2017, our only rally.

9-9-17 on our way to Eureka Springs.

Because work severely got in the way this year, this is the only rally we will get to. Melanie thought she was going to have to work this morning, but got everything done on Friday, so we left Saturday morning.

Melanie wanted to go through the Sandhills of Nebraska, and after a few evenings of looking at routes and times, it came down to taking the route we did to avoid some morning thunderstorms.

Melanie likes to ride near the train tracks, and the trains go right along highway 2, and she got several of them to honk this time.

The wind was fairly strong out of the south, with gusts over 25. We have ridden in stronger winds, but it isn't fun. The wind finally let up when we got near Grand Island, NE. When we got to Grand Island, we got a room at the Travelodge. The room was a streetside and the street noise was a little loud, but we have had worse. That was the worst thing about the room. When we got unpacked, we went for food and ate at the Texas Tbone Steakhouse that was on the back side of the motel, and the food was delicious! A little spendy, but there was more than enough, we went away full!

466 miles, with wind all the way.

Day 2, a little family time

Today we went from Grand Island, NE to Mayetta, KS to visit Melanies niece. We hadn't seen her for a couple of years, and it was on our way, soooooo.... we imposed!

The day was windy all day again, and it started out as rain, so we messed around in Walmart waiting for the rain to move on. We again chose a route that would keep us driest, and that ended up being I-80, a road Melanie doesn't like because it is so busy, but it did help us skirt the rain.

A note here, our Motochello bike communications was giving us both fits, so we ended up not using them, just shutting things off. Today I am really regretting spending all that money on this system. The Autocomm system worked much better, but the speakers aren't as good. This was the most frustrating part of the day, without a doubt.

We actually spent the night at the Prairie Band Casino and Lodge. It is a VERY nice place.

We spent several hours visiting, and had a great time. We really enjoy visiting with them, and got a tour of their house. It is an old farmhouse with lots of character and great old hardwood floors throughout, the kind of place we both love.

245 miles, mostly dry, just a little moist in spots.

Day 3, a small diversion for our other passion.

We slept in, and enjoyed the incredibly comfortable beds in the Prairie Band Casino. After a late start and an excellnt $4.99 breakfast buffet we finally got on the road. Our diversion was to Chanute, KS at Kansas RV. They have a smaller 5th wheel I wanted to look at. After looking at it, we decided the only thing we didn't like was the residential fridge. We boondock too much to not have a propane fridge in our RV. We left their and were on our final leg to Eureka Springs, AR. We love this area, and the group that always gathers here, and we had to miss last year because of work. When we got there, I thought there would be very few people there, but I was surprised at the number of "regulars" that were there already. It definitely made it worth coming down a day early.

324 miles, dry, very little wind and very little traffic.

9-12-17, day 4

We made our required trip to Lamberts in Ozark, MO. The food was excellent again, and we went away full, again. After we left there, we went to Bass Pro Shops. It is the largest in the country, or maybe even world. After we wandered around for a while, we realized we have been there before. This time we watched the fish feeding show, and it was kind of fun and educational, with the diver talking about the different fish he was feeding. It was a fun day with 

Hotsauce, Margo and Hancock. His real name is Will Smith, he is from the Omaha area, and he if fun to be around, and he said he will be back again next year. There might have been some alcohol involved with him getting the nickname of a superhero that drinks...... .

It was a nice loop, this area has GREAT roads. Almost better than the Black Hills.

9-13-17, day 5

An easy day, we went to Turpentine Creek, a large cat "refuge" where they take lions and tigers that people think would make good pets, until they realize they get big. Some people are just simply morons.

Turpentine Creek

Almost everyone that is coming is here now, there were a surprising number of people here when we got here on Monday afternoon

9-14-17

Not much riding today, lots of visiting with people we don't get to see often enough. We went down town and ate at the Oasis, another must do when we are here, the food is always outstanding. There were a couple of surprises for us today. Mark and Amy Fulcher showed up very late, and we stayed up to greet them, it was well worth it seeing Mark soing so well after fighting cancer. The other surprise was the Millers showed up. Melanie was so happy she was texting Denise getting regular updates on when they would arrive. Tom bought a nearly new BMW R1200RT, so now I am not the only BMW here. 

We had a group meal at the Forest Hill Resturaunt. It is a buffet, and nearly the whole group made it.

9-15-17

After a late night of drinking and visiting, and staying up to see Mark and Amy, Melanie slept in, and I went on a small ride around town, then got breakfast at McDonalds for us. I also got some for in the morning so we can get going. Sadly, this is coming to an end. They always go too fast.

Here are some pictures I have taken at various times throughout the week.

A panorama of the Kaw Pasture

Hmmm, they match. Sandy said something about a threesome, but Skid wasn't around.

Denise wasn't liking having her picture taken with helmet hair, but we all get it. Well, almost all of us.

Tom is pointing out a water spot on his nearly new bike.

We ride by this place every year, so I thought I would get a couple of pictures of the ES&NA line equipment.

The inside of the Oasis. Google shows it as being permanently closed, but I can prove it isn't. This place is much better than there old location.

Here are some pictures from the wonderful meal we had thanks to Hotsauce and Margo, and Dave and Sharon.

Here our chefs are checking on things.

These were some amazing ribs.

People are starting to gather around the great odors of meat smoking. If you click to get the bigger picture, you will see that Sandy already has her food. She does have a reputation.

Tom found a new drink from Mickey D!

I think Lanny is trying to take a picture of a bunch of cats.

Melanie didn't think this would turn out, since it was dark out.

Tomorrow morning we head for home. It will be two long boring days, but the previous week has made it all worth it.

9-16-17, The Road Home

We both woke up when it was just getting light out, so we were ready to go about sunrise. It was a chilly morning, but some of the views across AR 62 were beautiful, with the fog down in the valleys, and we were above the fog with the sun coming up.

The wind was light until we got almost to Omaha, then the wind changed, the temperature dropped from the upper 70s to the mid 60s in the course of two miles. We had been going about 150 to 160 miles between gas stops, and we had to go to around 120 because the wind was so strong. My on bike mileage went from 46 for the trip to 43, in just about 200 miles. 

We got to Mitchell, SD  while it was still light out, about 10 and a half hours later. We stayed at the Budget Inn, after checking several motels that were booked full. The motels away from the interstate all seemed to have rooms available. We ordered a pizza from Marcos, and it was delicious.

The motel is older, but nice and clean.

9-17-17, Home

That means work and work around the house.
We had a mostly good day, except for a pretty strong side wind the last hundred miles. It was also very cool. As in 42 degrees when we woke up, so we messed around and went to the grocery store near the motel for a coffee and breakfast at the deli. It was ok, not bad, but not great. The temps stayed in the 50s to low 60s all day.

Here are some other blogs that are worth looking at, and I want access to because I always forget their addresses.

Sherms blog

Lannys blog

Skids blog

Cat's Memorial and Final Aebleskiver Get Together

July 15, 2017

This is going to be a year with a lot of miles. We are doing a trip to finish out riding the west coast. We have done Washington and Oregon, and now we are going to finish California.

Today we left home and rode to Casper, WY. to check out an Arctic Fox dealer. We are starting to look for a new or newer Fox, and they had one we wanted to look at. It turned out to be one that we wouldn't consider, but we had to look. After that, we decided to go on to Riverton, WY. I got us two hours closer to Lava Hot Springs, ID. We stayed there once before, and knew we would go back, so we are.

On the way there, about half way, we were enjoying a tail wind when all of a sudden we got hit with an extremely strong side wind that had us struggling for a few minutes. The wind was strong enough that it pushed an oncoming pickup partially into our lane, but he got back before he got to us. Melanie was sure we were going to get wet, but we didn't even have enough sprinkles to clean the bugs off our windshields.

Anyway, we got to Riverton and they had a car show and other goings on here, that had the US highway through town closed. So we found our way through town to the Days Inn, and they had nothing but smoking rooms, so we weren't staying there. They sent us to Roomers, and it is a neat and clean little mom and pop motel that we would definitely stay at again. The guy that checked us in had the AC started in our room when we got here, that is service! He also recommended a place called Trailhead Family Resturant and it was excellent food.

364 miles.

July 16, 2016

An uneventful but windy day of some very nice Wyoming scenery. The biggest problem we had was passing a gas stop, so by the time we got to Kemmerer, WY we both needed a bathroom and gas, in that order. I had a brief problem with the new Motochello com system I was using. It quit doing anything with the microphone or two way radio. I did a factory reset on it and it worked after that.

The Atlantic City area needs to be researched more. There was water at the base of the workings by the highway that was some of the bluest water I have seen. We stayed at the Home hotel in Lava Hot Springs again. This is a neat but very touristy town, with river tubing the biggest draw.

300 miles 

Todays route

July 17, 2016

We wanted to get an early start, but that didn't really happen. I was hoping to be in Pocatello, ID for breakfast by 7 am, and we just got out of the hotel at 7 am.  Oh well, we are on vacation. It is going to be our long day an the way to the coast, and the wind and weather looked good. We were able to make good time, and took the interstate for about half the day. That meant we were able to run 80, and we were able to talk all day, even at 80. I did have a problem with having to do another factory reset on my Motochello. I am going to be calling them about this. After we got to Bend, OR, we decided to go to Crescent, OR, and we had our worst weather of the day. We ran into a few heavy sprinkles, so we stopped so Melanie could put on her chaps and her jacket liner. After we did that, we headed out on the last 20 miles, and didn't get 5 miles down the road and we hit the rain, and it was pretty heavy. Melanie swears there was hail, but I think it was just heavy raindrops. You know, the big ones that three of them can soak you when you are walking. Well, whatever it was, it did sting when it hit you. And, to make things better, we got behind an extremely safe, nervous clown in a car who decided 40 was a good speed. That won't even let the rain blow off the windshield or helmet visor. We were in the rain for about 10 miles, then we were in dry roads and sunshine. Fortunately, I was able to turn on the front seat heater to help dry out my pants, so it didn't look like I wet myself when we pulled into a town that didn't get any rain. It is now 5 hours after we got here, and I am still hearing about how hard the wet "hail" was.
I am sure I will have to change this post when She reads this!

After we got here we ate supper at the Mohawk restaurant. They had really good food, a huge bottle collection, and lots of stuffed animals of all types.

631 miles, and much talk of how hard the golf ball size hail was.

Oh wait, it might have been watermelon size. ;)

Our route for today

July 18, 2016

It was a dark and stormy morning.  Actually a thunderstorm. We were going to get an early start, but we didn't want to start with getting wet. So we went across the street to the same place, and had an excellent bisquits and gravy. After eating, the rain had stopped, and we got packed up. It was an hour ride to Crater Lake National Park, and it was cool, like 50. On the way to the lake inside the park, when we got to the first pull off to see the lake, the fog was moving in, with some clouds. Melanie talked to some people from Iowa while I took pictures, then we moved on. Then it started to rain again. Fairly heavy rain, so it was hard to see through the windshield, helmet, or glasses. And there was construction, with gravel. Melanie doesn't like gravel. Luckily it didn't last long, and neither did the rain. Well, I thought I was going to have to come back here again. This was my second time trying to get good pictures of Crater Lake. We stopped at the visitor center, Melanie bought a shirt, and we each ate a really expensive sub.

The up side to spending the money, was that the fog burned off, and it was then only partly cloudy, so I did get some beautiful shots, and Melanie got her first stamp in her National Parks Passport book.

We finally left the park after 3 or 4 hours there, and had a nice fun ride towards the 101 and the coast. It is as pretty as I remembered, but it was foggy and/or overcast so I only took a picture for the blog.

We ended up at the Eagle House Victorian Inn in Eureka CA room 43. The woner offered to let us park our bikes in the ball room, but we declined. It would have made one heck of a picture though. Our room was on the top floor and overlooked the town and the bay. The restaurant had the best Halibut fish and chips we have had.

About 320 miles, but google won't cooperate right now to load a map.

July 19, 2016

We expected to start the day with fog and drizzle, but it didn't happen, but we didn't get as early a start as we hoped. We headed south a short distance on 101 and then took a planned detour on to Avenue of the Giants. That is a must do road if you are ever in the area, whether on a motorcycle or car. It is beautiful. I took more pictures here than on the coast. After a relaxing time spent in the dark canyons these huge trees provide, we got back on 101 and headed for 1 to ride  the coast. Well, we got to the turnoff and got on 1, but it took what seemed like a couple of hours to get the short distance tot he coast. It doesn't show up on the maps, but it is about 30 miles of seemingly linked hairpin turns. They aren't quite that bad, but when you aren't expecting it, it was something! That stretch of rode is FUN, but really slow when you are trying to put down some miles. We stopped for lunch at a place called Jennies Giant Burger, a local burger joint and enjoyed a delicious hamburger and fried, then headed out again. Melanie mentioned getting back on 101 to make some time, and I agreed. When we got to the turnoff, I had talked myself out if it. I came here to ride the coast, and riding inland wasn't riding the coast. When I stopped to talk with her about it, there was a sign that said Highway 1 closed in 20 miles. Knowing we were on a road that would get us where we were going, and knowing that we were getting back on 1 at the Golden Gate Bridge, I figured she was right. We should take 101. The bridge was shorter than I had expected, but every bit as scenic, and there was no problems with the wind, there are enough barriers to protect you from the wind. At the south end of the bridge, we missed our exit so we went into town a little ways to get gas, and look at a map. Google wanted us to go back toward the bridge and take the exit we missed, and we ended up doing just that. So we got another look at the pretty bridge. Well, through all our mistakes and lack of planning, we were now in the middle of rush hour, so 1 was a parking lot at times. We also had to go through  Santa Cruz yet, so we ended up with that near parking lot speed also. After we got in, we ate at The Beach House at Lovers Point Inn. We had gotten in later than we planned, but luckily we were still in time to eat, and we had a shot of good tequila, after Melanie said she could use a shot. We didn't get to the beach here, and we went to bed early so we could meet Don and Mike for a tour of 17 Mile Drive and the Pebble Beach area, where motorcycles are not allowed.

415 miles.

July 20, 2016

203 miles, but it took us all day. The 17 Mile Drive is amazing. This is where the one percent people live.
After that we got headed to Solvang. It was another fun and very scenic drive. We didn't take many pictures, because it is just like you see in the pictures, and I didn't know if more pictures were needed. We did go by the Hearst Castle, the same Hearsts that were in Lead. We also saw a large group of elephant seals sunning themselves on the shore. We ended up in some more traffic, partially because our timing wasn't good this trip. 

This finished out the coast for us.

July 21, 2016

Today we did a short group ride, and we saw the entrance gate to Neverland, some baby shetland ponies, and we stopped at some lavender fields. we went back to town early and walked around town with Don, Mike, and Kate. It is an interesting town, but definitely a tourist trap town.

July 22, 2016

Today we went to the motorcycle museum, and it is really one mans collection of very rare bikes. It is a VERY impressive collection, and he also gave us a tour of the bikes he doesn't have ready for the museum.

After that, we headed to the coast for a Jalama burger, on Jalama beach. It was a nice group ride, at a nice relaxing pace, but the road was pretty rough in spots.

The burger was good, with an interesting sauce. Melanie finally got on a beach, but forgot her kite, and it was definitely windy enough for it.

After that, I checked the bikes over and we spent one last evening with the group. saying goodbyes to these people is always difficult.

July 23, 2016

We were hoping to leave by 6, but we were on the road at 6:30 PDT. We had a long hot day ahead of us so we wanted to get as much cool riding as possible. We also got one more chance to see the coast and ocean on our route home. By the time we got to Barstow, CA the temps were over 100 degrees F. and at Baker, CA the temps were 111 and rising. I saw a high of 118 on my bike, and it seems to be pretty accurate. By the time we got to Las Vegas, we were stopping every 50 miles to soak our cooling vests and take in more Gatorade. We made it to st George about an hour later than we planned, but the time we spent in the beer cave at a c-store in Mesquite, NV was time well spent!

504 miles in 2 cool and 9 hot hours.

July 24, 2016

We got a late start again. We got rolling at 8, and I was hoping to be at Zion NP by 8. Oh well, I won't set an alarm when we are on the bikes. I figure if we don't get up, we needed the sleep.

We woke up to 86 degrees, and after yesterday, it felt cool. The ride through Hurricane was nice, and we got to the park before it got too busy. We did go through a town called Virgin, and I thought they could sell t shirts with the town name huge, and Utah in very small print. I laughed about that one several times.

I thought that US 89 out of the park was better than the park itself, except for the mile long tunnel. We also saw about a dozen big horn sheep shortly after the tunnel, on the side of a big hill. We have to go back to the southern Utah parks, and just spend time there.

The high temp today was 104, which was still hot, but nothing like yesterday. But it was on I-70, and there isn't a more scenic interstate that I have been on. At least until you get to Denver on it, then it sucks like all the rest of them.

484 miles, almost all of them scenic.

July 25, 2016

We got another later start, on the road shortly before 8 am. Mal and 'Vette were great, and we love spending time together. It seems the time is always too short.

I wanted to go through the Glenwood canyon, since I haven't done it for several years. Well, I should have taken my normal route through Craig and Steamboat Springs. When we got to the turnoff for CO 131 there was a DOT trailer sign that said something about the road being closed, but there wasn't time to read the sign in traffic. It turned out to be closed at State Bridge. We had to turn around and go through Denver. The traffic wasn't too bad, but it was worse than Las Vegas, but 25 degrees cooler. After what seemed to take forever, we made it to Guernsey, WY. I checked the tires, and this time they all looked good. It really only took us that half hour longer I lost to get home. It seemed longer, but we rolled in the driveway at 6 pm on the dot.

577 miles including the unfortunate detour.

3595 highway miles, not including the side trips and rides we did while at Solvang. We were on the move a lot during this trip, more than normal, but we did lots of things we wanted to do, so it was a good trade off.
The redwoods were phenomenal, and the coast in California turned out to be good, but not as good as Oregons.

WWR X

June 17, 2016

We worked things out so we could leave a day early, and we went to Laramie, WY. The weather was 10 degrees cooler today than is was supposed to be tomorrow, so we got closer to the Rockies. It was a fun and uneventful ride, and we met Austin in Wheatland, WY. I don't knos if we would stay at the Laramie Super 8 again. The rooms were clean, and quiet, but the lobby and hallways were scary. They could use a lot of paint. It is good to see the Bass Boat make it to one more rally.

285 easy miles.

https://goo.gl/maps/Hy734CjUQFH2

June 18, 2016

We got a good start to the day. and stopped in Steamboat Springs for a while. There was a Mustang Rally going on, and it had traffic absolutely snarled. There was also a zero waste event going on, as well as a bicycle polo game going on.

Austin bought a clamp for his GoPro to mount on his engine guards.

We went to Joe and Yvettes and had a great time with them as always. We had two excellent meals, and got to play with their new dog Leia. The drive from our house to theirs is one of my favorite day long rides, we just broke it into two days to beat the heat and spend some time in Steamboat Springs.

255 miles.

https://goo.gl/maps/QPmnwmkgrtJ2

June 19, 2016

After a great breakfast, we headed west on I-70 to Arches National Park. We have driven by several times, and this time we decided to stop. It was good, but it was almost too hot to fully enjoy the scenery. The temps were in the upper 90s, and probably broke 100. We were anxious to get going, and we headed to Mexican Hat, UT. About half way there, I noticed something on my rear speaker grill, and Austin had bought  magnet and put it there.

We stayed at the San Juan Inn, and there was a great restaurant across the parking lot, and they had great fry bread. After a very good meal, Austin and I ran down to Monument Valley, and took a bunch of pictures. We got back about dark and enjoyed some nice 3.2 beer, and called it a night.

298 miles, with an additional 48 to Monument Valley and back for Austin and I.

https://goo.gl/maps/fggJ5CepX2v

June 20, 2016

We left early again, trying to get some miles on before the heat got bad again.

We had a nice short day going to the Grand Canyon. Melanie and I have been there before but Austin hadn't. He was impressed. We had a great time, with some difficulties getting our hotel room. After getting a shower and cooling off from the upper 90s temps, we went out and took way too many pictures, but we don't get there often. We met a couple from the Rapid City area that are now full time RVing, and he drives a bus there. We also met a family from Tasmania Australia, and had fun watching the sunset with them. They were an interesting family. They were doing a car show circuit, and got some time off to do some tourist stuff.

197 hot, pretty miles.

https://goo.gl/maps/UuLiqrorSzR2

June 21, 2016

Today was a hot mad dash to Taos, NM, the site of WWR X. We got a good early cool start, but soon the temps were over 95, and it broke 100 for the second day of this trip. The cooling vests were well worth every penny we paid for them.

This was an uneventful day, just trying to get there, and we pushed hard, but it is hard to make time when you have to stop to cool off and stay hydrated. We did pass by the meteor crater site, and if it hadn't been so hot we would have stopped, but all of us wanted to keep going to get it over with. It was a relief getting to Taos, but we didn't realize the traffic would be as bad as it is. We didn't spend enough time looking for directions to the hotel, but we found it thanks to a large bill board on the edge of town. The shower was wonderful, after we finally got a room. There was a thunderstorm right before we got to town, and they couldn't check us in for quite a while. It all worked out though. Things usually do.

540 hard hot miles.

https://goo.gl/maps/Tae1n6sN83U2

June 22, 2016

Our first day of WWR X. Today there was a group ride to Los Alamos. We didn't go with the group. We were still regrouping when the group left. We did go to the Bradbury Museum, and we met the group there and ate at the pizza place next door, and many of the group were there. They made an awesome crust on their pizza, and Mal decided to have a bacon salad with a topping of bacon!

We did an indirect route, going over the Rio Grande Gorge. I din't even think about it not being in Texas, but the suspension bridge was cool. It really shook when heavy trucks went over it. There were also three bighorn sheep males there. It was a neat experience. One thing about Taos, they could really use some additional traffic controls, and maybe time their traffic lights better. Traffic was always heavy, with only one lane in each direction. For supper we went to the next door place, Taos Ale House.

168 miles, not counting any beer runs, or other short runs we made.

Todays riding.

June 23, 2016

Today the group was doing the "Enchanted Circle" route. This is a scenic ride around the mountains around Taos. There were a few of us that did not go with the main group. we went the opposite direction, hoping to cut down on the traffic we had to deal with. Our evil plan worked very well, and we also had very little traffic on the whole ride. We did meet up with the group at Red River, and had a nice visit. We found a place that sold jerky, and I think everyone in the group bought some. On the  way, we went through Angel Fire, and it is a great skiing destination, with the ski slope visible from the highway. Our little group was the two of us on the BMW, Austin on the Bass Boat, Cargo on his Vaquero, "Vette" on her 1500 Drifter, and Mal on his very nice Victory Cross Country without a trunk. Cargo and Austin switched rides at Red River, and Austin really liked the Vaquero, but still thinks he wants a Concours. We will see how that turns out. Again, we ate at the Taos Ale House, which was right next door.

Our round trip was 84 miles.

Our small ride today.

June 24, 2016

We didn't do any riding today, we just hung around, and visited, as did most people. I did get the bikes checked over and fueled for the ride home tomorrow. We walked to Michaels Kitchen for an awesome breakfast. They were also a bakery, and Melanie had a blueberry donut, Austin and I passed. That is one thing we had noticed, everywhere we ate, the food was amazing, and the portions were almost too big for us. 

June 25, 2016

We got a good early start, and decided to wait on breakfast until we got a few miles in. We were trying to make time in the cool part of the day. It was going to be another hot day, which is all we had since we left home. We finally stopped at a Carls Jr in Walensburg, CO. It was just a place to stop, and the first fast food we came across. It was starting to warm up. I didn't put on any warm clothes, although Melanie did. I was very thankful for a heated seat and grips! Austin was just cold on the Nomad. Things went good until we got to Colorado Springs, Austin wanted to stop at a junkyard to buy some wheels for his car, and they were closed. After that, when we got to Denver, the interstate turned into a parking lot for several miles. I don't know why, but that happens in cities. After we got clear of that, speeds picked up, even with the traffic. We stopped at a  Chick-Fil-A that Austin knew about in Loveland. I like the food, it actually has flavor, and even though there was a big line, they move pretty well. After that, it was on to Cheyenne for a fuel stop, and Austin was going to go one way, and we were going another. We ended up staying on the interstate until Wheatland, and the side wind was pretty bad. We didn't have any wind that day until Cheyenne, and there, you just expect the wind to blow. Our next gas stop was Guernsey, and that is where I noticed a large bulge in my rear tire. I slowed down to 35-40 mph, and finally told Melanie to go home, call a friend that has the same model BMW, and borrow his spare tire and wheel, get in the car and meet me wherever that was.

She misunderstood, and was waiting for me at Lusk , but had our friends on the way. I told her there to go home, there was nothing she could do. I pulled over at Mule Creek Junction to check the tire, and it wasn't really changing, but I didn't have cell service, so I couldn't contact her. As I was getting back to the bike, our friends pulled in next to me. It was a huge relief getting a good tire on that heavy bike. After 100 miles at 35 mph, 75 sure felt fast! That was the biggest problem of the trip, so it turned out to be a good trip. I should have taken more pictures, but we still got some good ones. It was an awesome, although hot, trip. It will definitely be one that we will remember, and Austin got in his first motorcycle trip. I think he now understands why we like doing this.

664 mostly enjoyable miles.

The route with the stops.

This put us right at 2500 miles for this trip, and it was by far the hottest we have done. The cooling vests work very well, and sunscreen would have helped my nose , after Arches NP, but it was worth it!

EUREKA!!!! 2015

We are on our way to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

This is a shot of the bikes already loaded, at breakfast at the Gold Country Inn in Deadwood, on our way out of town.

Today was a good day, with not much wind. We did have one minor detour that ended up on us having to go on about 7 or 8 miles of gravel road south of Chamberlain. Trouble wasn't a fan of that. AT ALL! We ended up at Days Inn in Yankton, SD.

409 miles today.

Day Two

We started the day in Yankton with our normal McDs breakfast. It was a cool 50 degrees to start the day, but it started warming up quickly. We had a high of about 83 degrees, and a south wind all day. We happened to be going south. All day. It was windy, but it was better than a side wind for sure. 

We stopped at a small town in Kansas to visit Troubles niece. We had a nice visit after getting to the Sonic. I wanted to get something to eat earlier, but she said to just go to the town we were stopping at anyway. She thought it was only 20 miles, but it was over an hour. I was hungry!

Other than that, the day was uneventful. I like those days. We ended up at the Super 8 in Chanute Kansas, and we are going to the Kansas RV Center in the morning. I meant to get  picture of a large steam locomotive they had in a city park, but I forgot.

441 miles today, and no pictures. It was Nebraska and Kansas after all!

Day Three - Monday

We started the day looking at 5th wheel campers at Kansas RV Center. We are just looking at ideas for retirement or at least full time living. We looked at several very nice, very expensive units, but we both liked the Alpha Gold. It was more reasonably priced, and very high quality.

After we left there, we just meandered along in the general direction of Springfield Missouri. We didn't know how bad the winds would be, and didn't want to commit to any one route. When we got north of Joplin, we decided things were going well enough to go to Lamberts for our annual stop. On our way there, we ended up on Mo highways 97 and 96, and they were fabulous roads. Smooth, and newly surfaced. After that, we headed south on 65 towards Berryville. I had forgotten how nice that ride is. They have great motorcycle roads in this area. It is part of the reason we keep coming here.


This guy wanted a ride I think. It was there when I took the cover off.

 This is early in the rally, and this year seems to be a 4 wheel rally. We are all getting older, and medical issues forced many people to bring cars instead of bikes.

Here Moparman was showing Badger his sausages. Seriously.

Once we got here, it was great getting to see everyone. Waterman and I did a count, and there were 11 Hondas, 6 Vulcans, 1 Yamaha, and 1 BMW at the Vulcan rally. Reverse has been to ES on two wheels, three wheels, and now four wheels. They said next year she might try a unicycle!

We took a car last year, and we had just as much fun as we have any other year. Funny how that works. We also noticed that whenever we wanted to go somewhere, people were more than happy to ride with us.

253 fun and easy miles today.

Day Four

We started with breakfast at this place.

The sign was right. None of us died. Yet.

 Here was a bunch of the breakfast group. Wompass and Monteign are in the light.

After breakfast, I walked across the street and bought a couple dodads for the BMW. Everyone has to tell a story when they find out you ride a BMW. I think that might be my least favorite thing about the bike so far. BUT, there have been some pretty neat stories.

Trouble was worried about where I got off to after breakfast, and they found me at this shop. Here is a gaggle of VROCers hustling across the busy road.

I couldn't resist. I wanted to get a bunch more of the Honda bunch, but before I got it done, someone went and pulled a Vulcan in near it. I don't know what they were thinking!

Here is a before picture of a bunch of the girls heading out for a small "bachelorette party". They headed downtown Eureka Springs for some hooting and hollering. Oh yeah, and some "**** whistle blowing".

Here is just a mess of pictures of the "RETURN"!

Who would ever expect Zmean1 to get out of a PINK limo?????

There were enough of them that the limo had to make two trips, but everyone had fun.