Travels with Catt, 2009

[George]

Made it to Adam's in timely fashion after detouring a little east to Indy. Too late for the dinosaur tag, tho. Mac got it already along with several others. Adam has all the new ones located, tho, so I _could_ do'em all Friday. More important, tho, to meet the campers at Devil's Den. I think I'll let the tags languish 'til I'm back this direction.

Installed new tars and fixed the speedo again. Used some "under water" JB Weld to build the worn gear back up. I'll give it a try tomorrow. Figure I'm missing nearly 500 miles on the odo so far.

My sister says the new railing came out great. I'll see it when I return thru here between Fort Davis and Connecticut. 2 weeks to kill between those two events, so more visits are in order.

Tomorrow, helping Adam with a refinish project so little to no riding. Well... maybe a little.

St. Anthony to Indy to Aurora was a little bit of a struggle today. Cool and pretty windy. Rode a really nice road, tho, IN-58 between Bedford and I-65. Pretty twisty and technical. Fun stuff. I-65 to and thru Indy, then west on IN-10, thru Momence, IL and over to I-57. Traffic was bad after that. Took 6 hours to cover the distance.

In bed now, more tomorrow. No new pics.

 

[Mellow]

As usual... always an adventure just following you.. keep safe and have fun.

 

[George]

Sunday update: fixed the odo again. And again. Left Adam's Friday morning, made it just to Joliet when it quit. Stopped along the Kankakee and tried another fix:

That didn't work (made it less than a mile) so I waited til I got to the Walmart in Marshall, IL (just east of Casey.) REALLY fixed it this time! A little judicious application of Coke can and 2-part expoxy did the job. Also added some oil. (ugh!)

Also forgot to replace the Dick Seng custom oil cap with exclusive ST1100 coin embedded (double Ugh!!)

Didn't notice til I got to Vandalia some hundred plus miles west. Right boot and Aerostich leg covered in oil up to the knee (TRIPLE UGH!!!)

(The saddest part is that Adam had just washed my RoadCrafter on Thursday. <heavy sigh>)

Anyhoo, right of I-70, there was a NAPA store closing in 5 minutes. They had an oil cap and a quart of oil, so all is good again. (BTW, only road interstated between Effingham and Vandalia. Pretty much all the rest was state and county roads. After Vandalia, continued south to Chester, IL to complete the IL Tag move.

Crossed into Missouri and headed south toward Cape Girardeau. Total miles for the day were something less than 500, including about 250 not on the odo. Still need to figure that out but I'm missing about 800 all together.

Found a good dead-end spot to pitch the tent and slept well.

Saturday, I continued south after early breakfast at Huddle House (WiFi enabled!) Made it to New Madrid, where I planned to place the National Tag. so much for that, as DR1954 beat me to the punch. Good Tag, too. I'll pick it up week after next if no one gets there first.

As I was motoring along, just caught this crop duster coming at me at low altitude. The pic don't do it justice.

From New Madrid, pointed'er west (left/right/up/down/look around, yup, WEST!) on local roads all the way to Mountain View. 2 missed turns and 45 minutes late, I made it to Kevin's RTE. Good catfish lunch at Jo-Jo's. Mac and Tom had arrived only a couple minutes before, so not _too_ late. About 10 folks, total, but I think Kevin was the only Razorback on a bike. Come on, youse guys, get out and GO RIDE!!

Mac led me west to Devil's Den, with only a couple quick stops. He showed the then current AR Tag, so I've got it again. Also stopped at Wally World, then on to the park. Lots of folks there (this was a moto-campers.com event), about 1/2 with dirt bikes. One of those folks (Rob?) had fallen on Friday and spent Saturday at the emergency room. Quadruple Ugh!!!!????

Didn't need much after the catfish lunch so just heated up one o' those Japanese noodle soups. A little time around the campfire then off to bed.

Total Saturday miles were again in the less than 600.

Here's the couple of pics I took there. First is while packing this morning then the sign at the south entrance to the park.

Last pic is the shop cat at Motorcycle Supply in (secret location), the new AR Tag.

I've taken a bunch more pics, but mostly scenery and tag pics. I'll post a big album at some point on Web Shots.

Currently sitting in a little cafe in Siloam Springs, MO. Really works for me as I rode all day in AR and MO, good lunch at the W&W cafe well east of here, and now right on the OK border. The Cafe On Broadway with good WiFi, good coffee, and really good bakery products. The 'burger and Strawberry/Rhubarb pie at the W&W are still with me, so no big dinner tonight. It's just now dark, so gotta go find a STealth camp site. Ozark National Forest is just east of town, so prolly find an unlocked gate and sleep tight.

Oh, wait! The weather!!! <checking>

Worst of it appears to be north of here, but I prolly ought'a head a little farther south for dryness. OTOH, it's dark out in deer country. I'll post results tomorrow.

 

[BigTom]

AARRGGHH, George.

Glad you got through all but the very last uugh (aargh). I have coveted the oil cap coin since I first saw it. I am sorry to hear it's gone...

Keep it coming, love your reports! Oh. A picture from Laughlin yesterday. Crowd was WAY down...The coney dog at the Pioneer was good as ever!

 

[schlep1967]

Alright which one of you guys is going to go find Georges fancy oil cap? I really wanted to see it when he gets to my house in about 3 weeks. Get out there and find it then mail it to me. Great reports George. Keep them coming.:bow1:

 

[George]

Bill, Terry (ACL) has the cap in hand. I'll pick it up next week on the way back North-East.

Tom, I heard there were more cars than bikes in Laughlin this year. Guess the economy ain't fixed yet.

So, where'd I leav off? Oh, yeah, running from the weather on Sunday evening. (If some this sounds familiar it's cause I've posted a couple minor updates at the coffee club.) Headed east out'a Siloam Springs, AR on AR-16, headed for Ozark N.F. camp ground. It was...

CLOSED!! Prolly tree damage from the February ice storm, but explanations don't let me sleep tight! Motored on a few miles and found salvation. No, really!

Came around a corner a few miles later, went thru just a brief cloud burst and found...

THIS: Well, not exactly. I was passing a small country church on the left and out'a the corner of my eye I saw they had an open air pavilion. Quick U-Turn, up the gravel drive, and I was under cover. Pushed two benches (I think the church folks call'em pews) together facing each other, laid out my mattress and bag and was fast asleep in 10 minutes. Only really woke once, about 2 AM, when the skies really turned loose. Only lasted a few minutes, tho, and asleep again.

LOTS of wind out of the south all day, didn't end over night. I was only in the bag liner (plenty warm) so hung the bag over the back of the pew to block the wind.

O-dark-thirty, I was up and packing, but not before taking a couple pics: Kind'a dark, but the church is on the left, pavilion on the right.

As I headed back toward Siloam Springs, caught this pic of the closed park:

After more coffee and a Banana-Nut Muffin at The Cafe On Broadway, I headed out in search of the Oklahoma Tag. Need to add their major clientele seems to be co-eds from John Brown College.

I had forgotten to get info while I was linked, so the tag was gonna be hard to find. Stopped in another little town (in Oklahoma this time) in search of WiFi. The cafe I stopped at didn't have it but the one across the street did. Just enuff signal to get a pic of the old firehouse within 20 miles of Mulhall, Ok. That's only ~1300 square miles to search, no sweat.

Wind still out'a the south, pretty stiff. Mostly local roads except around Tulsa so okay riding. Oklahoma has some great terrain. ("...in those Oklahoma hills where I was born." is the refrain in an old Woody Guthrie song.) So, I was having a good time riding the roads, fighting the wind, dodging the weather and getting lost in Tulsa. I did spot the Bass Pro shop. Stopped there a snooped a bunch, bought a little. No need for a camouflage
quad or a bass boat, but they have a pretty nice camping section.

Took 51 west toward I-35, finally started to rain just as I crossed over, turned south on US-71 toward Mulhall. The recommended restaurant (sight of a recent RTE) is only opened Thursday thru Sunday so I stopped at the little country store. Good conversation and more coffee put me on the trail to (??) where the then current Tag was located. A little sleuthing put me right on it. (check OK Tag for details.)

Motored on, found a suitable replacement pic, then turned south on AR-281. The rain had stopped but now starting to get late. Just at dark, came across Red Rock Canyon State Park. With the wind now out of the north and the temp down to ~50, I was looking for a suitable port. The park is in a pretty deep canyon, really red walls on the cliffs, narrow enuff the wind didn't get in. Full hook-up RV spot only cost me $9, so all set for the night.

Set up camp, fixed some dinner (penny STove to the rescue again. ) and sleep tight.

Took these two pics this morning. When's the last time ya saw a PC on a post?


Coffee and oatmeal to start the day, headed on south toward Lawton, and saw a billboard advertising free WiFi at the Burger King.

And here I am. Look quick, tho, cause, after posting this, I'm gonna...

GO RIDE!!!​

 

[alan]

Looking forward to the next update.

Did ya get the bike up into that pavilion and out of the rain?

 

[Mellow]

More good stuff, thanks George... Chargin' up the computer at the campground, did ya ever think you'd be doing that?

 

[motomac]

I guess I shoulda got a shot of mine charging at Devil's Den. and the cell phone and neither had coverage at the campground!!!
Be careful George, and i guess I'll see you at Ozark SToc.

 

[Paul]

Great story George. It was fun sharing the highway with you from Missouri to Moonshine. I hope to ride with you again soon. Take care on your travels. Glad you finally got that D*** speedo fixed.:

 

[tkresler]

George, thanks for letting us live vicariously thru you. I only wish I could join you on the ride.

It was great to meet and camp with you and your son at Moonshine. Travel safe, I hope to run into you soon.

Tim

 

[BigTom]

Hey, George!

Any port in a storm?? I spent a night under a canopy at a rest area in OK, once, but never in a Church shelter...Good stuff, Thanks.

Here's a picture of the Edgewater parking lot, Laughlin about 1:00 pm Saturday. Lot's of bikes, but plenty of room. You could ride anyplace all day, wasn't a big crowd.

 

[VFR]

I saw a bunch of bikes on the 58 headed East when I was going to Kernville and another bunch same place headed West as I was going home on Sunday.

 

[George]

I guess I shoulda got a shot of mine charging at Devil's Den. and the cell phone and neither had coverage at the campground!!!
Be careful George, and i guess I'll see you at Ozark SToc.

I charged my phone and camera batteries, too. Never considered such a thing as little as 10 years ago. I'm not a Luddite, but...

Mac, I won't be at OzarkSTOC, I'll be in IN/IL/MI visiting family before heading to CT.

And, yes, the bike was under the pavillion too.

 

[George]

Hmmm, thought I'd poSTed an update yesterday. Oh well, here goes.

Red Rock Canyon state park in OK on Tuesday night. Here's another pic: Kind'a 'splains the catchy name for the park.

Rolled on south thru Oklahoma, pretty nice terrain for the most part. It flattens out around Apache, then on across the Red River into Tex-***. Spent the day just meandering, no real destination. Weather man is sounding ominous, tho. I finally stopped for gas and called Chuck Henderson in Wichita Falls. He says, "Are you headed to CheapSTOC?"

Why yes, so head on over and spend the night.

Next morning:

Chuck had to work on Wednesday so I did some laundry, went to the Espresso shop (for WiFi ) and took a nap. The rain fell (highest recorded for an April day ever in W.F. 4.1 inches. Even more up in Oklahoma.

That's why we were especially surprised when Fred rolled in from Ok City dry as a bone about 6 PM. We figure he has a Beta version of the Aerostich Unobtanium Shield Generator. I want one.

Fairly early to bed and an early start on Thursday to get to Junction, TX for the start of CheapSTOC. Only 6 or so folks showed, plus about 20 cruisers at the motel. Friendly bunch so standard B.S. sessions.

The ride down to Junction was uneventful except for my blown horn fuse. <sigh> It also took out some instruments and the cruise control. Disconnected horn (again) and replaced fuse, continue on. All back roads, all day. Good lunch at a BBQ joint but I ate too much.

Started early again today toward Sanderson. Ed joined us for the run down, he led, I followed, and Chuck and Fred hung back about a mile so we didn't crowd the road. 2-lane again.

Chuck and Fred bring up the rear over a hill in this over-the-shoulder shot:

Lunch again at BBQ shack. Didn't eat too much this time.

Here's a shot of Ed on his CBR 929, on US-90 _after_ he ran out of gas. Chuck has many fotos of the refill process (ST = Super Tanker.)

Sitting now (last survivor!) at the pavilion at The Outback Oasis Motel in Sanderson. Had a pretty crappy dinner at the RoundHouse Cafe in Sanderson. My opinion, don't go there.

To bed shortly, then on to Fort Davis tomorrow. I'm gonna ride the Big Bend Park and the river road with Jeff in the morning, camping tomorrow at the state park in Fort Davis. Prolly no WiFi there so maybe no update til Sunday or Monday.

In the meantime, y'all be safe out there.

 

[Mellow]

That stretch of 90 is infamous for gas management issues.. .LOL.. Glad it was just an amusement and not anything serious.

Sure looks like you guys are having fun, wish I could be there.

 

[MAC_JD]

George, I wanna be just like you when I grow up! :bow1:

Amen!!

George what do you mean when you say you STealth camped?

JD

 

[BigTom]

Didn't ask permission. It worked for Clinton...

"Don't ask, don't tell"

 

[schlep1967]

George? Are you out there? WE NEED REPORTS IF WE ARE GOING TO LIVE VICARIOUSLY THROUGH YOU!

 

[George]

George? Are you out there? WE NEED REPORTS IF WE ARE GOING TO LIVE VICARIOUSLY THROUGH YOU!

<edit: pics now at the bottom>

Sorry, been pre-occupied with RIDING!!

Anyhoo, when last I poSTed, was planning to ride with Jeff (Badgerman) to the park and back, that happened on Saturday with no excitement other than my minor get off while trying to get a shot of Jeff in the sand. Oh, and the 2-ton rock that hit the road right in front of us. (More on that later.)

Here's a shot of some of the bikes at the Oasis in Sanderson. Really nice place tho a little pricey for my wallet.

Saturday morning rode on toward Big Bend. Took a detour down to the river on FM ?? where we got some pretty good pics. Here's on of me on the phone we found at the the river's edge. NYNEX, no dial tone. We put a Moonshine sticker on there just to confuse the locals.

Here's the foot bridge at the same site, looks like it's been shut down for quite a while.

We rode back toward the park and into the basin for a break. Talked to a couple headed out to camp in the back country (lions and bears, no tigers! ) Then on to the river road. Great fun there and beautiful views. At one point, we stopped for a pic and had a group of Harleys coming towards us. As the leader approached he pulled off on the shoulder. I saw a large puff of dust from down the road and assumed on of them had bit it. As we started to roll, the leader yelled, "Watch out for the rock!"

This is what we found only a couple hunnert yards farther on:

Prolly 2 tons. No harm, no foul, but DAYUM! (Q. Could the rumbling Harleys have upset this rock that much or just a co-ink-a-dinky?)

Here's the pic I had stopped for:
I've already posted the pic of my minor get off at "Most Embarrassing Moments." Tried to get a shot of Jeff in the sand and hit a soft spot while riding one handed. My bad.

I camped at the motel on Saturday, good price (free!) in an RV spot with water and electric. Cooked my own dinner, too, after the previous day's fiasco. Good fresh hot home-made, cost me ~$3.

Nice visit with the guys then zzzzzzzz time. Packed on Sunday morning and we all went our own way. I road up TX118past the observatory. WAY too many deer. Prolly saw a hunnert of'em. Also saw a large Javelina or a small feral pig, don't know which.

Made it to Aubrey, TX (north of Dallas in the afternoon after an uneventful day of 2-lanes (did get on I-20/I-35 toward the end.) Tagged a Muffler Man (see that thread) and got a few other good shots but this note already has it's allotted six. Stayed with friends there, just a quick over-nighter. Chris has fans for me to assemble and hang on my next trip thru.

Motored on north and east on Monday (got hit by a pick-up in Denison, no harm, no foul) and continued on up into Oklahoma, Arkansas, and into MO. Got rained on for about a hunnert miles in OK but was dry for the night right off I-44 in Sarcoxie. Another little country church sheltered this lost soul under cover. No tent needed.

Tuesday, I was following little 2-lanes south of I-44. I felt something hit my foot right after a small bump, did a U and looked, didn't see anything. About 30 or so miles later, noticed my right mirrorcover/turnsignal was missing. CRAP!! Oh well, turn around and go look. Found it about 200 feet east of the bump laying in the ditch. That little adventure cost me about an hour. A little later, found a good b'kfast spot called Ziggy's on the west side of Springfield. That one cost me a couple hours while eating, drinking coffee, and poSTing STuff. 'Puters are the devil's tool!!!

So, finally hit the slab big time (with one side trip to Cuba, MO to get the pic of the World's Largest Rocking Chair) and got serious about miles. 600+ miles later I pulled in to my sister's in St. Anthony, IN.

And here I am.

I have many more pics and will post a big album to my WebShots albums after I get home. Also, there's a few interspersed thru other threads but ya gotta go look for'em.