Retired and Trippin

I took my rear wheel off the motorcycle and transported it to Gary's garage, where we removed the tire from the wheel. This pic shows the plugged puncture from the outside. This pic shows the fix-a-flat liquid inside the tire. It was a chocolate milk colored watery stuff. I have no idea how it seals punctures. This pic shows the mushroom cap of the plug from the inside. This cap broke off when I was drying off the inside of the tire. We took the tire to a garage and had it patched. This is the pic of the patch. Gary and I mounted the tire back on the wheel and found no air leaks. I returned home and mounted the wheel back on the motorcycle. I took it on a short ride and all was well.

Our last day. A ride from McAlester, OK to home. We left our motel at 8:05. It was 53 degrees but a short way down the highway it dropped to 50. Hwy 69 northbound passed by several bodies of water. Lake Eufaula - South Canadian River - Arkansas River - As we rode north on 69 we transitioned from mostly sunny to cloudy skies. At 11:13 we made it to Kansas, where the sun would come and go as we proceeded north. We rode Hwy 59 north to Parsons, KS, where we enjoyed lunch at The Kitchen Pass Restaurant and Bar. Parsons has a neat downtown area and Chris took some pics as we drove through, including one of red bud trees. After lunch we continued north on 59 to Garnett and then we took 169 north and east to Olathe, where we split up and went to our respective homes. We rode 332 miles today. The high temperature was 61 but it was very brief. We feel very fortunate in that we were on the heals of rain in several places but never had to ride in i...

Our trip is winding down and the wedding is done. It is time to start the ride home. Carl is on a mission to get home in time on Saturday (tomorrow) to pick up his dog from the kennel. If he doesn't make it on Saturday his dog can't be picked up until Monday - and Carl is missing his puppy - so off we go. We left our motel in Angleton, TX at 7:20 and it was 46 degrees. The sculpture below was in Angleton and Chris took a picture of it as we drove past. It's appropriate since Rob and Marcie were married here the night before. As we rode west on Hwy 35 there was low lying fog, which Chris also captured. It was very low light and we were going 65 mph so it is amazing the picture turned out as well as it did. She also got a shot of the moon along the same stretch of highway. Chris had control of the camera and she blazed away at wild flowers (including Texas bluebonnets) as we motored north. She liked trees with gold colored balls of soft fuzz on them and sh...

Today was wedding day. We rode to the wedding venue twice. Once to help set up and once to attend the festivities. When we woke up this morning it was 70 degrees and wet outside but the rain was gone. Seventy was the high for the day as later on it was in the 60's but mostly sunny. We rode a grand total of 24 miles. Our nephew, Rob, married Marcie and they are now the newest Mr. and Mrs. Clark. For more pics of the festivities click on the following link: https://goo.gl/photos/RQChncEyzWMDigLM7

Day 11; 3/22/16 We were in no hurry to leave Corpus Christi this morning so after breakfast Chris and I took a walk on the beach. There was no significant wind at that time. When we left our motel at 10:40 it was 68 degrees and quite windy. Our route was Hwy 35 north and east along the coast (sort of), which took us over several bays. It was a pretty route. Hwy 60 took us north to Wharton and then it was Hwy 59 east into Rosenberg. Along the way we noticed a great deal of standing water, high rivers and creeks, pretty wildflowers along the road and numerous fields of new corn. After checking into our motel we went to brother Don's house for some fine chow and family fellowship. It was dark when we rode back to our motel and one block away I picked up a screw in my rear time. I got screwed in Rosenberg. With much help from Carl, and using his plugger kit, we removed the screw from the tire and plugged the hole. It was a big screw and it amazes me how something like...

Today was a leisurely tourist day. In the morning we had breakfast in the motel, walked on the beach and then sat on the beach. For lunch we hopped on the motorcycles and rode through Corpus Christi to the south end to meet our niece, Anna Grace, for lunch at Hester's. Anna is a student at Texas A&M Corpus Christi. After lunch we rode through the campus and then returned to our motel. We walked to the Texas State Aquarium and enjoyed checking out all the fish, sea life and other exhibits. Chris was very adventurous by touching a starfish, sea urchin and stingray and petting a white spotted bamboo shark. She really enjoyed seeing baby sea horses that were born this past weekend. The only negative from the aquarium visit was when a friggin seagull pooped on my arm. For dinner we went to Blackbeard's again. Sure enjoyed the seafood and key lime pie! We rode the Goldwings a whopping 24 miles. For more pics: https://goo.gl/photos/QvBUWkQsLk2EB...

We departed our motel at 9:00 and took off for Corpus Christi. It was 46 degrees but we had blue clear skies. Our route took us through Uvalde, Batesville, Dilley, Cotulla, Encinal, Freer and Alice. As we moved eastward the landscape turned more green. We observed clusters of mistletoe in some of the trees and saw a few Border Patrol vehicles. Since arriving in Presidio, TX several days ago we've seen a lot of Border Patrol vehicles and we've passed through two of their checkpoints. All we have to do is tell them we're U.S citizens and they send us on our way. We went through this checkpoint west of Uvalde, TX. We checked into our motel on the north beach of Corpus Christi and enjoyed a quick walk on the beach. The USS Lexington, an old aircraft carrier, is located in the gulf and is just down the beach from our motel. We may check it out tomorrow. Carl and Marge treated us to an excellent seafood dinner to celebrate our birthdays (mine in February and...

BRRRR titties cold this morning - along with a light mist. When we took off from Alpine, TX at 9:00 it was 37 degrees. We were riding southeast on Hwy 90 all day today except during our sight-seeing detours. Our first stop was in Sanderson, TX, where we stopped for a coffee break. While we were there about a half dozen other motorcyclists stopped too. One or two were on street bikes and the rest were on various models of dual sports. They were all headed west. At Langtry, TX we stopped to visit the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center and Museum, which we all really enjoyed. They also had a large beautifully landscaped cactus garden that we walked through. Several miles down the road we crossed the Pecos River. It was much more grand than the Rio Grande that we saw earlier in the trip. We were hungry and it was late (for lunch) so we rode to Comstock, TX and ate at the J & P Bar & Grill, which had been recommended by an employee at Judge Roy Bean's. The bu...

We waited around our motel in Presidio until 8:10 and the office had not opened for coffee so we left to find a convenience store. It was 57 degrees. We had a cup of coffee, gassed up the bikes and we were on our way again at 8:40. It was now 63 degrees. We rode through Big Bend Ranch State Park again and stopped at an overlook on the east end to get pictures of the Rio Grand River below and mountains on the Mexico side. While we were there we saw some folks in canoes floating down the river. We stopped in Terlingua, TX where the girls did some shopping and we scored some ice for the coolers. Then we rode into Bend Bend National Park and the Chisos Basin in the Chisos Mountains. It was very scenic. We had lunch at the restaurant adjoining the Chisos Mountain Lodge and did a short hike on a paved trail. Afterwards we rode north to Marathon. During this stretch of riding the temperature hit 90 degrees. At Marathon we got gas again before heading west to our lodging in Alpin...

We had a leisurely start, leaving our motel at 9:00 under blue clear skies with a temperature of 63. After gassing up the motorcycles and icing down the coolers we rode eastbound out of Presidio to the Fort Leaton National Historic Site. It was here that we had to pay and get information on Big Bend Ranch State Park (BBRSP). Hwy 107 took us eastbound into BBRSP. Along our way to the Closed Canyon trail head we could see the Rio Grande River in several locations with Mexico on the other side. Closed Canyon was a hike through a canyon, which was scenic and fun but the further in we went the rougher the terrain and the steeper and higher the drops and ledges. When we came to a 12 foot drop we decided it was time to turn around. On the way out we found it was much easier going down than back up, which Marge had been warning us about. We had a few laughs making our way back. After the hike we returned to Presidio where we enjoyed lunch at the El Patio Restaurant. Between the...

It was 53 degrees under blue clear skies when we departed Carlsbad, NM at 9:00 this morning. Another BEAUTIFUL day! I got a pic of Carl and Marge preparing to saddle up. I think I got their best sides!?!?!? Carl's for sure. We rode south into Texas with the temperature gradually rising. We stopped for gas in Pecos, TX and then visited their West of the Pecos Museum. It was interesting with many exhibits. We continued on south and as we approached Balmorhea, TX we could see hills or mountains on the horizon. We later learned they were the Barrilla Mountains and the Davis Mountains. We enjoyed the scenery driving through the mountains south of Balmorhea. It was a pleasant change from what we'd experienced since about Clovis, NM. After enjoying lunch at the Fort Davis Drug Store and Hotel in Fort Davis - - we stocked up on grub at a grocery store and then continued southbound. We passed "Elephant Rock", which we had to stop and photograph beca...

We left our motel in Roswell at 9:00. It was 66 degrees and sunny with blue clear skies. Our first stop was downtown Roswell and the International UFO Museum and Research Center. Marge did some shopping and then we were off southbound to Carlsbad, where we had lunch at Blake's Lotaburger. The plan was to eat here, where we thought we'd get fast food, and then hustle on south to Carlsbad Caverns. It didn't turn out that way. Food was OK but definitely not fast. The elevators were out of service at Carlsbad Caverns so we had to walk down and then walk back out. Normally we'd be able to ride the elevators back to the top. It was a rigorous walk but the formations in Big Room at the bottom were impressive. After the death march into and out of the cave we rode back into Carlsbad, found our motel and called it a day. We rode 131 miles today but due to our cave tour I think I'll sleep well tonight. See more pictures below: just before starting do...