Retired and Trippin

Today was a beautiful day in Kansas. The projected high was in the 60’s and the sun was shining. Chris had an afternoon date with some friends so I took the opportunity for a solo ride. I rode I-435 north into Missouri and then Hwy 45 north.  Hwy 45 goes west into the Missouri River valley before turning north. The road is paralleled on the west by railroad tracks and on the east by bluffs. At Hwy 92 I turned west and rode to Kansas across the Missouri River. Leavenworth, KS was on the other side of the bridge.  A long time ago I read Undaunted Courage , an interesting book on the Lewis & Clark expedition. Since then I’ve been curious about all things Lewis & Clark.  On numerous occasions I’ve ridden through Leavenworth and noticed a sign identifying a turn to a Riverfront Park with a Lewis and Clark site.  Today, finally, I decided to check it out. On July 1, 1804, the Lewis & Clark expedition passed here on their way north.  It still amazes me ...

It was a nice day in mid-November and I had to eat lunch so a ride to historic Council Grove, KS was in order.  I was accompanied by my good friends, Gary and Bill. We rode west to Eudora, south and west to Overbrook and then west through Burlingame to Council Grove.  This town is located on the historic Santa Fe Trail and is rich in history ( http://councilgrove.com/ ). For lunch we stopped at the Hays House Restaurant.  It was originally built by Seth Hays (great grandson of Daniel Boone) in 1857 ( http://hayshouse.com/History-Full.html ).  It was built square with the Santa Fe Trail, which was slightly askew with the current Main Street so the Hays House is at an odd angle compared to the other buildings.  We enjoyed a good lunch, gassed up the Goldwings, and then headed for home. We rode north to Alta Vista and west through the Flint Hills ( http://kansasflinthills.travel/ or http://www.naturalkansas.org/FlintHills.htm ),  Eskridge, Dover, Topeka...

After a very good complimentary breakfast at the Comfort Inn Chris and I were on the road by 9:00 and it was 63 degrees.  A warm start for this trip. Our route took us north into Missouri, through Roaring River State Park, Cassville, Monett and Sarcoxie to Golden City.  We then rode west to Pittsburg, KS and just north of Frontenac we had lunch at Chicken Annies ( http://www.chickenanniesoriginal.com/ ).  As usual, the food was terrific. From Annies we rode back to Hwy 69 and then north to home, where we arrived at about 2:45 pm. We rode 260 miles today.  The high temperature was 77 and it was cloudy.  An added treat was the wind at our backs for most of the day. Our trip is over . . . . and what a dandy it was; 2,385 miles with my girlfriend through some beautiful fall scenery.

This morning the sun was shining but it was very cool.  When we woke up it was in the 40’s.  When we finally departed for Montauk State Park at 9:50 it was 51. Montauk State Park is a pretty place.  We first visited the springs that make up Montauk Springs and which constitute the headwaters of the Current River.  The other springs we’ve visited were more dramatic in that there was one source of water that was quite visible in its discharge from the ground.  Not so at Montauk.  There are multiple sources of spring water and none have a forceful discharge from the ground.  We did some walking and visited the trout fish hatchery in the park From Montauk we rode southwest through Houston, MO to Cabool. We located a small café, the Corner Café, in downtown Cabool, where we stopped for lunch.  The food was LARRAPIN good.  Chris had the tenderloin dinner plate and I had chili with a grilled cheese and a side of onion rings.  WOW – great ri...

It started raining this morning about the same time we woke up.  By 9:30 it had quit so we hit the road.  It was 50 degrees and cloudy.  Streets were wet so the beast got nasty dirty. We rode west back through Murphysboro as far as we could go before we had to turn north or south.  We rode south to the Cairo area and crossed the Mississippi River on Interstate 57.  Once in Missouri we aimed west towards Poplar Bluff.  As you can see in the picture below the sun had come out. By the time we stopped for lunch in Poplar Bluff it was cloudy again. We’d hit 61 degrees for a brief period of time but it was now in the high 50’s. Colton Steak House was OK but we burned a lot of daylight waiting for our food. Our next stop was Big Spring located about 5 miles south of Van Buren, MO.  Hwy 103 going down to the spring was a fun ride. Big Spring was an interesting place and if we’d been here before we sure didn’t remember it. Chris and I took a short walk be...

It rained last night but all was clear this morning and all was dry except for my motorcycle cover and some streets.  We rode away from our motel at 9:45.  It was 58 under blue clear skies. Our route took us west across the Land Between the Lakes to Mayfield, KY and then northwest to Wickliffe and over the Ohio River into Cairo, IL.  We rode north to Jonesboro, IL where we had lunch (the food was only fair) and visited a park where Lincoln and Douglas debated back in 1885. A short distance north of Jonesboro we hiked (2 miles round trip) the Little Grand Canyon Trail in the Shawnee National Forest.  The trail was fun and we enjoyed the scenic outlook but it was not so dramatic that I’d call it the Little Grand Canyon. We stopped for the day (after 205 miles of riding) at a Quality Inn in Carbondale, IL.  The high temperature today was 64. For more pictures from today click on the following link: https://picasaweb.google.com/104542123131082631220/Kentucky...

At 9:00 we were leaving our motel in Winchester, KY.  It was 55 under blue clear skies.  We rode around 100 miles south to Cumberland Falls State Resort Park.  On the way, along Hwy 627, we passed a black barn.  Black barns (sometimes with red roofs and doors) and black fences are common in this area of Kentucky, especially around the horse farms. Hwy 90 runs east and west between Hwy 25W and 27 just west of Interstate 75.  This was a beautiful ride with twisties and brightly colored trees.  Our best road yet on this trip. The Cumberland Falls State Resort Park is also located on Hwy 90.  It is a very pretty place.  The look-outs and a walk along the Cumberland River below the falls revealed some wonderful scenery. The Dupont Lodge provided us another buffet lunch that included parmesan encrusted tilapia.  It was good chow.  While eating we had a view of the Cumberland River valley.  After eating, a couple young raccoons showe...

It was a bit chilly this morning (40 degrees) so we decided to use the morning to do our laundry.  We rode to a nearby laundry facility and got-er-done.  Chris was overly pleased with herself for beating me at a game of golf while we waited for our clothes to clean. We left for the Natural Bridge State Resort Park at 11:30. It was 57 degrees under blue clear skies.  A buffet lunch was enjoyed at the Hemlock Lodge in the park. After lunch we made our way to the Sky Lift, which took us to the Natural Bridge and some beautiful scenery. We bought a one-way lift ticket so we could ride to the top and then do the 2 mile hike back down.  The hike was actually a combination hike and climb.  We had a good time but it was not like a walk around the neighborhood. We arrived back at our motel at 4:30 for some   r e l a x  time.  It was a good day and we rode 85 miles.  The high temperature was 68.  Tomorrow we start our way back home . ...

Today would have been Chris’ Dad’s 78th birthday. It was a beautiful morning but cool, in the low 50’s.  I spent the morning giving the Goldwing a bath, which was much needed after the wet weather yesterday.  We left the motel at 10:00 and took off south on Hwy 627 (out of Paris, KY). Hwy 627 is a narrow road that runs through horse country. We commented here that Chris’ cousin, Deb, would like this route and seeing all the horse flesh. When we arrived in Winchester, KY we located the Best Western motel and stopped to make arrangements for lodging tonight.  The desk clerk lady said we could have a room but could not check in until about 1:30.  I think the lady liked Chris, though, because before we left she found a room for us and allowed us to check in early.  SWEET.  We unloaded stuff to our room and I disconnected the trailer.  After a lunch at Fazoli’s we were off for the Red River Gorge area ( http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/dbnf/recreation...

It was cloudy when we woke up this morning and before we left it had rained off and on.  The weather channel and local news stations provided a dismal wet forecast for us. We left our motel at 8:45 and went back to the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial (LBNM).  It was 68 degrees with rain threatening.  While we were indoors at the LBNM it rained pretty hard.  The rain stopped and allowed us to walk around the grounds.  It is a pretty area. Our eastbound route across southern Indiana was on Hwy 62 . . . . and I was impressed.  This was the most scenic, colorful, fun to ride stretch of highway so far this trip, particularly from just west of St. Croix to Edwardsville.  In several places the colorful trees provided a canopy over the highway. On top of that, there is an excellent restaurant located about midway through the route in Leavenworth, IN.  Its on a bluff above the Ohio River and is appropriately named the Outlook Restaurant.  Their ...

A word of caution regarding the Rosener Motel.  It could be called the Gross-ner motel; NOT recommended, though the staff was friendly. The news was telling us this morning about a large fog bank covering an area 200 miles wide.  According to the map, the fog was just south of us.  It was. We rode south on 67 to Farmington, MO and into the fog where we caught Hwy 32 eastbound, which took us all the way to Ste. Genevieve, MO.  This is an old Mississippi River town with some neat looking buildings downtown. Just north of Ste. Genevieve we caught the ferry (not to be confused with the “fairy”) across the Mississippi River.  It was a fun and interesting ride. The ferry dumped us in Illinois and we made it to Hwy 3 southbound via county roads.  Along Hwy 3 we rode into fog again. Hwy 3 took us into Chester, IL, which is proclaimed as the “Home of Popeye”.  We found a Popeye Park and learned that Elzie C. Segar, the creator of Popeye, was born and ra...

Chris and I are off for the state of Kentucky.  We left home at 9:30 under cloudy skies with a temperature of 50.  There was also a strong wind out of the east. We rode Hwy 50 east through Warrensburg and Sedalia to Jefferson City where, 159 miles later, we stopped for lunch at a Chili’s.  Hwy 50 continued to carry us east to Drake, where we turned south on Hwy 19. Hwy 19 took us through Cuba to Steelville where we picked up Hwy 8 eastbound.  The ride from Steelville to Potosi and then on to Park Hills was a fun scenic ride. We stopped for the evening at Rosener’s Motel in Park Hills at about 4:30. We rode 310 miles today.  For most of the day temperatures were in the 50’s but we hit the low 60’s off-and-on after lunch.  We saw quite a bit of autumn color along the way. For the few pictures taken today click on the following link: https://picasaweb.google.com/104542123131082631220/KentuckyRideDay1?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCN3dxcKFp_qbCA&fe...

It was beautiful today and we had a free afternoon so Chris and I decided to ride north for a DQ treat – a late lunch dessert that would also serve as our dinner. We took off north on I-435 across the Kansas River and the Missouri River into Missouri.  After exiting at Hwy 45 we continued north through Farley into the Missouri River valley.  The river was west of us and out of sight but the reason for the ride were the tree covered bluffs bordering the valley on the east.  We were checking to see if autumn colors were making their debut. The color change had begun but our camera did not capture some of the color perceived by our eyes so we deleted several pictures after we arrived home. At Weston Bend State Park we took a detour into the park to check out the scenic outlook and then continued northbound through Weston, MO. At Hwy 59 we turned west, rode the short distance to the Missouri River and crossed the bridge into Atchison, KS.  The bridge was rough an...