Day 7 – Sept 5

Today’s message is from the soft side – it is called “The Dance”

Riding motorcycle can be compared to dancing.  The rider is the lead dancer and the motorcycle is the partner.  To start with, both parties must suit up and fuel up for this will not be a short dance.  The appropriate shoes (or tires in one case) are required for the dance to be performed.  Once properly prepared, the rider must swing his leg over his partner and tightly squeeze the partner between his legs.  Next the rider must put his hands and feet on the controls provided by the partner – for this is the only means the rider has to tell the partner how to move during the dance.  Once the music has started, in the case the road begins, the rider and partner must become one to be successful at this dance.  The music is often very different depending on where the dance takes place.  Sometimes the music is very predictable and carries the same rhythm for a long time, such as when riding the freeway.  The more interesting dance happens when the roads are ever changing as when riding in the Ozarks.  Here the music is constantly changing tempo, rhythm, and the beat.  Up, down, right, left.  You never now what the music will bring you next.  The road may provide some suggestions about what is to come such as road signs, but the rider must be prepared for everything because sometimes there are unexpected curves. The rider and partner must but be perfectly coordinated to stay in rhythm with the music. Sometimes the music likes to through in a few surprises as well; it may be some rocks on the road or even a dead critter such as a skunk or armadillo (I have seen enough this trip to know!) Again, the rider and partner need to be prepared to change their dance moves to whatever the music brings.  Falling during this dance can be a real disaster.  The rider and partner are not pushing themselves to their edge but pushing enough to have a very spirited dance.  When rider and partner are in perfect harmony, there is nothing prettier, more satisfying, and more fulfilling than along dance with the partner of your dreams! 

For other news today, I left camp early today and adjusted my route slightly so I could make it Branson MO. today.  I was hoping to see a show but I wasn’t sure the timing was going to work out; fortunately, it has.  I have tickets for the Statler Brother Review.  For those unfamiliar with the Statler Brother, they were a famous county group made up of 4 guys that did amazing harmonies.  This is not the original group but rather a group that performs their songs.  I will provide a review of the show in tomorrow’s update.

As soon as I arrived in town, I found a state park (Table Rock State Park) and set up my tent and took a nice cold shower.  It was cooler today, only 97 for a high, but a shower was definitely in order.

Other than having a great dance with my partner today, one interesting event was that part of the route required that I take a ferry to get across a lake to continue with the road on the other side.  It added a unique experience for the day.

One other interesting note is how small and young the deer are here.  Every fawn I saw today still had spots on them!  I saw one along the road (it was no longer moving – if you get the point) and it couldn’t have been move then 18” tall.  I mentioned it to one person and he wasn’t sure why they were born so late this year.  Strange.

Tomorrow I will continue my route through Missouri.

Day 6 - Sept 4

Today's ride was awesome!  I now better understand why people like coming to the Ozarks to ride.  I don't think there is a bad road out here!  

However, there really isn't much to blog about.  I have attached a few photos of various views but after awhile they all look alike.  The roads just go from one mountain top down into the valley and then back up the other side.  The mountains are not that tall; only about 2,000 - 2500 feet.  This is no comparison to Colorado where the passes often exceed 10,000 feet. I would compare it more to the Blue Ridge Parkway area in North Carolina.  The good part about the mountains not being that high is that they build roads more easily so there are many great roads to choose from.  One of the roads is called the "Pig Tail"; as you can image based on the name, it is very twisty.

In the afternoon I did a loop that went into southern Missouri and then back into Oklahoma.  I am spending the night in a state park campground in Oklahoma tonight.  It seems that the state parks now consider this past their prime season so they don't always have people around to collect money for camping and they don't provide any means for you to leave them money either.  This is the second night in a row in a state park with no need to pay.  Both places even had showers and electricity available to use.  All the perks!

Tomorrow I will ride back into Arkansas and finish the loop there and then head into Missouri.  I am thinking about seeing a show in Branson but not yet sure if the timing will work out.

Today's mileage was 481 miles.  Total mileage is now 3,262 - that is a daily average of 632 miles per day!  I have now ridden in 9 states on this trip.

P.S. - Yes it was hot again today.  Just before pulling into the campground about 6:00PM, the temperature on the bike was showing 108 degrees.  A shower felt really good at that point.  The high in Branson for tomorrow is only showing 97 - cool front must be coming through!

Day 5 – September 3

In many ways, today’s ride was in sharp contrast to yesterday.  About the only thing they had in common was the heat.  Again it was as high as 104 degrees while riding.

Today’s ride was about the backroads that America was built on; yesterday was about the freeways that now move America!  I started the ride on Historic Route 66.  This road was built in the 1930’s and connected Chicago with the West Coast.  It connected many of the small towns in the heartland of America.  As usually happens, time changed and Route 66 was replaced with a freeway to move people faster.  The freeways bypassed the small towns and small town America has been on the decline since then. 

After Route 66 I headed south and east towards Arkansas.  I was actually surprised with how green and even hilly and mountainous part of Oklahoma is.  The greenest area I have seen since leaving home.  There is one section of Oklahoma County #1 (that leads to Arkansas) that rivals the Blue Ridge Parkway.  You ride along the top of the ridge and have vistas to view on many occasions.  The rest of the day was spent riding many roads in Arkansas.  It is definitely living up to its reputation as a great place to ride; and I have only just begun! Tomorrow I have many more roads to ride here.

Tonight I am having a “mountain top” experience.  I am staying at the Magazine Mountain State Park.  The park is set at the top of the mountain, again with many wonderful views.

That is all for day!

Day 4 - Sept 2

I was up bright and early and on the road today at 7:00.  About 5 miles into the ride, I learned that part of the route I had made was actually on unpaved roads - bummer.  I had to break out the map and find a way to detour around the unpaved section and then get back on track.  A little setback but no big deal.  It was a gorgeous morning - around 65 degrees.  One of the areas I went through had many uniquely southwest styled homes.  Very different than what you see in other areas.

After getting back on track, I finished my planned route for New Mexico and made a run for the border (Texas that is!).  The route from New Mexico into Texas and across Oklahoma (Oklahoma City is how far I made it today) was not very interesting which I expected but there were a few points I can share.

First was the temperature.  While it started out very nice and cool in the morning, it was around 95 degrees when I hit the Texas border.  The worst part is - it kept getting hotter!  All the way across Texas and Oklahoma, the temperature ranged between 95 and 104.  It took a lot of water to keep cool and hydrated.  I ended up staying in a motel tonight because I couldn't find a campground later in the evening when I was ready to stop for the night.  Earlier when I could find campgrounds, it was too hot to even think about setting up a tent - it was cooler to keep riding.  Oh well, a good cold shower and some A/C is feeling really good now.

On my way across Texas I stopped at a rest stop a found a very interesting sign - see the picture below.  You won't find one of these signs where I come from!

I also did stop at the Route 66 Museum in Elk City,Oklahoma.   When I arrived, they told me they were closing in 30 minutes.  I decided to pay the fee ($3.00) and do a quick tour as long as I was already there.  It turned out that 30 minutes was more than enough time.  I had high hopes but they were quickly dashed.  This is one museum I should have just driven by and saved my time.  Oh well.

I can also say the terrain wasn't very exciting to see along the way but it did change from the rocky, dessert-like areas of New Mexico and west Texas, to the area around Amarillo Texas where they did a little farming to the red soil of Oklahoma.  Near Amarillo Texas I saw the largest cattle feed lot I have ever seen - there must have been 10,000 cattle there.  It was over 1/2 mile long - it just kept going and going.  I am not sure where they got all the food to feed these cattle as there wasn't much near there for crops.

Along the entire route today, it made me realize again how much "nothingness" exists in the western part of the U.S.  You can drive for many miles and really not see anything or anyone.  It truly is an area of wide open spaces.  

Today's ride was 688 miles.  New total is now 2,250 miles.  I have now added 3 new states to my "states ridden in" list: New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.

Tomorrow I pick up Route 66 outside of Oklahoma City and ride a section of that.  From there it will be across the rest of the state and into Arkansas.  I am really looking forward to seeing the Ozarks there.  Everyone I talked to said it is really beautiful.  Time to find out for myself! 

Day 3 - September 1

When I left camp this morning, I was riding in the mountains of Southern Colorado in less than 30 minutes!  What a great way to start the day.  The weather was great all day long - mostly in the upper 60's and 70's.  That is great riding weather!

After leaving camp, I continue my route to the northeast part of New Mexico. The ride consisted of many mountain roads as well as some open valleys.  I have to tell you - a day of riding these mountains sure does good for the body, heart, and soul.  It is tough to beat!  I have attached just a few pictures from the day for you to enjoy – even though I know the pictures don’t do justice to the beauty of seeing it in person. 

One of the most interesting sites was the Rio Grande Gorge.  The river isn’t that large now, but it sure has made a big hole.

Today’s mileage was about 550 miles.  Grand total to date is almost 1,600 miles. 

Tonight I am staying at a KOA outside of Albuquerque NM.  Tomorrow I will continue to ride west across New Mexico and then across Texas and Oklahoma.  Tomorrow will be another one of those days were the sites may not be that great but needed to get to the next point on this adventure and “capture” some additional states to add to my “states I have ridden in” quest.

Day 2 - August 31

The intent for today was to put on as many miles as I can to get through the least exciting part of the trip.  Mission accomplished!  I left mom and dad’s at about 5:30 (before the sun was even up) to get started.  Less than 12 hours later I had ridden across Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and cross the border into Colorado.  By evening, I had ridden over 900 miles.  I am spending the evening in Lathrop State Park near Walsenburg Colorado.  The scenery is just about to change.

I did see a couple of interesting things I saw on the ride today.  The first was the disappearing moon.  Early in the day, as the moon was lower in the horizon, at one point it just began to disappear from the bottom to the top.  In a matter of a few minutes, it was totally gone!  Because it was still dark, you could not see that the moon was disappearing behind a cloud – the line across the moon as it disappeared was so perfectly flat, it looked like someone was just hiding the moon.  It was an assume sight I had never seen before!

In Oakley Kansas I did get of the motorcycle (yes I do that!) and took a picture of the moment in recognition of Wild Bill as this is his home town.

It is hard to explain how dry it is in most of this region.  The crops are in very bad shape.  In Nebraska they have already harvested some of the corn as it has been that dry already.  The grazing pastures have nothing for the cattle to eat – I don’t know what they are living on.

Along the way I went through Columbus Nebraska.  The town looked very familiar.  I believe I went to a demolition derby with my brothers here a few years ago.  I think I even went by the hotel we stayed at.  It was kind a spooky that I recognized the town after only being there once for 1 day!

Tomorrow the fun begins. I will be heading New Mexico near Toas for some fun riding.

Day 1 - August 30

Today was a planned short day just to get started.  I left my home and went to visit my parents for the evening.  We had a good visit.  Dad is doing better know after his heart procedure.  They found out a antibiotic hey had given was causing some problems for him.  Now that it is out of his system he is feeling much better.  Today’s ride was only about 100 miles – but the trip has begun!