turned our chairs around and faced into the local park where they had free ice cream and music. Another (final) chance for folks to visit with others who'd come for the reunion. And the weather cooperated perfectly -- up to a bit over 80 today, but partly cloudy skies and a nice breeze.

And as my brother, sister and I were "foraging" for dinner in the little kitchen here, Ive surprised us. She'd snuck out the back door and made a quick run to a fast-food chain called "Taco Johns." I went to one for the first time on my trip up here, and fell in love with their foods. She picked up a whole bunch of their potatoes and deserts, so we had a real surprise - and treat.

Tomorrow -- shopping. Thanks to a request by my dear sister, we're headed to the Mall of America. Should be interesting….but not very photogenic. We'll see.

Now for your Moment of Zen….

Special Invitation

Just in case you're in the area, plan on visiting the Waseca County Fair between July 23-27, 2008. A good time is guaranteed.

Of course, they'll have all the familiar county fair fare: Horse show, Goat show, Sheep show, Poultry show, Beef show, Swine show, Dairy show, Dog show, Rabbit show, Lama show, Livestock auction, a tractor pull, and a Demolition Derby.

But they'll also have some other really cool events you won't want to miss, such as: Dog races with monkey jockeys, Milk-chugging contest, Arm Wrestling contests, Hula Hoop contest, Foam Pit Dancing, Ugly Bridesmaid Dress contest, and a "Dress Your Livestock" contest.

Hey, you just don't find entertainment like this anywhere else! Be here.

Monday, July 7
Waseca

An interesting day on the home front. We headed out this morning for Bloomington, MN, and the Mall of America. In case you've not heard of it ("…do you live in a cave?"), it's HUGE. At one time it was the largest mall in America -- maybe it still is. It's four stories of stores, with a full-sized amusement park -- plus a miniature golf course -- in the middle of it all. And some of the rides -- well, let's say they're challenging. One was so fast, twisting, and downright strange, that both Norm and I got a bit nauseous. And we were just watching it from a distance.

We sent Es and Ive off at the Bloomingdales entrance, and they spent the next 2 1/2 hours shopping. Meanwhile, Norm and I parked the car "out in the north 40," and headed to the food court. At the end of 2 1/2 hours, Es and Ive had shopped many of the stores on two of the levels, while Norm and I spent most of the time in the food court! (Hey, what's wrong with that?) When we finally got together again, Es and Ive (having spent THEIR time on meaningless shopping) had to stop and eat; so Norm and I were forced to snack again.

Then we took a leisurely route home -- stopping at a Dairy Queen along the way. (And y'all thought bikers were big on stopping to eat! We finally got home around 4:30, and Ive immediately went to work fixing supper. What? Norm and I could still barely walk from all we'd eaten earlier, so we passed up the 12th meal of the day.

Now we're just "chillin' out" talking and watching some TV. Relaxing before our next big adventure.

Tomorrow morning (Tuesday) we're heading to Madison, Wisconsin, to visit my niece (Es's daughter) and her two girls. We'll be there for a couple days, and I'm not yet sure if I'll be able to update the blog or not. If so, you'll see it here soon. If not, you'll see it here not so soon.

Good Night, David. Good Night, Chet.

Tuesday, July 8
Minnesota and Wisconsin

Today's mission was to get to Verona, Wisconsin -- a suburb of Madison. That's where Es/Marie's daughter, Sandy, lives -- along with Sandy's daughters Mary and Alice (or Alice and Mary, just so neither one will complain about being listed second).

We made it a total of 13 miles down the road before we had to stop for something to eat. Then we drove almost non-stop to the next restaurant, where Norm was kind enough to buy lunch for everyone! (Okay, he did that a lot, but thought I'd better mention it at least once in this thing. Then we fought with that little lady who lives inside Norm's GPS about which route was the best to get to Sandy's. Ultimately, we won, and we made it there safely.

Needless to day, the first thing Sandy wanted to do was feed us, and for reasons beyond my comprehension, we didn't object. I think I lost about 7 pounds during my trip from home to Duluth and back down to Norm & Ive's place -- and I've gained about 20 since that day. Anyway, we had a great dinner (Thanks again, Sandy!), had lots of time to chat and catch up, and everybody made friends with the dog, Fiona. (Okay, so "friends" may be too strong a word for some of us humans, but at least no blood was shed."

After dinner, Norm wanted to attend a rehearsal of the local Barbershop chapter; so he and I both let the ladies gab and we headed over to Madison to watch and enjoy the group. They spent most of the 2 hours we were there learning new songs -- a couple bars at a time, repeating it, singing one part at a time (bass, tenor, etc.), and generally fine-tuning as they went along. It was an interesting study in seeing a very talented director get great music out of a very small group (only 12 voices). And not-too-surprisingly, several of the members recognized Norm from his days singing with various quartets and choruses. Hell, I can't take that guy anywhere without folks chasing him for his autograph or picture.

And for some reason, by the time we finally got home, talked some more, and ate snacks, we were all actually tired; so it was off to bed for a very nice, quiet sleep -- and much needed.

"The defense rests."

Wednesday, July 9
Wisconsin

Another busy day…mostly involving food. The day started off when some of us got up fairly early -- meaning before 11:00 a.m. Sandy already had apple crisp and other goodies to munch on, but that just wasn't good enough. She made two batches of muffins -- one was chocolate chip and the other blueberry. By the time the others got up (and I won't mention either Norm's or Ive's names), most of them were gone. But they snacked on the leftovers as we chatted.

Then we piled into the cars and headed to a neat little restaurant for lunch. (Yes, already.) It was actually an old Maid-Rite place; but because of licensing issues, they had to change their name to the "Nifty Fifties." LOTS of cool memorabilia from days gone by -- posters, lights, clocks, an old jukebox, Burma Shave signs, the works. Had a great lunch there.

Then it was off to do some shopping (for the women -- Norm and I just dragged our bodies along behind). Found a few neat little "everything shops" in a somewhat "yuppie" district. The only problem we had was when Sandy set off one of those shoplifting alarms at one store -- on her way IN. After we ruled out any offending items in her shopping bag or her purse, we narrowed the problem down to HER. Turned out to be a sales tag inside her shorts (which were new). I wish I'd been faster to get a picture of the store clerk cutting the tag out of the inside of her shorts! (Just use your imagination.)

After a couple hours of shopping (every guy's dream, for sure), it was time to head off in search of food again. Went to a "Boston's Gourmet Pizza" restaurant. Truly neat menu there, and we had MORE than we could possibly eat. And from there, we went back to Sandy's where Es (sis) gave a very good pie-making lesson to Mary, who made her first pie! … a lattice-topped cherry-rhubarb pie. "Yummy" doesn't quite describe it.

Courage. (Dan Rather)

Thursday, July 10
Wisconsin and Minnesota

Our last day in Verona. We got off to a bright-and-early start (well, at least Sandy and Alice did; I joined the world of the living at about 8:30, the rest about 10:00). By the way, the "catch phrase" of the whole trip: "The longer the train, the slower it moves." So we got to doing everything pretty slowly; but that was fine, too.

Breakfast was going to be apple crisp (which, so far, nobody's had time to even taste) and left-over muffins. However, the two cherry pies from last night's Pie School looked too tempting. So they became "breakfast" for Sandy and Es. The rest of us had to wait until we got to the first stop of the day, which just happened to be the real breakfast at a neat little food joint in downtown Madison. How was it? Good. However, nobody cleaned their plate! Just SO much food…. You just had to love it.

By the time we finished eating, we (Norm, Ive, Es and I) were already late in leaving for Rochester, Minnesota. The other three went over to Es's son Randy's place to take them to dinner, while they dropped me off at a local Wal-Mart to see if I could hook up with some old high-school friends of mine who live here. They never showed up, but that was okay -- I just had a somewhat quiet pizza by myself. If we do this again, I'll have to do a better job of coordinating with Karen and Dennis so they'll actually BE where I'm looking f or them at. (Is that a sentence?)

(Charlie, you're in my thoughts. As I sit here in a Subway typing my notes, two SCREAMING KIDS are making a fuss behind me. Wish you were here.)

**Note: In looking back at all the pictures I took, I'm sad to say I had none of my niece Mary. She was busy most of the time, and couldn't join us; so we were together very little during this trip. I promise to take lots and lots of pictures of her on my next trip. **

When we finally got together again, we headed back to Waseca. Then it was just a matter of unpacking and re-packing so we could leave for Deep River, Iowa, in the morning! (You just can't get any rest around this place.)

Stay tuned for the News on this NBC station

Friday, July 11
Minnesota and Iowa

We headed off for World-Famous Deep River, Iowa, for their School Reunion and the annual "Orangemen's Day Celebration," always held on July 12th. We got to our motel (The "Cozy Country Inn" in Montezuma) and got checked in. A nice little place. A total of nine rooms. We had two of them. So we constituted the majority of their clients. And the rooms were nice -- about the size of an average-sized kitchen, but with two beds, a phone, a bathroom, and a clock-radio (which scared the poop out of us the first morning it went off). Norm even pointed out that we had a CHAIR in the room -- something I'd not even noticed until he pointed it out. It was so small, I think I could have fit it inside my suitcase; but it was a chair.

Then we went to Deep River to look around a bit, and to meet our cousin Lois Evans. She's 92, doesn't hear so well, and is a little slow getting around (unless she has to go to the bathroom, then you'll see that she can actually RUN at times!). But Lois's mind is so incredibly sharp, she can tell you at least the month and year when everyone in Deep River was born, when any building was built or torn down, dates of all significant events, and more. She's a one-person historian for the town! She knows so much, it's downright spooky. Anyway, we had a great visit, and were entertained by hummingbirds that flew amongst us as they enjoyed her hanging feeders. I tried to catch the buggers on my camera, but they never stayed long enough to even "boot up" my camera. I did catch them a couple times, though -- see the photo albums if you'd like.

We went to a "Beef Rite" dinner at the Community Center in D.R. If you've ever had a "Maid Rite" sandwich, this was one of those. If you haven't had one, you're missing paradise-on-a-bun. Food was great! Then they had "entertainment" -- which consisted of little kids doing some kind of "cake walk" game to win junk-food as prizes. Ah, Deep River. No nutritional stuff or worthwhile prizes here -- just unhealthy snacks and diet sodas! They were going to have their annual Talent Contest after the kids' games; but nobody had any talent to show off, so that part was cancelled!

They had fireworks over the park after the sun went down. And you'd have been surprised. For such a small community and such a small celebration, they had a very substantial fireworks show! We watched it from the outside patio of our cousin Lois; and we had to watch through a massive tree that sat right in front of us. So we could occasionally see some sparkles, and it was nice. (Gosh, I guess we could've moved. Why didn't we think of that?)

So long until tomorrow. (Lowell Thomas)

Saturday, July 12
Deep River, Iowa
The BIG DAY -- the Twelfth of July celebration.

The annual Parade was pretty cool. It consisted primarily of fire department vehicles and farm tractors, with folks throwing candy at spectators. They didn't need much candy, though; while it seems like most of Deep River turned out, that's still not a lot of folks! After the parade, there were a variety of activities in the park near the old schoolhouse. They had softball games on the muddy ball field (yes, that was a tad messy), games of chance and fun for the kids, raffles for quilts and other homemade stuff, and food vendors.

We (there ended up to be about 9 of us family folks) took our lawn chairs to the park and sat there watching the folks milling around -- in the slight rain and drizzle. Besides the four of us you've already been bored to tears about, we were joined by cousins Linda, Larry, Sonja, Anita, Alana, and Lois. Plus lots of other cousins and other far-fetched relatives that I didn't recognize. (Then again, we're related to about half the folks down here.) It was uncomfortable sitting outside in that mist for a while, and we were known as the folks too dumb to come in out of the rain, but it ultimately cleared up and was a beautiful day.

Later, it was time for things like greased-pig races, a fire fighter's water fight (you'll have to see the photos for that), and a special "REVENGE" money-raising event for the 4-H club where you could buy a bottle of ketchup and then douse the leader of the 4-H group with it. Again, the photos tell that story. And believe it or not, but there were actually so many folks at the event that two of the vendors actually ran out of foods. (Okay, so there were only three vendors, but two of them ran out.)

In the evening we went to the Community Center for a dinner and the School Reunion. Things started off great when my dear brother slapped a sticky-backed nametag on my shirt, pinning my beard to my shoulder. I spent the bulk of the evening looking to the left, so I only saw half the festivities -- what happened to my right is still a mystery. Then during the reunion, each past graduate of the Deep River High School was given the microphone and an opportunity to say a few words. With about 120 graduates in the audience, it took a long, LONG time (or maybe it just seemed long, listening to all these old farts trying to form sentences). The class members ranged from the Class of 1930 up to the Class of 1963 -- about the last class to go through this fine educational institution.

One of the highlights -- our Aunt Maxine easily won the award for "Oldest Person" in attendance … at the age of 96. Sweet gal; wish y'all could meet her.

Live long and prosper

Sunday, July 13
Deep River, then Waseca

On the way down to Deep River, Norm got a call that one of their close friends in Waseca had died, and the funeral would be on Sunday. So we had to cut our trip and sightseeing a bit short, and head straight back home first thing today. Made it back to Waseca in plenty of time.

The rest of the day was spent unpacking, packing, visiting, and getting ready to head out; we'll take my sister to the airport in Minneapolis in the morning, then when we get back to Waseca, I'll jump on the bike and head South.

On my way up to Minnesota, I stopped at a place I'd seen before -- a chain called "Taco John's." It's quickly become one of my favorites. So for supper/dinner tonight, we went to the local Taco John's. What a great meal to end the trip with.

I'm not sure just where I'll go from here. It may take me two days to get home, it may take four. I'll see how I feel when I get moving in the morning. I'll update the blog again either in a day or two or after I get home. You'll know which I did by looking below!

But I Digress…..

Monday, July 14
Minnesota and Iowa.

Well, we managed to get our dear sister off to the airport this morning. No small feat, considering we all had to be up by 6:15 a.m.! That's unheard-of around here. But we managed. And everything went flawlessly -- right up to her being wheeled through the security checkpoint. After that, she was at the mercy of the airlines. (We hope she made it home safely.)

I headed out as soon as Norm, Ive and I got back to Waseca. After being off the bike for more than six days, I had to get out the manual to refresh my memory on how to start the darn thing!

I decided to travel down highway 218 -- a road my folks used to always use to get down to Deep River before the Interstate System was in place. In fact, the last time I rode this road was probably before I-35 was finished! My first stop (somewhat unplanned - since I'd planned to go there last week but never had time) was in Austin, MN, at the SPAM Museum. (Yes, there really is a SPAM Museum -- and a big one at that.) A few photos made it to the album. Then I headed on down toward Charles City, Iowa. Our sister used to live there, and I thought it'd be a cool surprise to get her a Harley-Davidson T-shirt from the Charles City dealership. So that's where I headed, and arrived. Unfortunately, they're closed on Mondays! WHAT? So much for that surprise.

I headed off toward Ankeny, Iowa, following back roads. I finally re-joined I-35 a total of 6 hours after I left Waseca, which by now was only 140 miles away! Obviously I took my time and a very scenic route.

In Ankeny, there's a Maid-Rite restaurant. It was closed yesterday when the four of us came through town, so we didn't get to have any of their great sandwiches. However, this time, it was open and I had a delightful dinner/lunch there. Yummy. Then it was back out onto the Interstate, where it was a cool 94 degrees. (In Iowa?!)

I made a significant detour west from Des Moines to "The Rock" near Greenfield. Take a look at the photo album, and you'll see why I went. One oddity -- there was a wooden commemorative cross tacked to a pole. The inscription was a bit spooky, since we have our own Lois Evans, who we left in Deep River.

From there I wandered over to Winterset, Iowa, the birthplace of one of the most famous men of recent times. (No, he's not a politician -- I said "famous," not "INfamous". If you don't already know who it is, check the photo album, cuz I ain't gonna tell you here.

Then I started plotting a course for home. My new route's taking me south on I-35 into Kansas City, where I'll cut east to St. Louis. Tonight, I've stopped at an Iowa State Park (Nine Eagles SP) in far South Iowa. It's a bit out in the boonies -- and I'm the ONLY camper here. At least it'll be nice and quiet. If it just didn't have one of those darn "hot showers." And I mean "HOT," with only one temperature … "scalding."

Tomorrow I'll head into Kansas City, and maybe even visit (yet again) the HD factory there. They have a nice tour and a nice plant. And the price is very favorable -- Free! So why not. After that, I'm not sure if I'll try to get all the way home in one day or break it up into two. I really wanna get back home, so I may make a long day of it tomorrow. You'll probably know before I do, just by reading the blog!

Bless Your Pea-Pickin' Hearts

Tuesday, July 15
Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Missouri, and back to Illinois.

What a day! If I had it to live over again, I think I'd pass.

It started off at about sunrise. I woke up at 5:30 (yes, a.m.) and couldn't get back to sleep. So after taking my time with everything, I finally was packed and on the road at 6:45. My first planned stop of the day was "the first McDonald's" I came to with WiFi. That didn't take long -- just about 20 miles down the road. Had my breakfast while I was trying to connect to their WiFi connection. The connecting part was easy; but it wouldn't work! So after futzing with it for half an hour, I packed up my computer and headed down the road.

On my way to the Harley-Davidson plant in Kansas City, I ran across another McDonald's right off a side road and made a pass through their parking lot looking for signs of WiFi. To my surprise, they had a sign in the window that said they not only had WiFi, but it was FREE. So at least I was able to stop and update the blog and photo album.

I also got my E-mail, and found out my poor sister missed her connecting flight in Chicago yesterday. Now I'm waiting to find out what happened! Knowing my dear sister, she probably spent too much time shopping in the little gift shops.

I paid a courtesy visit to the H-D plant, mostly just to pay my respects. Hey, it was on the way, so why not stop. I didn't take the tour, though. Done that three times already, so why waste time. Then I fought my way through the Kansas City traffic (and all the road construction), and headed East across Missouri. And I made it all the way across, too! Right through St. Louis. Then, 12 miles into Illinois, I was getting back onto I-64 when the bike DIED on the on-ramp. It just stopped -- as if it suddenly ran completely out of gas. And my personal initial troubleshooting said it was fuel-related. A quick call to Todd at the Montgomery dealership pretty much confirmed that.

I called the Roadside Service company and they dispatched a tow truck. That, as usual, was another experience altogether. I waited almost an hour for a tow truck, on the on-ramp, with no shade, and a temperature of 100+ degrees. When the tow truck arrived, he had a big roll-on truck, complete with a motorcycle "anchor" (I don't know what else to call it -- but it holds the bike upright by the front tire). The guy said, "I've got this thing, but I haven't used it in years." It got worse when he used his phone to call for instructions on how to use it!

After about 40 minutes, we got the bike on the truck. We hadn't moved more than 15 feet when he got a call, and mumbled something about "Jack In The Box." Then he told me we were going to "switch drivers." Seems he was the "day driver," and since it was almost 5:00 p.m., he had to turn the truck over to the "night driver," who would meet us at the Jack-In-The-Box. But don't worry -- it's on the way. It was "on the way" if you mean driving 10 miles in the opposite direction! After going about 5 miles, I asked him how far it was to the Harley dealership. He said, "Oh, I don't have any idea where it is. Hopefully the night driver will know." ….Are you getting a sense of where my afternoon was going?

Fortunately, he did. It was back in Missouri, just outside St. Louis again. So back we went. We got to the dealership at about 5:45 p.m. They were still open! (At least there was hope at that point. As it turned out, the service department was open until 7:30! The staff there was absolutely incredible -- the best I've ever seen. To make a long story somewhat shorter, they found the problems (two of 'em) and fixed them, and I was on the road by 7:20 p.m. (Calvin, it was a fuel-related problem. But it turned out to be exactly what Todd said it wouldn't be -- the connector between the fuel tank and the hose to the engine.) Not only did they fix and test the bike, but they filled the tank for me. (I had about 2 gallons left in the tank, but they had to drain it. Then they filled it up with a full 5 gallons to get me on the road again! How's that for cool?!?)

While at the dealership I learned that I missed seeing Carson Dailey (forgive the spelling) -- he's a TV show host on late-nite TV. Seems Harley-Davidson had loaned him and a friend two brand new Harleys to ride from California to St. Louis, where they turned them in at the dealership. He'd just left to get a "brew" of Budweiser beer --- saying it would be the last American Bud he'd ever get. (Seems Budweiser was bought out by some overseas company last weekend. End of another era!)

When the bike broke down, I'd been on my way to what would likely be the last Taco John's restaurant on my route back home. So when I hit the road again, my GPS said I'd be there by 9:20 p.m. if I didn't stop. So why not! I'd worry about a place to stay after I had my final Taco John's meal of the trip.

Obviously, by the time I got to Marion, Illinois, where the place was located, it was already dark. I decided that IF I could find a really cheap motel, I'd get a room instead of trying to find a campground in the dark. I did! A Motel 6 for $35. So I got a room and sped over to the Taco John's restaurant. Sign and lights were still on -- Yippee! Unfortunately, the door was locked. They'd closed at 9:00. Crap. So I had to go foraging for other foods at less-exciting places. (I settled for a Fazoli's. Not bad.)

So I'm now done for the day -- I hope! It's been quite long enough already. Now if the shower only works, I'll get to bed happy. If not, I'll just shake my head, sigh, and stink the rest of the way home.

It's only about 8 hours from here to home, so I'll easily be home by Wednesday night. I'll do the final update (and add at least one more photo to the album then.

Say Goodnight, Dick.

Wednesday, July 16
Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama.

Home At Last! I made it, safe and sound; and very glad to be back home again.

The trip back from west-central Illinois was fairly uneventful. Once I finally woke up, that is. Geez, I slept until almost 9 a.m. That's the latest I slept anytime on the trip! (Must have been the good food at Fazoli's last night.)

Superman.jpg
I only made a few stops on the way back. One was at the Superman Museum in Metropolis (of course), Illinois. See a couple of the photos in the album if you're so inclined. Other than that, though, I made a direct run for the house, getting home about 6:30 tonight. Everything was fine around the house, so the trip ended successfully.

Overall, it was a great trip. 26 days on the road, 5,400 miles, lots of pictures and more memories than I can … well … remember! But I'm looking forward to NOT riding for a while. Gosh, I've got almost a whole month before my next long trip. Cool!

Good Night, John Boy

And here's the whole route for this trip. Another adventure put to bed.

And so it ends.............

...

Okay, so here it is, Wednesday, June 11th, and I've already been packing for my upcoming trip north for most of a week already. (I've been working on my route and stopping points now for several months!) While the packing has become "old hat" (even though I won't be wearing one), technology continues to change. THIS new blog site is proof of the ages-old military philosophy of, "If it ain't broke, replace it with something new."

So after hours and hours of putzing, experimenting, failing, tweaking, guessing, poking, and generally frustrating the crap out of myself, I finally got this darn blogging software installed and, with any luck, working! If you're reading this, you'll know I cracked a smile when this finally published!

Pensacola, Blue Angels, and Gerri Downs' Beach House

Okay, my Blog has been silent for quite a while. Sorry. But my bloggable trips have been few and far between lately. (I've been riding, just not blogging.)

For this trip, I packed up and headed south on May 27th for a quick overnight trip to the Gulf Coast.

I got off to a late start, despite actually getting up early for a change. I had several errands to run before leaving town, and didn't hit the highway until about Noon. Along the way I stopped to fill up with $4.18/gallon gas. I pulled into my planned campground (Big Lagoon State Park) at about 4 p.m. I pitched the tent and headed off for a little ride around the countryside.

Back in the Upper Midwest, there's a saying, "Knee-High by the Fourth of July." Unlike life around my house, this does not mean "weeds." Back up in Minnesota and Iowa, we're talking about corn. And "knee-high" corn by July 4 usually means a good crop is in the future. Obviously not down near the Gulf. I rode by one corn field where the corn was beautiful.

Tall and healthy -- and was as tall as I stand! Head-High by the end of May? It's amazing to think they'll be able to harvest that crop and plant another in the same year.

May 30, 2008

The campground was cool and quiet all night, and in the morning I headed down the road a short 6 miles to Pensacola Naval Air Station. There, a couple times a week, the Navy's Blue Angels practice their show, and it's open to the public. I was joined there by a small gathering of some 3,000 people. The show was, of course, spectacular. I've posted a few photos in my photo album. Since the Naval Air Museum is also right there, I spend a little time looking at a few of the aircraft available to look at. (I had to qualify it that way because MOST of the aircraft were roped off for some reason, so I could only get close to a few of the old birds.)

As always, my photos are on PicasaWeb - see the link at the top of the right-hand column.

I also experimented with a video from their show. Hopefully if you go to http://www.ray-vitam.com/BlueAngels1.wmv it will launch your Windows Media Player and play for you.

After the Blue Angels practice, I went back and packed up, then headed for Gerri's beach house about 100 miles down the coast. My trusty little GPS routed me down the highway that runs right along the coast. Interesting scenery -- huge apartment buildings, condos, houses, shacks, stores, tourist traps, gas stations, fast food eateries, hotels, resorts, and stop lights. And tourists. Lots and LOTS of tourists. I even caught a glimpse of a beach once!

I found Gerri's place, and spent several VERY relaxing hours with her on the pier. I remember Gerri saying, "This is the life." Twice. No, three times. Wait, maybe it was eight times. Okay, truth is I lost count! And she's right. What a great place, and a great way to live. (If only she didn't have to go back to work next week.) In all, had a GREAT time visiting with her in the sun and cool breeze coming in off the bay.

Fearing that maybe the weather forecasters might be right for a change, I headed home early to beat the rain. (Of course, they were wrong again, and the weather was perfect all the way.) And I'm happy to say that on the way home I was able to pass up a gas station touting the tempting offer of $4.28/gallon gas.

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