Rambling thru life

In this video, we take an evening car ride to POPS on Historic Route 66. POPS is more than a gas station. Bubbles happen to be a feature at this stop.  

In this video, I launch the drone and introduce the back yard creek as well as the immediate neighborhood.

Watch this latest video on Oklahoma Living From the Amazon Prime days, I bought a drone. Come along with me as I take it on its maiden flight. My hope is that the drone will be used to produce future video's with more fun content. Bear with me as I attempt to learn how to fly this thing. Check out the vendors site for more details: mavic-mini  

This is a start of a new series featuring our life in Oklahoma. This year, 2020, LoriAnn and I decided to pack up our belongings and leave Minnesota for our southern (pre) retirement home. Come along as we experience Oklahoma!

Todays ride was a short 218 mile trek into Wisconsin.  Heading east from home, I crossed the St Croux River at Osceola WI. I took the rustic road from Osceola to St Croix Falls WI. Then took a back road along the river, heading. north to Grantsburg WI.  Out of Grantsburg, I went east to the Burnett Dairy.  Although I'm doing well, its well past lunch time and I need a bio break. Burnett Dairy Cooperative produces high quality cheese products. Their market host a wide variety of dairy products, a grill featuring sandwiches and cheese curds, and a dairy bar with great ice cream selections. I had a corn beef, swiss sandwich and a side cup of scrumptious chocolate ice cream. Refreshed, I maintained the easterly route to Siren WI. There I crossed over HWY 35 and continued east on CR B, then south on CR H to Cumberland WI.  From Cumberland I took more county roads to Balsom Lake WI.  From Balsom Lake, I headed south to Star Prairie WI.  In Star Prairie there is a bar/grill,

"Kente cloth originated  with the Ashanti people of Ghana. It dates back 375 years, conceived in a village called Bonwire." *   "The early Ashanti Empire economy depended on the gold trade in the 1700s, by the early 1800s it had become a major exporter of enslaved people.  The slave trade was originally focused north with captives going to Mande and  Hausa  traders who exchanged them for goods from North Africa and indirectly from Europe.  By 1800, the trade had shifted to the south as the Ashanti sought to meet the growing demand of the  British ,  Dutch , and  French  for captives.  In exchange, the Ashanti received luxury items and some manufactured goods including most importantly f irearms." * * Csdt.org ** Blackpast.org

Today we took a pittance of time to remember family and friends that have passed away before us. I know, memorial day is the day we remember all men and women who have died in military service for the United States. But like so many others, this is a day/weekend that LoriAnn and I take a moment to remember our loved ones who have passed before us. Our journey has us visiting 3 different cemeteries, traveling 347 miles, by car.  It was a rainy day, I do not have the endurance for such a Motorcycle ride, and we carried with us memorials to leave at the graves so the car was the best means of travel. Our first stop was at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Bloomington MN.  Remember, at National cemeteries, the veteran is on one side of the stone.  The other spouse is on the other side of the stone.  We visited my Mom and Dad's memorial:  Jim and Betty Holmes Then we took a short drive down the road and visited my brother Doug's memorial:  Doug Holmes The we took a went a bit farth

The Iron Butt association has a Memorial with a rock in tribute to brother Doug Holmes located outside of Gerlach NV. Doug passed away in 1999 when involved in an traffic accident near Bancroft IA. Doug Holmes Butt Light 5000 The Iron Butt Association is dedicated to safe, long-distance motorcycle riding. Although based in the United States, we have thousands of enthusiastic members throughout the globe! One of our more popular slogans is, "The World Is Our Playground." The following are details reprinted from the IBA Forum : The IBA Memorial just North of Gerlach, NV is a special place, just at the edge of the Black Rock desert. In some ways, not much ever changes, in others change marches on as it always does. A fellow named Dwayne 'Dooby' Williams lived in Gerlach and way back around 1978 he started carving stones and placing them out along a dirt road that came to be known as Guru Road, or just 'The Wonder Road'. The memorial came to be after a discussio

What did Chuck Knodt do on day 3?  He lunched in Marathon, visited Pooh Park and landed in WAWA .   When we got up this morning, it was a chilly 42 degrees!   It is still Labor Day weekend in Canada and all the restaurants are closed for breakfast.  This is the second day we head out onto the road with a proper breakfast. LoriAnn headed down to the motel lobby and got us each a cup of coffee and some pre-packaged muffins.  In the lobby LoriAnn started a conversation with another couple.  They recommended the A&W in Marathon.  The muffins were just enough to cut the hunger pains.   But it wasn't the same as eggs and bacon.  We eagerly anticipated finding a restaurant in Marathon. Before leaving Terrace Bay, we went to the down to the beach.   The water was calm.   LoriAnn was creative with her beach art. From the beach we headed down the road a few miles to the Aguasabon River Gorge & Waterfall. There is a short hike down a boardwalk to get to the falls overlook.  Sadly th

Today I made it out for the second ride of the season.  It was a short jaunt of 104 miles.  This Covid isolation has set my riding for the season very far behind. From home I road to Stillwater MN, were I crossed over into Wisconsin. Traveling south I road through Hudson WI to Prescott WI.  At Prescott I crossed back into Minnesota and road north thru Afton MN back to Stillwater using the old stagecoach road.  From Stillwater I took a different set of roads back home. I had surgery last January where a large mass was removed from my left hip.  I've had some reservations about my endurance in the saddle after loosing half of my Iron Butt.  Today, my hind end got a little sore but I endured. I have a beginning of the season rule that I am working on.   I do not take any passengers until I ride at least 500 miles.   My total for the season is now 205 miles after riding today. Go ahead, hit that subscribe button!  You know you want to...                                And leave a messa

Chuck Knodt was a great influence to my planning for this trip.  On Chuck's second day he left Grand Marais, MN and stopped for the night in Terrace Bay Ont.  He exchanged US currency for Canada at Rydens, just south of the border crossing.  He also visited the Terry Fox Memorial in Thunder Bay. Two stern warnings from Chuck today: Get gas before you leave town! Don't go on gravel roads.... There is no place to eat breakfast in Beaver Bay, unless you call coffee and a danish from a gas station breakfast.  So we loaded up the trailer, climbed on board the bike and headed up to Grand Marais for breakfast.  For breakfast, we stopped at the Blue Water Cafe .  LoriAnn had walleye for breakfast and loved it.  Afterwards we walked around the bay and took some photos. From Grand Marais we headed up to the city of Grand Portage. The air had some chill in it, and the clouds were hanging low. Outside of Grand Portage we stopped at an overlook for pictures. Then we st