Retired and Trippin

After gassing up we left Farmington at 9:40.  It rained during the night but it was cloudy, dry and 55 degrees when we left.  We were expecting rain sometime during the day.  We rode west on Hwy 32 to Bixby where we caught 49 north to Hwy 19 to Steelville.  This was a pretty route and although the highway was wet in places it did not rain. The only real cause for concern were wet leaves on some of the corners, which activated the ole pucker factor. At Chris’ request we stopped at the Lange General Store in Steelville, MO so she could do a little shopping.  This time she scored a couple items to decorate the house. Eleven miles west of Steelville we stopped at the Meramec Spring Park, which is owned and operated by the James Foundation.  I believe it is one of the prettiest places in Missouri.  We love to visit here. Besides the spring, a fish hatchery, and trout fishing there are remnants of an old iron works.  We enjoyed a walk around the par...

We departed the motel in Farmington at 9:00 and buzzed the highway north to Bonne Terre.  It was sunny and 41 degrees.  We toured the Bonne Terre Mine, which is an old lead mine. Inside the mine is a large subterranean lake.  Besides providing short boat tours on the lake it is used for scuba diving.  The water is crystal clear and a constant temperature. After the mine tour we split up.  Carl and Marge took off on a route to Hermann, MO where they would spend the night before returning home on Saturday.  Chris and I went south to the St. Joe State Park.  A lady at the Bonne Terre Mine said we might see some pretty fall foliage at this park.  We didn’t.  The main attractions at this park are a few small fishing lakes and a large off-road vehicle riding area. At the south end of St. Joe State Park I checked the Garmin (we named her Gertie) for cafes in the area because we were ready for lunch.  I found Sissy’s Corner Café - 9 miles aw...

Chris and I left home at about 7:45.  It was a nipply 37 degrees with mostly clear skies.  We met Carl and Marge at Midland & Renner in Shawnee at 8:00 and we departed on our trip at 8:08.  We were comfy with our heated grips, seat and jacket liners. We braved the rush hour traffic through Kansas City to Lee’s Summit to Warrensburg, where we drove around the campus of the University of Central Missouri hoping to see gorgeous Fall foliage.  Not so much.  There were a few pretty trees and that was it.  The temperature had risen to 41, a real heat wave. Our next stop was the Dutch Bakery in Tipton, MO where we picked up some goodies. We enjoyed a LARRAPIN good lunch at Oscar’s Classic Diner in Jefferson City, MO and then we were off south and east.  We rode through Linn, Belle, Owensville, and Cuba on our way to Onondaga Cave State Park.  We knew the cave would be closed but we took a short half mile hike to a bluff overlooking the Meramec ...

Larry and I met at Casey’s, Johnson Drive and Woodland, at 10:00 to ride to Wamego, KS for lunch.  A friend of mine had somebody post a link to an article on Facebook that listed 10 great diners in Kansas ( http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/kansas/ks-diners/ ).  The Friendly Cooker in Wamego was on the list. We rode through Bonner Springs on K-32 to its intersection with Hwy 24, which took us west through Lawrence (almost), Perry, Topeka, and St. Mary’s to Wamego.  The Friendly Cooker was a typical small town diner with good food and a friendly waitress.  My only complaint was that I got fries instead of tater-tots with my chopped beef steak.  The cook was a big guy wearing a Wildcat shirt, which was a good sign. From Wamego we rode south, crossed the Kansas River, and at Alma we hopped on the Skyline Mill Creek Scenic Drive, which runs southwest to Alta Vista.  It was a pretty ride but not with a lot of fall color.  In fact, many trees had dropped th...

Son Bryan had a rare day free and the weather was nice so we decided to take a little ride.  The plan was a ride to Lake Perry but a closed road changed our minds.  We rode through Edwardsville, Bonner Springs and Perry to Oskaloosa, where we stopped at a Casey’s for a beverage and a little conversation.  Then we were off through McLouth, Tonganoxie and Kanas City to home. It was a nice little ride of a little over 100 miles with partly cloudy skies and a top temp of 76.  Life is good!

Another day (morning) on I-70.  We left Warrenton, MO at 7:55.  It was cloudy and 51.  We rode the 205 miles home with two stops along the way.  The high temperature was 59 degrees.  It was cloudy the entire route until we hit Kansas City and then the sun came out.  We were pulling into our garage at 11:45. It is good to be home. So another trip is over, and it was a dandy - to Lubec, ME and back.  Our total mileage was 4,598.  We got to spend time with good friends and see some great sights and a lot of pretty fall foliage.  Thanks to Bill & Jamie for planning and organizing this ride. No other photos were taken today.

We left our motel at 8:05 and it was a chilly cloudy 46.  As we were riding westbound on I-70 we encountered a few light sprinkles here and there. While we were riding, Bill got a phone call from Gary, who said he just received a call from Rod, who said he saw us as he passed us (going the opposite direction) on I-70.  Rod was on his way to pick up Gary and his bike.  Rod later sent me some pictures.  This is a sad sight – a Goldwing being trailered down the road. We crossed from Ohio into Indiana and as we approached the exit for Knightstown I saw an advertisement for the “Hoosier Gym”.  We made the side trip down from I-70 to Knightson, IN.  The most excellent movie, “Hoosiers”, was made in 1985.  This gym in Knightstown was used to portray the home town Hickory High School gym in the movie.  It was very cool to see it. The lady who showed me around told me that all the boys who played on the Hickory High basketball team in the movie were hi...

When we departed our motel this morning at 8:05 it was cloudy and 49 degrees.   Today was to be all Interstate riding and Bill was back leading the pack. We rode west to and around Cleveland and then south towards Columbus, OH.  At exit 131 on I-71 we stopped for gas.  When Gary attempted to restart his motorcycle – it wouldn’t.  His F1 error light was on just like it was before he replaced his fuel pump the day before yesterday – bummer! Gary called ASK Powersports, a Honda Dealer in Columbus and explained his predicament.  They said they would not work on Goldwings older than 2010 models.  Not even for travelers from out-of-town.  No help was provided or offered at all.  Not a good representation for Honda motorcycles. Gary then attempted to rent a truck and trailer to haul his bike home.  Nobody he called would rent a pick-up truck or van for a one way trip to Kansas City.  Box vans were more than he was willing to pay....

We left our motel at 7:30 (it was 48 degrees and cloudy) and rode a short distance to breakfast at a truck stop.  As we rode away from breakfast it was 8:30 and 50 degrees – still cloudy. Gary led us to Letchworth State Park, a short distance away, where we viewed the gorge/valley, the lower falls (really more rapids than falls), the upper falls and the impressive middle falls. It remained cloudy at the park and there was a cold wind.  The mist created by the middle falls made a light rain around it and made the pictures look like there was fog. Our next stop was Niagara Falls.  Chris and I had been there twice before (both times on the Canadian side) but nobody else in our group had seen them before.  Niagara Falls is an impressive sight and sound. We had lunch at the Hard Rock Café located across the street from the parking lot at Niagara Falls before taking off south and westbound.  We rode to  Austinburg, OH where we found a motel and called it a ...