North Dakota and Minnesota; Day 1

Chris, Gary, and I departed today at 10:10 am from 10550 Quivira, Overland Park, Kansas. It was cloudy and 64 degrees. We rode I-435 east and north around Kansas City to I-35 north. On the north east side of the metro area we ran into some wet streets, but no rain. Someday I’ll learn not to clean my motorcycle before I leave on a ride.

We exited I-35 at Hwy 136 in Bethany, MO where we stopped for gas. It turned sunny long before we got to Bethany. Hwy 136 took us east to Hwy 63 north into Iowa and then Hwy 2 east to Bloomfield, IA. There we met Chris’ aunt and cousin, Myrna and Deb, for lunch at the Southfork restaurant. We all had a larrapin (that means better than finger-lickin good) tenderloin sandwich. It was one of the best tenderloins I ever had – honest.

After lunch Chris left with Myrna and Deb to spend a few days with Deb. Gary and I then took off for Sioux Falls, SD. Our goal was to meet with Mel and Moyer in Sioux Falls and ride for several days in North Dakota and northern Minnesota. From Bloomfield we rode north on Hwy 63 to Hwy 34 west to Chariton, IA where we stopped for gas. After fueling the wings we continued west to I-35 north to I-80 west.

After 150 miles we stopped in Walnut, IA for gas and a break.We continued west on I-80 to I-680 west to I-29 north. Before reaching I-29 we were again under cloudy skies. As we rode north on I-29 we hit some very light sporadic rain. We stopped at a rest-area so I could swap out my mesh jacket for my leather.

Then it was back north on I-29 and after another gas stop we arrived at the Ramada motel in Sioux Falls, SD (exit 79 off of I-29) at 9:40 pm. We met up with Mel and Moyer, had a light supper, shared a fair quantity of B.S., and then went to sleep.

Aside from the rain, it was a great day for riding. The high was 75, the low was 64, and most of the time it was sunny. Gary and I rode 650 miles. Mel and Moyer rode about 355 miles to Sioux Falls from the Kansas City area.

For more pictures click on the attached link: http://picasaweb.google.com/goldwinger.shawnee/NorthDakotaMinnesotaDay1?feat=directlink

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Colorado; Day 9; June 30, 2012

Image
The evening of June 29th we saw the play, “Is He Dead” at the Creede Repertory Theater ( http://www.creederep.org/ ).  It was very entertaining,  one of the better plays I’ve seen. When we drove away from Creede at 6:05 am it was 41 degrees.  A short distance south the temperature dropped to 39.  We tried soaking up the cold for what we knew would be a hot afternoon. We rode South Fork and then east to Alamosa.  From Alamosa we took a detour north up Hwy 17 to see the UFO Watchtower ( http://www.ufowatchtower.com/ ).  It is a place for UFO enthusiasts to go to watch for UFO’s.  The lady who runs the place said something about some sort of vortex existing on the property.  Weird stuff, even for an open-minded guy like me. If the UFO Watchtower wasn’t weird enough we saw a male driving a Jeep with eye lashes over the headlights at a gas station in Alamosa, CO.  Hopefully it was his wife’s Jeep and he was just gassing it up for her. We continued east to Walsenburg, LaJunta, and La
Read more

Florida Trip; Day 15

Image
At 7:30AM we drove away from Russellville, AR on a cold 25 degree morning. At least the sun was coming up. Our route was 7 north to Harrison; 65 north to Springfield, MO; I-44 west; 13 north to Clinton; 7 north to Harrisonville; I-49 north; I-435 west to Kansas in the KC area and home. Hwy 7 in Arkansas is a scenic route with hills and curves galore. We stopped several times for photos. On the south side of Bolivar, MO we enjoyed lunch at Smith's Restaurant. It was 39 degrees when we arrived home at 2:20 but we saw a high of 44. It was a good day for our final of the trip. We drove 330 miles today and the total trip mileage was 3,109. I only have 6 photos today but you can click here to see them -  Final Day Pics
Read more

My Last Ride

On January 11th, 2017, I departed on a ride to Kelli's Korner (Paradise, MO - near Smithville, MO) for lunch with four friends (Carl, Gary, Bill and Larry). It was a beautiful day, which was all the excuse we needed for a ride. I was leading the group and we were taking a long way there. Riding north on county road N, about 6 miles north of Hwy 152 and I-435, the road turned and I didn't. I exited the road into a field. Fortunately there were no fences, trees, rocks, oncoming cars, etc. I have no explanation for this except that I was out of it for awhile. I remember crossing the center line but I was looking down at that time, which is weird. I have no memory of seeing anything after that until I was laying in the field separated from my motorcycle. I do remember a sensation of tumbling but that is all. My first thought was to drive my motorcycle out of the field and get it cleaned up so Chris would not know what I did. What a ridiculous idea that was. After I'd been up
Read more