Mellow's Blog

4 States / 4 Fools - 8/13-21

2010-08-22T14:50:00.015-05:00

Colorado
Utah
Arizona
New Mexico

A great time
was had
by all.

Fri- Aug 13th

Dallas, TX to Fritch, TX (395 Miles)

I left around noon for the hot ride (106 degrees) to the Lake Meridith area.

I pulled over on the side of the road about 120 miles from Fitch, TX to put a cover over my tank bag, it was beginning to rain.

I hear on the CB "hey, should we stop to help this guy?" just as I hit my blinker and I recognized the voice as being Rick (Trailace). LOL

He and Khris (Tankereng) were right behind me. When they passed, I pulled in behind and we had a good laugh. We did not plan on meeting up until the campground and with me not knowing my exact departure time it was dumb luck we all met along the way.

We made it to the Fritch Campground and setup then headed into town to find some food - subway was the meal of the evening. While there, we got a call from Steve (Buzz) saying he was just about 30 miles away.

It was hot so we filled our camelbaks using the water dispenser at subway - well, with my camelbak I kept hitting the soda buttons trying to get ice or just water and making more of a mess than anything else.... this wouldn't be the 1st time I did this... LOL

We got back to the campground and Steve showed up just a few minutes later. The gang was all there. The beer for the night - Land Shark.

Sat - Aug 14th

Fritch, TX to Blue Mesa Res (568 Miles)

When we woke up the next morning, I found out Lake Meridith has it's own Loc Ness Monster.

This is a recreational lake so there were people up and talking, laughing, driving, etc up to 2am... We got up and hit the road by 7AM, I'm somewhat embarrassed as I accidentally hit my horn while leaving. I need to work on my anger issues more.

Back to the ride - Rick and I already had CBs on our bikes but Rick had an old one and had been thinking about getting it replaced. Khris decided to get one and so Rick did too... that left Steve as the loner... so, he emailed us that he was having one put on at a dealer. Well, the other 3 of us installed ours ourselves... so, we had discussed playing a joke on Steve. Every now an thing we'd say how bad the road was and then we would pretend to ignore Steve so he would think there was a loose wire or his CB wasn't working...

Flashback: On the 1st big trip Steve, Rick and myself were on, Steve hooked up a handheld CB that worked a couple days and then was useless and he was just cussing at it the whole trip.

Coming out of the campground, Steve mentioned how great of a morning it was for riding. I said "hey Rick, is that you?" and he replied "No, I didn't say anything". A couple minutes later Rick would say how great of a morning it was and Steve would reply "I just said that!!!" and I'd say, "Is someone saying something? I hear the mic key up but no words", Steve would say "It's me, can anyone hear me?".... silence...

Well, that lasted just 20 miles or so to the 1st gas stop... I walked over to Steve and told him his CB was working fine and we were messing with him... he was just about ready to rip the thing off the bike.. LOL

We rode to Trinidad, CO and then the Highway of Legends (hwy 12) .

We visited the Bishop Castle along the way as well.

When we left, we went through La Veta, CO. I had told Rod (Old2Wheeler) we could have lunch if the timing was right but we stopped in Trinidad for breakfast/lunch... I was able to catch up with him in the middle of town long enough to say hi and shake his hand, nice guy and sorry we were in a rush to get to camp.

We made it to the Elk Creek campground near the Blue Mesa Reservoir which is about 15 miles from Gunnison, CO. We planned on staying here 4 nights so we didn't have to break down camp as much.

After the tents were setup, we headed into town for dinner and ended up at The Trough Restaurant - great food and an interesting menu.

Back to the campground, the beer for the night - Wooly Booger - picked out by the New Guy (Khris), great beer and a good selection.

Sun - Aug 15th

Loop 1 - Hwy 92/Hwy 133/Mt Evans/US 24 (558 Miles)

This was a pretty full day of riding. Hwy 92 is always a great ride along the Gunnison National Forest. It was a nice cool morning and Khris lead through this section up to around Hwy 133, another great road full of sweepers.

After this section we hit I-70 to head towards Mt Evans (Hightest Paved Road in the U.S.) only to run into construction for what seemed like 20 miles. The freeway was stop and go so we rode along the shoulder and I'm sure there are cagers that didn't appreciate it, we did ease some of the congestion by removing bikes from the equation.

We exited towards Mt Evans and it was close to 11AM so there was lots of cars/bikes going up and down the road. No big deal, you don't want to screw up on that road anyway, you'd just keep falling...

I could feel the altitude when we got to the top, slight shortness of breath but hey, it's 14,264 feet, what do you expect?

We stayed at the top for just a bit and then started heading back as it was a long day. When we got back on the freeway a couple vipers with race numbers on the side passed up.... well, what would YOU do? Anyway, we made good time for a section.

We got back to the Gunnison area and stopped at Mario's Pizza for dinner, excellent food!!! Then, back to the campground.

Mon - Aug 16th
Loop 2 - Hwy 149/US 160/ US 550 (425 Miles)

Losts of rain this morning, but it made for some great views.

The rain was on and off and most of the day. On the way south we had a little glitch with the GPS route and I needed to do a u-turn in an RV Park driveway, there was a bit of gravel there. When I got back on the road I looked back to see a strange site - the new guy (Khris) had decided he'd had enough riding and just threw his bike down... didn't quite understand it, but he must have gotten over it as he picked it up faster than you can grab a camera and was back on it and on the road. Geesh, we wouldn't have taken any pictures... really... I think.. That's 1 of 4.

Later, Rick had to pee something bad. Couldn't wait the 15 miles down the mountain road as we just pulled up behind a slow 18-wheeler. So, he and Steve pulled off, Khris and I kept going. Well, apparently after Rick got off his bike and found 'a place to go' his bike decided to fall over, that's 2 of 4.

Once we got about 3/4 of the way through US 550 (The Million Dollar Highway) the rain subsided and we could have some fun on drier roads.

We pulled over at a gas station to take off our rain gear, but then it looked like it was going to open up again, a look at the radar confirmed it.. so, after taking off our rain gear - duh - we put it back on.. While we were parked there a guy came up and said he had a GS and there was a road - Owl Creek - that would be nice and not difficult. He even said the STs could make it. Ha, you'll never catch me with one of those comments.

So, Rick and Steve decided to try that road, Khris and I headed back to the campground. We should have been using oars to get back as it was a deluge.

When Rick and Steve came back, they had tales of deep hail and a dropped GS, that's 3 of 4. Sure glad I didn't take the bait on that road.

We ate at a Mexican food place tonight and the beer for the night - Stump Jumper, yuk! Steve said the IPA beer was supposed to be good for your bones but that's got to be only if you can keep it down.. I'm no beer conoseur that's for sure but this stuff tasted like 1 week old coffee with dirt.

Now, the pressure was on, 3 of the 4 bikes on the trip had tipped over. I had to somehow survive the remaining days without a drop, this wasn't easy as I had many slow speed close calls but always stayed upright. Whew!

Tue - Aug 17th
Loop 3 - US 550/US 160/Hwy 145/Hwy 62 (408 Miles)

Holy smokes!... the roads were very dry. Lots of stopping for construction but also lots of space between and not much traffic so it was a real blast.

We ate at Marios Pizza again tonight and headed back to the campground.

I went to McDonalds to try and get some wifi service and download something that would allow us to see the MP4 videos I was taking on the netbook w/XP. I never could figure out the right codecs to download so I just pulled down a free viewer that sorta worked. The netboook isn't the best for viewing videos and 1/2 speed was the best I could do for the video to flow smoothly. Would just have to wait 'til I got home to see what they look like at normal speed.... or maybe I didn't want to know.

Rick and Steve went to get firewood and beer - the flavor for the night was Out of Bounds which just about described our riding for the day. I dont have any pics for today as I was just trying to hang on LOL...

Wed - Aug 18th
Blue Mesa Res to Bryce Canyon NP (534 Miles)

On the way to Utah, we hit the Colorado Nat'l Monument before heading out of Colorado... Wow, what a very cool area to ride in. I never had the change to ride this section of CO and I'm glad I did now.

After that, we headed towards Moab, UT and had to do Hwy 128 and then the Lasal Mountain Loop. Lasal is not the best road surface but a very nice view of the surrounding area.

In Moab, we stopped for lunch at Wendy's and just in time, it was starting to rain and it was those big drops... once we were inside, the sky opened up.. we took our time eating and waited for the rain to slow.

Hwy 12 in Utah is just an amazing road... we just about decided to just do that road back and forth for the next few days. Some sections have a lot of cattle but the road itself is in great shape and must have been designed by a motorcyclist.

We were running a bit behind schedule so the sun was going down on the way into Bryce, made for a very cool looking sky.

Thu - Aug 19th
Bryce Canyon NP to Zion NP/Grand Canyon NP/Moki Dugway/Mesa Verde NP (665 Miles)

This morning, we bypassed the Bryce scenic 17 mile ride (okay, I said we didn't have time)... LOL

The road work in Zion NP sux!... We paid $12 to ride through it and 95% of it was under construction, many long stops waiting for each section to open to traffic. It's a great area but you're concentrating so much on the road and not dropping your bike, you don't see it.

After Zion, we headed towards Monument Valley. We saw a sign that said the Grand Canyon was only 150 miles away. Someone said, "Never been to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon". Well, we aren't the smarted lot... so, we decided to take a detour from our original route and add the Grand Canyon. Remember me saying we didn't have time for the 17 mile scenic ride in Bryce? Well, that sort of bit me later... LOL

The Grand Canyon was very nice, great road leading up to it and not a lot of traffic. We ate lunch there and then back on the road.

We stopped at a gas station as it just started to rain... we weren't sure if we were putting on the rain gear, then the sky opened up again, with close by lightning strikes and it started to hail... LOL, guess we're putting the rain gear on ...

After the rain slowed to a mild downpour, we headed out. It rained for a while and we raced a storm front all the way to Utah. Steve, being from Oklahoma and all kept imagining circulation in the clouds, I kept trying to reassure him there was nothing to worry about, I was lying.

We raced the front and when we stopped for gas it just happened to be at a break in between two big systems and our ride to Monument Valley was sureal. We made it to the Moki Dugway and I wasn't too sure about riding it with all the rain that just passed through but Rick took a quick ride on it and said it was fine. He was right, not bad at all. Khris helped us find the location of Putt's memorial stash and we all signed it.

This was a loooong day, the little detour to the Grand Canyon really bit into our time schedule. We didn't get near the campground 'til 1am and then they must have opened up some extra roads since I was there as I took a wrong turn and we were going up another mountain somewhere... we turned around and found the right spot.

The beer for the night was Avalance, purchased at the last gas stop, Not bad.

We talked a bit as Steve was wired, I think he hit his 2nd wind along the way and was way too talkative.. LOL We all went to bed by 3am... yeow.

Fri - Aug 20th
Mesa Verde NP to White Rock, NM (513 Miles)

Up and at 'em at 6am. No rest for the weary.

We normally put in a min of 200 miles in the morning before stopping for food. We were approaching that when Khris mentioned over the CB that he was hungry... I asked him if he had a medical condition that necesitated stopping for food and he said no... So, I told him to shut up 'til we finished out a full tank - another 100 miles to go... He stopped at the next restaurant so I guess it was time to eat - geeesh, I think the New Guy doesn't have a sense of humor.

Here's a pic of Steve and his bike, while it still looked new...

The plan for the day was to zig zag through parts of sothern Colorado and Northern New Mexico ending up at Sipapu Ski Lodge where they have a really cool campground. However, Steve didn't feel like riding the additional 30 miles and camping another night so instead of just telling us that, he decided to make it happen by running his bike off the road. Normally, a GS going off road isn't a big deal but in this case there was a bit more involved.

There was a 15mph curve indicated by a sigh 'with a circle on it'... you don't see too many of those around... anyway, not sure what he thought a 'circle' meant.. maybe it meant twist the throttle, or 'ooooh'... or perhaps he fixated on it and was picturing a smiley face.

Anyway, his bag touched as he was making the turn and it unloaded his rear wheel and he low-sided. Rick was probably a couple seconds behind him and I was maybe 10 seconds behind Rick, Khris was at least 10 seconds behind me. Rick let us know via the CB that something happened which helped keep things from getting worse.

Steve was already up and walking around in the few seconds it took me to get there and park along the side of the road. He was holding his hand but it appears it was only a sprain. He had all his gear on and it was more proof that things could have been much worse without it.

The bike had a couple big dents in the tank and the saddle bags were bent pretty good but the bike seemed okay in spite of that. There was fluid dripping from the clutch res so we got that bolt tightened quickly. However, when it was started and you put it in gear with the clutch in, it would kick into gear immediately. We tried adding fluid from the rear brake res to the clutch but later found out that this year model has linked brakes... When did we find this out? Well, after Rick decided to ride Steve's bike down for him and Steve could take Rick's bike.

We were only about 10 miles from Los Alamos, NM so we'd head there and maybe get some Dot4 fluid and add to the system so off we went. Rick motioned for me to come up beside him and he said 'this has linked brakes, we just took out brake fluid and I don't have brakes'... LOL Probably a bigger issue on a car. There was no traffic and Rick stayed in lower gears to control his speed. I sped up and at the same time was looking for auto places in Los Alamos to get fluid. I found an Autozone but also, there was some checkpoint ahead so I sped up and stopped to tell them what was going on, they just motioned us by. Further on into town there was a red light I got to first hoping it would change in time... I was there forever and could see the bike lights coming up behind me.. .finally, it turned green. There was another light coming up and it just turned red so I signaled over to the right where there was a yeild sign and we took that - the assumption being we could just take some more road to get back to where we needed to be. Well, that turn took us around a canyon and no easy way to get back to Los Alamos. I found a gas station another 5 miles ahead and that's were we stopped. They only had Dot3. At this point Steve said "there's a hotel, let's get the bike there and I'll figure things out from there". This was probably 7pm-ish. Little did we know that Los Alamos shuts down around 7PM... on a Friday night.

We searched all of Los Alamos and pretty much everything was closed except for a few gas stations and a grocery store - all only had dot3 - so we found a walmart in elscalante that had it. Rick and I headed over there and back and then flushed the clutch pretty good as it would stay engaged for a few seconds before clicking into gear... so, it was a 'little' rideable. Oh, and it was now 3am.. LOL

A pretty long day...but, all ended well.

Sat - Aug 21st
White Rock, NM to Dallas, TX (660 Miles)

Up and at 'em at 5:30... LOL Who really needs sleep...

We checked on Steve and he was doing okay so we started heading home. Rick 1st then Khris and I left together.

Everyone made it home safe and sound. In spite of the issues, it was still a great trip and planning will start on the next outing of 'The Fools' shortly...

Conclusion
I put a new Bridgestone 020 rear tire on my bike before I left for this trip and when I got home all the wear bars were showing at around 5,000 miles... I feel a bit guilty about that, but I think I'll get over it... he he he...

Also, there was a bit of talk about beer in this report.. please note we only ever got 1 6-pack at a time for the night and never rode after drinking. We did have beer during a couple dinners but only because we knew we'd be there at minimum a couple hours.

Here are the rest of my Pics.
Here are Rick's Pics.
Here are Steve's Pics.
Here are Khris' Pics.

Video Clips:

NatSTOC IV - July 8-10

2010-07-10T18:13:00.000-05:00

NatSTOC V
Spearfish, South Dakota
City Campground

Gotta love the
South Dakota
Area.

This was the 2nd consecutive NatSTOC in Spearfish and it was even better than the last event.

We were even lucky enough to have the mayor, Jerry Krambeck, make dinner for us.

Tue - Jul 6th
Khris aka Tankereng met me at my home for the trip north. I had my UniGo trailer hooked up and we took off. After about an hour of the trailer wobbling and fishtailing I decided to head back home and leave it. We were meeting Darin in Kansas so I told Khris to keep heading north while I went home and unloaded then repacked.

I was about 2 hrs behind him when I finally got back on the road.

Lot's of waves of heavy rain going through Oklahoma but once we were in Kansas it was calm.

Darin was having some GPS issues and left a message at the gas stop we were meeting at that he would just meet us the following morning. Khris and I made it to Wilson State Park in Kansas just after dark.

Wed - Jul 7th
Khris and I got up, packed and went to a nearby gas station to meet up with Darin.

From there, it was around 660 miles to Spearfish, SD.

We made it to the Spearfish City Campground later that afternoon. But, not before a few miles of detour on a dirt road and the road that has to be the pothole capital of the world.

Thu - Jul 8th
Five of us went for a little ride today. We headed towards Custer State Park and had to hit some dirt roads during the trek.

Can't go to Custer State Park without running into Buffalo.

Some more riding then back to the campground for some socializing.

Fri - Jul 9th
Today I would just hang out at the campground and greet whomever I could find that were showing up.

This is turning out to be a very popular event.

We had a ton of gieaways for this event so may people walked away with some nice prizes.

Later that evening the Mayor of Spearfish, Jerry Krambeck, had setup and pork dinner for us. We also had two more Kermit Chairs to give away for those at dinner.

After dinner, more socializing.

Nighty night... You can always tell when a sport touring group is in the area, more reflective stuff all over the place than you can count.

Sat - Jul 10th
Khris and I started heading back to Texas after some goodbyes to the remaining group. I think we put over 800 miles in before making it to the Great Salt Plains State Park in Oklahoma.

Sun - Jul 11th
Today was an easy 330 miles home (for me). Khris and I stopped for breakfast before splitting off just north of DFW so I could head home and Khris to San Antonio.

Here are the rest of the Pics.

Moonshine 2010

2010-04-13T19:45:00.002-05:00

Moonshine Lunch Run
Moonshine, Illinois

The things we do
for a burger....
Area.

Hanging out at Terry's

Lunch!!!

Coppell Police MC Competition-3/27

2010-03-27T17:40:00.005-06:00

These
guys
can
Ride!!

The Pics

Bridgeport TechSTOC - 3/20

2010-03-20T18:07:00.005-06:00

ST-Owners
TechSTOC

Bridgeport, TX

Arkansas Trip - 11/6-8

2009-11-09T12:52:00.005-06:00

Just
a trip
to
Petit Jean
State Park, AR

Fri - Nov 6th
I was already at my Mom's place Wednesday and Thursday as her birthday was the upcoming Sunday. So, I was able to see mom and chauffeur her around doing errands as well as sneak in a great Arkansas trip.

Mom lives in Leflore, OK so it wasn't far from the campground.

I left around 6am Friday morning and rode into Arkansas.

My intention was to ride Hwy 23 north and then 412 to Harrison to meet up with Tom and Gary.

It looked like I missed the fall colors peaking, most every thing was brown but that's okay, the road was still there.

I met up with Tom, Gary and Scott in Harrison. We BS'd a little then headed toward the state park. We stopped for lunch and decided to bypass going to Mt Magazine as we'd all been there already, so we went to Mt Nebo which has to have more 10-15 mph curves in one spot that I've ever seen.

There's a great view of the Arkansas Nuclear One power plant on Lake Dardanelle.

I don't see the problem myself. The plant sure has't affected the local sparrow population.

Tom waving.

We headed to Petit Jean State Park, found Jerl and his RV and set up our tents.

As the daylight was starting to fad away some headed to dinner and those of us left started the fire.

Sat - Nov 7th
The main reason for this get together was a lunch that was at Mather's Lodge in the park so we didn't have far to go. We pretty much just sat around in the morning until about 11am.

After lunch, a couple of us headed for Mt Nebo again and then back to the campground.

My previous fire the night before was criticized highly, and unfairly, so I decided to make a better one today.

No one complained about this one. They took the opportunity to pick on each other instead.

Sun - Nov 8th
I left at 7am, I was only 360-ish miles from home so it would be a nice short ride.

It was foggy as soon as I left the park.

Hwy 28 in Arkansas is a very nice road, lot's of 40-45 mph corners and nice surfaces.

Here are the rest of the Pics.

Jackpine Savage Event 10/9-11

2009-10-12T07:49:00.001-05:00

The Jackpine Savage Event
Klondike State Park, MO

This event started in memory
of David Kruger. I think he
would be proud so many friends
gather in his honor.

Thu - Oct 8th
I left work and headed towards SE Oklahoma. I planned on taking this chance to visit with my mom again. It was 85 degrees but when I got there she said there were tornado warnings. Nothing new for Oklahoma so you just keep the TV on and watch the weather.

Fri - Oct 9th
I got up at about 3:30. Mom woke me saying my bike's lights were on. Well, it was so humid and then the cold front and pouring rain came through and the switches I had on my handlebar for my camping lights got wet and were staying on. I just had to play with the switches and it cleared them up.

I took a look at the weather radar and compared the storm path to my intended route - they were the same!

I geared up and headed out about 6:30am. It was pouring and pretty much would be that way for 350 of the 400 mile day. It was also about 44 degrees.

I made it to the campground which was a VERY nice place. There were a handful of people there already, some campers and some staying in the cabins.

As usual with these great events, people started introducing each other. I had never been to this event before so this gave me a chance to meet some people I'd never seen before.

Jeff, Tom and his wife Carol did an incredible job at bringing food, firewood and libations to this party.

Sat - Oct 10th
I had to be back at work by Monday which meant I needed to head towards home today. I stuck around long enough to mooch breakfast then I hit the road.

I rode south on MO-19.. Wow! What a great road. Then, I zig-zagged through northern Arkansas 'til I hit 23, the Pigtrail Scenic Biway. This was a 500 mile day and not much straight roads on the route. My destination was to meet up with Khris (Tankereng) at the Queen Whilemena State Park on the Talimena Scenic drive.

I ended up riding the last 90 miles in darkness and then when I hit the mountains at the Arkansas side of the biway it was 13 miles of fog so thick I could only see about 10 feet in front of me. That was a long 13 miles.. LOL

I finally met up with Khris and is friends at the campground and we had something to eat then hit the sack.

Sun - Jul 11th
This morning, it was still heavy fog. I only had just over 200 miles to get home so I was in no rush and took it easy.

Here are the rest of the Pics.

NatSTOC IV - July 9-11

2009-07-11T16:47:00.000-05:00

NatSTOC IV
Spearfish, South Dakota
City Campground

Never been to the Black Hills of
South Dakota - but, I will
be back.

We wanted to visit the area during a non-bike week time and since this was the week after the 4th of July, it seemed like good timing. Those that were camping during the holiday would be heading home so camping shouldn't be a problem - it wasn't.

The city and the locals were great and we even had a visit from the mayor Jerry Krambeck.

Tue - Jul 7th
I left work and hit the road. North out of Texas then all the way through Oklahoma and into Kansas.

About 500 miles later I just made it to Wilson State Park in Kansas.

Wed - Jul 8th
I got up early. Just 630 miles to go today.

It was great going through Kansas/Nebraska for the 1st time, all the farmland was surprisingly nice to ride through, not boring at all.

I made it to the Spearfish City Campground to see the Banner flying so I knew I was at the right spot.

We all just stood around and chatted, even helped people setup their tents.

More people seemed to arrive slowly and everyone caught up. The weather was great.

Thu - Jul 9th
Time for a little riding today. We had breakfast in town and took our time and then headed towards Devil's Tower.

Back to town for a quick bite to eat and then to the campground. More people showing up, this was the day most did seem to show up.

Of course, some joker even brought pie!!

Fri - Jul 10th
Today was my chance to ride to Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse.

Then back to the campground where more people were showing up.

Before long... the grills and meat came out...

Later on, Mac did a presentation on Trailers and Trailering w/motorcycle.

Dave did a presentation on long distance riding.

Later on that night Terry even starting buying ice cream for everyone.

Sat - Jul 11th
I had about an 850 mile ride to start heading back home today. It was very chilly leaving the campground and the sky opened up on me for the entire state of Nebraska. Finally started to clear up and warm up once I got back into Kansas.

I ended up camping at Roman Nose State Park in Oklahoma.

Sun - Jul 12th
Today was an easy 270 miles home... nothing much to speak of.

Here are the rest of the Pics.

The Highest Peak in Texas

2009-02-26T10:44:00.002-06:00

Guadalupe Mtns
National Park
I wasn't able to make this hike a
couple years ago... So, I had to
try again, only with this time I
had a little help from my friends.

Wed - Feb 25
DFW to Guadalupe Mtns National Park, TX

I left about noon and had just over 500 miles to go.

I got to the park around 7:30 PM to find Rick / Vicki, Mac / Carole, Forest, George and Pete. I setup my tent, made some soup for dinner and off to bed.

Thu - Feb 26 - Hike Day!

The sun rose quickly.

Everyone got up, had some coffee and breakfast and then proceeded up the mountain.

It's about a 9 mile hike (round trip) and classified as strenuous and the wind was blowing quite hard. There were some spots where coming around a corner the wind just about threw you off the mountain.

There's one spot along the trail with a pretty nice bridge.

The views once you get some altitude are truly inspiring.

Finally, we made it to the top. There's a really nice monument commemorating the Butterfield Stage, a mail and supply route in the mid 19th century.

There's also a metal box with a log book for you to write down your name and any comments you might want to share with others.

We started the hike early and made it back to the campground about 2pm so we decided to go ahead and break down camp and head towards Davis Mtns State Park which is where the 2nd part of this trip - The Big Bend Bash - was happening. It was only 150+ miles away so only a couple to three hours away.

Here are the rest of the Hiking Pics.

TentSTOC I - Sept 4-7, 2008

2008-09-07T10:42:00.016-05:00

The first official
TentSTOC event in Arches National
Park, Utah

Tue - Sept 2
DFW to Tucumcari, NM
477 Miles

I had to work on Labor day but that gave me the option
to take off Tuesday afternoon instead of Wednesday and
take a little longer to get to Utah.

I left DFW and tried to find a camping spot at Ute Lake
State Park in NM but it was dark and I didn't know the
layout so I just headed for Tucumcari and found a typical
RV type site in town. Nothing special but it was a windy
day.

Wed - Sept 3
Tucumcari, NM to Moab, UT
563 Miles

I took my time getting up and taking down the campsite. This
was day 1 of the vacation so I wanted to take it all in and not
rush. I saw a few Harleys leaving, they were coming back from
the big celebration in Wisconsin.

I showed up at Arches but they said the campground was full. We
had reservations for the next 3 days and I was early so I headed
for the KOA that I stayed at 5 years ago.

I took the opportunity to take a shower, check the site via WiFi
and just relax.

There were two brothers camping next to me, one on a Harley and
the other a Yamaha. We chatted for a bit. They were on a long
trip and the 3rd brother had to take off due to other
commitments but these two were having a nice relaxed trip.

Thu - Sept 4

This was an easy day for me, I just wanted to be around the
area and get to teh park by noon to be there when people
started showing up.

I rode Hwy 128 that runs along the Colorado River, really
cool road.

As you can tell, it was a fun ride.....

When I got to the campground Dan, Danny and George were already setup.

Wow, what a location....

Shortly thereafter, more people started to show up while
we were walking on rocks..

This already had the look of a successful event.

Since Don brought his trailer and was heading into town he
was gracious enough to take some orders and brought back
some steaks, potatoes and veggies for dinner...

With the exception of Bryan (AZST) we pretty much all had a
good steak. His sorta fell into the coals but we were able to
drag it around a little before getting it out and washing it off.
Bryan was pretty disappointed but still managed to get some
of it down... Of course that was what we thought was the last
steak. Afterward, we saw two that no one had touched..
oops.. LOL Bryan had beans the next night.

Fri - Sept 5
Just Riding....

The sunrise in Arches NP is incredible. When the sun hits
that red rock it just explodes with color.

I rode today with Bryan (AZST) and Bob (AzDesertRider).
We rode Hwy 128 and stopped at what used to be the longest
wooden suspension bridge in Utah before it was burnt down
in April, 2008 by a 7 year old boy playing with matches.
Chicago Tribune Story

After that, we backtracked and turned off towards Castle
Valley and the Lasal Mountain Loop road George had told
us about the night before.

I'm not sure if this was a good sign or a bad one but we
quickly passed this guy as soon as we could...

The Lasal Loop was pretty cool, you started out at the bottom..

... and quickly climb to the top ...

... even though a controlled burn area ...

... and some overhanging forest area ...

We even had a dog that wanted to go along..

When I stopped ahead to take a pic of Bob/Bryan down the hill
the dog stayed about 20 yards away... apparently, he'd
never actually caught anyone... LOL

We had lunch in Moab and then headed to Canyonlands
National Park.

They were repaving part of the road so there was lots of loose
gravel but we just took it slow. The view was pretty impressive.

We got back to camp to see who else showed up. Then
Dan, who little did we know is also a monkey, wanted to
go hiking so we followed him to some of the nearby Arches.

After the hiking, we got back to camp for some post-ride-BSing.

Then, of course, Food and Fire...

Sat - Sept 6
Arches NP to Amarillo, TX
663 Miles

This was time for me to start heading home but I could
at least ride through some great areas. I didn't take any
pics as I still had to push some miles today.

Sun - Sept 7
Head Home...
350 Miles

What a great trip, they never seem to come fast enough
and they all seem to be over before you come close to
getting tired of them. Great scenery, good weather and
life-long friends. Hard to beat that combination.

Here
are the rest of the pics.

WeSTOC - June 20-29, 2008

2008-07-05T10:41:00.009-05:00

WeSTOC

TX -> NM -> CO -> NM
NM -> CO -> NM -> TX

Day 1 - Friday 6/20
Dallas to Tucumcari, NM
457 miles

I left work at 2pm. I was headed for a state park in New Mexico
but as I crossed the border of TX/NM I ware running into
some storms.

It appeared the storms were right on top of where I was
planning to camp so I kept heading west and saw a
KOA sign in Tucumcari, NM. Time to stop, eat and
setup camp.

Day 2 - Saturday 6/21
Tucumcari, NM to Elk Creek Campground, Colorado
552 miles

I got up and bought a new cell phone charger in Albuquerque, NM.

I then headed for US 550. Stayed on it from NM into Colorado. The
Colorado part is called the Million Dollar Highway. I can't believe I
didn't take any pics of this section.

I ended up at Elk Creek Campground in the Blue Mesa area.

Day 3 - Sunday 6/22
Elk Creek Campground
to
Sipapu Ski Lodge Campground, New Mexico
444 miles

I took my time getting up but still hit the road early, about 7AM.

From the Elk Creek Campground on US 50 I headed west a little
and took Hwy 92. This road doesn't look like much at first.. you
think you're going to a marina, then you go over a dam and there
is a huge ravine you ride along. It's an incredible road!

From Hwy 92 I made my way to Hwy 133 which is another great
sceinic road.

From Hwy 133 it was time to hit Hwy 82 and head over to Aspen
and Independence Pass.

I turned south to head back into New Mexico and Toas where
WeSTOC was being held. When I got to Taos I checked out the
designated campgrounds but they were a little to crowded for my
taste so I hit the Sipapu Ski Lodge Campground. I've been there
5 years before and it was a nice place.

It was time to make some dinner and a fire and chill out under
the stars...

Day 4 - Monday 6/23
Ride around Taos
200+ miles

I rode with Dan (dmulk) on a couple 80-100 mile loops
around the area.

Day 5-7 - Tuesday 6/24 thru Thursday 6/26
Just hang out and meet people
130+ miles

I decided to spend the next three days just hanging out around
the hotel and meeting people from the site.

It seemed like almost every day at 3pm-ish it would start raining.

I did do a ride with Don (dond) and he tried to take me dual sport
riding.

Day 8 - Friday 6/27
Sipapu Ski Lodge Campground, New Mexico
to
Trinidad Lake State Park, Colorado
461 miles

I headed out of Sipapu and wanted to head into Colorado again,
can't get enough of Colorado. Headed out on US 84 and just
caught this Hot Air Balloon landing.

US 84 is a really nice road with lots of high speed sweepers.

From there it was Hwy 17 (WOW!) to US 285 north. Then
it was US 50 which is great in this area.

I rode Hwy 165 through the San Isabel Forest.
Another great Colorado road!!!

I ended up at Lake Trinidad State Park.

Day 9 - Saturday 6/28
Trinidad Lake State Park, Colorado
to
Arrowhead Lake State Park, Texas
595 miles

I rode Hwy 12 - Highway of Legends Scenic Byway on
my way out of the park. This is another incredible
Colorado road.. geesh.. they never end.

I ended up at Arrowhead Lake State Park near Witchita Falls, TX
just as some storms were coming through.. didn't stop me from
making a fire.

Day 10 - Sunday 6/29
Arrowhead Lake State Park, Texas to home
130 miles

The ride home was pretty short. I wanted to camp at a state
park I hadn't been to before so that's why I didn't come home the
night before.

Here are all of my pics.

CampSTOC IV - May 15-18, 2008

2008-05-18T10:40:00.003-05:00

Another great
ST-Owners.com
CampSTOC
event!

Wed - May 14

I left work and there were some looming storms but I seemed to
have dodged them all the way to Roosevelt State Park near
Jackson, MS. I was actually planning on making Jackson, TN
but I took a wrong turn northeast of Dallas and ended up on
I-20 instead of I-30.. Oh well, that's life.

Thu - May 15

Rode in the rain most of the day, pretty heavy at times. Nothing
special here, just riding to get to the campground.

I showed up around 3pm and setup my tent. There were already
close to 30 people there.

Tonight, was treated to 4 star cuisine including Brats and Sushi... LOL

Fri - May 16

I rode with Shuey today, on the way to the lunch spot where
the CampSTOC and FriendSTOC event attendees were going
to meet.

It was pretty cool to have two events close enough to share
a meal.

After lunch, Shuey, Landon and myself rode part of the Blueridge
Pkwy back to the campground.

Sat - May 17

I took my time getting up and just hung out talking to everyone.
Then, I packed up and started heading back. Just another boring
highway ride to make it back to the Jackson, MS campground.

Sun - May 18

A ride home, just the highway, nothing special.

Here
are the rest of the pics.

Time for a Change

2008-04-22T10:39:00.005-05:00

Well, the Wing served me well
over the past 3 years.

However, I was yearning for a
sport tourer again and I had no
other choice, in my mind, than
the ST1300.

I had been thinking about this for a while. But, I just seemed to
keep packing and brining more and more stuff with me on trips. Even
thinking about a trailer.

I wanted to get back to a more slimline type of touring. Just me,
some gear and the road.

I found a great deal on my trade in at Moddrell's Chickasha Honda in
Chickasha, OK and probably one of the few 2008 ST1300 ABS bikes
around. For some reason, it appears Honda has a bunch of 2007
bikes and didn't make many 2008's. There's also some 2006's
that are being pulled out of warehouses. So, lots to choose from.

I considered other Sport Tourers but since I had a 2003 ST1300 and
since I run the ST site I'm more than comfortable with that bike and
how is handles, performs and the reliability.

I have been told if I buy another bike anytime soon I will be singing
soprano - just wanted some witnesses in case that ends up in court.

Last Ride of 2007

2007-12-31T10:37:00.003-06:00

12/31/2007
Met up with Roland, Dave and
Carey for a last ride to eat
of 2007 at the Rancho Viejo
Restaurant in Buffalo, TX.
Good food and great friends,
just the right way to cap off
2007.

TX Hill Country - Dec 6-9, 2007

2007-12-09T10:36:00.004-06:00

Just an easy
laid back ride
in south Texas...

Tuesday/Wednesday 12/4-5
Dallas to Oklahoma
215 miles

I decided to go visit my parents before starting this trip so I headed north after work on Tuesday and hung out with them on Wednesday. My work schedule has been strange the past couple months and I haven't had the chance to see them as much as I usually do so it was nice to catch up.

Thursday 12/6
Oklahoma to Garner SP/Lost Maples SP
650+ miles

I didn't bring any heated gear with me as it was only going to be 44 degrees so thought I'd just layer up and it would warm up soon. It was projected to be in the mid to upper 70's in south Texas so no reason to bring the electrics, right? Well, it was 36 when I left OK and it hit 37 and stayed there for about 400 miles. I was uncomfortable but not miserable so I just kept riding, layering helps a lot.

It was 68 degrees when I finally pulled into Garner State Park ahead of Rick and I was finally thawing out. I went into the office and the ranger stated they were closed 2 weeks out of the year for deer hunting, guess which two weeks that was? HA!!!!..
Then, she said it was only during the week so they'd be open the next day, Friday, at 2pm. I waited for Rick and he was only 30 mins behind me. We decided to try Lost Maples SP but usually they are packed and given Garner was closed we just knew that was going to be the case and this was to turn into another one of our 'adventures'.

However, when we got to Lost Maples, they were just about empty. So, we set up our tents and had hot dogs for dinner.

We tried to find some firewood but that place looked like they had vacuum cleaners as there wasn't a twig to be found. With no fire we hit the sack at 8pm. Usually, fire going, we're up 'til midnight.

On the way to Garner I was noticing the bike lurching a bit when accelerating. I had just changed the spark plugs the week before and didn't ride the bike until my trip to see my parents, it ran fine then. If there's one thing I've learned it's that if your bike is acting funny it has something to do with the last thing you did to it. In my case, it was the spark plugs. I thought one of the wires just came loose so I pulled them and reconnected them to the plugs and would see how it ran in the morning.

Friday 12/7
Hill Country Riding
200 miles

We took out time today as we didn't have any real plans other than to go back to Garner SP around 2pm to check in and get a site. So, we had breakfast in Utopia at the Lost Maples Cafe. The weather sucked. It was a misty, dreary, foggy, crappy morning and it didn't look like it was going to burn off.

My bike was still acting up so we decided to head to Uvalde, TX and find an auto parts store to get a new set of plugs thinking one was bad. On the way, my bike hit a milestone, 50,000 miles, so I took a pic.

After picking up the plugs we headed back towards Garner and did hwy 336 and I made a left instead of a right and we did some straight roads but this was an easy day with no real agenda so we just did whatever.

When we got back to Garner, I changed my plugs.

Rick's bike did very well in the twisties and also kept up with me on the highway, one of his reasons for bringing this bike was just see what works on a real trip so this was a working-session for him.

We setup camp and proceeded to look for firewood. Mac would have been proud of us, there was a huge 8 ft log that I sawed up and Rick found some other misc dead fall elsewhere.

We got the fire going and, yeah, had more hot dogs. I don't think I ever want another hot dog.

However, with the fire blazing, it was still a nice evening.

Saturday 12/8
lddave's annual BBQ ride-to-eat
200+ miles

Every year, Dave B. has a BBQ somewhere in TX and this was the 8th year so being in the area we decided to make that part of this trip.

It was another crappy, misty, rainy, foggy morning and we had to ease our way over 337 and roads that look like glass when wet. Not the typical run we have on these roads but it's all about the adventure isn't it?

We zig-zagged our way through back roads and made it to Louie Mueller BBQ in Taylor, TX just northeast of Austin around 11am. Lots of bikes were already there.

And, the food was excellent.

After lunch, we decided it didn't make much sense to ride all the way back to Garner when there were closer campgrounds that would make our ride home easier on Sunday. Rick's family has a ranch that was just a couple hours away so we headed for that and BJFazio, being from Louisiana, decided to join us. Rick has a nice place and it will make for some great future MotoCampers.com outings.

We went into town, Crockett, TX, and had a burger at Texas Burger. They have very good burgers. Then, went back to the ranch and made a fire. I can't believe I didn't get a pic of that, oh well, can't win 'em all.

Sunday 12/9
Homeward Bound
170 miles

It was 74 degrees when I left Rick's ranch at about 7am. When I was about 1 hour outside of Dallas I topped a small hill and the temp dropped to 46 degrees in less than 1 mile. It was 43 degrees and raining when I made it home. Again, it's about the adventure, yeah, right, that's it...

Here are a couple pics I took along the way.

Here are all of my pics.

FL-STOC II - Nov 13-18, 2007

2007-11-18T10:34:00.004-06:00

Time
for
Key West!

Day 1 - Tuesday 11/13
Dallas / Houston
to
Chicot State Park, Louisianna
360 & 250 miles

We started this trip Tuesday after work. I left around 2pm and Rick left around 3:30 so given he was about 100 miles closer we should be getting there around the same time.

Pretty uneventful ride on the interstate. I made it to the north end of the park where I quickly learned that entrance was closed for some reason and to use the southern entrance. Well, I looked at the GPS and there were about 10 roads heading into the park at the southern end of the park/lake.

I called Rick and he had just stopped for gas and a bite to eat and was only a few miles away so I stopped at some back road intersection and waited a few mins for him.

We made it to Chicot SP, very nice park with good sized campsites.

Just a note - IT WAS DARK WHEN WE SET UP CAMP.

Day 2 - Wednesday 11/14
Chicot State Park, Louisianna
to
Highland Hammock State Park, Florida
860 miles

We headed out around 5am so we could get a good jump on the day, this was not going to be a trip where we got a lot of sleep. Typical.

Of course the saw mill about a half mile away working all night didn't help much. Didn't know just how far the 'beep beep' of the trucks in reverse would carry, apparently, at least half a mile.... LOL

Just a note - IT WAS DARK WHEN WE BROKE DOWN CAMP.

Another day on the interstate, we took I-10 aaaaaalll the way to Florida then I-75 south.

Mac (motomac) called me when we were in Biloxi, MS and he said he was near Savanah, GA and was going to try and make Key West today.

We passed Ocala, FL around 5pm and it was funny as this would be our stopping point the next day and the location for the FL-STOC event. I told Rick on the CB that we could just stop here now and forget about Key West but he told me I screwed that up by telling people we were going to Key West first and now we had to do it. My bad.

We made it to Highland Hammock State Park and set up camp around 10pm.

When we got gas in Ocala, FL a guy in a car told us if we could make it to Key West during sunrise or sunset that it was a religious experience. Well, OK... why not. We checked the sunset time (6:42am) and we were about 200 miles from the southern
coast. That's about 3 hrs, give or take a few mins. So, we need to leave by 3:42am which meant waking up at 2:42am. Which, since we changed time zones, would be like 1:42 am. And, to make sure we made it in time, 1am. That's 4 hrs of sleep.

I gave Mac a call to see if he and Gail made it to Key West and he answered and said they were in Homestead, instead. So, I was thinking, with our early start, we'd beat them there.

Just a note - IT WAS DARK WHEN WE SET UP CAMP.

Day 3 - Thursday 11/15
Highland Hammock State Park, Florida
to
Key West then Silver River State Park
770 miles

Just a note - IT WAS DARK WHEN WE BROKE DOWN CAMP.

1AM CST sure comes up pretty fast sometimes.

We headed out with a goal of being on a bridge in Key West by sunrise.

It was a pretty foggy and drizzly morning but traffic wasn't too bad, just a lot of lights to stop for.

Around 6:30am, we noted we were not on the mainland anymore however, there was still land and buildings and our view of the horizon was blocked. We pretty much knew we weren't going to make the sun rise - oh well, at least we'd beat Mac to Key West, that would mean something.

We stopped for breakfast before we got there and Mac called us from Key West asking where we'd been. Okay, they got up early and were just about 20 miles ahead of us.

Oh well, we get back on the road and hit all the bridges between that point and Key West.

Then, we get there......

Pretty cool, sure is a long way to go for a tourist trap but you gotta say you did it at least once and you have to get a picture of the Buoy, and 0 Mile marker.

We purchased some souvenirs and then headed back to catch up with Mac. We took a turnpike on the way back but there were too many tolls so we exited and met up with Mac and Gail in Sebring, FL which was just about where Rick and I started the day - about 14 hours earlier.

We had a nice ride through Florida Thursday evening traffic and construction and got to the campground around 9pm if I remember correctly. Everyone else was asleep and so Rick and I made a campfire and BJ walked up and talked to us for a bit. Then it was time to get some rest.

Just a note - IT WAS DARK WHEN WE SET UP CAMP.

Day 4 - Friday 11/16

Rest - today was just about resting, doing some laundry and taking it easy and meeting those at breakfast and around the campground.

We even had an ST show up on a trailer - shhhhhhh... Kinda funny watching 12 guys with cameras running after an RV pulling a motorcycle on a trailer.

Day 5 - Saturday 11/17
Silver River State Park
to
Chicot State Park, Louisianna
850 miles

Just a note - Finally, IT WAS DAYLIGHT WHEN WE BROKE DOWN CAMP.

We met up for breakfast again at Bob Evans and took the usual group pic.

Shuey honored me by presenting me with a FL-STOC clock - wow, I really appreciate that but he did all the work and should be thanked for that effort - I'll keep the clock at work so I can be reminded of the great ride and friendship I shared on this trip.

After breakfast Rick and I headed towards Texas. BJ's wife told him I-10 had been shut down due to some oil well fire/explosion. So, we planned to decide what to do once we got closer.

After Mobile, AL, I-10 started to get crowded so we did back roads all the way through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. It was actually a nice change of pace but around 10pm it was getting a little tiring. The GPS routed us the 'shortest distance' normally, this takes you on some pretty cool roads. Well, the GPS has settings such as 'avoid highways' 'avoid u-turns' etc.. things like that... One thing we noticed it didn't have was 'avoid ferries' ... Our shortest route sent us right to one and we weren't sure if it was running or not. Luckily, it was.

So, we had a nice late night ferry ride.

We finally made it to the campground about 11pm.

Just a note - IT WAS DARK WHEN WE SET UP CAMP.

Day 6 - Sunday 11/18
Chicot State Park, Louisianna
to
Dallas / Houston
360 & 250 miles
Just a note - IT WAS DARK WHEN WE BROKE DOWN CAMP - and pouring rain.[/COLOR][/B]

Pretty typical ride home, rained on me up until Shreveport, LA and Rick said it rained on him the whole way back to Houston.

Here are all of my pics
and
Here are all of Rick's pics.

Hard Eight BBQ - Jul 21, 2007

2007-07-21T10:32:00.002-05:00

Time for some real good BBQ!

I decided to meet up with some ST-Owners in Stephenville for lunch.

The Hard Eight BBQ place has some really great food although, just like Coopers in Llano, your eyes are usually bigger than your stomach so it isn't a cheap lunch.. LOL

Here are the rest of the pics.

Eureka Springs - Jul 7, 2007

2007-07-07T10:31:00.004-05:00

Nothing like Arkansas
for some very twisty
roads...

Friday 7/6
Dallas to Kettle Campground
380 Miles

Nothing special hear, just nice to get out of town and away from work. Met Mark and Forest at the campground.

Saturday 7/6
Riding Heaven

Mark, Forest and I just kept riding all day, I'll let the pictures speak for us.

Sunday 7/8
Kettle Campground to Dallas
380 Miles

Boy, was it hot on the ride back home. There
was a brief rain shower which cooled things off
nicely however, then it was muggy and humid.

Here are all the pics.

Texas Hill Country - Jun 9, 2007

2007-06-09T10:29:00.003-05:00

I was overdue
for a camping
trip so why not the
Texas Hill Country

Friday 6/8
Dallas to Kerrville State Park
313 Miles

I left Dallas and headed towards the Hill Country (Kerrville, TX) Friday after I got everything done at work.

It was a great day, 75 degrees and partly cloudy. I bypassed a 14 mile traffic jam due to some construction between Dallas/Fort Worth, gotta love a CB on a bike and being able to hear the truckers talking about alternate routes.

After riding through downtown Fort Worth and getting out of town the normal traffic eased off and it was a comfortable ride. I typically take I-20 to Hwy 16 all the way down to Kerrville. There's little traffic. I used to take 281 but that has been inundated with RVs over the past few years and also patrolled more, the "road less traveled" kinda thing I guess.

I made it the Kerrville State Park the same time as Mike (IBRubicon) on his ST1300. We got a site and set up the tents.

We contacted Terry who got a hotel room in town and met with him on his Wing at the Cracker Barrel. A little BS-ing and we headed back to the campground. Terry needed to get back to College Station as he had a friend that just got some bad news so he wanted to see if he could help out.

Mike and I got back to the campsite and I tried to get a fire going, it started but it was just smoldering and there wasn't much kindling sitting on the ground. I would have used my axe to make some out of the firewood if I had remembered I had it LOL. It had been a while since I camped so I was a little rusty.

Saturday 6/9
Hwy 16, Hwy 335, 336, 337
230 miles

Mike and I went to the Cracker Barrel again for Breakfast, yeah I know, but it's not bad and it's relatively fast.

While there Mark (Brinkster) met up with us from Buda, TX on his Valkyrie.

We ate breakfast and then headed out about 10 if I remember correctly.

Our route was 16 to 337 through Leakey and Camp Wood. Then, 335 north to 41 and south on 336 back to Leakey then back to the park via 337 and 16.

Pretty typical, we were going to try the bike museum but since we ate lunch in Leakey at the Frio Canyon Motorcycle Stop. We tried the Axis Deer Sausage sandwich, it was okay but maybe the cheeseburger would have been a better choice, just not to my liking.

I tried to take a pic of the wild flowers and butterfly and a darn Motorcycle got in the way.

Once back at camp, we rested and got some more water in us. Then, Mike decided we should try a fire again. My bags were full and I didn't have a way to get the stack of wood back to the site but Mike came through and we moved all his stuff over to my bike and loaded him up. I wasn't too comfortable with it but it rode well and we made it back to the site with no issues.

Well, that was until I helped to get the dirt out of his saddlebags and it blew back into my eyes. Took a lot of flushing with water but I finally got everything out. In the meantime Mike brought back a corn dog and burrito from the corner store, we could identify at least 3 of the 5 meats used but maybe it was best we left it at that.

The fire was good. The best part was it warmed us up and so when we finally walked away from it to call it a night, it felt cooler. I think it was 80 LOL.

I got some sleep, I think, Mike snores up a storm and even from 20 feet away in another tent I thought he was chainsawing some trees. He's got to be in the top 3 of the loudest snorers I've camped with, maybe there should be a trophy?

From now on, there will be earplugs in my tent.

Sunday 6/10
Kerrville State Park to Dallas
313 Miles

We woke up and tore down camp and then went on our way. It's always a sad morning as the trip just never seems to last long enough.

Here are all the pics.

CampSTOC III - Apr 20-22, 2007

2007-04-21T10:28:00.005-05:00

This was
one...
great...
Camp Out!!!!

Thursday

I left after work and was able to make it to Roosevelt State Park by just after 8pm. I waited for Rick, he was just about 2 hours behind me.

When he showed up I heard a strange noise coming from his bike and after some more investigation it looked like either the clutch or transmission or both. So, needless to say, he decided he'd head home the next morning instead of continuing with the trip. It was a good
thing as he lost 1st gear on his way home which was probably tough to deal with in Houston traffic.

Ends up it was the transmission so there may be some bike changes in store for the future - in a good way.

Friday

Woke up early and broke down the campsite then Rick and I had about a 1/2 mile ride together until we hit I-20 and I went east while he went west. It's always tough after a long ride when you and your riding partner split off to your respective homes but this was even worse
especially knowing Rick was having bike problems. The GS has been a great bike and I felt it would get him home - it always had in the past.

It was only 350 miles to Cloudland Canyon State Park but was nice to see the banner as soon as I got into the camping area.

I saw George, Steve and Tamra and they pointed me to the walk-in camping area where most were staying. When I got there I saw Steve/Virginia, Mac and Daryl. A few were on a hike and there were others that had already left for a ride.

I set up my tent and started talking to others and admiring the scenery.

More and more bikes started showing up - I think we had anywhere from 20-30 at the event, wow... Might have to find a bigger park next year...

Once it started getting dark.. the fire was started and the food was cooking - I typically loose weight when I camp but I don't think that happened on this trip. Looks like Jenny CraigSTOC
will be the next event.

A few hours later we had some give-aways and everyone signed the banner.

Not sure how many events we have left before there's no more room on the back. All those signatures represent many miles and many smiles.

Saturday

I left the group so I could go to Benton, TN and attend a get together to remember Jim Duffy (Jdubya). He passed last year of brain cancer and his wife Vicki (TNT) wanted to have any of
Jim's friends over that could make it and remember a great guy.

Jim was one of those guys that opens his heart and home out to people he barely knows and both he and Vicki have been great friends. He will be missed by many. RIP Jim.

Sunday

Just a typical ride home.

Here
are the rest of the pics.

DesertSTOC I - Feb 20-25, 2007

2007-02-21T10:26:00.007-06:00

It seemed like forever
since my last trip so this
one came just in time..

Day One - Tue Feb 20
(DFW to Lost Guadalupe Nat'l Park)

I arrived around 6:30 and Mac (motomac) was already there. We ate dinner and talked a bit then went to bed. It was a very windy day and that really zaps you. Mac left Ohio in single digit temps and with snow on the ground the previous day

Day 2 - Wed Feb 21
(Guadalupe NP to Ray Gilbert Campground in AZ)

We had planned on hiking the Mountain today but instead we hit the road towards Arizona. I was still tired from dealing with the website crash so I just wanted to ride.

This was a typical day on the interstate and not much scenery so it was nice once we finally made it to Tuscon to see some mountains.

We stopped at the Honda shop in Tucson off I-10 then J&M so Mac could get a headset cord replaced. Then, off to Gilbert Ray Campground in the Tucson Mtn Park. Mac was not happy to find out they didn't give an Old Folks discount. LOL Also, they didn't have showers!

We set up camp, got some supplies then had a great view of the sunset and stars before hitting the sack.

Day 3 - Thu Feb 22
(Just hanging around)

Today is when most people would start showing up for the event. Mac and I just hung out at the campground until Mark showed up. He set up his tent and then gave us a guided tour of all the desert plants.

Then, we took off for the Lazy 8 motel when everyone was staying.

When we got there we could see about 12 STs in the parking lot. We parked and started walking around until we found everyone by the pool talking.

The original plan was to go to a Mexican place for dinner but Raven pulled out some charcoal and we ended up having hot dogs instead.

Day 4 - Fri Feb 23
(Riding and Obstacle Course)

We had a nice ride up a local mountain.

Then, off to the Arizona Honda dealership for the obstacle course competition.

I tried my hand at the course but dropped the bike on the first circle, obviously, I need more practice but it's something I think everyone needs to learn to operate their bike in all possible situations.

Day 5/6 - Sat/Sun Feb 24/25
(Heading Home)

Pretty windy day again but luckily, it was a tailwind so I got some incredible gas mileage making it from Tucson to Monohans State Park.

The park had lots of sand on the roads, more so than normal, due to the high winds. However, I was lucky enough to show up just after the wind had died down. It wasn't easy setting up a tent in sand but I was able to find an area where there was some dirt mixed in and some rocks to put over the tent stakes.

It was a great sunset.

Here are the rest of the pics.

Big Bend - Feb 1-4, 2007

2007-02-01T10:25:00.004-06:00

With sleet falling in Dallas
I wasn't sure I'd make this
trip but the temps rose
enough to melt everything
so off I went...

Day One - Wed Jan 31
(DFW to Lost Maples State Park)

Mac decided to head towards Big Bend from Dallas instead of
waiting for me to get off work. I ended up leaving just after
noon and made it to Lost Maples State Park around 4:30. I
found where everyone was setup and started unpacking.
Around 6pm the other guys showed up after getting some
dinner.

We started a fire and the Constantine handed out some kind
of dried Russian fish. It was pretty good.

We stayed up talking for a bit then went to sleep.

Day 2 - Thu Feb 1
(Lost Maples SP to Rio Grande Village Campground in
Big Bend Nat'l Park)

Today our main goal was to make it to Big Bend. Pretty
easy day even though it started raining around 5am
with light sprinkles until we were packed up.

We ate breakfast in Leakey then hit the road.

We had to wait at the immigration check for a few minutes.
Apparently, when you answer 'No' to the 'Are you a U.S.
citizen' question they get a little curious.

On the way, we stopped in Langtry, TX to check out
the Judge Roy Bean exhibit.

We made it to Marathon, TX where we met up with Cheif
and Beep (Mike/Cindy) then made it to Rio Grande Villiage
campground around 4:30.

As we rode through the campground, looking for others, we
found Mac and his huge circus tent setup.

Later, Jerry (Gold Rush) showed up with what few of us were
aware of was the 'Breakfast Trailer'. Thanks Jerry for making
sure every one started the day full.

Everyone setup their tents and made introductions, it sure
looked like it was going to be a fun weekend.

As the moon rose and the stars came out...

People were still showing up.

Day 3 - Fri Feb 2
Some Hike!
Some Ride!
Some Get Dirty!

Hikers
Cindy, Mac, Bill and myself left the Chisos Basin Headquarters
area trailhead and took the Pinnacle Pass 3.5 miles. Along the
way we saw some wildlife.

From there, we took the Emory Peak Trailhead about 1.5 miles.
The very end of this trail is a vertical rock climb that I wasn't
expecting. I'm not really afraid of heights but this gave me the
feeling of being on a steep ladder 7,800 ft tall.

Here, Red Arrow, you see Bill resting while the rest of us head
to the top of the peak.

At the very top we met two other hikers from New York. It
took us about 3 hours to get to the top but it was well worth
it. The view from the highest point was great!

It was great to experience this with such good friends.

This hike was a total of about 10 miles and took us 5 hours.
We met beck up with Mike and Jerry at the bottom and had
lunch at the Basin Restaurant.

Riders
Mike and Jerry rode some of the park and the infamous River
Road (170) both directions. There's lots of gravel on the road
but it's still a fun ride.

Let's Get Dirty!
(Rick's Report)

Konstantin, Judson, Robert and myself headed for dirt on
our BMW GS’s.

We started on the East side of River Road
and headed west. The first part of River Road was
awesome and we made fast time of it. We cut off 9 miles
in and headed north on Glenn Spring Rd. After a mile
or so Glen Spring got a little more difficult than a few
liked so we turned back for River road. This was the
fist time for Judson and Robert to have their Big new
bikes off road.

I was leading this ride and I made the call
at the beginning of the day if anyone wanted to turn
around for any reason we all would follow.

Back on River Road we headed west and the goal
was to complete all 40+ miles of the sand, mud, water
and rock road. The good thing about going east to
west is the road gets harder as you go and you don’t
seem to notice it that much.

Judson

We stopped at the
Mariscal Mines and hiked up to check it out.

The new guys did great for the first time out and you
could see their skills improve with every hill climb,
mud crossing and beach landing they encountered.
After all the rain they had in the area, parts of River road
looked like an old riverbed with rocks and sand.

When it was all said and done we only had 2 slow speed
drops of the bikes. I have to say we all had fun but we
were beat and glad it was over. We at lunch in Study Butte
and then headed back to camp.

Day 4 - Sat Feb 3
(Big Bend to Garner State Park)

Jerry made some more breakfast and Mac made some more
great biscuits.

Some of us decided we'd break camp and head towards home
so Sunday's ride would be an easy one. Some also wanted
to get home in time to watch the Superbowl.

So, we got together for a group picture before leaving.

Steve & Virginia, Mac and Jerry were going to leave on Sunday.
Mike & Cindy wanted to head for San Antonio to check out an
Art Gallery.

The rest of us were going to head towards Kerrville via
River Road!

It's my opinion that River Road is the best road in Texas.

Bill broke off in Brackettville to head back to Corpus and Robert
left us at Uvalde to head to Austin. The rest of us made it to
Garner State Park.

It was going to be a cold night for all except Constantine who
brought a portable heater.

And cold it was...

Day 5 - Sun Feb 4
(Ride Home)

Nothing special here, just 350 miles home.

Here are the rest of my pics.

Here are the rest of Rick's pics.

Talimena Drive - Nov, 2006

2006-11-01T10:23:00.002-06:00

While visiting my parents I decided to make another trek to the Talimena Drive and catch some good sunset pics.

Here are the rest of the pics, nothing great, but at least I got to ride.

TexSTOC - Oct 6, 2006

2006-10-06T10:23:00.001-05:00

TexSTOC XI
was held in Ft Davis, TX.
I camped at Davis Mtns State Park.

Here are the rest of the pic.

WeSTOC - Golden, CO - Sep, 2006

2006-09-04T10:22:00.001-05:00

What a great

STOC event!!

Here are the rest of the pics.

The Big Ride - Aug 25-Sep 10, 2006

2006-09-01T10:21:00.006-05:00

A great ride
with
two great friends...

Introduction:
This idea for this ride started during another ride back in October 2005. Buzz (Steve) stated he'd never ridden to California and neither had Blink/Trailace (Rick). I was there before for an ST event and knew a few good places but also missed a couple like the giant Sequoias and Kings Canyon National Park.
We decided a week would be enough time to hit the coast and then maybe come back through Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Monument Valley, etc...

Well, after some more talk, we thought it would be cool to do Canada since we'd be so close. I had an ST event I had committed myself to attending the following week so the timing might be just right to come back home and hit that event along the way. Then, we I noticed this included the Labor Day holiday, it turned into a 2 week trip with me hitting 2 ST events, one in Colorado and one in Arkansas.

So, from this, The Big Ride emerged. We shaped and formed it day by day, mile by mile until we felt like we had an aggressive but not impossible path to unforgettable memories.

Starting Off - Friday/Saturday (Get to Joshua Tree) Mellow and Buzz 980 miles

The real Day 1 was classified as when we were all three on the ride so Friday I left about 1pm and headed for Amarillo to meet up with Buzz. I got there pretty early and Buzz showed up just before dark. It was hard to sleep at this particular KOA as one side has a freeway and airport and the other side has a railroad track which I don't remember being there the last time I was here. Anyway, the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles came to mind. I got a couple calls from Blink during the night and I'll let him detail that below.

In the morning, it was raining so we packed up and headed the 950 miles to Joshua Tree NP in southern California. It was a pretty easy ride with no issues other than the temps climbing up to 108 as soon as we got closer to the desert.

When we got to the park we drove around it and didn't see Blink anywhere and I needed gas so we stopped and gassed up and I checked my messages. Blink said the campground was more off the main road than the park road we had just been on. He also said, you'll see my tent, it's next to a big rock.

Did I mention it was dark?

We recanted the days' events and went to bed.

Blink's Comments:

As Joe said, the plan was to meet at Joshua Tree NP on Saturday, August 26 and meet we did. However for me it was a ride that almost wasn’t.

I completed all the adjustments and maintenance the weekend before the ride and also did a 150-mile test ride. Everything seemed to be good to go or was it? 100 miles west of Fort Stockton on I10 in a work zone with no shoulder at a speed of 70 MPH it happened. At first I wasn’t sure what was going on but within a few seconds I knew and it was not good. There was a loud noise and the bike was vibrating and jerking all around. There was also a big rig right behind me just to make matters a little more fun. When the noise started, the first thing I did was pull in the clutch and hit the breaks. To my surprise the breaks did not work. Not having a shoulder to pull off on and that big truck coming up my rear I had to make a quick decision on what to do next. Still not sure what was going on I applied more rear break and headed off the road to my right at around 60 MPH. There was broken asphalt, rocks and grass to go through before coming to a stop at the bottom of a ditch. The GS was true all the way to the end. This all took place in less than a minute.

Now it was time to figure out what just happened and if I could still ride the bike. It was pitch dark so first I needed to find my light. With light in hand the problem was apparent, the front right brake caliper was off and just hanging by the break line. To make matters worse it had gone into the spokes and was forced past the front of the forks. The GS Adventure has steel break lines and the hose did not break even under all the force. There were also a few bent spokes (22) but the wheel still looked to be true. The only thing that could have happened was that I had forgotten to tighten the bolts after checking the brakes. I was going to replace them but there were still 50 % of wear left. I had a hard time removing the pad pin and removed the caliper to heat it. It was too hot to hold so I put it back on the bike hand tight and removed the stuck pin. Happy with the fact I got the pin out I forgot all about the bolts and now I’m stuck on the side of I10 in the middle of nowhere.

I removed the front wheel to get the caliper back to the rear of the fork, put it all back together but did not have any bolts to install the caliper. I took one bolt off the left side and would tie strap the other hole on both sides. This would work but would only be a temporary fix. Not liking the idea of a tie strap holding the brakes on I did a little more investigating and found that the bolts holding on the passengers pegs were the same size as the caliper bolts. With the new bolts on it was time to take it for a test ride. I started off slow and everything was working fine. Next I ran her up the 100 and again all was well. I was back on the road in under an hour and made it to Joshua Tree NP before dark, 900 miles later. This could have been real bad but I was extremely lucky it went as well as it did. Can you say Dumbass!

Day 2 - Joshua Tree to Morro Bay
Sunday 8/27 (8:30am - 12:30am) 523 Miles

We woke up and watched the sunrise on the desert, great view. Someone, and I can't remember who now, stated that Buzz's tire looks like it's not gonna make it....

More on that later.

We hit the road, get gas and off we go. About 3 hrs later - around 11am - we pull in for some gas as we aren't familiar enough with the area to know where all the stations are and don't want to run out. Buzz opens up his face shield and asks,
"Do you guys eat?".

We finish up at the station and head down the road another few miles where we stop for breakfast in Kernville.

All of us have camelbaks on the bike so hydration is not even an issue, they were probably the best accessory we had on this ride. We stop for something to eat in this tourist town near Lake Isabella and a 15 year old girl is our waitress, we ask for water and she brings us 3 glasses.. down they go, we ask for 3 more and I think Blink makes the comment, "just bring us a pitcher", so she does. Then, and I don't remember who, we suggest getting the camelbaks off the bike and bringing them in to fill up. I think we went through 2 or 3 more pitchers of water/ice and she never saw up fill the camelbaks - she did keep rolling her eyes.

It was getting warm but we left w/full camelbaks and hit the road again. We hit a stretch of road that would have been incredible if it didn't have so many potholes, cracks, missing sections. I winded it's way up and down dry grass covered hills. It felt like we were there forever and the original route on the GPS wanted us to go through fire roads so it kept having to recalculate a new route. We finally left that area and were nearing the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

Wow!... I did the Avenue of the Giants drive the last time I was in northern California but missed the big Sequoias and they are truly inspiring.

We stopped off for some park stickers for the GS guys... The we rode through Kings Canyon NP and the GPS routed us a shortcut, Hwy 245. Holy Cow!... Maybe we were just tired with all the twisties we'd done so far and just wanted to reach the coast and setup our campsite but this road just kept twisting and twisting.

As we reached the coast it was late but you could just see the white outline of the breaking waves hitting the shoreline.

We finally reached Morro Bay State Park late and found a place to setup. It was dark and everyone appeared to be sleeping so we were as quiet as we could be. Once we setup the tents and had a chance to just stand around and talk we heard some flapping in the tall trees above. Not just normal flapping like you'd hear from a sparrow or crow but some midievil presence which implied a horrific man-eating creature was haunting these coastal areas. You could almost feel the wind the giant wings were pushing as the animal was striving to keep it's heavy body above us mere mortals. Then, more sounds, wasn't sure what they were... but there were multiple.

Well, after closer inspection, the multiple sounds were a barrage of fecal matter fired from giant Turkey Buzzards which apparently roost in the trees above. We moved our bikes away from the target zone and I did what I could to get the 'stuff' off my bike. Interestingly enough, they only like to assault pretty blue bikes.

Time to sleep.

Day 3 - Morro Bay to Mackerricher
Monday 8/28 (8:30am - 10:00pm) 420 Miles

Today it was time to hit the coast. We woke up and took our time packing then hit the road once again.

It doesn't take long before you start seeing the calm yet powerful affect of the Pacific.

As we started on our way I was in the lead an quickly spied a Tour Bus on one of the overlooks and a sign that read "Seal Viewing Point"... I thought, "Cool, we haven't seen many animals on this trip yet". So, I pulled in... I immediately spot a bunch of people feeding squirrels and think to myself, "You bunch of idiots, there are seals somewhere and you are feeding stupid squirrels that you see everyday in your backyard". Well.....

Need...

I...

Say...

More....

Now comes the first gas stop on the coast - I remember it was high the last time I was here so that's what I kept saying and our first one was high, the highest of the whole trip.

This also started the first, and only, fight on the trip. Blink was so concerned about the high gas prices that anytime we saw something reasonable he'd tell me on about it over the CB. After about 30 of them I got a little short tempered but it was my fault too for not realizing the first stop was just a typical tourist trap scenario and the rest of the gas we found was pretty much in line and reasonable.

A quick boxing match and we were okay the rest of the trip.

Time to hit the road again. Got a pic of Buzz and Blink going across the Bixby Bridge.

and now time for the Golden Gate Bridge.
San Francisco sure is crowded.
But the view of the GGB was incredible.

Blink even got some seals on a rock.

It was getting late in the day and we had a long way to go still to our planned campground, Mackerricher State park. We got back on the road and continued until it was getting dark. Blink was leading followed by Buzz an then myself. They passed a pickup pulling a trailer and since it was dark we were taking it easy in case there were any animals however the pickup/trailer was trying to keep up with the two GSs and it was apparent that we had Ricky Bobby on the road with us that night.

We made it to Makerricher State Park to find it covered by little holes in the ground and some had sand on top of them, covering the holes. What was the sand supposed to keep out or in and why weren't ALL the holes covered? We concluded they were alien pods which had hatched and the offspring were hanging in the trees or dark shadows for their turn at eating our brains. Yeah,
maybe we've been out too long.. but this was just day 3!...

Day 4 - Mackerricher to Crater Lake
Tuesday 8/29 (7am - 8:50pm) 386 Miles

The trip is really great and we are already dreading the end as we know it will creep up on us way too soon.

We pack up and head out - Blink spies a turnout with a drive out to the beach, and tire marks. So, he tells me on the CB he's going for it. Well, the sand is a little deeper than it appeared and he's got full saddlebags/trunk as well as a full 8 gallon GS tank of gas and we just aired up our tires....

We unload the bike and all three of us get it pointed back to the road. It started off as a cool day but now it's nice and warm... LOL

We continued along the coast some more and came to a great beach...

Blink mentioned he'd put his foot in the Atlantic and he had to do the same in the Pacific so while we were here:

After this little jaunt, it was time to get back to the ride. Off to Crater Lake we left and, as usual, we showed up after dark.

Day 5 - Crater Lake
Wednesday 8/30

Buzz's tire was looking VERY thin at this point and he was surely stressed about it. So, the options were to tour around Crater lake and then head to Eugene, OR where there was a BMW Dealer or Buzz could head south to a closer dealer while Blink and myself took a day of rest. The day of rest seemed like a good idea as we'd been riding hard the past couple days and didn't want to get tired and make mistakes.

Buzz left that morning, got a tire and returned by early afternoon.

We checked out Crater Lake

Then, back to the campground for dinner and a couple beers.

And, fire....

Maybe one too many beers for Blink...

That pretty much concluded the evening.....

Day 6 - Crater Lake to Paradise Park State Park
Thursday 8/31 (7:20am - 8:00pm) 474 Miles

Hwy 138 north out of Crater Lake was an excellent road!

There were many bridges on this ride.

The northern part of the coast offers more dramatic cliffs but also seems to have more cities and traffic.

The city of Seaside was really cool, it had some rolling streets just like San Francisco and opened into a bay area with tankers in it. You could see some ship building areas as well.

Buzz and Blink were finding stickers the whole trip to put on their luggage. Well, the one for Crater lake fell off Buzz's bike but the one on Blink's bike lasted the whole trip..LOL

There was no way we were going to make it to Mt Rainier for the end of this day as it would mean we'd be riding through Mt St Helens and Mt Rainier in the dark. So, we found a park (Paradise Park State Park) just off he Highway and got a great spot.

One thing Buzz learned on this trip was to try putting quarters in the shower to get the hot water working. We saw the water was running so assumed it was hot and cold well, at this park the cold water is free. Buzz didn't know this until he'd froze then after Blink came back, found out he could have taken a hot bath if he'd just tried putting in some quarters.

Day 7 - Paradise Pt. to Citibank RV Park
Friday 9/1 (7:30am - 8:00pm) 458 Miles

Time to head towards Mt St Helens. It was a quick ride in the morning to get there. It was truly incredible to see this area. I saw recently on a Discovery Channel special that the last two years a bulge developed inside the crater area and smoke was coming out of it. It's a very humbling feeling being so close to something that powerful. The road was great but you could see many small cracks and stretches that seemed to imply the area is not as stable as you might think...but...that's how mother earth is.

After that, we went to Mt Rainier but passed the best photo opportunity thinking there would be many good places to get a great shot.

We had lunch at a Pizza Hut in Enumclaw.

Now, time to get to Canada!... We hit a bunch of traffic in the Tacoma area and did our best to bypass the Seattle area and enter Canada at Sumas, WA.

After a few questions from the Customs Agents, we got through..

We headed north fast and ended up at the Citibank RV Park where we expected a typical RV Park setup with very few tent sites. But, just so happens there was a GoldWing Rally there and they invited us to throw darts and partake in a Turkey Broil the next evening.

The sites were small but we were able to get 3 tents, 3 bikes and a picnic table on a 20x20 site.

Day 8 - Citibank RV Park to Rampart Creek
Saturday 9/2 (8:00am - 6:00pm) 446 Miles

Today, we got back on the highway and headed towards Jasper. Needed gas so we stopped and met the foremost expert of U.S.
crime statistics in Canada - We'll call him Goober. Apparently, EVERY major city in the U.S. is dangerous to live in eh?

We stopped in Jasper for lunch and some gifts for the family.

Then rode down 93 from Jasper... Wow, that's all I have to say

We got about half way between Jasper and Banff and decided to stop at a campground just off the road - later we found that due
to the Labor Day holiday, it was probably the last one with available sites.

Day 9 - Rampart Creek to Glacier
Sunday 9/3 (7:00am - 4:00pm) 404 Miles

Today it was time to head towards Banff, the U.S. border and then Glacier National Park.

We got through the border with no problems, I was the only one without a passport but that's okay until Jan '07 when passports
will be mandatory. I had my birth cert. and that was fine. They asked us a bunch of questions and were having a little fun with us as it took a few mins...they just waived the car that was behind us through with little hassle.. LOL

We made it to Glacier National park and probably found the last available site in this campground, again, due to the Labor Day
holiday. Buzz pulled out his portable Laundry bucket thing and decided to wash a couple things.. Blink quickly took advantage
of the opportunity to wash every single item he brought. He also hung them out to dry. Did I forget to mention our site was right
next to the Amphitheatre where a park ranger was giving a speech about bears?... Sure looked like the hillbillies had shown up for
a camping trip.

The beer of the evening was Moose Drool, it was actually very good.

Day 10 - Glacier to Buffalo, WY
Monday 9/4 (7:00am - 10:00pm) 707 Miles

The next morning - it was time to ride the Going To The Sun Hwy

We stopped for a picture and decided to test our balancing skills before hitting the twisties...

One thing is certain, sure takes a long time to get out of Montana. But, there was almost no traffic which was good. Buzz finally decided to lead a little on this trip which was nice but Blink and I think his jetpack was stuck.... "To Infinity and Beyond!"

Lots of bugs today... yeow... I even took one in the right eyeglass as I was opening my faceshield for the only time today to see where Buzz was taking us for the next gas stop...

This is also a sad day as this is our last day before we split off and I head to a couple ST events in Colorado (WeSTOC) and
Arkansas (NatSTOC) and Blink/Buzz head to the Badlands.

Day 11 - Buffalo, WY to Badlands, NP
Tuesday 9/5 (7:00am - 8:30pm) 507 Miles

Buzz wakes up as usual at 3:30 am to relieve himself of night's last few beers and finds Mellow already up and almost packed.
They say their goodbyes and well wishes. Mellow takes off. Buzz goes back to sleep.

Blink and Buzz take their time getting up since they only have around 250 miles or so to go before they hit the Badlands. On the way they stop by Devil's Tower.

Nice, but after what they had seen on the coast and in Canada, the Tower wasn't that impressive . . . just a big rock rising out of
the ground, surrounded by a bunch of gift shops and tour buses.

We parked in spots marked reserved for Harleys while we picked up some stickers for our bikes.

Then we took off for Sturgis . . . just to say we had been there. The town was deserted. Most of the wild bars that you hear about were closed. We stopped at a graphics store to get some more stickers for our bikes. Also picked up some oil at NAPA. The plan was to change our oil after we set up camp that night. Apparently, the 2005 Sturgis Rally was a bust -- everywhere we went there was a huge inventory of 2005 Sturgis stuff on sale. After Sturgis, we hit Mt. Rushmore.

Very cool place, but both of us expected the monument to be larger than it actually was. Impressive nevertheless. So was the Park Ranger next to the teepee. Blink bought another sticker.

It was late in the evening when we left for the Badlands, NP. When we arrived, the sun was setting and a nearly full moon was rising. It was an incredible sight. Lots of deer and antelope.

Found a spot to camp, got something to eat at a restaurant in the nearby city of Wall, SD, then had a few beers and called it a night.

Day 12 - Badlands, NP and Wall SD
Wednsday 9/6 (8:00am - 8:30pm) 39 Miles

This morning we took the picturesque road through the park and then went to town for breakfast and coffee.

Mellow?

Spent the rest of the day shopping for souvenirs, changing our oil, and taking pictures. Buzz turned his charm on a sweet lass sitting on a bench just outside the Wall Drug Store, but was rejected. She just sat there and smiled, didn't say a word.

Changed our oil three blocks from the police station behind a school.

Went back to town to cool off -- fudge and carmel ice cream sundaes helped a lot. Had a few beers at the Badlands Bar. Listened to some good music and had fun watching the locals. Buzz dared me to arm wrestle a cowgirl with chew in her cheek, but I thought she'd whip my ass 'cause her arms were the size of my legs. I did, however, get up the nerve to ask her if I could take her picture, but she denied him . . . she said she didn't want to end up on the cover of some magazine. Ha! fat chance of that ever happening.

Ended the day by cruising the park at sunset, and watching the full moon rise over the rocks.

Day 13 - Badlands, NP to Home
Thurday 9/7 (5:30am - 6:30pm, 12:45AM) 840 Miles or 1305

Woke up before sunrise and headed for home at around 5:30 am. It was an uneventful day of interstate riding Buzz and I switching the lead every 150 miles or so to pass the time. The Kansas Highway Patrol was out in force. One patrol car flashed his lights at Buzz as a friendly reminder of the speed limit and another turned around, but didn't pursue. 840 miles later, at 6:30 pm Buzz arrived home. I decided to Keep going and made it home at 12:45 am. Nothing like doing 1305 miles on the last leg of a two-week trip!

Here are all the pictures, slideshows and videos:

Mellow's Pictures

Buzz's Pictures

Blink's Pictures

Blink's Sideshow

The Mellow Dance

Mother’s Day Catch Up - Jun 10, 2006

2006-06-10T10:20:00.007-05:00

The History

Back in 2002, I took my Mom for her first MC ride in 36 years, she was 73 then and it was Mother's Day. She hadn't been on a bike in 36 years and I got on my first bike at the age of 36. It just seemed like the thing to do.
I did a quick write up at the time and Wing World published it - I had no idea they were going to do that before spell/grammar checking it... Oh well, I'll learn next time...

Anyway, Mom, who used to worry about me all the time driving the car from TX to OK and back when I visited, fell in love with riding - even wants us to do Alaska someday - Heck, I'm not sure I'm up for that.

Well, I promised her we'd do a Mother's Day ride every year but she developed some knee and back problems that required a couple surgeries and she didn't feel confident about getting on the bike until she was healed - but, it seemed that riding was her motivating factor - she'd always say "I'm getting better, I'll be able to get on that bike soon".

So, this year was going to be the year she got back but it didn't work on on Mother's Day for me so this weekend, I'm heading up to Oklahoma to try and catch up on 4 years worth of Mother's Day riding... They live in SE Oklahoma and are parallel to the Talimena Scenic Drive, so that's a must. Might also take her to Robber's Cave SP and Clayton Lake SP just to give her some time in the saddle.

Both of my parents are getting older and living in the country, I think, has helped them to keep moving and not just sit on a sofa all day, they also run a few goats on their land which keeps them busy. Time is never on our side - but I try to do the best I can to appreciate my parents and help provide memories for them as well as myself.

THE RIDE

We decided to do about 250 miles all around SE Oklahoma, we left just before 7am while it wasn't too hot.

We took hwy 259 and toured all around Broken Bow lake then headed westward towards Clayton Lake (hwy 144).

Prior to Clayton Lake, we hit a road that I thought was only going to be 1 mile of dirt and ended up being 7 miles - at the end of the road there was 8 ATVs getting ready to go down it as I guess it's a favored road for them. LOL

We stopped at the pharmacist in Clayton, OK to show off - they saw a copy of the article from Wing World and had a huge smiles watching Mom and I take off down the road. From there we headed north to Wilburton then east to Red Oak - there's a great little road (82) that leads back to Talihina, OK another 10 miles and we're back home near Whitesboro, OK.

We ended up doing about 220 miles and Mom was okay with that even though she didn't want to stop - I convinced her it was already in the upper 90's and we probably shouldn't push it too much as it would hit 102 later.

She told me next time she wants to go to Tenkiller Lake.

She had a great time and wanted me to tell everyone Hi!

CampSTOC II - May 17, 2006

2006-05-17T10:19:00.004-05:00

Greers Ferry Lake, Arkansas

This was the 2nd annual
CampSTOC
and many showed
up for the fun.

Here are the rest of the pics.

Big Bend - Feb 23-26, 2006

2006-02-23T10:18:00.003-06:00

Day 1 - Tuesday 2/21

I left home about 2:30 and planned to make it to Colorado City State Park, about 260 miles away. I made it however, the park was closed for winter. So, being prepared, I decided to head to my alternate campground - Big Spring - 30 miles away.

Well, they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. It was 9pm and I thought, "I'll pull a Blink and ride to Guadalupe National Park, it's just 200 more miles away". I felt good and just started riding then I saw a sign to Monahans and remembered Six Pipes saying he stayed there once. It was just another 130 miles away so I went for it. They were open and it was a pretty cool park, I'll return again some day in the daylight.

It was 11pm and time to go to bed. Not bad for over 400 miles after work.

Day 2 - Wednesday 2/22

I woke up early and headed towards Guadalupe National Park, it was only 150 miles away. But, I didn't get gas in the morning and when I was out in the middle of nowhere Texas I had to head north into New Mexico as there were more towns in that direction that could have gas stations, there were none towards the Park. I got gas in Loving, NM just south of Carlsbad.

I got to Guadalupe NP pretty early, 8:30-ish.

I set up camp and then decided to go into Carlsbad for lunch. I was at Wendy's reading the brochure for the park and read where Guadalupe Peak was the tallest Peak in Texas. I thought it would be cool to say "I've been to the top of Texas". The brochure stated the trail length was 4.2 miles one way. It was 12pm and I wouldn't get a start 'til 1. What the heck. I gave myself 2 hours to see how far I could get then 2 hours to make it back down. That would put me back in camp before dark.

I looked at the hill and thought, "how hard can that be?" Well, once you get to the top of that hill, there's another one behind it that you have to climb, then another one behind it, THEN, you see the peak that is taller than the 3 previous hills. That's as far as I got, there's a backpacking campground at that point and it was just before 3pm.

Time to head back. The climb up was pretty easy and I found out later that I was going too fast. About half way down my knees started hurting a little and by the time I was to the bottom it was killing me to step off a curb.
I'm thinking I made it 3/4 of the way up for about a 6 mile round trip hike. It wasn't riding but it was a personal goal I wanted to hit, I'll be back again and I'll make it to the top the next time. Maybe a group ride/hike?

After I got back to camp Jerry (Gold Rush) showed up and started coffee.

Day 3 - Thursday 2/23

Before I woke up, Jerry started the coffee. We packed and headed to the Davis Mtns State Park via El Paso. We got some rain along the way but by the time we got to the park it was nice and partly cloudy.

After we were done setting up camp Mark (Brinkster) and Ron (2-cup) stopped by and we all BS'd a little. Then, some squidly-GS rider showed up but it was just Mike (Chief).

Ron and Mark headed back to the Indian Lodge after we all decided what time to meet for the morning ride. Jerry made coffee then went to bed and Chief and I stayed up talking. It started to rain and I said, "Listen, hear that? Blink is on his way" About an hour later, Blink showed up.

Day 4 - Friday 2/24

Around 5am, Jerry made coffee.

The rest of us woke and started getting ready for the ride. We all went to Marfa to have breakfast at Carmen's but, it was closed/shut down. I ate down the road, can't remember the name of the place but it was good. Blink and Chief were headed to the dirt road between Marfa and Candallera and the rest of us went to Presidio to start the ride down River Road.

We got to Presidio and it was starting to rain a little so we waited and eventually heard Blink and Cheif on the CB but thought they had already passed us so we started down River Road. Apparently Blink and Cheif were just behind us as we all made it to the overlook area about the same time.

We were going to eat a late lunch at Marathon at the place with the great malts but it was closed and then we had some communication issues and all split up in Alpine but converged back at the campground afterwards. Where, Jerry made coffee.

Day 5 - Saturday 2/25

Jerry got up early and made some coffee.

Ron and Mark wanted to tour the Mcdonald observatory so they did that and the other 4 of us went to Big Bend NP via Marathon and the east entrance. Blink and Cheif were going to do the 'dirt' version of River Road and meet up with Jerry and I in Terlingua. We all met up again and did River Road the other direction back to Presidio. Definitely not as comfortable that direction, but just as fun.

Jerry lead us back to the campground where he promptly made some coffee.

We ate dinner at the Indian Lodge, not really worth the money in my opinion.

We all BS'd a little then Jerry went to bed. After that we had some Javalenas and Skunks crawling around the site for a while.

Day 6 - Sunday 2/26

Jerry got up early and made some coffee.

Then, we all headed home.

HERE are the rest of the pics:

Mellow's Pics

Kerrville - Dec 10, 2005

2005-12-10T10:16:00.008-06:00

Just another
great ride
in the
Texas Hill Country.

Day One
Departure Date: Friday 9th
Departure Time: 8:30 am
Departure Temp:16 degrees in Dallas

It was really cold... I had a couple layers on and my Gerbing Jacket/Socks/Gloves so I was very comfortable.

There were some icy spots but most it them were very easy to avoid.

I made it to Junction at 2pm and met up with Jerry (Goldrush) for his l ast trip on his 2001 Illusion Red Wing. He has a 2006 Gold Goldwing Level 4 (ABS/Audio/Airbag/GPS) on the way and should have it by next weekend.

We had lunch at Lums BBQ in Junction, very good food, then left for Garner State Park.

We got there around 4, setup camp and then went into town for snacks and firewood.

I got a call from Paulo at 8pm, he was in New Braunfels and was going to have two bananas then head to the campground, he said it was very cold.

He finally showed up just before 11pm. He was trying to do his best Blink imitation by riding in cold, dark, deer infested country... He did a very good job.

He un-tied this 57 Bungees and set up his tent.

Day Two-Saturday
Jerry, Paulo and myself got up and went to Utopia to eat at the Lost Maples Cafe then we hit 336, 337, 335. At the end of the day, we headed to Uvalde as Jerry needed a new sleeping bag and a coffee pot.

This was a great day, the roads were near perfect, the weather was perfect and the company was even better.

We got back to the park and I started chopping on and downed tree to get some extra firewood. Blink showed up just after dark; I expected it to snow shortly thereafter but it didn't.

Day Three-Sunday

Jerry left early and Blink and I waited for Paulo to re-bungee his bike before heading back to Utopia for breakfast.

As Paulo was going to check/oil his chain he noticed a funny noise. We thought one of the bungees had caught somewhere. But, it was obviously his rear bearing. We tipped the bike on the front tire and sidestand to get the rear wheel off the ground and there was a lot of
sideways movement.

Our plan was to possibly make it to Round Rock where Paulo has a good friend.

Blink pulled off and headed to Houston near 290/281 in the direction of Austin.

I went a little further to Marble Falls and then Paulo turned off on 1431 towards Round Rock, it looked like he was going to be okay.

He called me after I got home and he was in a rental car. The bike did well until he got very close to his friend's house when it really started acting squirrly.

All-in-all, it was a great ride as we all survived.

HERE are the rest of my pics.

HERE are Blink's pics.

The ‘NO’ Ride - Oct 19-23, 2005

2005-10-19T10:15:00.006-05:00

This ride started out as a very
planned and pre-organized
event with lots of informational
packets and material.

Unfortunately,
plans sometimes change.

Everything started out well, I left Wednesday and went to my parents place near Talihina Oklahoma, Blink came up later that night.

Hondo and David met NightRider and kingwing and headed for Longview. Chief and Beep also left a little later.

10/20 - Talimena Drive Scenic Byway/Hot Springs
Thursday morning, while Blink and I were riding ATVs around my parents place and helping feed a 3 day old calve, those that were in Longview were heading for Talihina. Around 10 am Blink and I went to Talihina (10 miles away) to meet up with everyone. They were a little behind schedule but they showed up. I think that's when I found out RRainman had a mishap on a oil spot at a gas station. The details are posted in a link below.

We had 2 Blue Wings, 2 BMW K1200S's, 1 Valk and 2 BMW GS's. Blink spotted Buzz at a gas station and went to get him, purely by accident, he didn't think we would be there that late so everything was running well.

We had a nice greasy lunch then hit the Talimena Drive Scenic Byway.

After the Talimena Drive everyone headed for the Howards Johnson's in Hot Springs and Buzz, Blink and myself set up camp at the Quachita State Park. Then, we headed back to the hotel to meet up with everyone at the hotel then to a seafood place for dinner.

10/21 - Hwy 7/Hwy 23 (Pig Trail Scenic Byway)/ West Plains, MO
We all met up at Hot Springs Villiage to begin the ride, everyone but David and Hondo showed up. Hondo's knee was acting up so they had decided to head back to Houston (we sure hope you feel better soon). Well, Hondo did provide a great packet of color coded maps and information. It was also left in Longview the previous morning. This was the part of the 'NO' Ride that dealt with 'No Idea Where We Were Going'. Anyway, we had breakfast in Russellville and then decided to go to Ozark and hit Hwy 23 (Pig Trail Scenic Byway) then hit Hwy 7 the next day on the way back from Missouri. There were actually some colors on Hwy 23 and it was that area actually had more color than we expected.

We ended up at West Plains, MO at the Best Western. Blink, Buzz and I left to find one of the may state parks in the area but all of them were closed or did not have any tent camping. We went down 10 miles of dirt road to find one of them, passing hunters (maybe?) with guns and flashlights. Buzz gave up and headed back to the hotel and Blink and I gave up shortly after that. Sometimes, you have to know when to give up.

10/22 - Hwy 341 (Push Mtn Road)/Hwy 16/Hwy 7/Hot Springs
The morning started off cool in the high 40's but you could tell it was gonna be a great day. We headed off to Hwy 341 (Push Mtn Road) then to Hwy 16 and Hwy 7 to Hot Springs. There we met up with LL and Candice.

Then, we headed off to a Pizza joint to watch Game 1 of the World Series.

I can't even begin to describe ALL the antics that transpired during this trip but over the coming days/weeks I'm sure some of them will come up in posts.

Mellow's Pics
Buzz's Pics
Blink's Pics

Yellowstone! - Sep 10-17, 2005

2005-09-18T10:13:00.003-05:00

Wow... What a Trip!!!

Day 1 - Saturday,
September 10, 2005
(600 Miles)

After Rick had a hard night of partying with a friend in Dallas, and after only 3 hours of sleep, we left Carrollton at 5:00am. We planned this to be a stress-free ride with no preplanned routes or time schedules, just us and the road. 3 miles later, we pulled over so Rick could get his ipod working; I topped off my tank while he was doing that. He got it working and we continued on our way.

30 miles later, we pulled over so Rick could get his ipod working. Again, he got it working and we continued on our way. The morning was cool at 64 degrees and we were dreading the 25-40 degree weather we'd be experiencing in Wyoming and Montana. Our thin Texas blood was going to be detrimental to our journey. The drive between Carrollton and Amarillo via 287 is still the same long, boring, desolate, windy, construction-filled, road-kill, and truck-infested highway.

Rick, while noticing his ipod was acting 'funny', passed me stating he had music again. When he passed he asked if I saw his muffler, apparently, he had some some cool modification. NO MUFFLER!.. just a little pipe he bought or maybe found. The strange thing is it wasn't any louder!. It sounded exactly the same. What the heck is BMW thinking? The muffler weighs 22 lbs and does not muffle anything. Oh well, back to the trip. We had breakfast at Denny's in Amarillo then left towards the Texas/New
Mexico line. Note to all if your on a wing going toward New Mexico, don't forget to GAS up in Amarillo. Otherwise, you will be riding slow, calling yourself a Dumb ass heading to Dumas. At this point, Rick sped ahead and took an action shot of the momentous event.

Paulo had wanted to ride with us today all the way to the Texas/New Mexico border to get a picture of the 3 of us next to the border sign and also pick up some other states and counties on his quest to reach 1000 miles in a day. He decided to ride with briantootoomany and leave earlier to make better time. We wondered, as we passed where the construction zone that had apparently removed the Texas/New Mexico sign, if they ever made it there and what picture they got. In New Mexico, near the
Capulin Volcano, we stopped to help a kid with a broken MC. He was on a Kawasaki 250 with no power to anything. We checked fuses and looked over the bike, as a rancher stopped to see if a jump would help. It didn't. We left him with the rancher, as there was nothing more we could do. Rick's CB was now starting to act 'funny'. We stopped in Raton, NM for gas and decided to call it a day and camp at Trinidad State Park in Colorado. Apparently, Rick's ipod started acting 'funny' again so he put it in the trunk
and forgot about it. After 3 U-turns my GPS finally got us to the park. Great scenery and a couple cool mountains even though nothing like we were going to see. Rick's ipod started working at the park for a bit, looks like a bad connection. That evening, we used Rick's laptop and routed the next day's journey then uploaded it to his GPS. There was even a swing and slide near our campsite but apparently, we're better at keeping a motorcycle upright.

Day 2 - Sunday,
September 11, 2005
(570 Miles)

We started the day early but not too early, leaving the park in Trinidad, CO at around 7am. At that point, Rick's ipod was working again, so we velcro'd it to the handlebars to see if that worked any better. An hour later, before his CB started acting 'funny', he mentioned the ipod quit again. That was it and he would never use it again the entire trip. Enough of that, time for the route. Our route carried us from Trinidad, through Stonewall on hwy 12, a very nice little scenic road. Then, we took 160 to Alamosa, Pagosa Springs and Durango. At Durango we jumped on 550 north. This road looks somewhat straight on the map but is filled with every kind of twisty you can imagine while going through forests and also having a great view of some mountains. We went through Silverton and Quray. We took 62, near Ridgeway to 145 north, which turns into 141. This being the anniversary of 9/11, it was only fitting that we met up with a group of Harley riding firemen from Ohio at one of the scenic turnouts.

Hwy 141 is filled with red rock bluffs and some very comfortable yet challenging curves. The rocks look like they're going to fall on you the whole time you're riding through the area.

At Gateway, we continued on 141 into Grand Junction where were going to head to Glade Park to camp. But, when we got there, a long gravel road led to the campgrounds. We were hungry and tired and I didn't feel like dealing with a Jeep trail on my new Wing, Rick says I'm a wuss, so what. Anyway, we headed back to Grand Junction to look for a non-existent campground. We decided to eat first as it had been one very long day, then we found a campground about 10 miles down the road.

Day 3 - Monday,
September 12, 2005
(458 Miles)

We woke at 2:36am to the sound of rain. But, this rain was different in that it sounded like ch-ch-ch-ch then kachchchchchch. Well, we had unknowingly put up our tents next to a sprinkler system. I was lucky, I was only getting the spray at the end of two sprinklers. Rick was 3 feet from one and was getting pelted by the spray. After some laughing, okay a lot of laughing, Rick strategically timed the sprinklers, unzipped his tent and rain fly, and jumped out, zipping the tent back up. He then positioned
himself as an expert snake charmer would and rammed a rock into the gaping mouth of the mechanical water-spitting beast, saving the day.

The funny thing is the night before, Rick was considering not using his rain fly as the forecast was clear but with the temps starting to drop and the possibility of dew, he changed his mind. Our plan today was to hit Yellowstone. Well, plans are really nothing more than guidelines anyway. We made great time that morning heading out of Colorado and into Wyoming. There were some distant storms and the temps were starting to drop but we were managing to miss it all. Until the dreaded Hwy 287. As soon as we made the turn we had to pull off as it looked like we'd be going right into the storm, the perfect storm.

At first it was just a few small drops, then, with no notice what so ever, we had 50mph gusts of wind with constant 40 mph side winds. We almost drug pegs going straight down the road. The rain was like bullets and we were it's prey. This went on for about 40 miles. After that, it was cold and dreary. We kept making jokes about how at least it wasn't snowing. When we got to Dubois, Wyoming, at 3pm got gas and decided to have a late lunch/early dinner. Everyone was asking if we'd come from Yellowstone as there were 6 inches of snow on the mountain between here and there.

Needless to say, we ended up staying at the KOA in Dubois to see how the weather holds, as I was typing this it was 42 degrees and starting to rain. We ate at the Cowboy Cafe and met an Australian couple on the 7th month of their 1 year tour through the United States. They were headed east to New York then back through the southern states.

Day 4 - Tuesday,
September 13, 2005
(199 Miles)

The morning started with a temperature of 32 but the sky was clear. We had decided we'd head for Yellowstone and take a chance on the snow. The first mountain we went up made us feel like it was Christmas; snow-lined roads with the peaks of the Grand Tetons showing snow as well, the lowest temp was 28. Rick messed with the wiring on his CB and it was working flawlessly now.

When we hit the Grand Tetons, we ran into a 30 min traffic jam and then forgot to look for the turn for Yellowstone so we had a little backtracking to do but we weren't in any rush. There was a lot of cloud cover and we didn't think we'd get a good shot of the Tetons but we finally got a few good pics. After that, we got into Yellowstone and as we were looking at some of the rapids and falls along the southern entrance, it started to snow. We pulled off for gas at Grant Village and had a quick meal. After that, we found a campground and setup then went to catch Old Faithful. We got there about 20 mins before the next eruption and it was pretty cool to see.

On the way back, Rick saw a buffalo and took a pic then it started heading towards him, he took off. That evening we started a fire using a huge tree root because the temps were dropping, the damned thing burned all night.

Day 5 - Wednesday,
September 14, 2005
(157 Miles-10 hours)

It was 21 degrees when we woke with frost on everything. Rick's GS was not a happy camper; it took several tries to get it started. Then, it leaked gas and shock oil. But, after it warmed up, it stopped and was happy again. bToday was basically a park tour to see the sights as most of the time we just ride to a park for the roads and never see the attractions. As soon as we had breakfast and started riding we saw a couple Elk crossing the road. Rick got a great pic.

Further down the road, I tried to play chicken with a Buffalo. Sure glad the Wing has reverse. When we first rode up on them they were just standing and grazing then, all of a sudden, a couple decided to cross the road. One of them looked straight at me and started to walk my direction. I backed up. After they crossed we carefully passed the rest in a low gears and ready to roll on the throttle. We saw probably 100-150 Buffalo all day.

We road a figure eight through the park and saw most of the Geysers and Falls that were easy to get to. We walked forever to see the Mammoth Falls Geyers and it was somewhat of a disappointment, it would have been nice if we'd known we could get there from further down the road instead of the never ending uphill walkway.

We burned through some non-traffic twisties for about 5 miles. We returned to camp for dinner and on our way saw a big Bull Elk from a bridge, we stopped and took some pics. Later, as Rick was looking for firewood, that same Elk showed up about 100 yards away. He cautiously returned to camp. This was our last day in Yellowstone.

Day 6 - Thursday,
September 15, 2005
(592 Miles)

It was 21 degrees this morning, AGAIN! But, it didn't 'feel' as cold as the previous morning. This was our morning to head out of Yellowstone and towards Mt. Evans. As I got on my bike while it was on the center stand and rocked it forward, I forgot to put it in gear and when it touched it was at an angle and tipped right over on the left side. No damage to bike or rider just walked off it and then put it back up. Not a good start but we were on our way now.

I was getting great mileage and I was at 213 for the tank with no low fuel light on so we kept heading out of the park to the next 'village' where there seems to be Conoco stations situated. Well, my reserve light finally came on at 222 miles and then we found out the station was closed so we had to backtrack another 16 miles, slowly, through Buffalo territory. I finally pulled into a station with 262 miles for the take and filled it with 6.2 gallons, it holds 6.3. We left the park out of the east entrance and found a construction area on the side of the hill with gravel, deep ruts, mud and a drop off that was suicidal.

But, we did see a couple bear on our way out, and more Buffalo. It started to warm up which was good because my heated gear was acting 'funny'. Once we left the park we made some pretty good time through Wyoming to Colorado. The southern half of hwy 125 in Colorado is a really nice road. We ended up in Glen Lakes where we saw a huge Moose right off the main highway; I had no idea Moose were THAT big. Also, you can buy gas for 3.69/gallon here; we're going elsewhere for that in the morning. Oh yeah, Rick's bike is now making a chirping noise, but it's working fine.

Day 7 - Friday,
September 16, 2005
(605 Miles)

Our plan today was to get as close to or past Amarillo so our Saturday ride home was as short as possible.

We made it to Mt. Evans and started up but the road was closed at Summit Lake, we were told by a BMW rider from Oklahoma there was a blizzard the day before so we were lucky to get as far as we did. Heck, we even saw Nightrider and kingwing there.

On the way we saw a group of Harleys, maybe 20, heading the opposite direction. Following them were two trucks with trailers. No comment. To be fair, going in our direction, was saw two Goldwings on trailers with their trailers trailing behind the end of the trailer. I just about started crying.

Today wasn't good for me, my throat started hurting and I could tell I was coming down with something. The 74 degree swing in temps from 21 to 95 degrees during the trip didn't help. Also, my air mattress had a pinhole in it and I woke up on the ground, 32 degree ground.

We were followed by 5 Corvettes from Raton, NM to near Dumas, TX. They were using CBs and we chatted for a while as they were running the same speed as us and were heading to San Antonio. It helped make that boring section of road a little more eventful.

The wind on this route was relentless. We'd have wind on our right side, take a left hand curve and instead off having wind at our backs, would be back on our left. It just didn't make sense. At times the wind seemed like it was circular. Not a fun day riding in the wind, but we rode through it.

We ended up at a KOA in Amarillo where Rick headed off to bring back dinner and some nyquil for me. I was beat.

Day 8 - Saturday,
September 17, 2005
(Joe-358 Miles Rick-599 Miles)

For the first time in the trip I didn't even need to use my sleeping bag. Woke up to 65-70 degree temps and I was feeling much better. We headed out with not much to say. The last day of a trip with a good friend is typically compared to going to a funeral. Truly a sad ending to a fulfilling ride.

I have to say this was the best trip I've ever been on and I have to thank Rick for being a great friend and being patient with me.

Here are the rest of the pics:

Mellow's Pics Rick's Pics

Llano for Lunch - Jul 23, 2005

2005-07-23T10:12:00.000-05:00

We decided it was time
for another ride to
Llano, TX for some
BBQ.

More pics Here.

EaSTOC - Jun 22, 2005

2005-06-22T10:11:00.003-05:00

Stecoah, North Carolina
This was yet another great event with some ST Owners at the Iron Horse Motorcycle Campgrounds and they didn't even give me a bad time about bringing my Wing... well, not much anyway..

I had been wanting to get back to the Smokies and made a last minute jaunt to North Carolina to hang out with some ST riders I'd meet in California last year and knew from the ST owners site.

- Wed 6/22 -
Around 1pm, I headed towards Jackson, MS where Blink and I had stayed a couple times on previous trips to/from the Smokies, Roosevelt State Park. This leg of the trip was 450 miles and I got there around 7:30. It was 95 degrees during most of the ride and had started cooling off a little, 94 degrees, when I got to the campground.

I set up camp and was glad I bought a battery operated coleman tent fan with a magnetic base/plate that allows positioning the fan anywhere within the tent and providing a nice breeze. This thing works off a D cell battery and I fell asleep two nights leaving the fan on for 5-6 hours at a time. A+ on that accessory, HERE's the link to a review on MotoCampers.

- Thu 6/23 -
I woke up and left Roosevelt SP about 5:00 am for Stecoah, NC where the Ironhorse MC Campground is, about 600 miles. Not much scenery until I hit US 64/74 in NC.

I made it to the campground at 2 ish and started meeting some guys I had known from boards but never met and a few I'd already known, great time.

- Fri 6/24 -
Time to ride the Gap, got out with a guy from California I met last year and another guy from Canada, one on as ST1100 and the other an ST1300. We left at 6 am as this being Hoot weekend we didn't want to get run over by tourists so we hit the Gap and found almost no traffic at all.

Some of these guys are pretty funny, here are some pics from atop the gap and around the area:

- Sat 6/25 -
I woke up Saturday and packed my gear then had breakfast with everyone and started back in the direction of Texas. I took a look at the map and decided to snake my way through some of TN and then make it to the Natchez Trace Parkway, which I had never ridden before. It was 300 miles to the parkway and along the way I took some more pics of TN.

The Natchez Trace Parkway was OK.. but, it pretty much looks the same for the 100 miles I rode so, with the 100% humidity, 50 mph speed limit and nothing all that special to see... I hit the interstate the get the air moving around me as even though it was only 85 degrees, I was dying.. I don't think I did a good job of hydration on this trip.

I hit 3 different State Parks in Arkansas on the way back home and all of them were full, that's what I get for heading back on a Saturday. So, I kept riding 'til I found Bob Sandlin State park in Texas. I was only a couple hundred miles from home but it was a very tiring, hot 900 mile day and I just needed a few hours sleep so that's where I ended up.

- Sun 6/26 -
After a nice short morning ride home, time to relax... it was about a 2,200 mile trip and lots of fun.

Here are the rest of the pics.

New Wing - May 6, 2005

2005-05-06T10:10:00.007-05:00

New Wing

I thought I'd throw
something together
for my
New Wing ride.

Friday May 6th
Left DFW and headed for Corinth, MS (Lake Hill Motors) to trade the ST on a Wing.

Got lost in Memphis, TN but still made it to Corinth around 11:30. They had the Wing ready and we discussed a few things before doing all the paperwork. Headed out of Corinth and towards my Parents place in SE Oklahoma, I knew I wasn't gonna make it so I planned on going to Paris, AR (near Mt Magazine State Park).

I got to Paris, AR around 7:30-8:00, decided to grab a sandwich, and head up to the park to camp.

Brown Springs area of Mt Mag State Park

I found the camping area and it's not bad. I wasn't crazy about the out-houses but it's just down the road from the showers and better facilities so that wasn't a big deal. I set up my tent and, since there are no preinstalled power ports on the Wing, YET, I had to blow up my air mattress, TWIN Air Mattress... whew....

While I was setting up the park ranger came by and said to make sure I didn't have any food with me as a couple weekends before a goldwing with a trailer loaded with food was knocked over by a bear and he scratched up the bike pretty good trying to get into it. No problem, I never leave food anywhere when I'm camping. As I was getting ready to crash for the night I heard some rustling and saw about 5 possums take off in all directions... LOL

All in all, a nice area for camping and especially after a 950 mile day...

Saturday May 7th
Time to get up and head to my parents place and hang out with Mom for Mother's Day.

I get up about 5:00 and start packing up. I load up the bike and get all my gear on and then pull the bike off the centerstand.... Now, here's where it gets interesting... The centerstand on the ST and Wing are very different in how the bike reacts to coming off the stand. On the ST, the palm of your hand is facing forward, same direction as the bike, when you pull it forward. On the
Wing, you use the Left passenger grab rail and YOU SHOULD lift forward with your palm facing away from the bike.....

Well, I didn't do this.... and with my palm facing the bike, like I was trying to curl it, I pull the bike off the CS... Another different... With the ST, there isn't that far to go before the rear wheel touches the ground and the bike is pretty much still as tall as it was....

On the Wing it comes off the rear tire pretty fast and then all the weight comes towards you to rest on the side stand.... Not remembering this and being used to the ST still......

I wasn't prepared... TWANG... I believe I tore my right bicep muscle... fun way to start the day...

I layed down on the picnic table for a minute until the pain went away then got on the bike to see if it would affect my operating it. No problem, I must have tore it on the inside lower connecting point. I was hoping it was just a strain but I've heard guys in the gym tear them before and the 'TWANG' feeling they felt was exactly what I felt so I was pretty sure it tore... .

I got on the bike and headed to Paris to get gas (6:30) then off to my parents. They were only a couple hours away so I got there pretty early and helped them fix a cattle guard, spent some time with them then headed back home a little early as there were some big storms planned to hit the area and their clay driveway is no fun in the rain. Mom's knee is still a bit weak so we decided to give it some more time to heal before going for a ride.

Got home Saturday evening with just under 800 miles on the new bike and a nice nick in the saddleback from some debris in the road... oh well, can't stay new for long...

I was nice to be home and get some much needed rest... Boy, what some guys will do to save a few bucks on a bike...

Big Bend - Feb 24-27, 2005

2005-02-24T21:41:00.009-06:00

Well, there wasn't any reason to believe this first Big Bend trip of 2005 would be any different than any of the past trips. Sure, there was a rainy forecast however, most of the previous Big Bend trips followed rainy forecasts that faded to partly cloudy and sunny days.

After all, this is Texas, 50% chance of rain doesn't mean much.

Day One:

I headed out about 1:30 on Wednesday in my quest to parallel I-20 and accumulate more counties for the Texas County Contest.

I took US-180 and made it to Snyder, TX before I decided to find a campsite. I found an RV park that said they had tent campsites... Little did I know at the time that this was also the place where everyone took their pets to relieve themselves... I found a spot that I think they all missed and set up my tent. I also found out that I was under a 'humming' light and next to a chain link fence where someone was keeping their dog. At 1am, the dog all of a sudden, notice my tent and started barking, about an hour later, someone took the dog away as I'm sure it was disturbing the residents with the barking.

Day Two:
I woke up to 40 degree temps, a light drizzle and 20 mph winds, not fun stuff when you're trying to pack up your tent, only snow would be worse than that.. LOL

I planned on heading towards El Paso county and even hit the New Mexico state line, but the drizzle turned into a light rain and the 40 degree temp dropped to 37. I decided to bypass my previous goals and just make it to the Davis Mtns. State Park early and hang out.

I got to the park about 11am, set up my tent and was talking to a fellow camper from Washington.

I even decided to take a hike up this hill in front of the campsite.

Around 5 Six Pipes showed up and shortly after Chief rode in.

Six Pipes even brought some 'special' cookies..

We went to dinner and when we came back, Blink had just showed up.

Day Three:
We hit the road early on Friday morning and went to Marfa for breakfast at Carmen's Cafe then to Presidio and RIVER ROAD! When we hit Marfa, the roads were drying out and by the time we hit Presidio the roads were great.

Day Four:
I woke up at 1:30 in the morning as nature called.. there was a light rain. At 3:30 when nature called again, the entire place was coated in snow.

By 9am there was 3 to 4 inches of snow on everything.

Maybe not the best riding weather but a great experience. We ate a great breakfast at the Indian Lodge and then threw snowballs at each other. The temps were rising and none of the snow was actually sticking to the streets so we decided to head out to the Hill Country and hopefully, better weather.

There's only one thing wosrse than trying to pack up your tent in the rain and that's under snow covered trees.

Six Pipes mentioned he was probably heading back earlier and we weren't sure if he was as snowed-in as we were so Blink, Chief and myself headed to Del Rio, Uvalde and the Hill Country. It was only 360 miles but they were some of the hardest miles I've ever endured, lots of cold drizzling rain and traffic plus a big breakfast and a late start. But we did it, Chief pulled off in Uvalde and opted for a hotel room, can't say I blame him, and Blink and I camped at Garner State Park.

Day Five:
Sunday, the last day of the trip, AND THE BEST WEATHER... Barely a cloud in the sky, the roads were a little wet and there were hundreds of deer but it was very relaxing.

Some may view a trip like this as a complete failure and not worth the effort however, it was a great experience with great friends and lots of laughs. I can't see how that can be interpreted as anything but a total success.

Six Pipes Pics HERE - - - and HERE are the rest of mine.

WeSTOC ‘04 - Minden, NV

2004-09-11T21:40:00.005-05:00

I decided to attend my first
STOC event in Minden, NV and
also determined this would be
a great chance to hit the famous
California Coast.

9/11 - Day One – Carrollton, TX to Seligman, AZ (1,038 miles)
3AM to 7:30PM CST (temp:55 to 91 degrees)

The day started out cool and stayed that way for most of the ride.

My goal for the day was to do my first 1,000 mile in 24 hour ride.

It was easier than I thought it would be in fact, at mile 900 I felt like I could just keep going all the way to the California border. I kept stopping every 200 miles just to stretch my feet and get some water or something to snack on and that kept the ride from becoming monotonous. I decided to stop at a KOA in Speligman, AZ and had some Pizza at the Motel next to the campground.

I met a guy on a Ducati ST and a new Harley, they were both from Minnesota. They were also heading to the coast and left over a week ago, apparently they ride from 10am to 2pm and just hang out the rest of the time. I told them it must be nice to start the trip out on a brand new bike. The Ducati owner told me the bike only had 400 miles on it as the first Harley broke down and the guy just decided to buy a new one 400 miles ago. I said…. ‘Cool’….

9/12 - Day Two – Speligman, AZ to Montana de Oro State Park (650 miles)
6AM to 7PM CST (temp:61 to 105 degrees)

Today I started for California.

On the way, I hooked up with a couple BMW RT owners for a spirited ride out of AZ and into CA.

Once in California, I met up with STonyG. We had breakfast then headed across the Angeles Crest Hwy.

After I left Tony, I headed for the coast. I got screwed up with some construction and ended up in a traffic jam in north Los Angeles, no fun. I eventually got my bearings again and hit he coast north of Ventura.

I camped at Montana de Oro State Park in the Morro Bay area. It was my first Pacific Ocean sunset. I don’t know if it’s the fact that water covers so much of the earth or that you can feel the power of the ocean when it crashes against the rocks, but you just become mesmerized and inspired, all at once.

9/13 - Day Three – Montana de Oro State Park to Manchester State Park (400 miles)
8AM to 6PM CST (temp:54 to 74 degrees)

Today was the hardest day so far, even harder than 1k mark. Looking back, I think the straightest section I encountered was the Golden Gate Bridge, everything else was a long twisty memory of roads resembling a plate of spaghetti. Truly a Biker’s heaven.
It’s not easy to make 500 miles on those kind of roads so I stopped when I started to feel tired. I made it to a KOA in the Manchester State Park area, just a few miles south of Fort Bragg.

The coastline was incredible Montery, Big Sur, every part of it made it difficult to concentrate on the road as I kept thinking I was missing another breathtaking sight and wanted to soak it all up like a sponge.

9/14 - Day Four – Manchester State Park to Lake Tahoe (600 miles)
6AM to 5PM CST (temp:46 to 75 degrees)

The elk I saw this morning were amazing, I obviously had to take a slow pace because of them. As the morning arrived there was some fog in the area.

I made it to the Avenue of the Giants scenic area and the Redwoods were, well, wow! I felt like I was in some sci-fi movie and had been miniaturized by an alien reducing beam and I was now riding through a normal forest in the U.S. The size of these trees is hard to comprehend as you drive by them. I pulled off a couple times and just looked at them. Some of these suckers would cover my front yard. Not sure if that’s a testament to how big the trees are or how small my front yard is.

I rode Hwy 36 from the Avenue of the Giants area to north west of Lake Tahoe. The traffic around Lake Tahoe was not fun as they are resurfacing the roads and I arrived during rush hour.

I made it to the campsite at Zephyr Cove to find Mark and Chris Bellefeuille already set up and getting ready to head into Minden for the WeSTOC rider’s meeting. They waited for me to set up my tent and the three of us headed back to the Carson Valley Inn in Minden.

I’ve never seen so many STs in one location before and it was great to meet some people that I have been talking to from the message boards. There were close to 200 STs registered on the official WeSTOC website and it looked like they all showed up with friends.

9/15 - Day Five – Lake Tahoe to Yosemite Nat’l Park (390 miles)
(temp:45 to 95 degrees)

I had major problems sleeping last night, I couldn’t get comfortable, I was nervous and my heart was pounding like I’d just finished running 100 yards. Then, I realized that I was at a slightly higher elevation than Dallas, 6,200 feet vs. 460 feet.

Larry ‘Tigger’ Littrell was so kind as to lead the ride through Yosemite Nat’l Park, Tioga, Ebbetts, and Monitor Pass. Our group consisted of Larry, Mark, Chris, Michael Schenck and myself. Ebbetts Pass, Hwy 4, was the best ride I’ve ever had in my life. You must be careful on this as parts of it are one lane roads which support two way traffic.

9/16 - Day Six – Lake Tahoe area (200 miles)
(temp:45 to 95 degrees)

This was an easy day and a day of badly needed rest. I rode with Mark and Chris around Lake Tahoe and took some picks before we separated and took different routes.

Tonight was the WeSTOC banquet and I was going to take advantage of the free bike wash at the hotel but then I figured it would just get dirty again on the way home so I waited. I hung around the parking lot talking to folks and meeting more friendly faces that were previously
known only by screen names or email addresses.

Great buffet, the food was much better than I’d expected! Excellent presentations and I can’t believe how many door prizes were handed out. Kodos to all that were involved to make this a successful event.
The location for WeSTOC X was announced to be in the San Luis Obispo area, I’m ready!

9/17 - Day Seven – Lake Tahoe to Moab, CO (780 miles)
(temp:36 to 90 degrees)

It was a chilly morning in Lake Tahoe at 45 degrees but when I came down off the hill to Minden it was 36 degrees, time to actually plug the Gerbing in.

I took Hwy 50 all the way through Nevada and Utah. There were sections where you could see for miles then all of a sudden you’d hit a very twisty section, then straight highway again.

I took 50 all the way to I-70 in Utah, wow! The scenery on I-70 was incredible and the colors of the landscape were brilliant, you wouldn’t think dirt and rock would be so stunning.

The parks near Arches was all full so I found a KOA in Moab but didn’t sleep well as people were in and out all night/morning long.

9/18 - Day Eight – Moab, CO to Clarendon, TX (780 miles)
(temp:35 to 95 degrees)

It was 77 when I started the day at 4AM CST but quickly dropped to 35 degrees once in Colorado.

This was the morning of the Shooting Stars and Suicidal Rabbits, sounds like a sci-fi movie. I kept seeing shooting stars the first couple hours of the early morning and I wasn’t even looking for them, they just happened to appear ahead of me. I also must have almost hit 40 or 50 r
abbits that apparently saw a GEICO commercial but didn’t have the technique down. One, I could swear, actually made it between my front and rear tires.

I rode through the Montrose area on my way to my final sight seeing milestone of the trip, the Royal Gorge Bridge. The colors going through Monarch Pass were incredible.

Now, time to hit I-25 and head south towards Texas and home. I was tired and had been camping the entire time so I decided to treat myself to a hotel in Clarendon, TX for my last night. I forgot what it was like to sleep in a bed.

9/19 - Day Nine – Clarendon, TX to Carrollton, TX (320 miles)
Not much to say on the last day of a trip, just get home, rest and anticipate and plan the next trip before this one is over.

Total Miles – 5,158
Total Rain – 10 seconds in New Mexico

This was the best trip I've taken on the bike to date. Of course, now, I have to top it with another trip.... hmmmmm... (thinking...)

Here are all the pictures.

Grand Canyon - Apr 18-22, 2004

2004-08-18T21:39:00.003-05:00

I'd never
been to the
Grand Canyon..
So, this was my chance..

Wednesday: (2:30-6:30)

I met Blink at Palo Duro Canyon State Park Wednesday, or shall I say Thursday morning, on his way back from Alaska. I left after work and got there around 6:30pm. I just fell asleep around 10 and awoke with strange headlights coming through the tent at midnight. Blink and I talked about his trip 'til around 3am.

Thursday: (8:00-5:30)

We left camp around 8 and headed for the Cadilac Ranch

where we talked a bit more and said goodbye, Blink was heading home and I was headed to the Four Corners area. I made it to Mesa Verde National Park around 5:30, I-40 through TX/NM sucks!

Friday: (5:00-5:00)

Time to hit the Grand Canyon! I got up at 4:30 and got ready to hit the road, I also forgot I was in a different time zone LOL... I decided to do the Four Corners monument on my way back so first up was Valley of the Monuments

It's not a very long stretch or maybe it just feels that way because you are in awe of the landscape and time goes by so fast. There was a split in the road and one was Valley of the Monuments and the other Valley of the Gods, I went the Monuments route as that was towards the Grand Canyon.

The GC was an incredible site, however I still prefer the mountains. I was kinda disappointed as all the scenic pull-offs on the way to the park were littered with Indians selling jewelry, rugs, whatever. You can barely get to the rail where the view of the scenic area was built. As you approach the park, there are signs stating it's unlawful to sell items at the scenic pull-offs and please don't support that activity by buying any of those items.

After GC, I headed to Four Corners via Hwy 264, this was supposed to be a scenic road but I didn't see much and there were more cops along that road than I saw the entire rest of the trip. US-191 from Hwy-264 to US-160 was a great road. Next was the Four Corners monument.

It was cool to be in that spot however I didn't think an entry fee should have been charged ($3), I bought a shot glass and headed back towards camp. During the entire day there was a looming chance of downpours

but it only rained a couple times and it only lasted a couple mins each time. I made it back to camp after a 12 hour 600+ mile day.

Saturday (5:00-6:00)

Time to start heading back home. I left at 5am and took US-160 through Durango and Pagosa Springs then US-84 south to New Mexico. US-84 is an incredible road but US-64 is awesome!

I ended the day at Caprock Canyon State Park for 12 hour 700 mile day

Where it poured aaaalllll night long....

Sunday: (6:00-10:00)

Just a typical ride home, nothing special...

Here are the rest of the pictures.

The Smoky Mtns - Apr 22-25, 2004

2004-04-22T21:36:00.004-05:00

Rick and I went on our first
camping trip together to the
Smoky's back in 2001 and
we took a picture in the
same spot above.

We both had different bikes
since so we felt it was time to
make another trip and
get a pic in the same location.

This is the original pic and we got pretty close.

Vicky and Jim were very kind and let us stay at their place in Benton, TN where we played with the horses and dogs.

This was also my first trip to do Deal's Gap. And, I just so happened to see the photographer and flashed the peace sign.

Big Bend - Mar 26-28, 2004

2004-03-26T21:32:00.000-06:00

We had a
great trip
to
Big Bend.

Here
are the rest of the pics.

Sipapu Ski Lodge - Sep 11-14, 2003

2003-09-11T21:30:00.003-05:00

Sipapu Ski Lodge, New Mexico

This was my
I'm giving up motorcycling, it's too dangerous
phase. And to prove it, I'll buy
a Jeep and organize an event with all my biker friends.

Okay - So, I got an ST1300 shortly after this trip.
Once it's in your blood, it's there to stay...

Day 1 - DFW to Sipapu Ski Lodge in New Mexico

I followed Craig on his 954RR, sometomes you could see him

And, sometimes you couldn't

We hit a ton of rain between Texas and New Mexico but once the sun came out, it was a great day. We made it to the campground and setup our tents.

This was a great little campground.

Day 2 - Touring New Mexico

I woke up and was going for my morning phone call

when I hear a bike approaching, I think to myself who could it be but in the back of my mind I only know of one person that would ride in the rain, and dark, and cold from Houston to New Mexico. Sure enough, Rick appears.

He sets up his tent and begins to tell the tale of his ride. His Sat radio stopped working because it was raining so hard. He's also shivering, becase he's soaked to the bone.

He decides, since everyone is getting up and getting ready for the day's ride, that maybe he'll ride in the Jeep with me. Since he rode all night long, he ended up sleeping most of the morning.

A little route planning....

... and we were on our way ...

Day 3 - Touring New Mexico

Rick decided to ride this day, one of our stops was the Rio Grande Gorge.

One advantage of being in the Jeep was following a Houston cop on a Valkyrie passing on a double yellow.. LOL

Then, it was back to the campground..

for a great sunset..

.. and campfire.

Mt Magazine - Jun 5-8, 2003

2003-06-05T21:29:00.008-05:00

Mt Magazine State Park, Arkansas
Day 1 - Getting There
Paulo (paulo919), Craig (RRainman) and Chuck (Six Pipes) met at my place in the morning and we headed out.

Not all that interesting of a ride, just get from Dallas to Arkansas. We did take some less-traveled roads so it was still fun.

This was Paulo's first long ride (over 300 miles) and he was so impressed by how efficient we rode, short gas stops, identifying obstacles on the road and covering distance that a short time later he rode his Honda 919 from Fort Worth to Seattle and down the coast of California... yep, he's hooked.

Paulo and Craig split once we got near the State Park as they were headed to Ozark, AR to get a hotel room. Chuck and I kept going, taking some cool backroads to the park. On the way, an eagle or hawk of some kind swooped down right next to me to take a mouse from the shoulder, Chuck said it was cool looking and thought it was coming after me at first...

We got to Mt Magazine State Park and Steve and Rick were there waiting on us and setting up their tents.

Day 2 - Touring Arkansas

The morning started off a little foggy.

But it burned off quickly..

Several others showed up at the hotel in Ozark, I can't even remember everyone since I'm doing this a while after the trip.

However, we quickly hit the road to see what Arkansas had to offer.

A visit to Arkansas isn't the same without riding hwy 341 (Push Mtn Road). I believe this is the first time Rick found out you can scrape the bags on a GS

Day 3 - Getting Home

Today, we just concentrated on getting back home but with a minor detour via the Talimena Scenic Drive between Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Here are the rest of my pics.

Lost Maples SP - May 16-17, 2003

2003-05-16T21:25:00.001-05:00

Lost Maples State Park, Texas

This was just a quick trip the
the Texas Hill Country
to meet some fellow Wingers
and put some faces with names.

Here are the rest of the pics.

Petit Jean SP - Apr 11-14, 2003

2003-04-11T21:18:00.009-05:00

Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas

This was a fun trip
and my first trip
with my the
Uni-Go trailer.

Day 1
Dallas, TX to Robber's Cave State Park (Oklahoma)

I got my Uni-Go trailer that morning and decided to try and have it installed before Rick showed up.

Oh, did I mention Rick was doing his BBG and left the day before? Well, he showed up and just in time to help me. After all, it wasn't like he'd been doing any riding the past 24 hrs.

We wrestled with the trailer hitch and got everything put back together then hit the road. Robber's Cave State Park isn't that far north from Dallas, maybe 200 miles, and we still left early enough to get there before dark.

This is a really pretty park,

I plan on coming back some day and exploring it more but this was just a starting point for our real destination Petit Jean State Park.

Day 2
Robber's Cave State Park (Oklahoma) to Petit Jean State Park (Arkansas)

We left Robber's Cave and had to hit the Talimena Drive on the way into Arkansas. I've done this numerous times since my parents live nearby but it never gets old.

We arrived at Petit Jean State Park and it was a big surprise, this park is huge, has many campgrounds and each one is also of considerable size. The restrooms/showers were also of exceptional quality. There are tall pine trees everywhere and it's very quiet.

Day 3
Tour Arkansas

The next morning we head out and tried to hit some of the roads in Arkansas, you can't hit all of them, there are just too many.

Calico Rock, Arkansas

This was my first exposure to Hwy 341 (Push Mtn Road) and wow, was it fun. Don't have a lot of pics of it because it sort of keeps you way to busy to mess with a camera.

We got back to camp and while Rick went to town to get snacks I looked around for firewood. I found a huge fallen tree and for those of us that are pyromaniacs, it was utopia.

However, it didn't want to burn and if it started, we'd probably still be there waiting for it to burn out. So, we burned what we bought from the headquarters area and that was good enough.

Day 4
Head Home

As usual, the last day has mixed emotions. On one hand you'll be glad to get home and take it easy but on the other hand it's the end of another adventure with a good friend. But, as Socrates said, "Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued."

A final shot on my way to say hi to my parents before heading back to Dallas.

Here are the rest of my pics and Here are the rest of Rick's.

Big Bend - Feb 27-Mar 2, 2003

2003-02-27T21:13:00.003-06:00

Hotglue's Promise
Big Bend (Terlingua, TX)

This ride was put together because Mark (Hotglue) had promised Flamingobabe (Charlyne) the night they met to go to Terlingua on the bike. They started the trip and then it began to rain, since they had no rain gear, they stopped under a bridge and it ended up canceling that spur of the moment trip.

That was 9 years ago so we determined it was time to force the issue.

Some of us camped at the Chisos Basin Campground within the park.

That night, you could hear 'something' moving around.. we turned on the flashlights and there were the little javelinas.

Mark and Charlyne finally made it.

During this trip, on the ride along River Road, we noticed Six PIpes' rear tire had a strange look to it.

Yep.. that's cord showing... Big Bend claims another tire..

We camped at Davis Mtns the next day. The Park Rangers were feeding the deer.. I stil don't know why. Blink was trying to stab one for dinner.

We rode to the top of the scenic drive in the park and you could just see the Observatories on the other hills.

TNT BBQ - Sep 25, 2002

2002-09-25T21:02:00.000-05:00

Vicky aka TNT
threw a great BBQ.

Here
are the rest of the pics.

Kerrville - Aug 10, 2002

2002-08-10T21:00:00.001-05:00

A few of us
decided to hit
Kerrville
for the weekend.

I came up on this scene the next morning and it just made me pull over, take the pic and shed a light tear at the ultimate sunrise.

Being it was August, the Texas sun was out so protection was necessary, some of it even rubs in... LOL

Craig and I stopped in Dublin, TX for a Dr Pepper on our way home.

Here are the rest of the pics.

Colorado Springs - May 31-Jun 2, 2002

2002-05-31T20:40:00.003-05:00

Mike and Craig convinced me
to go to Colorado Springs and
watch some Superbike Races at
Pikes Peak International Raceway.

I left Dallas and met them at the racetrack. From there we watched some qualifying races and then headed to Mikes In-laws where we stayed. They are some great people.

The next morning, we headed through some great roads to the Rocky Mtn Nat'l Park.

I had a GREAT time!

On the way home I stopped at the Capulin Volcano in New Mexio.

Here are the rest of the pics.

Biker Mom - May 12, 2002

2002-05-12T20:59:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post on my
Mom's Mother's Day ride
and the resulting article
in Wing World.

Big Bend - Feb 21-24, 2002

2002-02-21T20:55:00.004-06:00

Another trip to Big Bend.
This was Craig's 1st camping
trip, Rick and I kept talking him
into it and he finally caved in..
Then, left his tent fly open with
his waterproof boots when it
rained overnight... LOL

Here are the rest of the pics.

The Smoky Mtns - Nov 16-19, 2001

2001-11-16T20:51:00.002-06:00

This was my first multi-day camping/riding trip. I had done a lot of research and Rick
gave me tons of advice on getting the right camping gear.

Day - 1
Dallas to Cloudland Canyon State Park

This of one of the coolest State Parks I've been to. You wind your way up a hill to the top where the camground.

Day - 2
Cloudland Canyon State Park to Asheville, NC KOA

The roads in this area are incredible to say the least.

This was the coldest night of the trip and I didn't quite understand how mummy sleeping bags worked. Well, apparently you have to cover your head to keep warm.. needless to say, I froze...

Day 3 - Asheville, NC KOA to Roosevelt State Park

We rode towards Lake Lure and that area.

Then, we decided it was time to head back towards home. So, back on the road we went.

We made it to Roosevelt State Park very late that night but it put us both an easy distance from home so the next way would be of little effort and give us time to recover from all the twisties.

Talimena Drive - Nov 9-11, 2001

2001-11-09T20:50:00.003-06:00

It was a foggy morning on the
Talimena Drive. Not the best
weather for riding a scenic
byway however, it was a surreal
adventure and exciting.

The fog lifted later.

Here
are the rest of the pics.

1st Big Bend Trip! - Sep 28-30, 2001

2001-09-28T20:39:00.000-05:00

This is my first trip to Big Bend and my
longest trip so far. A big thanks to Craig for
talking me into this trip, it would become the
first of many.

Here
are the rest of the pics.

Hot Springs, AR - Aug 24-26, 2001

2001-08-26T20:37:00.000-05:00

Ya gotta love Hot Springs Arkansas. This
was a VSG ride and turned out to be one
of the best group rides I'd ever been on.

Here
are the rest of the pics.

Kerrville - Aug 11, 2001

2001-08-11T20:36:00.000-05:00

Craig and I decided to hit Kerrville this weekend, great weather and great roads.

Here
are the rest of the pics.

Talimena Drive - Apr 15, 2000

2000-04-15T20:32:00.000-05:00

It was a great weekend so while visiting my folks I decided to take a ride on the Talimena Scenic Drive.

Here
are the rest of the pics.