Rambling thru life

Today we road from Branson to a small town called Beaver, Arkansas to visit with LoriAnn's nieces (Sara and Katherine) and her sister-in-law and her husband (Luann and Dinny).  The weather forecast for the day was not good with rain expected the whole day.  We left Branson with our rain pants on ready for the worse.  Around Golden Mo we got hit with the rain.  The downpour and wind was very bad.  I probably should have pulled over at sat out the initial front of the storm but no, instead I plowed through it.  We arrived in Beaver at the relatives home drenched on the outside.  While riding the water pools down in my crotch area so bad my rain pants just could not restrain it.  I looked as if I wet myself.  I am glad I brought shorts to wear. Luann made us a big spaghetti dinner.  The day went by as the rain fell outside.  LoriAnn's Grand Niece MK and I hung out together and played.  MK is at a great age of 7. The visit was great.  Always good to see the folks. We left

We left Des Moines around 830AM after a quick stop for Gas.   Today's route to Branson was going to be different.  The goal was to head down I-35 from Des Moines to Bethany MO.  South of Bethany we would pick up Hwy 13 which took us all the way down to Springfield.  About half was down we would get into Clinton MO which we usually went through when we took the route through Kansas City.  Hwy 13 might have been shorter, but it took a bit longer due to the 2 lane roads and towns, The two lane roads were a joy compared to the interstate. In Springfied we jumped onto Hwy 65 and got to the resort around 430 PM.  The line at the resort to check in was long so we didn't get to the room until 6 PM.  We unpacked the trailer and then just as we prepared to move the trailer to the 'special' trailer parking... Our special concierge arrived.  Now this person is supposedly not into sales.  But he tried very hard to get us to talk to a sales person.  Ideally we could tr

We locked up the house and left home at 3PM Friday night.  With the trailer loaded and securely connected to the motorcycle, we turned south down I-35W towards Minneapolis. Traffic going south thru downtown wasn't bad for the Friday before a long weekend.   At Albert Lea MN we pulled off the interstate for gas and a salad at Wendy's.  I thought it odd when I put my foot down at the intersection and it slipped out from under me.  Then as we pulled into the gas station LoriAnn noted that she had oil on her hand rest.  Before fueling, we climbed off the bike and found that the oil filler cap was loose.  Oil under pressure from 2 hours of interstate speed had sprayed down the side of the bike and even onto the trailer.  We cleaned up the bike, topped off the oil (surprisingly very little was needed), had our Wendy's salad and got back onto the road. The run down to Des Moines was un-eventful from there.  Glad we had a reservation at the hotel, because the city was ful

All week, my friend Terry and I have been wondering where to go on todays ride.  Years ago we jokingly said that we should go to Michigan for lunch.  So, last night as the question arose, we both said " lets go to Michigan for lunch". We left home around 7:30 AM and went to the gas station to top off the tanks.  The sun was out and zero forecast of rain for the day. At 7:45 we were on our way again.  We crossed the Wisconsin border at Taylor Falls, then took an immediate left and went north through Grantsburg and then Northeast to Danbury.  From Danbury it was a very pleasant ride an HWY 77 to Ironwood Michigan.  Having traveled this route in the past, I remember more trees in Northern Wisconsin.  It was evident from the scenery along the road that logging was a big industry in Wisconsin.  There were many natural woods that were cleared away.  I understand that the forests in Northeastern Wisconsin were hit pretty hard by wind in 2013.  There were also some spots that

June 15th, 2015 Ride your motorcycle or scooter on this day to demonstrate: The number of motorcyclists to the general public and to politicians. That motorcyclists are from all occupations and all walks of life. That motorcyclists can reduce traffic and parking congestion in large cities. That motorcycles are for transportation as well as recreation. That motorcycling is a social good. Each year, the third Monday in June is recognized as Ride to Work Day.  This annual event offers motorcylists an opportunity to highlight motorcycles as a viable, fun, and fuel-effcient mode of transportation.  We encourage you to participate and to use the day as a reminder to get involved in motorcycle safety.   - U.S. Congressional Motorcycle Safety Caucus http://www.ridetowork.org