Wann Ok to Dallas Tx

Today I left Tom’s house this morning and headed down to Dallas I left early because Tom and Marcia had gone into Tulsa. Marcia was having knee surgery today. I called them later and all went fine, as expected. Henry had to say good bye to me before I left.

I had a pretty short travel day today at just about 350 miles. The trip was pretty much uneventful (just like I like it). I had to stop and pay a $2 toll on Hwy 75 in Oklahoma. Shortly after that I came to the “Red River”

And then Texas:

The stop lights are sideways here:

I got to my destination around 2 in the afternoon. David Sanders was one of my neighbors when I grew up. We were in the same grade and went through school together. He has a very nice house:

With a pool:


After I had the fifty cent tour, David took me down town to the place where Kennedy had been shot. They have it all fixed up with a museum.

There are two big Xs painted on the road way out in front of the place. They are where Kennedy was supposed to have been shot (twice). I am not sure of those are “official” or if someone just painted them there.

They do not allow pictures inside of the museum. But I got a couple of the outside. Here is the building:

This museum is like the one at the Empire State Building. They give you a head set and you walk around and listen to recordings of various things as you move about. It’s a sort of a relaxing way to just take your time if you want.

The window where Oswald was supposed to have done his dirty deed is the second window down on the far right side of the building (the 6th floor). The museum is named the 6th floor museum.

And the famous Grassy Knoll:
It wasn't me!! Honest.


Of course, behind the grassy knoll is the famous fence that some say a second shooter hid behind. They pretty much left it as it was, so they tell me. No one will ever know, I guess.

After the museum, David and I went back to his home where we had a great dinner.David and his wife Cora

We sipped beer and talked about things gone gone. He had remember some stuff that I had forgotten years ago. Most of it was goofy stuff we got away with as kids.

Public enemy numbers one and two (back in the old days).

Tomorrow morning I head out for my brother's place. He lives in Sedona, AZ. I will hope to make it about half way, which is just about Albuquerque. Thats over 600 miles from here and in the mountains. I am not sure if I will make it that far or not. It will depend on the weather.

Bartlesville Harley Dealer woes

Today was just relaxing for me. I had some time to kill, so I called the Harley Dealer hoping to get my head set fixed. The parts man said he had one, so I rode into town. When I got to the dealer, the salesman sent me to see "that guy over there" (one of the parts guys). The parts guy said "you have to talk to that guy over there" after I suggested my problem might be a warranty issue. So, I went over to "that guy over there" again and talked to the service writer. "We don't have any, and even if we did, I wouldn't be able to get to it today or tomorrow anyway" he said. I responded with: One of your parts guys told me he had it in hand earlier this morning. I can install it myself if I have to. Could you please check again?" He did. "I can't find it" he said. Maybe ask the parts guy? I asked.

After a minute or two he came back with the headset in his hand. "It won't fit your bike" he said. Oh, I'll jut put it on my helmet then. That's where I wanted it anyway. He just looked at me. "It has the wrong part number on it." Can I see it out of the box? I said.

He opened the box and handed it to me. I bet it will fit just fine. I told him. "no guarantees" he said. I looked at the package, which was incomplete. There was some hardware and an Allen wrench missing. I pointed this out to him, but he said nothing.

I gave him all the numbers and stuff for my bike so he could warranty the problem. I rode away to the nearest car parts place and bought myself a set of Allen wrenches to add to my tool kit.

If you have ever looked at a tool kit that you get with a motorcycle, you know there is really nothing in there you can use. Now I have some Allen wrenches, a pair of pliers and a crescent wrench to stuff in there with the other things. I sat at picnic table outside of a fast food place and installed my speakers. I plugged all the things in and "presto" I was back in business. this whole thing reminded me of stories Scotty Bogue had told me over the years. He has lots of stories to tell about getting things fixed (or not) on the road. Scotty is a guy I work with.

Well since I had put things in my blog about going to Dallas today, I thought I had better call David sanders and let him know I would not be at his house tonight. So I pulled out my cell phone and found I had no service. i used Tom's phone and called a number that had been disconnected. I dug in my handy dandy note book that I keep in my hip pocket and found a better number for David and let him know I would be a day late. I told him I planned to look around Dallas a bit so he said he would take part of the day off and take me around and show me all the good stuff. I had my own personal guide for tomorrow.

While I was riding through Bartlesville, I found this guy walking around:

He stands outside of the pet store. I suppose if you had problems with the small neighborhood kids pestering you....

The only other things I had left to do today was a bit of laundry and to sit around and wait for dinner. It's tough duty. I know you feel sorry for me.

That about wraps up today.

Just chill'n

Monday, Sept 28th.

Today I slept in late. I had fiddled around quite late working on the text part of the blog until almost 1 AM. Later, after I got up, Tom fixed me up with internet access and I posted the pictures, did some editing for the last few days and started planning tommorow's trip. Since I am going down through Dallas to see David Sanders, I figured I would go and see where President Kennedy had been shot. That day was November 22nd, 1963. I was ten years old in the 4th grade. I remember it to this day.

In planning my trip I used the Garman software that came with my GPS. It put the mileage at "348" for the day. That is also my badge number. I have no idea what that means. I just thought it mentionable.

I went outside (a gorgeous day) and got things organized in my saddle bags. Here is a shot of my fairing. It is covered with kamikaze bugs.

I guess today is "wash the bike day."

I had passed a sign last night that said:

It was only a few miles from Tom’s house (about 15 or so) so I thought I would go back today and take a look. I drove back up into Kansas.

Here it is:


It’s pretty small. We used to watch that show all the time when it was on. It was sort of cool seeing the "real deal."

I stopped at the car wash and gave the bike the once over. It needed it (as Mike pointed out in a recent e-mail). $1 at the local car wash and I was pretty good to go again.

I called the Harley shop in Bartelsville OK to see if they had a new head set for my helmet. They are closed on Monday. So... I tried Tulsa... They are closed on Monday. I gave up for the day. Tom and Marcia wanted to get me into town for a genuine catfish dinner. Not a bad idea, I thought, so into Bartelsville we went. When we sat down and looked at the menu, I saw "QUAIL DINNER" on there. How was I going to pass that up? The catfish could wait. As it turned out, Tom was full up before his plate was empty, so I got some catfish anyway. I was fat AND happy.

Convinced to stay here another night, Tom INSISTED he make more music CDs for me. He makes ones that last 10 to 12 hours without a repeat. They are great on trips like mine when the radio stations keep fading away. They are especially great in the mountains where there are no radio stations.

All for today.

Long day in the saddle

Today was a late start for me. I stayed up too late talking, then my ratchet jaw started working again after breakfast. I didn’t get on to the road until almost 10:00 AM. I pretty much made my way along the freeway (I-29) because I knew I would make better time there. The highways are more fun to ride on, but they slow down for all the little spots along the way. I knew I would have a long day today. Before reaching I-29I had to pass through Yankton S Dak.

Now, there have been several times when I have seen this sign along the way on my journey:

It is the marker for the Lewis and Clark Trail. As you remember, President Thomas Jefferson hired Lewis and Clark to explore the west and what would beocme 11 different states (1803-1806 if I remember right). California had been settled for many years (by Mexico) and Jefferson wanted maps of the new territory so that the "unknown" could become “known” and settled. This would provide trade routes to California. The scouting party was equipped with all the latest things: special boats, .58 caliber flint lock rifles, stuff like that. This surveying trip was just about the same to us as when we sent men to the moon. It was a HUGE deal at the time. Many, if not all of the men, were not expected to survive it.

So much for the history lesson… Then I saw this place:


Now, I had just figured that both Lewis and Clark were dead by now. I had no idea they were still around and apparently doing well. I was surprised, I have to admit. Then it dawned on me that the new Sacajawea (coin) dollar had to come from someplace. I guess they ARE making money.

Once I was on I-29, I ran into construction every few miles. They were not just fixing pot-holes, they were removing the entire freeway. Right down to the dirt:

We would be routed to the oncoming side (or they were routed to our side) for several miles, then back again. This went on for hundreds of miles. Of course the speed was cut down to 55 in those places. It really goofed up my time schedule. Of course starting late didn’t help any either.

I made my way out of S Dakota, into Iowa, then I decided to would run over to Nebraska for good measure. I-29 parallels the border between Iowa and Nebraska. I just went to the other side of the river for a few miles so I could say I was there. I saw this sign there:

Gee, how dumb do you have to be? What I really wanted to was to just smash right into the back of them, but rules are rules…


Eventually, I hit Missouri. They went "all out" on this fancy sign.

Missouri has mile markers every TENTH of a mile!! At first I thought this might be an odometer check. We have those in Washington every now and then, but still they are still just every mile. They must like to put up sign posts, I guess.

I stopped in for gas at St Joseph Missouri. I saw this girl pull in with this nifty little car. When she saw me take her picture she jumped out, dug into a cooler that was built into the back of the car and handed me an ice cold “Red Bull.” I thanked her, but didn’t drink it. I threw it in my saddle bag. I am sure my son will drink it. He drinks stuff like that. The caffeine in it would have send me into orbit. I just thought the car was cool, that’s all.

Now, I have heard about “Kansas City BBQ” for years. Since I was just down the road from some, I wanted to try it out.
I asked a couple of locals where a good place to eat was. They all had the same answer: "Gates BBQ." I set the GPS and rolled right into the parking lot.



Of course, riding bikes and eating BBQ is thirsty work, so I had to deal with that also. Just one, nothing serious.

The BBQ was GREAT. A little spicy, but real good. My son would have been in "Hog Heaven" there. He LOVES spicy things. By the time I was done, I was fat as a Harbor Seal. I was still quite a distance away from my destination, so I figured I better get cracking. The sun was getting low in the sky. So low, that it was right in my eyes as I headed west on I-35. I didn’t realize that Kansas City was right on the border between Missouri and Kansas (Kansas City is in Missouri). As I entered Kansas, the sun was right behind the sign that said “Welcome to Kansas.” I had intended to get pictures of all of those for the Blog, but by the time I saw it, I was just passing it. I didn’t want to slam on the brakes on the freeway and become a news article in tomorrow's paper. I did get s picture of “that sign” but on the way OUT of the state, not on the way IN. Here is the one way down south between Kansas and Oklahoma. You can see it was dark when I took it.

Enough about the signs… I took I-35 west to US 75 then turned south. Right about that time it got dark on me. I stopped for gas at that point. Here is a shot of the sun set just before I turned off onto US 75. This picture doesn’t do it justice. The sky was very orange. It was one of those “wow” ones.

Once I turned off onto US 75, I had to slow down to 65, which was the speed limit. After an hour or so, I slowed down to 55. I have heard plenty of stories of bikes hitting deer. I didn’t want to tell one here. I drove about 2 ½ hours in the dark. I made it into Oklahoma. My destination was only about 10 more miles.I got to my brother in law’s (Tom) place at about 10:30 PM. It was a long day. I chewed the fat for a short time, hit the showers and worked on this blog for a bit. I didn't have any internet hook up until the next day. That’s why this entry is a day late. About the last hour of my trip today, my right helmet speaker quit working. It was a real bummer. That stereo keeps me company like you wouldn’t believe. Not to worry, it’s under warranty. I’ll get one in Bartelsville or Tulsa.

Thus far, my trip has been 2,787 miles long (about half way). I now have 20,381 miles on Babe (my bike). It is COVERED with bugs from running at night.

Saturday, Great weather

This morning I left mom's house and got a great start. I stopped in Fergus Falls to see Dean Erkenbrack. I had given him a heads up on the phone, so his wife Helan, his sister Jenny and his brother Rick were there with him. I got my wires crossed and was waiting for him on the wrong side of the freeway in the Wallmart parking lot. They were in the Perkins restaurant (across the freeway) waiting for me. After ten minutes or so, Dean came and got me. We had breakfast and talked about times and people long gone. It was just a real refreshing time with those guys. Rick called his brother Mike, who lives in Arizona. I got to talk to him a bit after convincing him that it really was me. Here is a shot of our gathering:From left to right, Jenny, me, Dean, Helan and Rick. Great people!

The weather was just great. I didn't use any sun screen (!!) but just look at what I had to deal with today:

I had told people from out west about the midwest. I have mentioned to them that is it so flat, if one stands up on something, like a barn or an overpass, you can see ten miles. Here is the proof guys. take a look.

I rode on down through Breckenridge, over to Whapeton N. Dakota, then south on I-29 through South Dakota. I didn't see a "Welcome to South Dakota" sign, so I have no proof to put down here. After I got to Brookings, I went back east into Minnesota then dropped down south again. That way I would be able to say I was in Iowa. See:

That took me about 40 miles out and around my destination, which will be my cousin's Jerry's house. We goofed around as kids a lot. I could tell it would be fun.... It was.
This is Jerry's house and family.

Left to right: Donna, Jerry (Zoli-master) Annie- daughter, Ashley- Ben's girlfriend, Ben-son, Keana- grandaughter, Sarah- Nates wife, Alivia, Nate- son, and Isaac- grandson.

"Zoli-master" is a hunting nick-name his friends hung on him. He shoots a Zoli brand shotgun. It means he seldom misses.

We had a great dinner (thanks Donna) and chewed the fat at the fire pit for a long time after. So long, that I had to write this blog entry the next morning.

We talked a lot about hunting pheasants, old times and people from long ago. I wished it had never ended.

The next morning, I got ready, had another great meal and left heading south. That would take me thouugh Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and into Oklahoma. It would be a long day. My plan was to leave around 8 AM, it was coming up on 10.....

After striking out on the road, I was planning for some of that famous BBQ in Kansas City.

Today is my last day here in Moorhead. Here are a couple shots of my mom’s house. This is where I grew up. At 89, mom is still a good housekeeper.

I stopped at the Harley store and picked up some gore-tex gloves. I didn’t want any more cold wet hands should I run into rain again.

I took mom out to see my cousin Jerry in West Fargo. Here she is with a couple of her horses Dark Star (the bay) and Bubba:

On the way out to West Fargo, I passed this liquor store. Notice the drive up window. Seems like a DUI built right into the sale. You gotta love these N Dakota guys.

Several of us went out to the Pizza Ranch for dinner. We took pictures and caught up on the latest news. I said my “hellos” and “good-byes.” My family can talk and talk and talk. It was a good time. Here are a couple shots of us. This is Diane and me.

From left to right: Diane, Mom, Leroy, Audry and Jeannete.

This is mom with her sisters behind me.

Mom and I went home and I gathered my things and got ready to leave in the morning. Tomorrow I will go and see Carol’s Cousin Dean in Fergus Falls at 9 AM then run down to my other Cousin Jerry in South Dakota. I should get there just about dinner time :-)