Retired and Trippin

Sunny and 56 degrees on December 31, 2011. A good day for a ride. Four couples (Bill and Jamie, Carl and Marge, Larry and Bev, and Chris and Charlie) and one singleton (Bruce) met at Johnson Dr. and Renner. We took off north on I-435 and then Hwy 45 north past Weston, MO, KCPL’s IATAN power generating plant, and Lewis and Clark Lake to Hwy 59 east into Atchison. As we rode east, the wind from the south would have blown off my helmet were it not for the chin strap. We parked along the Missouri River and had lunch at the Riverhouse Restaurant. Most of us had their fried chicken, which was tasty. I’d provide you with the link to the web site for this restaurant but the waitress told us this was the last day they would be opened. From Atchison we rode south on Hwy 7 into the strong  wind to Leavenworth, KS and past the U.S. Penitentiary. The temperature reached a high for the day, 64 degrees. We rode Tonganoxie road south from Leavenworth, passing several road closed signs. Som...

The high today was to reach 50, very good for late December in Shawnee, Kansas. My girlfriend was going shopping and to lunch with a friend. A great time for a ride. I left Shawnee northbound on I-435. It was 45 degrees. I took Hwy 45 north up through the Missouri River valley. At Hwy  59/273 I turned west and rode across the Missouri River into Atchison, KS. It took me a little under an hour to get there. I picked up Hwy 7 north, intending to ride to White Cloud and possibly on up to the Nebraska state line. Not too far north of Atchison, however, the temperature dropped to 41, colder than I wanted, so I turned westbound on Hwy 20. In this area north and west of Atchison I could see remnants of snow in fields and ditches.  At Hwy 73 I rode back south and east to Atchison. I stopped at Taco Hell for a lunch of the Triple Steak Stack. I’d ridden 110 miles without stopping. I rode home southbound on Hwy 7 through Leavenworth and then Hwy 5 south and east to I-435 which bro...

Greg saw that the weather forecast for Sunday December 18th was going to be good . . . . . real good for December, highs in the 50’s. He proposed a lunch ride, folks were invited, and it happened. Greg, Gary, Larry, Mel, Bruce, Bill, Mike and I left the gas station and convenience store at 83rd and K-7 riding south on K-7 and then south on Hwy 169 to the south Paola exit. Our destination was We-Be-Smokin Barbeque ( http://websmokin.com/ ) at the Miami County Airport. Mel had a hankering for BBQ so that was our goal for lunch. We found out that on Sundays, We-Be-Smokin serves breakfast only all day long. I’ve had their breakfasts, which are larrapin good, but today we were looking for BBQ. So we took off north on Hwy 169 headed for our next destination. At Hwy 68 we turned westbound and at Hwy 33 we turned northbound. We stopped at Smokey’s BBQ ( http://www.smokeysbbqks.com/ ) in Wellsville, KS. Fortunately, for us, it was open and serving BBQ. After a most excellent lunch we ro...

Day 1; Friday; 10/28/2011 Five motorcycles (9 humanoids) departed the Quick Trip at 151st and 69 Highway in Overland Park, KS for a ride into southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas.  The purpose of the trip was to view the fall foliage and, of course, to ride the motorcycles.  A sixth motorcycle (1 humanoid) met us at the motel at the end of the day. We rode south on Metcalf to Louisburg and then east to Highway 2 in Missouri.  We rode east and south on Highways 2, 52, and 135 through Harrisonville, Leeton, Windsor, Cole Camp, and Stover. We gassed up in Leeton and then again in Laurie, after which we grabbed lunch at the Chances R Restaurant and Lounge. Highway 5 took us all the way south into Arkansas and we saw some very pretty fall foliage along the way. We stopped for the evening in Mountain Home, Arkansas at the Comfort Inn.  We walked to the nearby Arena Sports Bar & Grill for dinner.  It was a bright sunny day for a ride.  Temperatures ...

Chris and I decided to take a day ride and, hopefully, see some fall foliage.  We like the scenery in northeast Kansas so that was our destination. We took off at 10:40 and rode Hwy 45 north out of the Kansas City area to the Weston Bend State Park in Missouri.  A few photos were taken from the scenic overlook of the Missouri River.  As we continued north we enjoyed the fall foliage in the bluffs east of the highway. At Hwy 59 we turned west towards Atchison, KS and the Missouri River.  This area had been flooded this past summer, which was obvious from the new road, the significant amount of standing water (still), the fields of bare dirt, and the flood line on a vacated farm house. In Atchison we had lunch at the Riverhouse Restaurant. From Atchison we rode north on Hwy 7 (also known as the Glacial Hills Scenic Byway) to White Cloud, KS, which is just a few miles from the Nebraska border.  Fields along here were barren with cracked soil.  If not f...

We had another good breakfast at the Country Kitchen connected to our motel.  If you are ever in Wichita the Best Western at North 53rd and I-135 is very good.  The room was clean and spacious.  The rate was reasonable, and the free breakfast at the Country Kitchen is very good. We departed Wichita at 10:00.  It was 71 under blue clear skies.  We rode north on I-135 to Newton and west on Hwy 50. Just east of Peabody we stopped to take a couple photos of the Wildcat Creek Ranch. http://www.wildcatcreekranch.com/ We stopped to rest our buns in Emporia and then rode north and east to Reading (again) and Osage City, where we caught Hwy 56 eastbound. We stopped in Baldwin City for a walk, and lunch.  Part of our walk included the campus of Baker University.  The trees were starting to change here, as they are most other places.  On the third weekend of October Baldwin City celebrates its Maple Leaf Festival. http://mapleleaffestival.com/ We...

We started the day by meeting good friends, Joe and Donna, at the Country Kitchen attached to our Best Western Motel for breakfast.  We met at 9:00 and before we knew it two hours had passed. Shortly after 11:00 we were eastbound on Hwy 254 out of Wichita.  It was 72 under blue clear skies.  The temperature all day varied from 72 to 79. We rode through El Dorado to Hwy 177 and north to Cassoday, KS for the monthly motorcycle run held there.  We passed so many motorcycles going the other direction I thought there would be none left in Cassoday.  I was wrong (it doesn’t happen often).  We had a good time walking around, looking at the bikes, buying shirts, and talking to some friends of Joe that we met there.   We left Cassoday and rode north through the Flint Hills to Cottonwood Falls for a late lunch at the Emma Chase Café.  We had a larrapin good lunch (fried chicken, chicken strips, and country fried steak). We continued north to Council...

Chris and I volunteered to participate, with others from our church, in a work day in Reading, KS.  Reading was hit by a tornado on May 22, 2011 ( http://www.kansas.com/2011/05/22/1859378/tornado-rips-through-reading-kansas.html ).  We met at the church parking lot at 7:00 am and left shortly thereafter. It was 48 degrees when we left Shawnee.  As we rode south on I-35 we rode through some COLD areas where the temp dropped to 39.  It was very nippley but we were dressed for it and enjoyed the ride.  We rode past Lake Melvern with the sun rising over the horizon. We arrived at the United Methodist Church in Reading where there was an informational meeting before we all got our marching orders. Our group worked on three different projects.  Chris and I helped install siding on a house. We left Reading at 5:00 (it was 75 under blue clear skies), stopped for dinner in Emporia, and rode on to Wichita.  During our ride we heard that the K-State Wildcat...

Well, we did enjoy the dinner and show last night at the Dixie Stampede.  When we rode back to the Lynina Inn there was a very light sprinkle, so that was not problem at all. We departed Branson, MO at 9:45.  It was cloudy and 57 degrees.  We rode Hwy 248 west and it was a very pretty ride with many curves and hills. We rode through Galena, MO and stopped for gas in Aurora.  We continued north on Hwy 39 through Greenfield, and Stockton and stopped for lunch in El Dorado Springs. We continued on home riding on two lane highways and county roads until we finished up on Hwy 69 northbound. We arrived home about 4:30.  Our ride today was 270 miles, the high temperature was 68, and after we crossed I-44 northbound in southern Missouri it was mostly sunny.  It was a great trip but I’m already looking forward to next weekend when we ride to Reading and Wichita, KS to ride with a good friend, Joe. For more pictures from today click on the following link: h...

We started the day with breakfast in the lodge restaurant and then walking down to the hatchery at RRSP - again.  This time we had quarters so we could feed the fish. We rode out of RRSP at 10:15 under blue clear skies with a temperature of 64.  Another beautiful day.  How lucky can we get? We rode to Branson, arriving at our motel, the Lynina Inn ( http://www.lyninainn.com/ ), at 11:30. We have stayed here before but we were originally referred to this motel by our friends, Trisha and Mel.  It is very reasonably priced and exceptionally clean.  The free breakfast is good too. Since we’re old we had a little nap and then went to The Landing area of Branson to get in a walk and to shop at Dick’s Five and Dime in the old part of Branson. Tonight we’re going to the 8:00 pm showing of the Dixie Stampede.  We’re sure to have a good time.  It is cloudy now in Branson and there’s a 40% chance of rain tonight.  We’re hoping it holds off until we r...

We did some hiking around Roaring River State Park (RRSP) in the morning.  We hiked the River Trail over to the hatchery and spring.  It was a cool and beautiful morning. The Roaring River spring was beautiful.  I’ve always liked to see springs – all that water pouring up out of the ground. On the walk to the spring there was a sign that warned of falling rocks.  We were not concerned because we see warning signs all the time.  While standing by the spring a frigging rock the size of a baseball fell into the water about three feet away from us.  Holy CRAP! We departed Roaring River State Park at about 10:30 leaving our trailer at the lodge.  It was 68 under mostly sunny skies.  Another beautiful day! We took County Road F east to Hwy 86 east to 23 south to Holiday Island, AR. We drove by a condo that Chris’ parents once owned.  Chris enjoyed spending time there with them.  Chris also had to stop at Fred’s to do some shopping. We ha...

Chris and I took off today for Roaring River State Park at 10:30 am.  We’d been there before but this time we were going to stay a couple nights in the lodge inside the park – something we’ve wanted to do for some time.  It was mostly clear and 59 degrees.  A great day for a ride. Our first stop was at Mill Creek Elementary in Lenexa, KS.  Chris worked here for over 20 years.  She dropped off a gift for a friend who was one day from retirement. We rode south to Osawatomie, KS and then on to Ft. Scott, where I made an urgent urination stop at McDonalds.  At Pittsburg, KS we stopped at Harry’s Restaurant for lunch.  The food was good and very reasonably priced. Our next stop was Baxter Springs located on the old Route 66 in extreme southeast Kansas.  They had a neat little visitor center with Route 66 stuff for sale.  Visitors were encouraged to sign the walls, so we did. We were given directions to the old Rainbow Curve Bridge located no...

The day was beautiful.  I was thankful that we trusted in the weather forecast and had planned a ride down to Pittsburg, KS for some larrapin good fried chicken at Chicken Mary’s.  We went with Carl & Marge, Mel & Trisha, Gary, and Greg.  Bill & Jamie would have gone but Bill had a boo-boo. We departed from 83rd and K-7 in Shawnee at 10:45. We took a slow route south to Olathe, through Gardner, and south past Hillsdale Lake. Just south of the lake we caught Hwy 68 east to Old Kansas City Road which took us south through Paola and Osawatomie.  In Paola we saw signs of fall (already?).  Maybe it was just color change induced by the heat and drought? Hwy 7 took us south through Beagle to Mound City where we took a potty break at a Casey’s.  That place is always busy.  We continued south to Fort Scott where we jumped on Hwy 69 south to 600th Ave (just north of Pittsburg) and east to Chicken Mary’s. The parking lot was nearly full but ...

When we rode away from our motel in Keokuk, IA at 8:00 it was partly cloudy and 68.  In Donnellson, IA we hopped on Hwy 2 westbound.  This is the start of the Iowa Historic Hills Scenic Byway. We rode west and north to Keosauqua, IA, where Chris was born.  We toured the old family spots in town and gassed up the motorcycle. We continued west to Bloomfield, IA.  As we approached the town we noticed what could be a building steeple on the horizon, but it looked different somehow.  We drove into town to find that the steeple of the county courthouse had scaffolding around it.  It was interesting looking. Just west of Bloomfield we rode south to Kirksville, MO, where we had a DQ break.  Our first of the trip.  We then continued south to Brookfield, MO and had a picnic lunch in a park. We continued south to Brunswick, MO and headed west towards home on Hwy 24.  At Carrollton, MO we hopped on Hwy 10.  West of Carrollton we saw places s...

Today was a day with family, who are also friends.  We rode from our motel in Keokuk to Deb & Tim’s and hung out with them.  Then we rode back to our motel.  It was a very relaxing and enjoyable day.  We rode a total of 30 miles!  And w e were happy to learn that Mel and Trisha made it home safely. For more photos from today click on the following link: https://picasaweb.google.com/goldwinger.shawnee/PicturedRocksMichiganDay9?authuser=0&feat=directlink

When we rode away from Bradley, IL at 8:30 it was sunny and 70 degrees.  The outlook for today was for another great day of riding. We rode west and had lunch at Happy Joe’s in Galesburg, IL.  Mel and Trisha wanted to eat at Happy Joe’s one more time before returning home, where Happy Joe’s does not exist. We continued west and then turned south just short of the Mississippi River.  We crossed the Mississippi into Fort Madison, IA. We rode south on Hwy 61 to Deb and Tim’s.  Deb is Chris’ cousin and very good friend.  Mel and Trisha had the privilege of meeting Deb, Tim, Myrna (Chris’ aunt) and Stub (Myrna’s husband). After the brief family reunion we rode south to Montrose, IA where we picked up the River Road between Montrose and Keokuk, IA. At Keokuk we checked into the Fairfield Inn before returning to Montrose to experience the Watermelon Festival.  The watermelon was larrapin good! Mel, Trisha, Chris, and I returned to Keokuk where we enjoy...