Day #35 September 14, 2007

Day #35
Friday September 14, 2007

Eureka Springs, AR to Symsonia, KY (again!)
441 miles today (22,062 - 22,503)
8,022 miles total

1 new state today: Tennessee
21 states total (almost half way!)

First about the day, then about the whole WEEK!
Spent a beautiful quiet night in the middle of the Ozark Mtns.
So many stars visible during the night. Funny how I can
be amazed by looking at the stars. I think for years I went
without taking the time to LOOK at them! Perhaps we all
need to "linger" more and longer...

The KOA was nearly deserted.
There were 3-4 RVers, me, and 2 other motorcyclists who
were staying in the Kabins. The KOA manager let me pick any
spot I wanted. One of the bikers was a guy traveling alone,
from Nebraska, just out for 10 days to see the Ozarks.
He was on a new V Star 1300 and really liked it.
(Nate, do YOU have a NEW BIKE yet???) He had put almost
10,000 miles on it since May, including a trip over the Beartooth
Pass in Montana. The other couple, also from Nebraska, had
already been out a week and were slowly making their way home.
The man said they have a Trailmaster trailer just like mine, but
after 3 years of summer outings, it just got old and tiresome to
set it up and tear it down every night and morning. I understand
completely! But he did share some good tips on some lighting, a
good heater to purchase, some rugs and other things. It was
helpful to talk to someone who has used one for such an extended
period of time.

My goal today, originally, was to make Memphis which was 200+
miles away. But the roads in the Ozarks I thought would prevent
that. I was to learn differently.

I stopped for breakfast in a town called Harrison, after riding an
hour or so. There I called my college buddy Darrel and let him
know I wouldn’t make Indiana tomorrow, or even this weekend.
I also called a bike shop in Murray, KY to schedule a 20K service
and a new rear tire change. It’s better to get this out of the way
before I head into the northeast. I will probably make Oregon
again without another tire, but will have to have at least 2 more
4,000 mile services between here and home.

I took US 62 most of the day. What a beautiful ride. Most of the
road was excellent, although lots of hills. Some patches were
narrow with little to no shoulder, but all in all, the US highways
are still in great shape. And the best part, my whole attitude
and enjoyment of the ride goes WAY UP once I get off the
interstate. I am finding I am not a destination rider, but
rather a “flower sniffer” or someone that enjoys the journey.
But I am also discovering I do better with a daily goal to push me
forward. The last month of my trip is going to have to be goal
driven if I am to beat the weather and change of seasons.
But my wife is encouraging me NOT to neglect stopping and
seeing the things I want to see. Thank you dear!!

When I got out of the Ozarks and into the river bottom land,
approaching Jonesboro, I eventually had to come out of my
leathers. It was also there I made the decision to skip Memphis,
another hour away, and shortcut back to Symsonia. I would have
hit Memphis at rush hour, and would be hard pressed to make
West KY by dark as it was. I took Missouri route 18 east out of
Jonesboro to Blytheville, MO, then north on I-55 to I-155 where
I crossed the Mississippi into Tennessee. I have made 6 states
this week.

What a week it’s been. Lots of interstate riding where I made
good time and covered good distances, but I hated most of it.
I got rained on real good Monday PM. I got driven indoors
(motel) again Tuesday PM by forecasted cold. I woke up sick
Wed AM due to bad hamburger (???) the night before.
I couldn’t eat for 2+ days and had to ride nauseous most of the
time. Once off the freeway I felt better and enjoyed the ride
more. Here I am back where I started on Monday of the week.
Will get ready to ride into the northeast after Tuesday of next
week. A good clearing spell is forecast for that part of the country
later in the week. Wonderful!

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines
his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 How my plans have changed this week!

Day #34 September 13, 2007

Day #34
Thursday September 13, 2007

Oak Grove, MO to Eureka Springs, AR
307 miles today (21,363 - 22,062)
7,581 miles total

3 new states today: Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas
20 states total

I went to bed last night at 8PM! Didn’t eat any dinner and took a
Benedryl to be sure I would sleep. I slept good, but the phone call
at midnight from someone looking for “Brandon” was an
unwanted interruption!

Felt like eating this morning. Had cereal, fruit and 2 cups of hot
chocolate. What a beautiful day. I woke up and got started before
the sun came up. The sky was getting lighter, and I would get to
see the sunrise. After breakfast, I hit the shower and packed
things a way at a leisurely pace. This was the first night in nearly
3 weeks I camped in the tent trailer. Strangely, it felt like “home”
for a change.

On the way out of Oak Grove, I heard on the CB that 19 cars
were left in a tangle on I-435 outside of KC by a semi truck that
left the scene. A whole lot of people will have a bad day today…

Made my way south on US 71 to Nevada, MO, then turned west
to Fort Scott, KS. An old army fort and barracks remain on what
was once the “frontier” to the west. From here I turned south on
US69 and made my way to Oklahoma, stopping for lunch in
Miami, OK. I felt like eating lunch, and that’s a good sign I think.
I have made good time, but barely 200 miles as of lunch, and
would like to do 200 more. But the Ozarks are in the distance,
and I’m afraid fast miles are not in my future.

One of the waitresses at the Hungry Henry’s restaurant, was
actually born in Hillsboro, OR. She left there when she was 2
and of course does not remember it. But she said she’d love to
go back and see it, as she hears it’s very beautiful in Oregon.
I confirmed that! The other waitress was helpful to write down
some directions to the library and a motel with a wireless
connection. And a man in the parking lot had a business buddy
who lives in Eugene, OR. Again, that Oregon connection is just
all over the place.

My last goal for this day was Bentonville, Arkansas the home of
Wal-Mart. To some of my friends, they will be shocked that I
wouldn’t AVOID the Wal-Mart corporate headquarters town!
But I just HAD to go there. Wow! The city map handed out at
the visitor’s center is dotted with Wal-Mart corporate buildings
just all over it. The guest book at the visitor’s center had been
signed by a Roseburg, OR couple last week, and the other
receptionist has a sister who lives in Hood River, OR.
Ah, the never ending Oregon connection….

I went to the “official” Wal-Mart visitors center, and it is
separate from the Bentonville visitors center. They have a
museum there, lots of corporate history, awards, etc.
At one of the corporate buildings, on an electronic reader board,
they have a big “We have saved our customers $XXX,XXX,XXX.”
I can’t remember the figure.

I made a very scenic ride from Bentonville to Eureka Springs.
It was only 50 miles, but very twisty and hilly. A true
motorcyclist’s road. Saw several sportbikes heading toward
Bentonville. It is quiet here. There are only 6 or 7 campers
in the whole place. The two cabins are occupied by bikers.
The lady at the desk told me to take my pick of spots. One of
the campers in the cabins has a trailer just like mine, but said
after 3 years of using it off and on, it’s just too much work to
tear it all down each morning. I am finding that to be true.
As I continue my musing on how to cover all the ground I want
cover, even ditching the trailer is coming into play as an option.
I’ll just have to wait and see.

Day #33 September 12, 2007

Day #33
Wednesday September 12, 2007

Monticello, IA to Oak Grove, MO
392 miles today (21,363 - 21,755)
7,274 miles total

17 states total

Not a very good day today. I woke up at 3AM very sick to my
stomach. I think the hamburger at J&P did NOT agree with me.
So I stayed up an hour and a half catching up on some blogging.
Slept till after 8AM, which really set me behind for the day. I was
still nauseated when I woke up. This was going to be an all
interstate day, and I just wasn’t looking forward to it.

I finally got on the road about 10, and it was clear and COLD.
I stayed cool all day long until nearly 3PM. I had been on I-80
west of Iowa City only a little bit, about 15 miles, but on the road
nearly an hour, when I called Natalie. She had called the night
before just as I was getting ready to leave J&P, and it was just
getting to be dusk. They had warned us of the deer, and I wanted
to get back to the motel before completely dark, so we didn’t get
to talk but a minute. She was in better spirits today, but was
missing me, and I was missing her. We talked for probably 20
minutes or more, and when we hung up, now I was really
“homesick” for the first time on the trip. I wasn’t feeling well
physically, now I was homesick, and I had hundreds of miles to
make up in the middle of the country. I was dreading it.

I feel like today I have hit a “wall” of some sort. It is a mental,
motivational, attitudinal wall. I have been on the road 33 days,
but gone from home 51 days, almost 2 months. I have a LOT
of country I still would like to see, but the miles, the weather and
the calendar are all pushing against me it seems. This is only
Wednesday, and I’ve only been out 3 days from my “KY pit stop”
so I have to give it a little more time.

I hit Des Moines late morning, so the rush hour was long past.
I turned south on I-35 and just endured miles and miles of
interstate. The air was cool, and I wore my winter gloves
(big cuffs over my jacket sleeves) until mid afternoon. The high
temp I saw was 65 degrees somewhere. As I crossed the
Missouri state line, I knew KC was not too terribly far away.
I reached Kansas City about 5:30 in the afternoon. At my last
gas stop in Kearney, about 25 miles northeast of KC, I decided I
would go east on I-70 to a KOA in Oak Grove, instead of going
west into Kansas all the way to Lawrence.

The day ended much better than it started. I hadn’t eaten
anything all day, but still wasn’t hungry. Every now and then
I’d get hit with a bit of nausea. I can hope and pray it was the
hamburger and not my CamelBak water bottle that has got my
stomach upside down. I am still dogged by the concerns of
distance, weather and seasons, but will trust that gets resolved
with some rest, reflection and prayer.

Day #32 September 11, 2007

Day #32
Tuesday September 11, 2007

Hannibal, MO to Monticello, IA
271 miles today (21,092 - 21,363)
6,882 miles total

1 new state today: Iowa
17 states total

Woke up DRY today since I decided against camping last night.
My jeans are still damp this morning. The sky is clear, blue and
beautiful today. Should be a great day to ride!

As is typical, a couple had some questions about the trailer.
They were bikers, too, but had never camped while on the bike.
They were from just north of Anamosa, which was my goal today.
We talked of the road I would travel, and some alternates,
as well as the time a deer jumped from a ditch right into them
while they were both on his bike. This was only 2 miles from
there home. They were fortunate to survive. The bike did not,
and I can't recall what they said about the deer!

I left Hannibal about 9 and drove through the "downtown"
which included the Mark Twain home. I drove down to the
Mississippi River and saw a paddle wheeler. Tours on the river
didn't start until 1:30 PM. I headed north onward toward Iowa.
I rode with a sweatshirt on underneath my jacket, and would
soon wish I had my winter gloves on. They were packed away
somewhere in the trailer. I haven't adjusted away from the
heat yet. I'm still in the 90-100 degree mode, and here it is
in the upper 50's this AM. The ride north was uneventful, and
the chatter from the truckers was entertaining. Some of the
chit chat between them is pretty foul. It's kind of disappointing,
but it can be humorous.

Breakfast didn't arrive until 11:40 AM. The continental offered
at the motel (donuts, cereal, toast) was not "real enough" for me.
I stopped in Fort Madison, IA and warmed up with 3 cups of
coffee in addition to the eggs, sausage, toast and hashbrowns.
Again, someone had seen me pull in, and had lots of questions
about where I'd been and where I was headed.

I pulled into Anamosa, IA just about 3PM. Drove past the
Nat'l Motorcycle Museum (one of my planned stops) and
went right to the state campground just out of town. It was
completely deserted, and was pretty isolated. I couldn't even
tell for sure if it was open for business. I headed back to town,
went to the visitor center and they had closed at 3. Went to the
bank for some cash, then back to the museum. The lady there
recommended a campground in Monticello, about 10 minutes
north of Anamosa. I toured the museum, saw some neat bikes,
made some pictures, then headed out to find the campground.
My concern about camping tonight is that the forecast is calling
for a low of 36 degrees tonight and frost. That's a far cry from
the great temps Oregon is having right now. And there doesn't
seem to be a bit of humidity here in Iowa. Very pleasant, but
quite windy.

On the way to the campground, I discovered I would pass right
by J&P Cycles, the big aftermarket retailer of motorcycle parts.
I pulled in there and got another good lead on a motel in nearby
Monticello, and the lady confirmed the forecast for me right there
at her desk via the internet. She also informed me that this
night was there last bike/car show get together. There would
be food, entertainment and door prizes. So I headed north
to Monticello (10 minutes away) and checked in the Blue Inn.
Unloaded a few things, checked mail, and headed back to
J&P. I pulled the trailer with me, because there was nothing
here at the motel parking lot to lock it to. It would just be
easier to pull it along.

I got a burger and Pepsi, called my daughter, then started
to roam the bikes and cars. There were some beautiful paint
jobs and lots of custom bikes. I wanted to go inside and register
for some of the door prizes and went back to the bike for my
camera. I got there, and had 5 guys (retired) all wanting to
know my story. Some were interested in the trailer, some in
the trip, some in my bike and how it could pull the trailer.
I spent the next hour and a half talking about the trip, answering
questions, swapping stories and having a great time. It was
like a trade show! I never even made it inside the building!

I left about dusk, ever watchful of deer. It is already COLD
outside. I can't imagine what it's going to be like in the
morning! I will head south to Kansas and Oklahoma tomorrow.

Day #31 September 10, 2007

Day #31
September 10, 2007

Symsonia, KY to Hannibal, MO
321 miles today (20,771 - 21,092)
6611 miles total

1 new state today: Missouri
16 states total

Back on the road again! Yahoo!! Today's journey got off to a delayed
start with some last minute, unexpected plumbing issues. Took a
little less than 3 hours, but it got resolved so I could get on the way.
The temp early today was 75 degrees and the humidity was 95%!
Miserable. Just standing outside I was sweating. The air was like
syrup. It was going to be warm in leather!

I pulled out about 11:30. Not having ridden consistently for nearly
3 weeks, I was a little concerned about my skills. Going down the
road, pulling the trailer, I was getting the feeling I had forgotten
how to ride. The skills sure deteriorate quickly! I was really on
guard for animals, road hazards and idiots. It took about an hour
to really feel like I was in control again, but I stayed sharp, looking
for hazards all day.

I crossed the Ohio at Cairo, IL and then later the Mississippi
at Cape Girardeau, MO. I had lunch at O'Charleys in Cape
Girardeau where the hostess was excited to share the recent
trip her dad took to Yellowstone. One of his buddies went with him
I think she said, and they were gone 2 weeks. I gave her the
blog site address, so maybe I'll hear from him.

Like the day before arriving in Symsonia, my riding today was
primarily on the freeway. I hit St. Louis about 4:15. The traffic
was fast and furious. I really didn't have any problems, but as
I turned west on to I-70 to connect with US 61, I took note of
the dark sky way off in the west. Hmm...will that have an effect
on me I wondered?

I stopped in Moscow Mills to gas up, and then review my map
to see exactly where I might stay tonight. A local guy gave me
some leads on a campground or two, so I headed north, on up 61.
As I got 50 miles out of Hannibal, MO the sky was completely
overcast. By 30 miles out, it was sprinkling. By 20 miles out,
the rain was really coming down. I had to pull off and gear up
with the rain jacket. I should have put my rain pants on, but
thought at the time the chaps would keep my jeans dry. A
couple of truckers confirmed via CB radio that the rain just
continued on for many miles, all the way up into Iowa.
So when I reached Hannibal, MO I called it a day and found
a motel. This is only the 2nd time the rain has driven me
indoors. I did not want to set up in the rain! The weather
is supposed to clear tomorrow, and I wanted to keep all my
gear dry.

The goal tomorrow will be to get up into Iowa, near Anamosa,
where the Nat'l Motorcycle Museum is located.

WEST KY PITSTOP August 23 thru Sept 9

I arrived in West KY in the early evening on Wednesday

Aug 23, what was then Day #30 on my tour. Here it is 18

days later, and I am ready to hit the road again. I will count

tomorrow, Monday September 10 as Day #31, and not

count all my work days here as part of the tour.

Nor will I count the 371 miles on the bike while site seeing,

running errands and visiting while here.

I spent most of yesterday, going through my gear, repacking

and getting everything ready to travel. I've done some

maintenance on the bike, purchased some new carpet for

the tent (is lighter and packs smaller), and put everything

away that I can until time to travel.

I have torn down 2 old outbuildings, hauled away over

10,400 lbs. of wood and metal, cut up what I would guess to

be over 7 pickup loads of brush and tree trimmings and picked

up a mild case of poison ivy or sumac. I've visited my 2 sisters,

but have pretty much stayed busy working on the clean up

project here at my mother-in-laws place. I've seen 2 snakes,

1 mouse, a burlap sack full of woodbees and more red wasps

than I could possibly count!

I have worked on the blog daily, trying to get it caught up, but

that is a difficult thing to do. Now that it is up and running, and

I know a little more about it, I'll try to keep it current on the

road, while filling in the missing days as I go along.

I've had several requests for pictures of my camper, some of

the campgrounds and places I've stayed. The photo portion of

the blog is absolutely the most frustrating thing to work with

and not very easily manipulated, but I'll try to get those up

for those interested. If any of you know how to align/place

the photos, your input would be GREATLY appreciated, as I

am to the point of NOT posting any more photos it is such an

ordeal.

The road is calling...and I intend to answer!