Beemer Bob
Latitude:31.54854
Longitude:-95.23886
GPS location Date/Time:12/29/2011 18:19:00 CST

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Beemer Bob

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If you had read my previous blog, because of mechanical problems with Lyekka the leaking Russian (burned a hole in a piston), I was unable to complete my “Tour of Honor” project.

Well last week I decided to finish my last two sites, but this time on Scarface (the Beemer) and just make a short trip of it so that I could call the mission accomplished.
I got off about 9ish and head north to Amarillo

On my way, I passed by a veterans memorial in the small town of Rising Star. This was not one of my destinations but I figured that since the “Tour of Honor” project was going to specific memorial site, I should stop and pay my respects at other Veterans memorial sites that I may pass along the way.

Along the way, near Sweetwater, I find this building. It just didn’t seem quite politically correct

Actually this was the “WASP museum” WASP in this case referred to The Women Airforce Service Pilots.  Durring WW2, this was a service organization of female pilots that supported the war effort . As more men joined the war effort, more women took Home Front jobs once considered for males only. In 1942, that trend took to the air when the U.S. Army Air Forces launched the civilian Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program. From 1942 to 1944, these first women to fly U.S. military planes logged 60 million miles, ferrying military aircraft to bases nationwide.  They also opened the way for women in the Air Force. WASP pilots trained at Sweetwater Army Air Field (Avenger Field).

As it turns out, Scarface is a big Buddy Holly fan. So by time we hit Lubbock, we seek out the Buddy Holly museum. Who would have known a German would be a fan of the man that invented rock-and-roll.

Today is Monday and the museum is closed on Monday. Scarface was very sad. Have you ever heard a grown GS cry?  It’s enough to chock you up.  I explained to Scarface that we would pass back through Lubbock after we tag the memorial site in Amarillo and I promised him that we would visit then.

In the meantime, we did view some of the outside tributes to Buddy.

Two guys with funny looking glasses

Near the town of New Deal, I see a sign for a winery and that that would be a fun side trip.  Going down a side road I pass a very unusual liquor store that I just had to stop at.

This was a combination liquor store, feed store, and horse tack shop. Additionally they had a vegetable stand and a garden where they sold plants.  I met and visited with the owner (Bill) as he told me about his enterprises.

This is the building, run by Bill’s wife, that housed the liquor store.

Afterwards, I continue on and find this small winery.

I buy some of their wine (of course, and I see this t-shirt that I just had to buy.

I press on and finally reach Amarillo by dusk and go to the Big Texan Steak Ranch.

And then I check into the adjoining western-town hotel.

After a short rest from a long ride, I head back to the ranch for some grub.
I order a steak, of course, and one of their own micro brews (Texas Red)

The inside was already decorated for Christmas.

With a pleasantly full tummy, I mosey back to my room and enjoy some of the wine I bought today at the winery utilizing some of the motel’s fine crystal wine glasses.

END of Day 1, Segment 3, attempt 2
Aprox 475 miles today.

G’nite Y’all

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Day 2

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In the morning, I go back to the ranch for breakfast and guess what I order.
Yep, Steak and eggs.

After retrieving my steed from the livery stable, it’s time to head out.

I then go find the first quest of this trip. The Texas Panhandle War Memorial.

This large memorial pays tribute to soldiers who either lost their lives or went missing in action in all wars since the Spanish American War. Several large red granite stones, each dedicated to a different war, list the names of veterans who came from the 26 counties of the Texas Panhandle.

Next destination is Midland, so I head back south.

I take a side trip to ride through Palo Duro Canyon.

Continuing our journey to Midland, Scarface and I are happy to pass through Happy.

A promise is a promise, so we pass through Lubbock again and stop by the Buddy Holly museum.

Scarface was not allowed in, but he was happy with me taking the tour and I bought Scarface a Buddy Holly CD that made him happy.

I make it to Midland a little after dark. Riding in the dark does not make me happy. I did not make any reservations because I figured that between the large towns of Midland and nearby Odesa, surely there would be a lot of motels to choose from.

Well, not so. I was calling every motel listed on my GPS and they were all booked up. Several told me they were fully booked for the next few weeks. Argggg

Not to offend anyone that may be from this area, but this is NOT a pretty area. This is an ugly oil town and the whole place smelled of oil. I could not figure out why all the motels would be booked. Surely there is not a tourist draw here. I later learn that there has been a surge in oil field work here and there is not enough rental property to accommodate the oil field workers, so they are using the motels.

After many calls I find a motel with a room. I make my reservation and head over. This is a typical $35 a night motel except that it cost me $85. It was either pay that or sleep in an alley.

It had a bed and the cockroaches were not very large. I had skipped lunch and there were no restaurants in walking distance but I didn’t want to ride any more in the dark, so I finished off the rest of my wine and went to bed.

End of Day 2, Segment 3, Attempt 2

G’nite Y’all

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Day 3

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My “fancy” motel advertised a “continental” breakfast, so in the morning I went to partake. Their version of a continental breakfast was a loaf of bread and coffee. So I hade some toast and called that breakfast and set out to find my next designated memorial site.

On my way I pass by this bunny that begged for a picture with Scarface.

Onward I go and arrive at my next and last designated memorial. This is the Permian Basin Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

This memorial was conceived by, built by, and dedicated to the Vietnam Veterands of West Texas. Along with the engraved names of Permian Basin residents who were killed or missing in the Vietnam conflict, stand the United States, Texas and POW-MIA flags.

The image above is a chilling, but common sight from the war that I remember all to well: two soldiers helping a wounded comrade to an approaching Huey helicopter. One signals the chopper, while another watches their back

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

This was the last of the designated sites for the 2011 Tour of Honor ride. It took me almost a year to get around to completing this, but I have now finished that quest. I got this thing about quests, once started I must complete.  They are unfinished business. I still have a few more unfinished quests before I can rest.  One is Baja, while going to a place to watch whales, my brother decided to nose dive into a hill side cutting that trip short, the other was my attempt at riding the Continental Divide Route when I chose to hide in the middle of nowhere to see if anyone could find me.  These quests too that must be finished.

Being that winter is on its way it is too cold to head up north on the CDR, so I guess Baja will be next.  So, stay tuned.

Meanwhile back at the ranch. Nearby was the Commemorative Air Force Airpower Heritage Museum, a collection of WWII military aviation history.

It was time to hit the road so I did not have the opportunity to spend the time that this museum deserved, so unfortunately I had to do a quick review.  If anyone is in the area, I strongly recommend in touring this museum but plan on spending a significant amount of time to get the full impact of all that was present here.  It was all great, but perhaps what I found most interesting was the largest collection of airplane nose art in the world.  It was the custom for bombers to have pretty girls painted on the nose of the aircraft.  I found this collection fascinating, not just because the women were, well pretty with little or no clothing (but that didn’t hurt).

Following is just a small sample.

Time to head home. One the way, I find that I have my own creek.

When I passed through San Angelo I had to stop and say howdy to my friends at Jim’s.

After that, I put fire up the afterburners and head home. I arrive safe and sound.

MISSION ACCOMPLISIED. Stay tuned for the next Adventure

 

I got off to an early start before daybreak as it was a long way to my first stop (Midland, TX), But …..    Best laid plans ….

There was an extremely heavy fog and I only made it a short way down the road before having to run around and wait as a station for daybreak with hopes that I would be able to see the road by then.

At daybreak I try again.  The fog is still so thick that I have to make several stops along side the road to wait hoping for the fog to thin.

According to the weatherman on TV earlier this morning, the worst of the fog was to the north, so I figured that the sooner I could get west, I would ride out of the storm.  Unfortunately, the fog gods did not confer with this weatherman because the blanket of fog got worse.

I continued this stop and go until about noon.  I’ve never seen fog this thick and remain this long. I kept stopping at stations and having a cup of coffee waiting until the fog cleared.  I had so much caffeine in my system by noon I was about to jump up and slap someone.  At long last the fog clears and I can see my way, so I’m off and running.

I’m trying to make up a little time and perhaps pushing the Russian a little too much, and then …

And then …

Yup, that is my beloved Lyekka being loaded on a tow truck.

I was going along, all was good, life was good and then I hear a strange noise from the engine and look down and see the engine is spewing smoke. I’m not a mechanic, but I know that this is not a good sign.

I see than my crankcase vent seems to have broken (or melted), so with some handy-dandy bailing wire, I reattach said vent and check oil.  Along then some nice folks (Riche and Dora) come by and inform they thsy just live down the road and offer assistance. By then the engine had cooled down so I asked if they would just follow me a while so I could try to ride into the next town. But when I try to start the Russian , she sputters “nyet”, she isn’t going to start.  So, Riche pulls out his phone book and helps me identify some motorcycle repair shops in San Angelo (the nearest town of any size, about 35 miles away). While Riche was not a rider himself, he knew which shops had been in business for a long time. So I call ACE motorcycle shop and he agrees to see what he can do.  So, I contact my roadside assistance to request a tow truck and haul myself and Lyekkas to ACE.

BTW: My Roadside assistance cost me $30 a year.  The towing charge was about $150, that I did not have to pay. So, sure glad I had roadside asstance.

The owner, Charles, stayed past normal working hours and attempts to diagnose the problem I was hoping he would just tell me I got some bad gas, needed spark plugs or something else simple. Charles did not tell me that, instead he told me I nneded to find another way home other than Lyekka to get home.  Lyekka was very sick.  No compression on left cylinder, and very little on right. Blown rings, hole burnt in pistone, ?. Bottom line, not an easy fix.

After closing shop, Charles offers to take me to a Motel 6.  On they way I describe to him that I have not had a good day and would he mind stopping somewhere that I could get some wine.  Charles willingly goes out of his way to find a liquor store for me then to the motel.  That was certainly above and beyond the call.

I get to the motel and I’m hungry but too exhausted to go find a place to eat.  I call a Pizza Hut and order a small pizza.  I’m told that the minimum order for delivery is $10.  I tell the young lady that’s fine, charge me $10 for a small. She has some difficulty with that so I acquiesce and order a supreme medium pizza so get over the $10 minimum problem.  It arrives (burnt and greasy) , I eat what I want and save some more for breakfast. Yes cold pizza for breakfast is as bad, if not worse, that you would image.  I’m too exhausted to drink mush wine so I leave the bottle as a tip for the maid.

Now my problem.  How do I get Lyekka and myself home.  I was exploring options such as taking a bus home so I could get my truck and trailer until my sweet wife suggested I post my dilemma on the Two Wheeled Texans (TWT) forum.  The motorcycle community continues to amaze me and the “brotherhood” of TWT is fantastic.  It didn’t take long before offers of assistance started coming in.  A TWT friend, Mark, offered to come up all the way from Thorndale with truck and trailer to bring us home. Problem solved!

The next morning, not having anything better to do until Mark gets here, I walk from the hotel back to the cycle shop. I cut across an older section of town and passed this wall art along the way.

The picture does not properly show the detail of the art.  I was very impressed.  There was not any profanity and in fact, some scripture quotes.  Nicely done artwork that I assume was done by local graffiti artists.

I make it to the shop.  Charles has not had second thoughts about something cheaper and easer to fix Lyekka, so I still have some time to kill.

But before I continue with this story, I need to take a moment to identify Charles and his shop.  He seems to really know his stuff, vary friendly and the kind of guy that will bend over backwards to try to help you. If any of you guys are ever in San Angelo and need some help with your bike, this is the place to go.

Anyway, I have some time to kill; Charles takes me next door to another cycle repair shop called Jim’s Cycle Service. This is a very unusual cycle shop.  It consisted of a bunch of old guys sitting around drinking coffee and discussing politics, the weather and motorcycles.  There was a motorcycle up on a lift, but no one was working on it and no one seemed motivated to do anything (my kind of folk) except jaw. They accepted me as a visiting guest to their unnamed club and we visited and exchanged various lies.

My new friends,

I was invited to stop by again when in the area and I plan to do just that.

Mark arrives, and we load Lyekka on his trailer.

And homeward we go.  Mark drops Lyekka and I off at my house then continue on his way home.  This was a full day out of Mark’s life plus use of his truck and trailer, yet he would not accept payment.  Best I was allowed to do was buy a tank of fuel and pay for lunch and that was met with some disagrement from Mark.  Many in the motorcycle community practice “pay it forward”, obligating the recipient to help some other motorcyclist in need sometime in the future. I accept this obligation, but I have been rescued and assisted so many times that my “pay if forward” account is in the negative. If anyone of you ever need assistance, please please contact me. I need to work off some of my “pay it forward” account.  Thank you Mark!

Well the Tour of Honor quest is over in regard to being able to earn the pin and certificate of completion.  The deadline is the end of this month and there is not enough time for me to get Lyekka fixed or get my GS and try to finish this in time because of other plans.  Because I was so close (completed 5 out of 7), I plan to complete this quest someday just for the fun of it.  I don’t like unfinished mission. Besides I need to come back through San Angelo again so I can say hi to all my new friends.  So, to all the gang at Jim’s Cycle, keep a pot of coffee on and I will return someday.

End of trip

Some of you may remember (but perhaps not cared ), last April I had entered in an event called “Tour of Honor” where the goal was to visit specified memorial sites throughout a state (usually 7 per state), then take pictures of your bike at the site.  The first person to complete all 7 won trophies but in April, we were in the middle of an ice storm here in Texas so I took a pass at trying to earn a trophy.

Instead, I decided to break the trip into 3 segments and by at least completing the task of visiting all the sites I would still earn a pin, a certificate and bragging rights.  Well I did the first two segments earlier this year snagging 5 of the 7 memorials.

Thinking I had plenty of time, I kept procrastinating until I realized the deadline was Oct 31^st.  So, now in panic mode, I’m off to complete the remaining sites before the deadline.

The 2 sites remaining are the Permian Basin Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Midland, TX and the Texas Panhandle War Memorial in Amarillo, TX.

This is about a 3 day trip, but there is no telling how long it will take because of my inclination to take side trips seeking mischief and Lyekkas’s tendency to drop vital parts as we go down the highway.

I will try to post daily and of course pictures.  Be careful, I have a camera and I am not afraid to use it.

Remember you can follow my tracking by going to BeemerBob.com and then ‘clicking’ on the ‘where’s Waldo’ icon to see my current location.  I hope you are able to join me on this trip.

- Bob

I recently completed a short trip to Arkadelphia, AR to attend a sidecar rally. It was only a few days but I had lots of fun and took lots of pictures. This is my story.
The Rally was a Friday/Saturday/Sunday event but Arkadelphia is about a 8 – 9 hr trip and that is a long time on a Ural so I decided to make it a two day trip and left Thursday morning.
I get off about 8ish.

Notice the famous “wine tree” with bottles of wine growing out of the sides and hanging from the limbs. (an ongoing project to be discussed in the future).
On the way, I pass through the town of Hubbard and find this interesting VietNam war display worthy of a photo op.


I stop in Corsicana at the fruitcake place for a 10 cent cup of coffee and a complementary cookie. Coffee and cookies; Breakfast of champions.

Near Tyler, my stomach begins to complain (a constant state), and I veer off route a bit to get feed at The Shed in Edom, Tx.

I made it as far as Atlanta State Park (Southwest of Texarkana and set up camp in the beautiful pine forests of East Texas.

The park is fairly deserted; I hang my hammock and sip on the scant bit of wine I brought with me. Then along comes a dude on a Beemer sickle. He stops and we talk and he decides to set up camp next to me. I offer to share some of my dehydrated meals with him, but sadly, I tell him I am out of wine. He then tells me he has plenty of wine. My new best friend! The only thing better than meeting a fellow motorcyclist is to meet a fellow motorcyclist with plenty of wine. Mark (the name of my new best friend) and I spent the evening drinking his wine and solving the world’s problems. I don’t know if we solved any of the world’s problems, but I do know we drank all his wine and had a very nice time .
The next morning, after saying goodbye to Mark, I head towards Arkadelphia. A sidecar buddy Lee (aka: SwampFox) sent me an interesting route from the park where I was staying to the small town of Proctor where some folks had decided to meet for lunch and then ride together to the rally site. I follow this route and cross over into Arkansas.

I am unable to finish the entire route that Swampfox sent because I was running out of time so I be-lined it to Proctor so I wouldn’t be late. However not everyone was concerned about being late. Oldtimer & Tahobiker were late, so we had to wait for them to finally show up anyway.
After lunch, Swampfox tells us he has a nice route for us leading to the rally side and we get to cross over some old bridges, so off we go.
We cross (well at least some of us cross) North Boat Ditch of the Terre Noire River in Clark County. Tahobike with his fancy dancy pretty low sidecar, comes off the rail and high centers on the rail and can go no more. Immediately, everyone runs to his aid. NOT! First order of business was to get out our cameras.



A few other shots while on this road


We make it to the Rally site, register, say howdy, etc. After a while, I head over to the state park where we are staying, “Degray Lake Resort State Park”, and set up camp
Great campsite next to the lake. Their I meet up with a friend (Darrin) that I know from Two Wheeled Texans (TWT). Being just a youngster in his early 40’s he has yet embrace the concept of a sidecar rig, so he rode his two wheeled cow-wa-saki KLR.

He had some other plans for the weekend but they fell through so he decided to join me to this event.

Some views from our campsite.


We return to the Rally and join the rest of the group for hot dogs and the best road-kill chili I have ever had. Darrin and I are able to secure some adult beverages for the evening and return to our campsite to consume these beverages.
In the morning we all meet up and ride up near Hot Springs for breakfast. Great ride, great food.

After breakfast, Darrin and I go in search of dirt. Swampfox pointed us in the general direction and we went to go get dirty. Soon we found ourselves on some old logging roads and trails in the densely wooded forest.
We come upon a muddy low water crossing area. Darren skillfully and carefully works his way around this obstacle; I on the other hand choose to go right through the middle spraying mud and water everywhere. Great fun!
Continuing down the logging roads


Sometimes the road .we were on would sort of petter out leaving us to blaze a path through an open area where perhaps there used to be a road

We came upon this section of the road that was mostly washed out. I was very concerned that the width of the sidecar would present a problem staying out of the deep ruts.
A view of the washed out section.

The following is a video clip of us going through this ravine. I also learned that one should wait until you are completely through the obstacle before yelling “Yeeehaaa”
Click on picture to see clip

What there was of the road is now nothing more than a sliver through the woods where there are not trees. The pathway narrows to almost single track, about another foot more narrow and I and Lyekkas would have to turn around. We ride over some small limbs and trees, but able to continue making progress.



We find out way out of the woods and head back to the rally site to watch the sidecar game events. I did not have a willing monkey, so I could only watch. We then had a great BBQ catered dinner.
The rigs are all lined up for photo ops and for judging. Lyekka had wanted to freshen up for the judging, clean up, put on fresh lipstick, etc. but time did not permit (besides, she now had a flat), so she entered the contest covered in mud with vegetation caught in some of her framework.


After dinner, there was an awards presentation for the sidecar games, prettiest rig, rider that came the furthest, etc.
Lyekka won a trophy!  She won the “Rat Hack” award.

This is basically an award for the rattiest rig in attendance. Lyekka is not a pretty girl anyway, but covered in mud did not help her appearance much.


Lyekka and I are not much into pretty so we were quite proud of our trophy.
The next morning, Darrin and I head back to the woods. This time we were not as lucky to find as good of roads as we did yesterday. The first obstacle was a ditch going across the road. To smarter men, this would have been a clue that this was not a good route and we should find another road. But since we are not that bright, we push onward.
My concern was the only passable section of this ditch was not very wide and I doubted that Lyekka could make it without sliding into the ditch. No problem says Darren as he stacks some lose rocks and a rotted log to widen the path.

Darren and his KLR get through without much trouble, Lyekka on the other hand, well…


The following film clip shows how Lyekka got in this mess. (click on picture for video)

After some various attempts to get Lyekka out of the ditch, we discover the problem is that while sitting on the bike, the frame is pushed down into the dirt. So we decide to “walk it” through with me standing on the left side in the ditch operation the throttle and Darrin pushing from the back. This works great, except for a slight issue. Once out of the hole, I let go of the bike and then I fall down because I was standing in the ditch. One would think that once I let go of the throttle, the bike would stall and come to a standstill. But not this time. I’m laying on the ground without plans to get up real soon when I look up and see Lyekka heading down the road. Putt putt putt, there she goes. As I am truing to scramble back to my feet to give chase, there goes Darren sprinting after her. He finally catches her and hits the front brake, this time causing her to stall and die. It may be one of those “you had to be there”, but to see Lyekka putting down the road on her own with Darren running behind trying to catch up was one of the funniest things I have seem for a long time. We both laughed and regretted that we had not been able to get a video, So you will just have to trust me, this was funny.
After this good laugh, we regain our composure and continue down the road. Because of the way a sharp slab of concrete in the ditch was position, coming back the other way would be very difficult so it is important that we find another route out of the woods. A short way down the road we come upon a dead tree across the road. So tromp down some small trees and bushes that will allow us to go around the tree.

In the process,

Lyekka adorns herself with vines and limbs as she blazes a trail through the jungle.

Once past that obstacle, we find another tree across the road but with no way around.

We do, however, see a little side road going up a hill so we follow that. We end up at a deer blind with no other egress other then the way we came. We are without a doubt, now on private property. Not looking forward to crossing that ditch again, I had noticed an unlocked gate in front of a road that might lead us out of and I was suggesting that we trespass and hope we get away with it without getting shot. Darrin however, swears he hears some banjos playing in the background and was not too keen on going through a gate on private property. So we head back the we come, this time paying close attention to any side roads that may be there that we could have missed. Well, we did not miss any side roads and ended up back at the same ditch.

We explored other options to possibly go around, but none looked any better. But this time, we don’t even attempt to ride Lyekka through but instead, just walk he through. This worked fine and Lyekka did not get away from me and proceed down the road on her own.
By this time we a pooped and poor Darrin was worn out from pushing Lyekka through the ditch. We go to the nearest town and find a station that also serves food ate nd rested a bit. We gave some thought to finding another section to ride but decided that to go back to the campsite for a little nappy time.
We nap and goof off the rest of the afternoon and then we discover the park we are staying at has a nice lodge with a restaurant, so we go there for dinner. Upon returning to our campsite we discover we still have some pre-mixed margarita that needs to be consumed and we do so.
The next morning Darrin thinks one is supposed to hurry and pack up your gear and hit the road. I work to teach him the fine art of goofing off and talk him into returning to the lodge restaurant for a nice breakfast and returning to finish packing up. We finally get on the road about 10ish, I think. Darrin rides with me until Texarkana from there he west towards Ft. Worth and I break off heating southwest to the Waco area.
My original plan was to take two days to get home and stop at Tyler State Park for the night and finish the trip in the morning. By time I got to Tyler, I was feeling fine and decided to push on.

I finally got home about 8:30pm. Tired, but glad to be home.

Had a GREAT time. It was a lot of fun finding out that Lyekka is a pretty good off-road vehicle

Bri and I – A new adventure is about to begin!

Hello all. Some of you may have thought I died or quit riding. Well the rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. My wife is a school teacher (someone in this household needs to have a job) and as such, she is off during the summer. My sweet wife that lets me go on my adventures prefers that I not take long trips while she is off. For some odd reason she wants me around when she is off. I have no idea why.

I’ve been doing short trips here in Texas and while those were fun, they were not blog worthy. Well school is back in session so it’s time to take an epic trip.

As most may know, it has been hot in Texas this year. VERY HOT! I live in Central Texas and we have broken numerous records with this heat spell. The record heat has been combined with a record drought so it’s time to head to the cool mountains of Colorado.

This trip will be most unique because my youngest son (Brian, age 31, sometimes called Bri) is joining me. Brian took a class to learn how to drive a sidecar rig and got a motorcycle endorsement on his license so we will be taking Lyekka the Russian (a Ural motorcycle with a sidecar). Brian and I will switch between being the driver or being the monkey in the sidecar. Brian has no interest in motorcycles and no interest in a quest to travel the continental divide or other such foolishness. Why then, you may ask, is Bring coming on this trip. TO BE WITH ME! Although Brian worded it much better, but with my tendency to ride into foolish areas or try to negotiate turns at 100 mph, he wanted to go on a trip with me before I manage to kill myself.

So this will be a father/son trip. Just the two of us. We have never done anything like this before and this will be very meaningful for the both of us.

The weather here in Texas has been unbearable. As of today we have had over 80 days of temperatures over 100 so far this year. We have broken several all-time records concerning the heat. So we are heading to the cool mountains of Colorado. This journey will begin Sept. 6. We felt it best to wait until after Labor Day so that the venues we want to visit would be less crowded and cheaper.

Beemer Bob

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*****          Day 1         *****
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We are off. The trip has begun! Bri is driving the rig and I am driving the truck.

Start of our trip began a little questionable because of the wildfires. The storm that drenched Louisiana and Mississippi with tons of water also brought central Texas heavy winds. But because hurricanes rotate counter-clockwise the winds that hit Texas had blown over very dry land. So all we got was hot, dry wind. After a summer of record breaking heat and drought, this was a disaster waiting to happen. Well it happened! Yesterday Texas was on fire! Wildfires all over the place. After this drought, almost anything would start a fire and the dry winds fed them to an uncontrollable state traveling through the woods at a fast speed. Brian lives in an area where a fire had broken out and all the roads to his house had be blocked. This presented a problem in that he could not get to his house to get his boots and clothes. I suggested to Brian that we delay the trip until he can get his clothes but he was anxious to get going and wanted to go without his stuff. So off we go, but I fear that running around the snowcapped mountains without any clothes might be too cold.

We start out about 8 in the morning. Brian drives the rig and I drive the truck

Our first stop is the Koffee Kup Restaurant in Hico for breakfast.

At this point we switch and I drive the rig while Brian drives the truck.

After a nice hardy breakfast we continue northeast. Even though we had a big breakfast, by early afternoon we were feeling the need for nourishment. So we pulled into a Dairy Queen for a wholesome lunch of blizzards.

By late afternoon we make it to our first destination on our journey, Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo.

The home of the free 72oz steak! Wow, what a deal! Well there is a catch; you have to eat the steak and all the trimmings including baked potato within an hour. If you succeed, the meal is free. If you fail, the charge is $72.

When we lived in Colorado (20+) years ago, this was our stop over place when we would come back to Texas to visit family. Therefore we had a lot of fond memories of this place.

This is a fun place and if you are ever in Amarillo, I recommend you stop.

Part of the ranch is a motel redone like an old time western town. We checked in to the dodge house hotel for the night.

The motel had a Texas shaped pool, but it was hard to get a proper picture, so trust me on this, the pool was Texas shaped.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch

At the shooting gallery

Just sitting around for a while

I wish I was big. I wish I was big

After a hard day at the ranch, it was time for a homemade beer

Time for a steak

And a little music while you eat (click on picture for video)

Beer in a boot

And to end the day

G’nite Y’all

*************************
*****          Day 2         *****
*************************

In the morning, we swagger on over to the Big Texan for a hardy Texas breakfast. Afterwards we pack up and leave our rustic hotel.

We drive through the Texas panhandle, every now and then we even see a tree. We then cross over into New Mexico where Brian hangs around.

I, on the other hand, shimmy up the pole. This is a picture of me coming down from the top of the sign.

Through the northern section of New Mexico is a place called Capullin National Monument and it is the site of a now dead volcano. You can drive up a narrow winding road to the top but trailers are not permitted, so we unloaded Lyekka and rode her. I drove, with Brian in the tub. It was a lot of fun, but Brian did not get to see most of the views during the ride. On the way up we were on the outside lane with a drop off to our immediate right. As we would round a curve with a magnificent view I would tell Brian to look at the fantastic view, but instead he would look down at the floorboard of the sidecar and say something like “I saw it”, but never look up. Other words he said sounded like a prayer. It was funny, well at least i thought it was funny

Well we made it the top without going over the edge. Some views from the top

The crater

We return to the bottom without incident and Brian was much happier with us being on the inside lane.
We continue our journey; by time we get to Raton, NM we feel the need for a wholesome nutritious lunch, so of course that means Dairy Queen. I have a small blizzard

Brian, however, orders a supper size cone.

The monkey is happy about reaching Colorado.

I’m happy but not quite as excited.

We continue on to the town of Walsenburg, TX. This is the end of the trailering, time to unload Lyekka. We store the truck and trailer at a storage facility and it’s Lyekka from here on.

Some questions were raised as to why we were trailering instead of riding the entire way. As exciting as it is to ride through the flat boring panhandle, Brian has limited time off from work, so it was quicker to trailer to where the fun is. So anyway, we now leave the comfort of an enclosed truck and into the elements.

From Walsenburg to Pueblo, the winds were very high that made the ride a little less than pleasant. We encountered some light rain and with the high winds the drops stung slightly where it hit your skin. We stopped for a short break in Pueblo and then heading on to Colorado Springs. The winds died down and the ride became more pleasant but a tad cool. By time we got to Colorado Springs, the sun had falling and the temperatures dropped. Then it started raining. Uch

We ride on to Manitou Springs and stop at a really neat place to eat, Stagecoach Inn. We got a nice table next to the fireplace so we could thaw.

Yum yum

After we check in to a local motel (Pikes Peak Inn), the rain had stopped so we walk to the Manitou downtown area and find the shops and arcade have closed but the bars are open

That bar was a bit wild for these mild mannered Texans so we find a tamer place for a night cap (or two).

After a while we head back to our motel and deem the day done.

G’nite Y’all

**************************
*****          Day 3         *****
**************************

In the morning we head over to the Garden of the Gods.

The Kissing Camels

We come across this big ol’ boulder about to crash down on the citizens of Colorado Springs, but Super Bri jumps into action to save the day.

He holds the boulder in place until the city can send in heavy equipment. Bri, Our hero.

Brian is not too thrilled with the idea, but I persuade him that we should do Pikes Peak. So off we go.

We ascended about 8,000 feet with no problem. A scenic photo opp.

The peak covered by the cloud is Pikes Peak

We find Big Foot

As we gain altitude, it starts to get chilly so we done some extra layers.

After a while the incline becomes very steep and Lyekka is huffing and puffing to continue on. A few times we would stop to let the engine cool.

A few more scenic pictures once we start getting into the clouds

We plug along at a very slow pace. For a while I was thinking Brian was going to need to get out and push. But we continue and …

We go inside the warmth of the summit building and have some famous Pikes Peak donuts.

We are completely engulfed in fog with no visibility. Following are some of the majestic views from the summit.

Stay tuned to find out if the dynamic duo makes it down from the mountain.
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As previously stated, the fog/cloud was as thick as pea soup and when we were leaving, it started to snow. Well not exactly snow, nor was it sleet. It was more like “snow pellets”. Not only was it cold, but I couldn’t see 2 feet in front of me.

We find a car about to leave and I ask him to slowly lead the way for us because it was difficult for me to see. The way I figure it, if I see them go over the edge I would know to stop. This seemed like a good plan, but the idiot did not turn on his lights so without tail lights I quickly lost sight of him. I could only see him when he used his brakes or now and then he would stop waiting for me to run into him. My face shield had fogged/iced over and I could not see through it so I had to raise the shield and “face” the elements. COLD!

We are going very slowly and after a while some cars behind us pass us, so we are now on our own. All I can see is the yellow dividing line immediately in front but can’t see upcoming switchbacks, so I’m crawling along. As the roads are wet and potentially icy, Brian is ready to jump out of the tub. I ask him what he is doing and he tells me “if this thing goes over the edge, I’m out of here”.

We finally make it down to the Glen Clove Lodge where there is brake check point where they check to see if your brakes are overheating. If so, they instruct you to stay at the lodge for a while to let your beaks cool. I tell the guy no need to check us because we are going to stop anyway to change our underwear.

By now all is dry and the incline is not nearly as steep so after a break at the lodge to thaw out, we proceed on back to Manitou Springs.

On the way we pass through Santa’s Workshop in the town of North Pole. When we lived in the area a long time ago, Brian was very young (about 5 or 6, I think) and we took him here a few times.

After enjoyed a celebratory class of wine to toast our feats of the day, we take a walking tour of downtown Manitou Springs. Manitou is an interesting hippy sort of place.

In the center of town is an old arcade with several buildings full of arcade and midway types of games The one we liked best was the penny arcade full of real old time games.

After touring some of the odd shops (including one that sold books and equipment for growing “hemp” at home), we head to a place called “The Keg” (I think they sold beer), and ordered their filet mignon burgers.

We are done for the day.

G’nite Y’all

**************************
*****          Day 4         *****
**************************

Our next destination is Cripple Creek. On the way we stop by the small town of Green Mountain falls. Brian is standing in front of the building that housed a day care center where he terrorized the other little kids when we lived in nearby Woodland Park. It is now a private residence.

Onward we pass through our old stomping grounds of Woodlawn Park. This was our donut shop that we loved to frequent.

We take the “scenic” route to Cripple Creek and divert to the old mining town of Victor. This old town is just about dead.

We continued onward to Cripple Creek. When we lived in Colorado, Cripple Creek was a quaint little old mining town that had interesting shops. Cripple Creek voted in gambling; now the cute shops have been replaced with casinos.

It’s been over 20 years since we lived in Colorado Springs but we had come back to visit a little over 10 years ago and at that time, Brian was one month away from being 21 and they would not allow him inside. So we never got to even see the inside until this trip.

Motels were plentiful but pricy; everything was $100 or more. We ended up checking into the Grand King Mountain Inn, a nice place high on a hill. We found out later that if we had taken the time to get a “players card” at a casino, it would have been cheaper, oh well.

We then take a shuttle back to the downtown area. First thing we did was to take a ride on an old train that took us to some of the gold mines in the area.

Along the way we viewed some awesome views and the train engineer provided interesting narration during the trip. Following are some of the views from the train.

While it’s still light we take a walking tour of the area. This is Brian in front of one of the many Parlor Houses) brothels that once existed on what was described as one of the most sinful streets in America. This house is the only one that remains (no it is no longer in “business” ), now it is just a museum.

There are a bunch of casinos here, so we started at one end of town and then worked our way back. Neither of us are much into gambling so we just played the penny slots. We had this mission to get a souvenir at every casino. Now days you insert a dollar but when you “cash out”, the machine will print off a ticket that you then can take to the cashier to get real money. What we would do was play our dollar down to 1 cent and then cashout and get our certificate. These 1 cent tickets were our souvenirs. If we ever got ahead of our $1 investment, we would cash out and get real money.

The fact that we were playing, we would get free drinks so a buck for a beer was ok. We had a great steak and eggs meal at one of the casinos for only $2.99 which, with free wine was a good deal.

We continue this silliness of collecting souvenir tickets at casinos.

Overall, Brian is down only a few bucks and I’m probably down $10+. At our last stop for the evening, I win over $40 at a penny slot. So all in all, we had our all our meals, drinks and an evening of fun fully paid for. A great way to end the day.

We call for the shuttle to bring us back to the motel.

G’nite Y’all

**************************
*****          Day 5         *****
**************************

We begin the day with a great breakfast supplied at a local casino courtesy of our hotel. It was a casino that we had not yet visited so of course we had to try our luck at the dollar slots. But no wins today, but at least we did get our $.01 souvenir winning tickets. Fiddle with this and I fiddle with that, but nothing helps. I consider seeing if we can continue our trip through Phantom Canyon with the throttle problem. I quickly abandoned that idea and we go in search of a mechanic. Nothing in Cripple Creek, so we head to the town of Florissant because we are told there is a good mechanic there. We risk it and ride there only to find the mechanic took off today to attend a car show in Cripple Creek (where we just left). Using the telephone and phone book, we are able to locate a HD mechanic all the way back in Woodland Park but after describing my problem, he seems to feel he can fix it.. Out of other Options, we make our way back. After some searching, we locate the mechanic and after about an hour of fiddling with it, he is able to repair the doodad that connects to the thingamagig that makes the whatsit work.

So… Let the journey continue. We make our way back to Cripple Creek. We stop and have another $3.00 steak and eggs meal at a casino then onward to Phantom Canyon. We go through the old mining town of Victor (pretty much a ghost town now) and finally begin the famous “Phantom Canyon” road. This is a gravel road that has not been graded in the current decade and the road is very wash boarded. We are bouncing all over the place and our teeth are beginning to hurt from all the jittering. The front brake on a sidecar rig is extremely important for control through the turs. I’m noticing that the brake seems to be a little squwishy and Brain calls out to tell me I’m squirting brake fluid. We stop and discover that my BRAKE HAS FALLEN OFF! The caliper is just dangling from the hose but is no longer connected to the wheel disk. This is not good.

Back we go. I’m thinking I may be able to fix it, but it is getting too late to begin the Phantom Canyon road, so we head back to Victor and check into a restored grand ol’ hotel, “The Victor Hotel”. This is an 1899 hotel that has been restored back to its original glory (with modern conveniences)

There was a mechanic / tow truck operator in Victor that I contacted to see if he would help put my brake back together. Today was Saturday and he told me that he did not work on Saturday but that he would be willing to tow me to Colorado Springs. Knowing the Colorado Springs was over an hour away, I told him that the would probably be something he could fix in a short time as opposed to spending hours hauling me to Colorado Springs. He then explained that he did not work on Saturday but he would be willing to tow me to Colorado Springs…. So much for that conversation.

Upon investigation, it seemed that the caliper bolts had vibrated loose and if I could just get the caliper back on the disk, I could rig something to make it work. I telephoned a friend and he told me how to get the brake pads apart so I could get it back on the disk. I did so and then used zip ties to tie the caliper back on. Used to be bailing wire but now we have advanced to zip ties. Duct tape, however, remains a very good tool as well.

Brian is not so sure about my brakes being held together with zip-ties, but he reluctantly agrees and we declare ourselves ready to continue the journey in the morning. So now what do we do? Where is the night life happing place in Victor? There seem to be two businesses in Victor. A convenience store (but no gas) and a bar. So off we go to the bar.

It’s a nice place; the girl tending the bar, however, was a little strange.

While there we are told that we are in luck. Tonight is the big excitement night for Victor. Tonight, the Victor Lodge had BINGO!! So now we are off to go play bingo. We are so excited.

The Victor lodge bingo parlor:

It’s a whopping $1 a card for the night, so we splurge our remaining penny-slot winnings and get two cards each.

We lost all of our winnings, so we hang our heads in shame and head back to the motel. Actually, we had a ball. Out here in the middle of nowhere playing bingo with the locals. They were all very friendly and hospitable and we enjoyed out time. Playing bingo, can you believe we did that?

End of Day 5 – G’nite Y’all

*****************************
*****          Day 6 & 7         *****
*****************************

In the morning we find a local café that was serving up spicy green chili stew over biscuits for breakfast. Nothing like green chili stew to get you going in the morning.

I reassure Brian that the brakes being held on with zip-ties, duct tape and bubble gum was not an issue of concern through the narrow canyon roads. Reluctantly, he agrees and climbs into the tub and off we go to ride Lyekka through the Phantom Canyon Road leading from Victor to Canon City. FYI: Canon city has one of those squiggly ~ lines over the ñ, so it is Spanish and is pronounced canyon. I did not know that until I started to learn Spanish. When I lived in Colorado I just thought the people in Canon City did not know how to spell canyon. My Spanish, however, remains very limited I do know how to order a beer, how to ask where the restroom is and how to ask for medical assistance. My last trip to Baja I had the opportunity to use all three phrases. Thank you Rosetta Stone. Ahh, but I digress…
We proceed down phantom canyon road and enjoy breathtaking views. He road is very bumpy and the washboards are at time unbearable. Lyekka is just a rattling but for the most part, we don’t seem to be losing any more parts (yet). The views are great!

OK, so we got a bit carried away with taking pictures but that’s always better than not taking enough. The road was fun, views beautiful but the bumpy washboard road was a bitch. That road could destroy a good set of shocks. The road never got technical but sometimes it would narrow to one lane and that too was OK except when we would come to a blind curve. The drop-off was severe so it was important to not be surprised by a car coming from the other direction. I installed a truck horn on Lyekka just for this situation. Every time we came upon a narrow blind curve, I would lay on the horn so that anyone coming the other direction would get the hell out of the way because they would think a Mac truck was coming.
This is a short video Brian shot through some of the narrow turns or tunnels. Forgive the jittery video, did I mention this was a bumpy road? (click on picture to start clip)

Great ride (‘cept for our kidneys being bounced lose and comming out our pant legs), we hit a highway and headed to Royal Gorge (the other side of Canon City).. We make it to the Roal Gorge and find that it’s a pretty hefty fee to get in. All we wanted to do was cross the bridge but one has to buy a full ticket for all the attractions there, so what the hell. The world’s highest suspension bridge which spans the Arkansas River at a height of 1053 feet

First thing we did was ride the suspended cable car over the gorge. Following are the views that we saw.

Once across the gorge, we toured some of the sites there. Here we are in a make-shift old-time bar. This picture is actually Brian’s reflection in a large mirror. They wern’t serving, so we left.

We found a place serving elk burgers, so we ate an elk or two and washed it down with Coors (We asked for Lone Star, but had to settle for Coors)

Some more shots on the other side of the bridge.

We rode the shuttle back to the other side and then took the incline rail to the bottom of the gorge. Going down, down, down …(click on picture to start clip)

Some of our views from the bottom.

Now we drive Lyekka across the bridge

On the map, it shows a road that is accessible from the south side of the gorge and I had a neat route planned for us. Unfortunately, being a bit out of prime tourist season, the south gate was locked and there was not any way for us to get to that road.

So, back across the bridge we go.

Sadly our trip is nearing an end and it is time to head back to Walsenburg to get the truck and begin the journey home.

South of Canon City we were able to hook on a beautiful winding highway called the Greenhorn Highway that wound through lush green hills and mountains. As the sun was beginning to set, we did not stop to take pictures because we needed to get the truck (I only name toys, the truck is known as the truck).
The last section of our trip was on a gravel road with some bumps. It seems that Lyekka has had about enough of bumps. We are tooting doing the road and then all of a sudden there is a lot of clanging noise and then Lyekka gets VERY loud. We turn around to find that our muffler fell off. We wait until the muffler is cool enough to handle and I strap it on top of our rack, dispense some ear plugs and off we go exceeding all legal noise levels.
We roar(literly) into Walsenburg, load Lyekka on the trailer and head south.
We drive until we are tired and find a cheap motel in Dalhart, Tx. The next morning we continue heading south and make it home for dinner.

END OF TRIP

Bri and I had a great time and thank you for tagging along via the blog.

Well it seems that once I got home, I got involved with other things and failed to complete my trip report. I just plum forgot. I’m old, that’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

I will attempt to complete my trip report today, but first I wanted to bring everyone up to date on something.

Many folks that follow this blog either know my brother Hap (aka: Hap Hazard), either personally or know of him through this blog.

Last Friday (Sept. 23rd), Hap was involved in a fairly major incident while riding his motorcycle with some friends in the Moab area of Utah. The exact details of how it occurred are unknown but it seems he was coming around a turn on a narrow canyon dirt/gravel road when he encountered a jeep coming the other direction. Suffice it to say, the jeep prevailed.

His list of injuries included several broken ribs, fractured left wrist and left clavicle, punctured lung, punctured blader and most severe was a fractured pelvis.

He was brought to a nearby hospital that then transported him to Grand Junction, Co via helicopter. That hospital was not equipped to deal with the pelvis injury and was going to transport him to Denver. Thankfully, Hap had membership with a company called “MedJet Assist”, that then was able to intervene and have his transported to a major hospital in San Antonio (his home town) capable of doing the needed pelvic surgery via a Lear jet.

He underwent surgery Tuesday (Sept. 20) to put various hardware on his pelvis and to pin his fractured clavicle. His left wrist currently sports a cast but the punctured lung, bladder and and ribs are being left to heal themselves (with some assistance from tubes to provide temporary drainage and JB Weld to plug the holes )

He was in ICU until yesterday but has now been moved to a recovery semi-private room. Considering the extent of his injuries, he is in remarkable good spirits and enduring the pain and discomfort as well (if not better) than could be expected under these circumstances. They already have him on physical therapy and he is doing exceeding well at being able to get out of bed, etc. He’s a pretty tough ol’ bird.

It is expected that he will remain in the hospital for another 2 weeks and then will go home to begin a long road to recovery. The good news is that full recovery is expected, but it will just take a while.

Future riding? Hap states that he will most likely get back on the iron horse again but probably won’t stay for the rodeo.

I will admit that while I was getting news of these events, I was becoming pretty scared. This was a close call that I don’t want a repeat performance (for him or for me). I seriously thought I was going to lose my brother. This one scared me! I cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am that it turned out as well as it did. I don’t pray much, but this was a prayer answered. Thank God he is OK (sorta).

************************************* TOUR OF HONOR – SEGMENT 2 *************************************

Well as you know, Rapture was to have occurred Saturday ((May 21, 2011). But I’m still here and if you are still here to read this, we may both have a problem.

Saturday evening, the wife and I were waiting for Rapture time

We prepared an appropriate “last supper”

We were just sitting there having a pleasant conversation when all of a sudden POOF!!

She was GONE! Rapture came and took her but you and I are still here. That can’t be good for those of us still here.

I moped around the house not sure what to do. It occurred to me a motorcycle trip might cheer me up and I better do it now before the locus (or whatever) comes. So I decided this would be as good as time as any to work on my “Tour of Honor” quest.

You may recall from my previous post, the “Tour of Honor” was a challenge to ride to several designated memorials throughout the state. This trip, if you chose to ride with me, will take me south to San Antonio, then to Harlingen down In the Rio Grand Valley. While doing the designated memorials I will also visit sites significant to Texas history.

While at Harlingen I wonder if I will go play on the beach in South Padre Island?

I began the Tour of Honor on the Ural so I am going to continue thus quest on the Ural.

Come join Raven and I on our quest. There is room in the sidecar, so hop in and let’s go on a trip.

Beemer Bob

*************************************

DAY 1

*************************************

Let the trip begin!

I head south and make in to San Antonio without any problems. In fact, the weather was mild and it was a pleasant drive/ride.

My first stop was the Alamo Cenotaph. Towering 60 feet high and located adjacent
to the surviving buildings of the Alamo itself, San Antonio’s “Alamo Cenotaph” pays tribute to the men who died defending the ancient mission in 1836 rather than surrender to overwhelming odds. According to tradition the Alamo Cenotaph marks the spot where the slain defenders of the fortified mission were piled after the battle and burned in great funeral pyres. The remains were later collected by local citizens and today located in a marble casket at nearby San Fernando Cathedral.

According to the rules, I’m supposed to take a picture of my bike, with my rally flag on front of the specified memorial. But sometime after the original guidelines were set, the “powers that be” blocked off the roads and there was no legal way to park in front. I thought briefly about giving my iPhone to some stranger and asking them to take my picture as I passed by. But I would probably never see my iPhone again so I did the best I could do without getting in trouble or having my phone stolen.

And of course, a stop at the Alamo is required

The next stop was the San Antonio Missions Historical Park. This is the site of the San Jose Mission. Known as the “Queen of the Missions”, thus is the largest of the missions and almost fully restored to it’s original design in the 1930′s by the WPA (Works Projects Administration). Spanish missions were not churches, but communities, with church the focus. Mission San José shows the visitor how missions looked over 250 years ago.

Again, time has not been a friend to thus old mission and much of it was closed for restoration. But I will provide a few outside shots.

One could spend several days exploring the rich Texas history in this town. When you think Texas History, think San Antonio.

But, it’s time to call the day done. Hap Hazard lives just a few miles south of San Antonio so it’s time to head to his house for a beverage and a bed.

After doing my best to deplete his wine supply, I enjoy a nice steak dinner prepared by my sweet sister-in-law.

G’nite Y’all

*************************************

DAY 2

*************************************

I bid Hap Hazard and his sweet wife farewell and headed to Harlingen.

That ride was the most uneventful, and boring ride in my life. Almost 300 miles of nothing. There was about a 90 mile stretch traveling through the King Ranch with no gas stations that had me concerned, but I made it thru on fumes OK. This was my first trip to the Rio Grande Valley on a motorcycle or a rig and will be my last. High, hot, head winds the whole way. All in all, not a fun ride, but I made it through.

I was able to locate the Iwo Jima monument for these photo opps.

From here I head to South Padre Island!

I thought about trying to make it to the open beech area up the island to camp, but when I passed a Motel 6 for $30, that looked too inviting. It’s been a long day.

The motel was right next to a seafood restaurant with an outside patio and that too looked inviting.

I ordered a margarita and it was smoking. Literally.

They put dry ice in the drink to make it smoke. Looked really cool. Tasted like crap, but looked cool. The next drink was a shiner. A plate of fresh cold shrimp made the perfect meal.

Tomorrow is beach!

G’nite Y’all

*************************************

DAY 3

*************************************

I checked out of the motel 6 and headed for the beach.

There is an $8 charge for access to the beach, but they do not open the toll both until later in the morning so I was able to get to the beach without charge. I was told that they will charge you when you leave, but If I spent the night on the beach and left before they opened the booth in the morning, I could escape the charge. Being the cheap SOB that I am, that is the plan.

I make it to the beach early in the morning. Beautiful.

And head north

As I traveled north up the island I would come across groups of crains resting on the beach. I would kill the bike and try to quietly walk close to take their picture, but the would always fly away before I could get close. So the following is the best I could get.

The beach is beautiful and only sparsely populated. A lot of folks in big 4x4s though. I make it to an area called “Mansfield Cut”. This is a ship channel that cuts through the middle of the island.

Apparently the fishing is good here because there are a
Lot of folks here fishing. Too populated to camp here so I head back south.

As I head back south I encounter a jeep that got stuck in the sand.

I’m driving around the beach, in and out the drifts, and having a great time, until …

Oops
No one around, so I break out the winch and anchor (I forgot to take pictures). All I was accomplishing was plowing a trench in the sand. I then realized that I had left it in gear, so it was never going to pull out. About then, my new best friend, Dee, comes by in this

We hook up to his big truck and pulled it out lickady split. I don’t have a beer to give him in appreciation, so he gives me one! See what I mean, my new best friend.

I find this UFO from the planet Cerveza

This craft uses beer cans for its heat shields.

There do not appear to be any little green men around. Perhaps they went to town to buy some more heat shield material. This seems like a good place to set up camp with my hammock. I attach one end to my rig and the other to the space craft

My beach! No one, no where. The specs you see near the bottom is my campsite.

As I walk around the other side of this UFO, I noticed some words painted on the lower half, oh oh

NUDE BEACH! Not only am I going to have to deal with drunk little green men, but they are going to be naked too !

I’ll let you know in the morning how this works out.

G’nite Y’all

PS. It’s only a nude beach during spring break.

*************************************

DAY 4

*************************************

I got a good night’s sleep, but it did get a little damp and cool. I should have put up the rain cover.

Good thing was that no naked little green men (or green women) came back to the UFO to disturb me last light.

There was a gorgeous sunrise and I was able to take a great picture of it. However, I accidentally deleted it and it seems that once you delete a picture on an iPhone, it is gone forever. So just pretend there is a picture of a great sunrise.

Shortly after daybreak, there was an army of ATVs zooming by. Would you believe Border Patrol. No seriously, it really was the boarder patrol having a great time on the beach protecting our country???

Time to head to Corpus Christi. Goodby beach. The beach here was deserted and all mine, I spun a few donuts in the sand for fun and headed north.

After leaving South Padre Island, I pass through the town of Port Isabel and find their famous lighthouse.

For $3 a senior citizen can clime the stares to the top (cost more if you are young and able). As fun as that sounded, I passed and proceeded on my journey.

Again, another miserable ride though the King Ranch area. As the crow flies, Corpus is not that far, but one has to take the only road (Hwy 77) that veers west out of the way until you can get on a road heading northeast to Corpus.

I stopped for an uneventful lunch and Kingsville, and was then able to start heading in the right direction. I notice however, that my left foot is soaked in oil. This is not good. I see that my oil filler cap has come undone although I’m sure that I tightened it down good last time I checked the oil. I had lost a lot of oil and was able to bring it up to the line with what oil I had with me. I turned around and went to the nearest station and purchased some more oil. I brought the oil to the proper level and cinched the filler cap down good and resumed my journey. After a few miles, my foot was again drenched in oil. I stop, bring the oil level up, and continue on. This process continues until I make it to Corpus. I find a motorcycle shop (a Yamaha dealer) and they put a rubber grommet on the cap to see if that holds. (and I bought more oil). So far, so good.

I make it to Padre Island (as opposed to South Padre Island) although they don’t call this section of the island North Padre Island. I don’t know why.

I proceed down past the National Seashore and come upon this sign

Being known as one that always exercises good sense; I heed this warning and turn around.

NOT!!

I proceed forward and encounter a few sections where I begin to bog down in the deep wet sand, but I find as long as I keep my speed up, I do OK.

I call it quits at about 7 pm and find me an area to set up camp. I looked for another UFO, but no such luck.

I did find a spot that had some firewood from a previous camper and decided to call this spot home.

Not having a UFO to suspend my hammock from, I have to resort to using my hammock in “tent mode”.

Last night, the dew from the ocean was damp and cold, so I put out the rain fly as well. Since I will be sleeping on the ground (sand) I am using my air mattress and sleeping bag. It’s more comfortable to be suspended in the air with a hammock, the air mattress does, however, make it OK.

I spent the remainder of the day walking in the beach and swimming in the ocean. The water was great!

G’nite Y’all

*************************************

DAY 5

*************************************

The previous tenants on this spot of beach had left some firewood so I got to have a little campfire last night.

I spent some time singing campfire songs and that was fun, but then I started telling campfire ghost stories and got scared so I had to go to bed.

The winds were high during the night that caused my rain cover to flap loudly making sleep difficult, but hey, that’s part of the fun of sleeping on the beach. Wind is always high around the Corpus Christi area. You can always tell if someone is from this area because they tend to lean to one side.

By morning, however, I was greeted with a new day as the sun rose over the ocean.

Part of my goal was to make it to Mansfield cut on the north side but I had not realized the distance involved. Even though I was several miles past the “4 wheel drive Only” sign, using my GPS to roughly calculate the distance, is seemed that I had another 40 miles to go, so all in all it would be over 100 miles before I could make it to a gas station. Unfortunately I had not topped off before I got on the island and even with my spare gas can, I had doubts if I had enough gas to make the distance. I have not seen anyone for a long time, so I was thinking this would not be a good place to run out of gas.

So, let’s just say I made it to the cut. It will be our little secret. Instead, I chose to spend the morning just playing on the beach. The water was warm enough for a nice swim and I enjoyed some walks along the beach. I seemed to have miles of beach all to myself.

My beach

But, beach time is over and it’s time to move on. By early afternoon I head back north and ride up as much beach as I can through Mustang Island. BTW: For those that are not familiar with the Texas coast line, South Padre Island, Padre Island and Mustang Island are, for the most part, the same island, the name jut changes are you traverse north. I don’t know why.

I stop for lunch at Port “A” (AKA: Port Aransas), then take the ferry of to Aransas Pass and head to Goose Island State Park. BTW: Goose Island is not really an island. Don’t blame me, I don’t name these places.

While there I have the opportunity to see this big tree.

The name of this big tree is, well … “Big Tree”. At last a name that makes sense. Oh, but wait. This tree also goes by the name “The Goose Island Oak” or sometimes “The Bishop’s Tree” and at times “The Lamar Oak”

The Big Tree is Texas’ largest and quite possibly oldest Live Oak tree. Big Tree is estimated to be 1,100 years. The tree has allegedly been a hanging tree, a pirate’s rendezvous, and even a ceremonial site for the cannibalistic Karankawa Indians.

I check in at the state park, secure me a nice shady spot with trees, set up camp, break out the wine and call it a day.

G’nite Y’all

*************************************

DAY 6

*************************************

It cooled down a bit last night with a light breeze making for a great night to camp. My I was sung as a bug Hammock. After some strong camp coffee and a bole of yummy dehydrated Ramen noodles (artificial pork flavor for breakfast), I’m ready for a new day.

I tour for a bit and find this inviting beach.

Doesn’t that seem like a beach that you just want to go for a nice refreshing dip?

As you may recall from previous posts, there is this unorganized organization called “Two Wheeled Texans”, which has as their primary purpose of existence is to travel the great state of Texas in search of the perfect pie. This noble undertaking is heading to the small nearby coastal town of Ingleside, so I go to join my fellow knights in this quest.

This month we invade a place called “Floyd’s Ranch House Restaurant”
in Ingleside Texas. I meet up with fellow rider as we stage outside to invade these poor unsuspecting folks.

The invasion begins. We enter and eat up everything in sight.

Now that we are properly fortified with large quantities of food and pie, the journey continues. This time, my friend Carl joins me for part of the quest.

We travel north to Goliad. The winds are out of the south so I have a nice tailwind and I get the Ural to cruise at 70!!! I’m a speed demon!

We stop and tour the Presidio La Bahia there in Goliad. This presidio has some interesting, although not pleasant, history. After the fall of the Alamo during Texas’ war of independence from Mexico, this presidio (fort) was held by Col. Fannin and his troops until he received orders to join General Sam Houston’s troops. On the way, Col. Fannin’s army was overtaken by the Mexican army. Col. Fannin and his troops surrendered under the condition they would be treated as prisoners of war. Col. Fannin’s troops were marched back to the presidio and on Palm Sunday, March 27, 1836, the able bodied men were marched out to a field and executed in mass. The wounded were laid out in front of the chapel and shot. Col. Fannin was the last to be executed. Col. Fannin made three requests, not to be shot in the face, his personal possessions be sent to his family, and that he be given a Christian burial. He was shot in the face, an officer took his personal possessions, and his body was burned along with many of the other bodies. Not all bodies were burned; some were left where they died. There were 342 men who died in the Goliad Massacre, which is almost twice the number of men who died at the Alamo and San Jacinto combined. Twenty-eight men did escape from the three massacre sites to tell this story.

While the battle cry “Remember the Alamo” is well known, it was this massacre that is reported to be Gen. Houston’s biggest motivation to defeat the Mexican army.

Presidio La Bahia

After the surrender of the Mexican Army at San Jacinto, Texas General Rusk was escorting second in command of the Mexican army, General Filisola and the remainder of the retreating Mexican army out of Texas. In Goliad (the area around Presidio La Bahia), the ghastly remains of the massacred men of Fannin’s Command were found in the partially covered trenches where they had been dumped and burned. Some bones, gnawed by coyotes and dogs were on top of the ground. General Rusk immediately gave orders for a formal military burial of the bones.

This is the burial site of Col. Fannin and his men

There were several independent flags used by Texans during this fight for independence. One of the flags used as Goliad was the “Bloody Arm” flag.

The meaning of this flag was that they would rather cut off their right arm than to submit to Santa Anna’s tyranny. They had these flags for sale in the gift shop so Carl and I had to buy one to bring home. I’m not sure what I will do with mine. I’m sure my wife won’t let me hang it in the house. Perhaps in my “man cave” garage next to the poster of the scantily dressed girls advertising Budweiser. I’m not sure why I have been allowed that poster.

There is a lot of Texas history around Goliad, but it was time to move onward to another place of significance in Texas History and that is Gonzales, the site of the first battle for Texas Independence. We arrive at the historical pioneer village site at about 5:10 pm. It closed at 5, and the gates are locked and no one in sight. I guess I will just return some day in the future.

Carl and I bid each other and we head home.

I make it home by about 8:30 that evening and greeted by my sweet wife that understands my need to take these silly trips.

This trip is over. I traveled about 1,300 miles on this trip which is not that significant, but to travel it all on a Ural is significant. I survived well without injuring any part of my body (this too is significant). The Ural performed well and with the exception of a small problem with my oil filler cap coming off, I did not have any problems or mechanical issues. Raven, however, is coated in sand and from the encounters with the saltwater; rust has already begun to set it. Raven will need to have a though cleaning and removal of rust.

G’by Y’all. Thanks for traveling along with me.

Until my next trip ………

********** Tour of Honor – Segment 1 (Day 1) **********

Some of you may recall from a previous post of mine, but last February there was a “Tour of Honor” event where the goal was to take a picture of your bike in front of a specified memorial. There were about 7 sites per state and the first ones to complete the tour would earn a trophy. It was my intention to be one of the trophy winners.

On the day the official sites were made public an ice, snow and fridged temperature front swept through Texas (thank you Canada). So I decided to let other braver iron-butt riders go earn the trophies. Now the spring weather is inviting so its time to resume the quest.

I’m going to make this event more of a sponge-butt, stop and smell the exhaust, kind of ride. I am breaking the entire mission into smaller segments with rhe intent of visiting all sites before summer’s end This trip, I’m only going after 2 or 3 of the memorials but take my sweet time doing it To make it even more interesting, I am going to do this on the Raven (Ural sidecar rig)

My first goal will be the San Jacinto Monument in La Port, Tx (near Houston). Additionally I am going to combine this with a Two Wheeled Texans (TWT) “Pursuit of the Perfect Pie” event is the small odd little town of Round Top, Texas.

I’m off. Heading south, down the back roads of Texas, I stop for breakfast and a systems check after about 60 mules (note: prior to thus trip, the longest trip I have made on the Raven us about 30 miles, so I am keeping a close eye on things)

All systems A OK

My first goal is to camp at Bastrop State Park Friday night.

The raven and I make the trip fine and set up camp.

I am joined later by a friend, Rusty (aka: WoodBurcher) who shares the campsite with me.

We go to a local joint for a burger and brew, return to our campsite, drink more, tell lies and then call it a day.

Tomorrow we go in pursuit of pie.

G’nite Y’all

********** Tour of Honor – Segment 1 (Day 2) **********

It was chilly last night in my hammock. Although this is Texas, it is also still March and while the days are nice, it is too cold for a hammock.

We pack up our gear and head out. We have plenty of time, so we take scenic route that meanders through the park and leads through another nearby state park.

We stop at the small town of Winchester for a light breakfast. We find a unique little place there.

I send Rusty ahead to make sure the roads are safe to travel. Actually, with my top speed of 50-55, I need to travel at a slower pace.

I cut across back roads and make my way to the odd little town of Round Top. After a nice ride, I arrive at the infamous Royel’s Cafe.

Myself and some friends put our name on the waiting list with the Great Pie Oracle and Gatekeeper.

It is not often that I can pose for a picture with someone fatter than me, so I take this opportunity.

Once seated, we find the inside continues the same quirky theme. Ok, everybody smile

After the obligatory meal, I order PIE! Pie makes the world a good place. I got so excited with my choice of scrumptious crumb apple pie (al la mode, of course) I forgot to take a picture. I did come up for air long enough to snap a picture of a half consumed pie.

Upon exiting the cafe, I notice a group of folks gathered around the raven mostly saying “what the f**k is it?”.

My rear tire was low on tread and I have miles to go before I sleep. This rig came with a nifty spare tire and wheel mounted on the car. That tire has new tread, so ….

I thinks that since it has this nifty spare wheel, to change out that wheel will be a cake walk – right? I mean they wouldn’t have put it there unless it was an easy one-man job to change – right?

Well since there was this horde of gawkers standing around, I’ll swap out this wheel Likidy split and in the unlikely event I may need a little help, they will be here.

Well what began as a pie run, turned into the Great TWT Wheel Swap. Or, “How many bikers does it take to change a wheel”

Those Russians, it seems, started with the rear wheel and then built the rest of the rig around it. It was soon apparent that I am mechanically challenged; I evolved into the role of management and watched others do the work while I looked on.

What’s that dohickey?

Ok, let’s try holding the entire thing in the air and see if that helps

OMG, I’m bald on top. I never knew.

One person doing the work, but with lots of supervision.

All done. Good rubber on the ground and the wheels still go roundy roundy

And off I go,

Miles to go before I sleep.

My original plan was to head to Galveston and camp on the beach. Today is, however. the last day of spring break for most colleges and I feared that the beaches may be filled with nude coeds (my wife informs me that I don’t want to see that) so I decided to head towards my fist memorial site at La Porte (San Jacinto Monument) that is on the east side of Houston.

It is SLOW going as I need to avoid major roads. I manage to get past Houston without ever getting on a major road which entailed a lot of zig zagging around.

I make it as far as Pasadena by 7:30 and I can go no more. I’m only about 20 miles from the monument, so this is a good stopping point.

I find a cheap sleazy motel ($35) and check in. It may be sleazy but it is next to a Denny’s, so all is right with the world.

I have a grand slam breakfast combo for dinner, and go back to my sleazy room in a sleazy motel and call it a day.

G’nite Y’all

********** Tour of Honor – Segment 1 (Day 3) **********

I start the day with a wholesome meal that consisted of a basket of greasy pancake puppies coated with powdered sugar with dipping syrup and a gallon of strong black coffee.

The breakfast of champions!

Now that I have proper nutrition I’m off to the San Jacinto Monument. What is the significance of this site you say? Well sit for a spell and I’ll tell ya. After the defeat at the Battle of the Alamo, the Texan Army retreated from San Antonio and zig-zagged back across Texas towards Houston. General Santa Anna thought he was chasing, but General Sam Houston had another plan. While General Houston was buying time, the citizens of Cincinnati, Ohio donated a pair of cannons known as the “Twin Sisters”, to the cause.

It was 45 days after the Battle of the Alamo, in an expanse known as San Jacinto, with the help of the Twin Sisters, some 800 Texan Rangers unleashed all they had against 1400 Mexican soldiers. The Mexican army was caught off guard and the battle lasted only 18 minutes before General Santa Anna fled. He was taken captive the next day and Texas independence was secured. April 21, 1836 became one of the mist important days in U.S. history.

The San Jacinto Monument was built 100 years later in 1936 and is still the world’s tallest monument, even surpassing the Washington Monument by 12 feet, and almost twice the height if the Statue of Liberty. The reflecting pool covers more than eight acres. The star on too weighs 220 tons.

“Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may.” – Gen. Sam Houston

For a fee, you can ride the elevator to the top. Years ago, I had taken the stairs to the top of the Washington Monument. I thought it would be neat to do the same here. Then I remembered that when I did the stars at the Washington monument I was 18 and in shape. As I am now neither – I paid the elevator fee.

Following are some pictures from the observation area.

Nearby was the State Historic Site of the Battleship TEXAS.

Battleship TEXAS is the last of the world’s “dreadnoughts”, the big-gun battleships designed and built at the beginning of the 20th century. When she was commissioned in 1914, TEXAS was the most powerful weapon in the world and the most complex product of an industrial nation that was becoming a force in global events. She is now the only surviving U.S. naval ship that served in both World Wars.

An interesting shot of the San Jacinto Monument from the deck of the Battleship TEXAS

Beach Ho!!! Onward to the beach!

For grins I take the “Lynchburg Ferry” across the Houston ship channel . This is the oldest ferry service in Texas still in operation. This ferry was used by the Texan troops fighting the Mexican forces Battle of San Jacinto. Also, in what was later referred to as the “Runaway Scrape”, as many as 5.000 Texans fled eastward to escape the advancing Mexican Army utilizing this ferry.

I’m heading to the Galveston area but rather than go through Houston I circle around and head to the Bolivar Peninsula from the east side. To the east of Houston the land is swampy with marshlands and the only road going across this bayou was a major interstate, so me and my pokey machine travel north a considerable way to go around the bayou and avoid the interstate and then return south on the other side if the marsh. It was a long, but pleasant ride. Along the way were some if the beginnings of the wildflower season. Thank you Lady Bird Johnson.

I make it to the beach, engage to sidecar drive and travel through to sand along the seashore.

I set up my hammock and settle in for the night

G’nite Y’all

********** Tour of Honor – Segment 1 (Day 4) **********

Last night was miserable. It was COLD. Unless I can string the hammock high, I’m still on the ground and the only purpose of the hammock is to provide a screen shelter, but other than that, I’m sleeping on the ground. After a while, even sand gets hard. Did I mention it was COLD. I spent most of the night sitting in the sidecar covered with my thin little sheet and thin blankie. I shivered the night away, but morning comes and as soon as the sun pokes through the darkness, things warm up quickly.

I have a yummy breakfast of dehydrated noodles; I spend the morning playing in the beach. Interestedly, the water was too cold late yesterday; but was more temperate this morning, so I was able to go for a brief swim. Mostly I walked down the deserted beaches. Everybody has gone home, I own the beach.

As I walk the beach, I see a lot of these guys had washed up.

I remember years ago I thought it would be fun to go stomp on these jelly fish to make them pop. I now know to leave them alone and not to step anywhere near. They may be dead, but they still sting. Ouch!

So much for wholesome activities, it’s time to play with the raven. With the sidecar wheel engaged, this thing is a blast to play with in sand. I was just going up and down the sand, doing figure eights and spinning donuts when two guys show up on motorcycles.

As it turns out, it’s two local retired riders that had been following my tracking and set out to see if they can find me. Well, there I was, right where the SPOT tracking said I was. Two retired bikers can find my location, but professional rescue people cannot (another story). Moral of the story, if you need help, call a biker. I didn’t need help this time, they just came to welcome me to their neck of the woods.

I was honored and impressed that these guys saw I was in their area and set out to go find and meet me. How neat is that! We decide to head to Galveston for lunch, so onward to the Bolivar Ferry we go

Here is me with Jim (TWT handle: “Wilkes”) and Jeff (TWT handle: “JMN”) on the ferry. A couple of great guys

We have a nice lunch and visit at a place called the Spot. After lunch, they lead me back to the ferry before they head home. In route, we pass by a hospital and Jeff tells me he took this route back so that, considering my history, I would know where the local hospital was. Smart ass.

We say, so long, and I return back to the peninsula by way of the ferry.

Next stop is the old Fort Travis on the Bolivar Peninsula. Throughout history, with all the wars across the world we are been involved sometime we lose site that our own coast needed protection from foreign assaults. Fort Travis was first established to protect the Galveston and Houston ports beginning with the Spanish/American war. Through WW1 and WW2, Fort Travis served as an artillery battery to defend the coast. Fortunately, this fort never saw action.

I continue east on the Bolivar Peninsula. As I travel I notice the shore line to my side and think “wouldn’t it be more fun to ride the coast line instead of this boring road”, so cut over to the beach I go.

After engaging the sidecar wheel, I toot on down the beach. When the sand gets loose and deep, it’s more like drifting through the sand than driving. When you turn to one direction, the rig takes it sweet time before it responds. The rear of the rig swings from side to side as I coast through the sand. Great fun, until ….

Yes I’m stuck! I can go no more!

Notice that I am at the water’s edge and the tide is coming in!

Oh my! Does the Beemer get washed out to sea?

Stay tuned to find out.

…

Ok, I’m stuck next to the shoreline and the tide is coming in. Oh, what to do.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Yep, that’s right! Time to break out the wine.

As a well established fact, merlot has wings! So after some consumption of God’s nectar, I was able to extract the raven from the clutches of the sand demons and continued my journey.

I find my way to boring pavement and proceed to the town of High Island and find a moderately priced motel and check in (no cold night on the beach for me tonight)

G’nite Y’all

********** Tour of Honor – Segment 1 (Day 5) **********

Upon waking I fire up the jetboil and make a few cups of coffee while I catch up on my blog. Then I heat up a yummy breakfast of dehydrated noodles and proceed to conquer another day.

My next designated site is the Golden Triangle Veterans Memorial Park in Port Arthur. This is about 1 1/2 hour ride by way of boring pavement. Yesterday, Jeff and Jim had told me that it was actually possible to follow the coastline all the way to Port Arthur although the map does not show any roads. As they were telling me this they may have used words like “not advised”, but I’m not sure, so off I go. I turn a short ride to an all day event.

I proceed up the coastline with minimal trouble. There is an abandoned road there but I find it easier to ride the beach line where the tide has just receded.

Sometimes there is no beach and the coastline becomes more rugged.

At times the sand is very loose and deep, but the raven handles very well and able to plow through. Until …

Drats! I’m stuck.

Well as it turns out, it was not even necessary to break out the wine. I had forgotten to engage the sidecar wheel and once I did that, it pulled right out.

I had been traveling for a while and doing OK with just regular one wheel drive. Once I got it into 2 wheel drive, it was easy going. Incidentally, I still have street tires on her. Imaging how great this thing will be once I install knobbies on her.

Sometimes the beach is wide and inviting. (click on picture for video)

I have the abandoned beach to my self. There are a lot of tracks and ruts in the sand from trucks and 4-wheelers, but today, I own the beach. Just me, sand, and the sea. Oh, and Raven too. As I travel along, I stop and go wade in the ocean or walk along the beach looking for sea shells.

I broke out the jetboil and whipped up a yummy lunch of dehydrated noodles (again). But hey, when you get to play on the beach, who cares.

I emerge at the Port Arthur end of the beach by late afternoon. This was a LOT of fun. The raven may not be the best vehicle on the highway, but on the beach it was in its element.

As I make my way to the designated site, I pass by the historical site where the Battle of Sabine Pass took place

The battle of Sabine Pass took place in September, 1863 and turned back one of several attempts to invade and occupy part of Texas during the war between the states. Damn Yankees

Shown here are the remains of some of the artillery bunkers used during these battles.

More information on the Battle of Sabine Pass can be found here http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qes02

On to the Golden Triangle Veterns Memorial Park.

The Golden Triangle is an area of Southeast Texas between Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange on the Texas/Louisiana border. It derives its name from the economic boost it got from the significant oil strike in 1901. The Veterans Memorial Park is at the southern tip of the triangle.

Besides the static military equipment displays, the park contains 10,000 names of Golden Triangle servicemen that served in WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, peacetime, Desert Storm, and with the Merchant Marines during WW2. The 50-foot Tower of Honor lists the names, rank, branch of service, and war served of the 930 of those killed or missing in action.

Static displays include an F4-D Phantom Jet, an M60A3 Tank, an UH-1 Huey Helicopter, an anchor from the Texaco SS Mississippi (the last WW2 Merchant Marine ship to be decommissioned), and an assault landing craft. Seeing the Huey, brought back memories of my tours in Vietnam. Not necessarily good memories, but still memories just the same. This gives me pause to reflect that I’m glad I am doing the Tour of Honor thus way instead of rushing through them to earn a trophy. These are memorials to the men and women that made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. These sites, I feel, deserve ones attention and reverence not to be rushed through. But damn, I still would have liked a trophy. Oh well.

This is Fred. Fred is the overseer of the site and lives in a house to the back of the park. Fred calls himself the “Park Troll”

More pictures of the memorial.

There is a pavilion in the back that after seeing my license plate that brands me as a Veteran, Fred says I can set up camp there if I want. I consider it, but there is a damp wind blowing in from the coast and I opt for a motel instead.

I go in search of a Motel 6. I pass some other no name brands that may have been cheaper, but I find that in a larger town, it is better to go with a brand name.

The best rate I found get was $60 plus tax! Damn, when did Motel 6s get so expensive! I remember when Motel 6 first started and the rate was $6. Boy, those were the good old days. But I also remember that when Motel 6 was $6, I had a professional job that paid an above average annual salary of $13,000. So I guess $60 was not that bad after all, but I hated paying for it and I should have accepted Fred’s offer to camp at the memorial site.

But, the motel is right next to a Waffle House! I’m a happy guy. After a day of noodles, I treat myself to a large artery clogging super value special before retiring for the night.

G’nite Y’all

********** Tour of Honor – Segment 1 (Day 6) **********

It may have been overpriced, but the room was nice and warm and the bed cozy. I whip up a pot of coffee and those delicious dehydrated noodles for breakfast.

After a bit, I meander up the road a bit to Tyler. I leave the sand and go through the beautiful piney woods of East Texas.

As a side note. It was not until my playtime on the beach that I knew I had the settings for engaging the sidecar wheel (for 2 wheel drive operation) backwards. Seems that I have had it engaged all this time. Something you are not supposed to do on pavement, but all seems OK so no harm done. But I now notice that the rig is easer to handle and I have more power. I can now cruise at 60-65 with short burst of 70 when I have to. This makes traveling much better.

I make an uneventful trip to Tyler and able to find my next designated site. The Camp Fannin Veterans Memorial.

Camp Fannin was active from 1943 to 1946, as an Army Infantryman Replacement Center. They trained over 200,000 soldiers here who were sent into both theaters of WW2, and using the conservative 2.4% mortality rate, over 5,600 of the recruits lost their lives and twice that number wounded. Even with its limited lifespan, Camp Fannin had a huge economic and emotional impact on this small town that is still felt today.

It’s getting late, so I head to Tyler State Park to camp for the night. Being in East Texas with all the tall pine trees, finding a place to string up my hammock won’t be a problem.

I pay the modest fee and find me a nice spot. I’m able to get setup and prepare for the night. I did not notice before, but it seems that I had camped near a youth group that spent most of the evening singing Kumbaya.

After a yummy dinner of, you guessed it, dehydrated noodles, I broke out my box of wine. I find that if you drink enough wine, the bad singing does not bother you as much.

Kumbaya, my Lord, Kumbaya …
Over and over and over and over

I thought of going over and teaching them the words to “99 bottles of beer on the wall”. At least that song ends.

G’nite Y’all

********** Tour of Honor – Segment 1 (Day 7, the conclusion) **********

The temps dropped down to the mid 50’s during the night and my thin throw blanket and sheet proved to be insufficient for the weather. Prior, to leaving, my sweet wife kept telling me to bring some cold weather gear and clothing, but I insisted that it would not be needed. Moral of the story: Listen to your wife. Wives know best.

A few shots of the campsite.

East Texas with the tall pine trees and beautiful underlying blooming dogwoods make Tyler State Park a pleasant place indeed.

In this shot, see the hammocks by the river. Those are some of those with the youth group that sang most of the night. If it was not Kumbaya, it was a song about Michael and his boat. I thought about waking them up and asking them what happened once Michael reached the shore. All they sang about last night was Michael rowing his boat ashore, but never addressed what he did once he got there.

After a bit, I got packed up and on my way. Camp Fanning was the last memorial I was going to capture on this trip. It’s time to head home.

I take a short diversion so that I might stop in the town of Edom for lunch. A restaurant by the name of “The Shed” there is a top rated place for travelers and Edom is a quirky and interesting little town catering to the tourist.

The special today is Texas chicken fried steak, so I partake

There is a competing restaurant across the street.

So after a full meal at “The Shed”, I waddle over to the Edom Bakery and have this

I continue home, but I stop in Fruitcake City for a 10 cent cup of coffee

I make it home at last. Raven pulls in to the garage and snuggles up next to Scarface.

Raven: “Hello Dear, I’m home!”
Scarface: “Who gives a shit.”

This trip is now complete. There are 4 remaining Tour of Honor sites to be visited, but they will be done as separate trips sometime in the near future. Thanks for tagging along with me on this trip.

Thanks again for tagging along with me on this trip.

A new trip! I have not broken any bones since October, so it’s about damn time for an adventure (even though it may be a small one). This last winter has been too cold and now that spring is in the air, I’m glad to get back on the road. Readers of this blog still digging out of the snow – eat your heart out.

For this trip, I head out to the Texas Big Bend area. There is an official unofficial gathering of the Two Wheeled Texans (TWT) group that I am proud to participate with.

I headed out solo first thing in the morning and will meet up with Hap Hazard and Whiskey Smith in the old ghost town of Terlingua. We are sharing a cabin there and touring the mountains, canyons and deserts during the day and then return to Terlingua by evening to swap lies about our adventures of the day.

If you have never seen this part of the world, I’m not going to try and describe it at this point, but rather will let pictures do the talking.

Even though it is still in Texas and I’m located in Central Texas, it is a long haul to do in one day. Texas is a big nation. It’s about a 10+ hour monkey-butt sore ride, but hey, that’s part of the fun.

If you don’t have a life and want to follow my tracking, select the “Where’s Waldo” icon on the right side of the website (www.BeemerBob.com) and it will show you my current location and my path.

Trip begins in the morning. G’nite y’all

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‘Round the Bend – 2011 (Day 1)

I get an early start.

There was a light drizzle when I left, but according to the weather channel, all was clear to the west of me. So I changed my route slightly and headed due west before I started going southwest.

Light drizzle for a motorcycle is actually worse than a full rain. In a full rain, at least the oil and slime are washed off the road, but with a drizzle the roads are actually slicker. The is not a major deal, just one requiring extra care as you ride.

The drizzle last a few hours but then I was finally out of it and began heading southwest towards Big Bend.

The weather was great, the roads were clear and I was having fun heading down the road. Until ….

A state trouper wanted to have a conversation with me concerning my speed. He seemed to think that the speed limit signs applied to me too. Silly boy, doesn’t he know I’m Beemer Bob?

Eventually he does realize the error of his ways and tells me he is only going to give me a warning. As he enters my info into his computer, I step back and discreetly snap this picture.

I promise to slow down, he gives me some paper to add to the collection of warning tickets and I proceed with my journey. Why, you may ask “why do I seem to always get warning tickets and not regular tickets”. Because, I am Beemer Bob!

I kept my promise to slow down for at least an hour. West Texas is interesting but after several hours of seeing nothing but sage brush it gets old. As is normal for this part of the state, the wind gust can be severe almost blowing me over. I leaned forward over the tank trying to reduce my profile. For someone my size, maintaining a low profile is not easy.

As I get closer to the big bend area, the winds calmed making the remainder of the trip pleasant.

Nearing the bend, I came upon this interesting place. Got dirty weeds?

I stop for gas at the town on Marathon and as chance would have it, here comes Hap Hazard and our friend Whisky Smith. After fueling we head to the White Buffalo Bar at the famous Gage Hotel for a cool one.

Blues Brothers?

We cut through Big Bend National Park

I have ridden the green Appalachian Mountains. I have seen the majestic Rocky Mountains, but the rugged mountains in the desert of Big Bend have a beauty of their own.

We make it to our destination of Terlingua and get checked into our cabin. The place is called Easter Egg Valley because each of the cabins are painted different colors. We get the yellow cabin.

The day is done, the sun sets. G’nite Y’all

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‘Round the Bend – 2011 (Day 2)

Rider’s morning meet at Kathy’s Kosmic Kowgirl Kafe

Then about 50+ of my closest friends show up.

After the meet, we find other riders that want to go the same place. We want to go see Peguis Canyon, so we find others to join us on the venture. We agree to meet up at Lajitas later that morning.

We’s ready to go!

BTW: Lajitas is a small town (now a resort), where the duly elected mayor was a goat by the name of Clay Henry that loved to drink large quantities of Lone Star beer. Actually I think he would drink any kind of beer but it was considered sacrilege to offer clay anything but Lone Star – I mean, this is Texas after all. Where else but Texas would the citizens elect an alcoholic goat to be their mayor? More info at: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2227

So, on to Peguis Canyon we go!

So, where is Peguis Canyon you say?

OMG, are you crazy!!!!

Say it ain’t so. Let’s take a closer look. Surely you’re not going into …

Yep. Peguis Canyon is in Mexico. Not to worry, our riding jackets are bullet proof.

We cross the border without incident, get through the border town and head through the mountains to the canyon. The roads were well paved, curvy, twisty with magnificent views to enjoy. We arrive at the summit of the canyon for some photo opps.

Another interesting tidbit of info about this area is that it seems that in 1975, a UFO crash landed in this area (if you want more info on this, Ms. Google is your friend). We searched, but did not find any UFO remains. A small village we passed through on the return trip had, however, had a Dolly Parton sighting and had a few signs along the road attesting to this event.

We attempted to find a good place for lunch in the border town of Ojinaga, Mex. It was hectic so a few of us decided that the folks on the American side of the border in Presídio probably also knew how to make good Mexican food. So back across the border we go while humming “Born in the USA”.

We make out way back to Terlingua, find our little yeller cabin and rest for a bit. Now rested, we head to an interesting bar and grill called La Kiva. It’s an odd place (normal for the Terlingua area) that is part adobe and part cave.

Here is Hap Hazard, Wallace and Whiskey Smith at the entrance to the cave.

It’s time for some refreshment. Wallace may be a small bear, but he can put it away. Clay Henry ain’t got nothing on Wallace. Lajitas may have a beer drinking goat, but we have a beer drinking green Irish bear.

We then attend a TWT education event that evening on GPS usage (aka: where the f**k am I). After this event we get some food to go, some beer, a bottle wine and of course Whisky (for Whisky Smith) and sit at our table outside our yeller cabin, eat, drink, tell lies and admire the stars.

Star viewing in the Big Bend area is different than star viewing anywhere else I have ever been in my life and I would consider myself well traveled (thanks to the US Airforce and US Army). Giving that the McDonald Observatories are just down the road a piece, attest that this is star viewing country. If I told you why, I would be lying, but I think it has to do with being so remote there is little artificial surface lighting to interfere. You can see the milky way and more stars then you ever knew were in the sky. My iPhone does not have the ability to capture this beauty so the following picture was “borrowed” from the internet but was a picture taken in the Big Bend area.

End of day, the sun sets. G’Nite Y’all

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‘Round the Bend – 2011 (Day 3)

There is a forecast of extremely high winds tomorrow (Sunday), Gust of 65 mph are predicted which would make traveling on two wheels unsafe. Whisky Smith (still a young working man with a family of motorcycles to support, cannot risk being stuck in Big Bend for an extra day, so he heads back home this morning.

So it’s just Hap Hazard and I today and we decide to ride “Pinto Canyon”. This canyon is, at least, on this side of the border. The “Pinto Canyon Road” is classified as a class 2 road. Off road (off pavement) roads are classified into 4 categories. Class 1 being improved dirt, gravel, etc. passable by any motorcycle capable of off-pavement travel. Class 4 requires a death wish to attempt. So we are on the lower end of off-road adventures which is just fine with me.

To get to the beginning of the Pinto Canyon we must travel about 100 miles down Texas Highway 170. Hwy 170 is one of the most scenic routes in Texas as it follows the winds and curves thru the mountains on a path that parallels the Rio Grand River.

So, off we go. As we head down 170, we may have been going a tad faster then we outa. I happened to be in front, Hazard in the back. As I crest a hill, I see a police vehicle and I immediately roll off the throttle. Hap being in back, does not see what I see and continues to catch up with me. The LEO turns on his lights and turns around. We both pull over, Hap parks past me. The LEO stops, gets out and walks right past me to Hap’s bike; the conversation goes something like this.
Officer: “You were going a little fast there”
Hap Hazard: “But officer, I was the second bike”
Officer: “Yeah, but I clocked you going faster”
Hap Hazard: “But officer, I’m with Beemer Bob”
Officer: “Oh sorry to have bothered you. Be on your way sir, and have a nice day”

Well OK, the conversation didn’t go exactly like that, but after checking our license, insurance and safety inspections he did let us off with a warning and told us to slow down.

On the road again…

Heading along the route, we stop at a place known as Contrabando Village. This is an abandoned movie set right next to the Rio Grand used in movies such as ‘Streets of Laredo’ and ‘Rio Diablo’. As you walk though the area, you feel the need to be tote’n your six shooter watching for gun slingers.

The temperature has crept up to the low to mid 80’s even though it’s still February. Damn I love the desert!

As a matter of fact, these cacti plants were just tickled pink that winter is over.

We reach the beginning of the Pinto Canyon Road. Goodbye pavement.

We eventually find pavement at the other end of this road (yippie! I have survived and no part of me is broken!) We continue north to Marfa for a late lunch. We are now a long way from Terlingua and there is a banquet tonight as part of the TWT event, so we gas up and head back by way of hard top as a brisk pace (don’t want to be late for our dinner).

We arrive at the banquet location in the town of Study Butte (pronounced Stoodee). I don’t know why. Probably just because Texans talk funny.

At the site was this decked out sidecar.

This is rig belong to Ara and his sidekick Spirit (a pit bull). These two are famous in the world of motorcycling. They travel all over the place in their sidecar rig. They have no home other then this rig. They just travel. Some very interesting reading can be found at: http://theoasisofmysoul.com

We fill our bellies with good food, visit with friends and finally head back to our yellow submarine (err cabin), and call it a day.

End of day. The sun sets, G’nite Y’all

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‘Round the Bend – 2011 (Day 3)

Day of the Wind!

At daybreak, the wind is calm. This is the time to make our get-a-way before the wind gods awake and begin their havoc. Hap Hazard packs up and heads to Ol’ San Anton. I, on the other hand, diddle around. I want to sit and finish a cup of coffee or two before I head out.

But I finally get my butt in gear and start to head home when a friend stops by. I seldom pass an opportunity to gab, so we visit for a while, but finally I’m on my way. The wind gods are awake now, but not feeling very mean just yet.

Time to go home. I drop the keys to our little yeller cabin off at the front office and head north. By time I make it to the next town (Alpine), about 85 miles up the road the winds are howling. It is hard enough with the wind blowing you from lane to lane (gust of 65 mph) but having to dodge uprooted sage bushes blowing across the road makes it even more challenging. This is not good. I decide to head back to Terlingua and stay another day and try to escape the next day. So I headed back to Terlingua, but the wind gods said NO! The winds were now too great to allow me to return to Terlingua. I did not want to stay in Alpine (boring), unless I had to. So I decided to head north towards Ft. Stockton to see if I could get north of the high winds. This seemed to have been a good choice because the further north I went the calmer the winds were. Not to say the winds were calm, they were still wicked, but at least manageable. I forged ahead about another 100 miles or so towards the hose and the winds became a nice manageable breeze. The temperatures crept up to the mid 90’s. It still February and it’s above 90! Damn I love the desert.

As I passed though the town of San Saba, I came upon an interesting place. I didn’t even know Russians ate tacos! Who woulda thought!

I make it home about 7pm. My butt is sore. But it was fun

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Epilog

This event is over, but not the memory. This was a great trip for a lot of reasons.

I’ve been on the injured players list for so long, I was seriously becoming depressed. Riding and my adventure/misadventure trips have become my therapy for issues I choose not to discuss. But because of my injuries, I was slipping back into depression. This trip to Big Bend was, just what the doctor ordered. I am back!

The trip was great, the rides were fantastic but the comradeship with fellow riders was awesome. I have been to Harley events – never again, ugg. My pipes were not loud enough, I don’t have any tattoos and I can’t consume THAT much beer. I have also attended BMW Rider events, much more to my liking, but still lacking. This unofficial brotherhood of Two Wheeled Texans (TWT) is a collection of motorcycle enthusiasts that just love to ride. It consists of every kind of rider from the largest of Harley bikes to the smallest of street legal dirt bikes. We just love to ride and share our stories. I am, by nature, somewhat reclusive and this is why many of my “adventures” are done solo. Unlike many, I am very comfortable with and sometime prefer my own company, but to be in the company of TWTers is very comforting. They are all great people and I know I could always count on any of them if I were to need help as any of them could count on me. Perhaps it is because good people are drawn to motorcycling. I don’t know, but I feel fortunate to be amongst this group of fine folks.

Motorcycling has also been the catalyst to a bonding with my brother (Hap Hazard). We did not dislike each other in our younger years, but we did not like each other. We simply tolerated the other’s existence for the obligatory family gathering every year or so, but that was about it. Now with us being in our mid 60’s, we have become each other’s best friend. Hap has gone from whom I had perceived to be a “better-than-me snob” to my best friend and Hap, after consuming large quantities of alcoholic beverages, would admit that I have gone from the family misfit to his best friend as well. Why did we wait until we are in our mid 60’s to make this realization, I don’t know. I do know that now that both of my parents have passed on, I still have a close tie with my family roots through my new best friend. I realize that this sounds odd, but this friendship was built though motorcycling.

Motorcycling and the related adventures(misadventures) has also improved my marriage. It may seem odd to say that my taking adventure trips would improve my marriage, but I believe it to me true. My sweet wife knows how much the therapy of my trips means to me, so she is very supportive. Because of her support, I want to do more for her. The more I do for her, the more she wants to do for me – and the cycle continues. Love is more than a feeling, it is an action verb.

Depressed – get a motorcycle. Estranged from a sibling – get a motorcycle.Want some close friends – get a motorcycle. Want to improve your relationship – get a motorcycle. Want to break your ankle in two places that will never fully heal (oops, never mind).

This trip was great. It lifted my spirits.

I AM BACK !!

Let the adventures continue.