Retired and Trippin

My brother, Carl, had been unable to ride for some time so when he invited us to ride to Olpe, KS for a chicken lunch we were eager to go. Even though it was a bit cool. The weather forecast was for a temperature in the 40's when we were to leave and the high was supposed to be 57. The forecast was accurate - for a change. When we left Shawnee at 9:40am it was sunny and 46. Carl led us on back roads through DeSoto, Eudora, Baldwin City and Centropolis before we stopped for a bathroom break at Casey's in Ponoma. Chris and Marge kibitzing in Casey's in Ponoma, KS We were off again through Quenemo (boyhood home to a good friend of mine), Reading (where Chris and I did some work after the tornado there in May of 2011) and Emporia to our destination, the Chicken House in Olpe. Along the way we rode about 4 miles of gravel ( due to some bad route advice I'd given Carl ) just west of the Eisenhower State Park. Chris, Marge & Carl taking off the cold weather cloth...

I am finally blogging from my laptop this evening, which is so nice. Blogging from my iPhone was tedious. After a scrumptious breakfast at the Down Over B&B in Arrow Rock this morning Chris and I were off to explore the Arrow Rock State Historic Site (SHS) at about 9:30. It was 61 degrees and cloudy. We slowly cruised around the roads inside the SHS before visiting the visitor's center, which was impressive and informative. Turns out the Arrow Rock SHS has connections to the Boone's Lick SHS (across the Missouri River) that we visited the day before. At one time there was a salt water spring in Arrow Rock also. Arrow Rock was also on the Santa Fe Trail. downtown Arrow Rock, MO We then hiked from the visitor's center to the Missouri River. On the way we passed the old one-cell jail. The story goes that it was only used once and the prisoner yelled so loud the residents in Arrow Rock could not sleep . . . . . so they let him go. Arrow Rock's old one-cell ...

Carl and Marge took off for home this morning so Chris and I were on our own again. At breakfast in the motel I found Scott Shane, a former Shawnee Rotary Club member. It was good talking to him, about important matters like Goldwings and Can-Ams. We left our motel at 9:00 under clear skies with a temperature of 66. It was another beautiful day. We started riding north on Highway 179, a beautiful route with many hills and curves. Just past I-70 we took Highway 98 into Boonville. In Boonville we walked over the Missouri River on the highway bridge and then on the KATY Bridge, which was formerly a railroad bridge. Highway 87 took us north out of Boonville and over the river. This route to Glasgow, MO was another winner with hills and twisties, especially the northern half. Along the way we checked out the  Boone's Lick State Historic site. Daniel. Boone discovered salt water springs and creeks here, which his sons turned into a business harvesting and selling salt. Glasgow, MO ...

 It was a tour day today with Carl and Marge. The weather was beautiful with clear skies and a high in the low 80s. I put a whopping 68 miles on the motorcycle while Chris rode with Carl and Marge in their car.  Our morning tour was of the Warm Springs Ranch near Boonville, Missouri. This is where they breed and raise Clydesdale horses. To see pictures from the tour click on this link:  Clydesdales  Our afternoon tour was at the old Missouri State penitentiary in Jefferson City, Missouri. When it closed in 2004 it was the oldest continuously operating prison west of the Mississippi River.  To see pictures from the tour click on this link.  Prison We found a motel in Jefferson City, checked in and then went to Oscar's Classic Diner for some dinner. It was LARAPIN good. Another great day under our belts. Life is good.

We rode away from the Queen Wilhelmina State Park Lodge at 8 o'clock. It was 61° with mostly clear skies. Our route took us a little bit east and then south down Rich mountain to Highway 59, which ran back west into Oklahoma. Along this route we saw some pretty roadside foliage. We went north through Poteau (OK) and Fort Smith (AR) to I-49 northbound. The Boston Mountains displayed some of the best fall colors we've seen on this trip. In southern Missouri we encountered fog but not so much that it slowed us down.  At Nevada, MO we left the four-laner and rode east and north to Boonville, MO. While enroute we stopped along Highway 83 to photograph some pretty trees on the bank of Truman Reservoir. After 422 miles we arrived at our motel in Boonville Missouri. Carl and Marge had just arrived and were already checking in. We had dinner with them at the Palace Restaurant in downtown Booneville before calling it a night. It was another enjoyable day with a high temperature of 72...

 The motorcycle remained parked and covered today while Chris and I hiked, rested and relaxed.   After breakfast in the Lodge we started today with a 4 mile hike on the Ouachita Trail to the Pioneer Cemetery.  Afterwards we recuperated by resting, reading and rocking in chairs on the porch of the lodge.   In the afternoon we hiked the Lover's Leap Trail to a platform with a beautiful view of the valley.  Following that we scored a little nap.  We concluded the day with a buffet dinner at the lodge while we watched it rain outside.  Now we are watching the second game of the World Series. Life is good! To see all of the photos taken today click on this link:  Day 3 Pics

Last night when I was done blogging I figured it would be a good time to charge my laptop. Except I failed to bring the charging cord. So now I'm blogging from my iPhone. Things may not look just right. We blasted away from our motel in Siloam Springs, AR at 8:30 this morning under clear skies. It was 59 degrees. A short distance west we were in Oklahoma and traveling south on 59 Highway. Riding through Salisaw, OK we saw a sign that reminded us of nephew Rob. In Poteau, OK we stopped for a great lunch at Warehouse Willy's before hopping on Highway 271 and riding south and west to the Talimena Scenic Byway. This is a beautiful ride along the ridge of the Winding Stair Mountain in Oklahoma (Hwy 1) and Rich Mountain in Arkansas (Hwy 88). We saw some autumn color but we're just a little early for prime leaf viewing. So we rode east on the Talimena Byway into Arkansas to our lodging for the next two nights at the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge in the Queen Wilhelmina State Park. ...