25 years ago, BC ( before children ), Kathleen and I had a Yamaha 650 Maxim to take a trip or 2 on. However, Kathleen became pregnant with our first child and the motorcycle was sold. Now, with the last child graduating from college....we decided to revive this great adventure in our lives. Below we will share our trips on our new GL 1800cc Goldwing.
Here's a list of the accessories that we've added to our Wing.
We are members of the GWRRA
GoldWing Road Riders Association
also known as
GoldWing Restaurant Raiders Association
Dinner Rides and our rating of the establishment (***** is best)
Eduardos, Chickasha, Ok ***** Ya gadda eat there !!
Jo's Famous Pizza, Purcell, OK ***** Ya gadda eat there !!
Firelake Casino buffet, Dayle, OK ***
Sonic, McLoud, OK **
Sonic, NE 23, Choctaw,OK ****
McAllister's, Edmond, OK ****
Ted's Escondido, OKC-south ***** Ya gadda eat there !!
Lucille's, Mulhall, OK ... for breakfast 1st Sunday of the month ***** Ya gadda eat there !!
The Boundary, Rt 66 east of Arcadia ***** Ya gadda eat there !!
States that we have visited on the Goldwing
July 26-August 16, 2010. . . 5215 miles.... Wonderful trip to Glacier National Park and more. See the "photo albums" page for description and pictures of this fantastic trip.
October 22-25, 2009. . . 997 miles....Our main objective of this trip was to catch some fall colors in their 'prime'. Since our past 2 fall trips were either too early or too late, we decided to cover a lot of territory from North to South in Arkansas to be sure somewhere along the journey we would see some fabulous fall color. WE DID and more !! The weather was mostly cool and wet...but a very nice ride in spite of that. The colors along Hwy 100 east of Tenkiller Lake in Oklahoma were some of the best. Then along Hwy 59 in Ark. we came across the Natural Dam in the Ozark National Forest. We then headed north on the old Hwy 71 and stopped at Artist Point for some pictures. Made it to Eureka Springs just after dark and found our motel. It was very cool the next morning and we stayed in Eureka Springs until noon....then headed out on a cool ( 45 degrees) wonderful ride. Hwys 123 and 74 along the Buffalo River were beautiful motorcycle roads. We even saw some wild turkey and a herd of Elk. We continued on down 123 to Clarksville for the night. Hwy 123 is HIGHLY recommended for wonderful scenary, curves, and low traffic. When leaving Clarksville we decided on a route to Mena that included hwy 309. What a TREAT !! a beautiful ride and we discovered Mt. Magazine State Park. Mt. Magazine is the highest elevation in Arkansas at 2753 ft. The Lodge is fantastic....as well as the scenary. We have put it on our "must return" list. We saw them setting up for a wedding on one of the scenic balconies. We also came across the hang glider launch area. After taking pictures there....we headed down the mountain towards Mena when we spotted a truck with a hang-glider strapped to the top...... we just had to see this....so we headed back up the moutain to watch the hang-gliders take off. Headed on to Mena to our reservations at the Mountain Top Cabins we discovered last year. After what we'd already seen...the Talimena Drive...our 'goal' was less impressive than what we'd already seen. And then even more ironic was the beautiful colors we discovered in our drive as we arrived home !! Some pictures of this adventure can be seen on the photo album page
September 25-27, 2009. . . 640 miles....As part of the Grand Tour '09 that we are participating in....we traveled to our first ever "Threshing Bee" in Fairview, OK. Saw some wonderful antique tractors and old farm equipment ....in use then the Sod House Museum in Aline, OK. We then traveled to Gate, Oklahoma near the entrance to the Oklahoma Panhandle. Spent the night in Woodward then down to Shattuck to the Windmill Museum, Cheyenne to the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site and then by Foss Lake. Pictures on the photo album page.
May 9-31, 2009. . . 4931 miles.... Our Vacation adventure this year was to head where we had never been before.....Key West, Fl, and beyond.....on to the Smokey Mountains and ride the famous Deal's Gap, Tail of the Dragon. Our photo album has pictures and narrations of this wonderful trip....where we learned to read the clouds...and ride in the rain and on wet roads !!!!
November 7-9, 2008. . . 662 miles.... Back to the Talimena Drive in SE Oklahoma. Last year we were too early for the fall colors so we thought we'd try to 'catch it right' this year. We ended up be just a little late because of the huge storm that blew thru just a couple of days before we left. Still a lot of color...just past the prime. We DID stay in a wonderful place in Mena, Ar. I am a little hesitant to mention it here ---don't want EVERYONE to find this place making it harder for us to find available lodging there ;-) Mena Mountain Top Motel/Cabins. The cabins are emmaculate, view is breath-taking, and the hosts are most gracious. Across the road from the cabins is a very good restaurant, the Fishnet. The weather was great and it was a wonderful ride. We plan to make this trek an annual affair.
October 10 & 11, 2008. . . 300 miles.... We traveled north to Hwy 33 then west to Kingfisher then on to Watonga for their annual Watonga Cheese Festival Again the weather was great...just a little breezy. We arrived just in time for the parade. It was a nice parade...a lot larger than the Sucker Day parade we saw a couple of weeks ago. There were a lot of booths....both food and trinket...cheese and wine sampling ( tho' Kathleen and I both felt that the Watonga CHEESE Festival should have had more *CHEESE* ). We had a nice dinner at the mexican restaurant, Carrillos. We then headed for Roman Nose State park where we checked in at the lodge and went for a nice hike. We were not impressed with the lodge, our room, the dining...or anything else there. It is a beautiful area to visit, hike, and camp, etc....but we don't recommend the lodge.Sunday morning we headed north to Okeene to get credit for the Grand Tour Oklahoma stop and then on to Stillwater where we enjoyed lunch with our childern Tony and Jennifer and granddaughters, Natalie and Savannah at Curly's. Arrived home mid-afternoon to discover the goat we had penned up to have babies had decided to wait until we got back home.
September 27, 2008. . . 225 miles.... to Sucker Day in Wetumka,OK. Our friends Don Muir and Jo Rush joined us for breakfast in MWC then the four of us headed, mostly down Hwy 9 to Wetumka. We arrived in time to participate in the Sucker Day Poker Run. It was a nice ride but we did not win. Jo lost her gloves at one of the stops and that was the subject of a very weird encounter later in the day....you just have to ask me about that one !!! We enjoyed the parade.....there really was one ....then we head back home. It was a wonderful day with wonderful weather for riding.
August 30 - September 1, 2008. . . 900 mile tour thru SW Missouri and NW Arkansas...the Ozarks. We left Saturday morning with our 'targets' for the day to satisfy 3 of the 'Grand Tour' Oklahoma stops. We traveled up famous Route 66 to Sapulpa, Ok and then on to Vinita, Ok and finally Miami, Ok. The stop in Miami was particularly interesting. The stop was at the Route 66 Vintage Iron Museum. This is a must stop for any motorcycle enthusiast. We had lunch with my parents in Pryor, Ok and then made our way to Neosho, Missouri for the night. The next day we made our way to Missouri highway 90. This was a wonderful motorcycle road. Lots of twisties and beautiful Ozark scenery. We stopped for brief rest at our most favorite spot on earth, Roaring River, Missouri. We then traveled down Missouri highway 86, a road we have ridden many times by automobile but not on the cycle. It's a good road as well. We were trying to make our way to highway 76 near Branson and we were attempting to bypass the traffic in Branson. However, a missed turn....we found ourselves in downtown Branson.....good grief !!!. Made our way out of town and continued down highway 76 to highway 125. This was one of our targets as it has a free ferry that takes vehicles across an arm of Bull Shoals Lake in Arkansas. We took the Peel Ferry and made our way down hwy 125 and on to hwy 7 ( another 'target' of our trip) to Harrison, Ark. where we spent our 2nd night. The next day, Labor Day, we left Harrison on hwy 7 and on to hwy 16 and hwy 23. These were all wonderful scenic 'motorcycle' roads thru the Boston Mountains. Made our way down to I-40 and hwy 64 and back home. What a wonderful 3-day trip. No rain....moderate temperatures....beautiful scenery.....great roads.
June 20- July 12, 2008 . . . 6265 mile vacation to California... Click here to see pictures of this trip. We left on our "trip of a lifetime", 3-week vacation on the bike
Day 1...128 miles....starting out, our intention was to satisfy 2 'targets' for the Grand Tour Oklahoma at Skeedee, OK and Stillwater, OK. Our neighbors video taped our departure ( don't suppose they were thinking we'd never return ? ) We dodged 2 goats that seemed to find their way onto the highway near Skeedee. Ended up in Stillwater and ate at our favorite BBQ place, Bad Brads.
Day 2...420 miles... our 'target' for the day was Boise, OK. We stopped by Enid on our way down Hwy 412 to have breakfast with Tony and his girlfriend Ryan and her dad Jerry. After having left Enid we stopped for a few minutes at the Glass Mountain State Park. Not much to see there other than the sign to watch out for rattlesnakes. We arrived in Boise with some extra daylight so decided to check out Black Mesa State Park a few miles away......not all that impressive...it was very hot and a LOT of cows....most on the road to be dodged.
Day 3...433 miles...This was mostly a 'travel day' to get some miles behind us. Left Boise City, OK at 7:30am north on Hwy 385. Into Colorado and then Nebraska. We were surprised by the severe drought in Colorado. We landed in Bridgeport, Neb for the night. Met an unusual character, Harley rider, at dinner.....so unusual....we snuck out of town very early the next morning. Met some very nice Harley riders next door in our motel. They were from Loveland, Co.
Day 4...234 miles... What a day !! we left Bridgeport around 7am, continuing north on hwy 385. Had breakfast in Alliance, Neb. The terrain is changing with lots of wheat fields, open pasture, and bluffs.....very pretty scenery. The mountains are now on the horizon. Having reached Hot Springs we turned onto WY 87 thru Wind Cave and Custer State Park. We saw lots of buffalo, antelope, deer, and even a wild turkey. Turned onto one of our 'targets' for the trip....the Needles Highway. Bad news....road construction.....oil and chip....we drove very slowly in the 'follow the leader' construction area UNTIL....it began HAILING. We didn't have time to do anything other than pull off the road a little. It was golfball-size hail. Kathleen jumped off the bike and yelled "I'm gonna hug a tree". But Jay, a road crew worker pulled up and invited us into the cab of his pickup. We sat there for 10-15 minutes watching the bike get pelted. Kathleen got 4 or 5 big bruises on ther shoulder, arms, and back from the hail.Luckily, the bike and trailer seemed to have survived with no damage. Otherwise, the Needles highway drive was very scenic and fun......tunnels..... "P" shaped turns ( first time I ever saw a road sign showing the curve a head in the shape of a "P"). We ended up at a KOA Kamping Kabin in Hill City, SD.
Day 5...180 miles...Road to Mt Rushmore. Enjoyed a couple of hours there....seeing the monument, hiking some trails. Cruised towards and thru Deadwood then we headed down the beautiful ride thru Spearfish Canyon along the Spearfish Creek. We found a carwash in Spearfish for the bike. The hail storm had deposited pine tree pollen in every crevice on the bike....it was 'nasty'.....I just couldn't take it any more. Made our way on to Devil's Tower National Monument. It is much more magnificent than you first think. The KOA that we stayed show the movie "Close Encounters" every night ( the movie that Devil's Tower starred in ) We learned this was the the FIRST National Monument in the US, dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt. Pres. Roosevelt is becoming a real hero to Kathleen and I. The past 2 years ( last years trip to DC ) we have learned so much that he did to preserve our country's natural beauty and animals.
Day 6...364 miles...We took Hwy 112 from Wyoming to Montana then caught Hwy 212 west to I-90. We were amazed and all the yellow clover in full bloom. In some places the rolling hills were totally covered with the clover and that is all you could see....as far as you could see. I really wish I had my bees there !!! We were lucky and caught the weather right without much crosswind that we were anticipating. As we approached the I-90 interstate in the Big Horn area of Wyoming we began to see LOTS of Indians on horseback :-/ We stopped at Crow Agency for gas and learned that they were gathering for a Custer's Last Stand reenactment in a couple of days. We arrived in Red Lodge, Mt and stayed at the Alpine Lodge. Lots of snow can be seen in the mountains where Red Lodge sits at the base of.
Day 7...206 miles...There was a big storm the night at Red Lodge. There was a big tent that blew thru the parking lot of our motel.....luckily it missed the bike. Since we could see rain clouds on the mountain pass ( Beartooth Pass--Beartooth Highway--another 'target' of our trip ) we decided to postpone the trip over the pass for a day since we'll still be in the area in Yellowstone. Maybe the view will be better with better weather. So, we detoured around the mountain/pass and took a wonderful ride....just by accident....the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway into Yellowstone. Beautiful scenery and lots of twisties. As we entered Yellowstone we saw Elk, lots of buffalo, and a bear......it was the color of a grizzly but may have been a black bear ( they are that color, too, sometimes ). We had reservations at a cabin in the Canyon area of Yellowstone.....very rustic and old...appeared to have been built in the 1950's by the furnishings, etc.
Day 8...238 miles...Headed back for the Beartooth Pass adventure. We actually went over a couple of passes ( Dunraven Pass, 8859 ft and Craig Pass, 8262 ft ) getting back to the Beartooth Highway. It was a wonderful ride. Beartooth was awesome...beautiful scenery....the higher we got the more snow. Towards the top there were 10 ft snow walls on either side of the road where the road had been cleared. The lakes at the summit were still frozen over but beginning to thaw. Snowmobile tracks could still be seen going over the frozen lakes. Got to the summit at 10,947ft then back tracked to the Top of the World store a short distance from the summit. Bought some t-shirts and patches to prove we'd done the Beartooth and headed back to Yellowstone. Cruised Yellowstone on the return trip we saw a moose and her baby and almost hit a buffalo that stepped out in front of us from behind a car. Got to our reservation at the Old Faithful Lodge Cabin. Cabin there was somewhat nicer than the Canyon area cabins.
Day 9...226 miles...We slept in a bit today then took a good long hike to the Morning Glory Pool in the geyser area. Packed the bike and trailer and head out the west side of Yellowstone. Saw a bald eagle in a tree along the way. We detoured down the Mesa Falls Scenic highway from a 'tip' from another biker pair we saw a couple of days earlier. It was a nice drive to the beautiful Mesa Falls. The falls are on the Henry Ford's Snake River. We continued on to and thru Idaho Falls to our destination target for the night at the KOA in Arco, Idaho. We DID get some ice cream in Idaho Falls before heading into the desert area......that was a mistake. It was a VERY hot and bumpy ride....road construction had us stopped in the heat.....both of us were getting nauseous ( must have been some bad ice cream ). Just let me say....Kathleen was never so happy to see a porta-potty at a construction site in all her life !!!!
Day 10...342 miles...We had breakfast at Pickles and met another Goldwing riding couple from Iowa heading in the opposite direction as us. They gave us some tips on a route to take to get us out of the record heat in the area. We drove by/thru the Craters of the Moon National Monument....lots of lava, very desolate. We headed north on Hwy 75 through Sun Valley. A very pretty drive along the Salmon River. We ended up on Hwy 21....a wonderful motorcycle road thru the Sawtooth National Forest and the Boise National Forest along the beautiful Payette River. Saw lots of Kayakers and float trippers enjoying the river and it's rapids.We arrived in Ontario, Or for the night.....they were having record heat at 104 degrees.
Day 11...353 miles...Headed towards Crater Lake by 8am. We were surprised by all the sage brush and desolate hills. Not at all what we were expecting from Oregon scenery. Finally got into some high country with lots of huge pine trees.....more what we expected. Saw a lot of stuff ( town, river, fossil areas ) named after some guy named John Day...???? A lot of twisties, fun ride. We ended up in Crescent, Or for the night at a very nice Woodsman Lodge. Kathleen was taking pictures of all the decor it was so unique. We are beginning to see alot of haze, probably from all the fires in California. We are hoping the fires do not alter our plans. We are looking at alternate routes home in case they do.
Day 12...235 miles...Left Woodsman Lodge around 8am and found "Best food on Highway 97" cafe in Chumalt, OR for breakfast.....really was pretty good. Traveled along Hwy 138 to Crater Lake National Park. It was an awesome ride, lots of forest and twisties. Crater lake is GORGEOUS. We watched a film at the visitors center telling of the 500 inches of snow removed from the roads each year. It takes 4 months each spring to clear the roads. We were there on July 1st and they were only 1/2 done so far ....the east rim road is still closed. We stayed 3 or 4 hours....as the day progressed the haze lifted and we got a much better view of the lake and beautiful reflections. If you visit the pictures we took....the volcano cone in the background sitting in the lake is actually 2 miles away. We headed on to Myrtle Point, Or for the night.
Day 13...253 miles...Headed towards the Pacific Ocean and found it at Bandon, Or. We stopped at the port and various view points along the coast. The fog was fairly heavy. We got 'frisked' for fruit as we crossed into California. We were allowed to keep the handful of Ranier Cherries that he found in our ice chest...once we had promised to eat them before the day was over. We found the Redwoods and hiked among them in the Simpson Reed Grove. The trees and ferns are just awesome....words can hardly describe them. We drove down the beautiful Drury Scenic Highway among the redwoods. We ended up staying the night at Crescent Beach Motel and had a WONDERFUL dinner at the restaurant next door.....fabulous menu and food. We walked the beach and found a bunch of sand dollars on the beach to bring home ( we worked hard the rest of the trip to keep them from stinking up the trailer )
Day 14...237 miles...before leaving the Crescent Beach Motel we took another walk along the beach and went to the pier for breakfast and watched boats coming and going while we ate. We drove back thru the Drury Scenic Highway and took the turn off to the Lady Bird Johnson Grove of redwoods. It was a 15% grade !! We then headed down Hwy 101 to Arcata where we caught Hwy 299 towards Redding, CA ( our target for the night ). Hwy 299 was closed earlier for the fires but was back open now. There were lots of twisties and a beautiful river, however, there were also lots of fire trucks, fire camps, and crews still working. The smoke was a little heavy at times. We arrived in Redding and chose poorly for our motel for the night....a little scary....and we were happy to get out of there with our lives by the next morning.
Day 15...277 miles...Got up early to get the heck out of dodge ( Redding ). Had breakfast at IHOP and headed down Hwy 44 towards Susanville. A very nice ride...lots of twisties. We continued down Hwy 395 to Reno, NV then on to Fallon,NV for the night. We stopped early so we could do a little laundry and enjoy the pool. Had a wonderful dinner at a Mexican restaurant called La Fiesta. Since it is the 4th of July we headed out east of town a bit and got to enjoy Fallon's firework display. We discovered that Fallon is the home of Fallon Naval Air Station, home of the Top Gun school for the Naval Air pilots. We actually drove next to their bombing range as we left Fallon.
Day 16...489 miles...We decided to get up early and hit Hwy 50, the Loneliest Highway in America, before it heated up. We left at 6:20am. We were pleasantly surprised...temps in the 60's and 70's most of the ride....no heat....no cars....no semis....just a wonderful ride. We arrived at our 'target', Ely, NV, very early and decided to continue on to Cedar City, UT. Headed down Hwy 21....and we paid for the earlier cool ride. It was HOT....winds gusting to 60+mph.....gust-nados.....we are in the Great Basin desert !! Kathleen is holding on for dear life....finally got rained on a bit and arrived at the Cedar City KOA. There were no cabins so we are doing plan C ( the tent ) for the first time.
Day 17...161 miles...Slept in a bit today then headed down I-15 towards Zion National Park. We enjoyed hiking and seeing Zion most of the day. The ride out thru the east entrance/exit is spectacular. So glad we left that direction. Headed back towards Cedar City but took Scenic Route 14....what a surprise !! What a great road !! beautiful Aspen groves growing right out of black lava flows. There is an overlook at 10,000 ft that overlooks the Zion National Park Canyon.
Day 18...250 miles...Headed back thru Scenic Route 14 towards the north rim of the Grand Canyon. We were amazed at how different the drive to the north rim is so different than the south rim. Mountain and forested area all the way to the rim. The overlooks were very feet-tingling and spectacular. Stayed at the very rustic Jacob Lake lodge.
Day 19...369 miles...Ate breakfast at Jacob Lake and headed towards Durango, Co. Drove thru miles and miles of cliffs and sage brush. Fairly heavy traffic today. We stopped at the Four Corners Monument...a Navajo trap !!! Ended up at the Durango KOA. We were very disappointed by the heavy traffic in Durango and all the commercialization and have decided to not stay the intended 2 nights there.
Day 20...253 miles...Left Durando and headed towards Pagosa Springs....a very nice town that we were impressed with. Continued on towards Chama, NM. As we headed up Cumbres Pass ( 10,022 ft ) we came across a narrow gauge train beginning it's voyage down the mountain....what a treat. Stopped for pictures and a brief rest. As we continued....we ran across another narrow gauge train loaded with people snaking it's way thru an area called Tranquil Meadows. We continued on thru LaManga Pass at 10,230 ft. We traveled thru San Luis and had a wonderful lunch at a sandwich stop there in town......on to Red River where we got a nice room in the Riverside Lodge.
Day 21...3 miles...Stayed in Red River. Red River is still the quaint, family oriented town we remembered. We stayed 2 nights and enjoyed a jeep trip up to Greenie Peak, enjoyed a nice dinner at Texas Red's Steakhouse, listened to a fantastic guitarist/singer at the community center, rode the ski lift to the top and had lunch at the Tip Restaurant. This was a very restful stop over before our 500 mile long hot trek on home.
Day 22...398 miles...Headed towards Cimarron, NM. It was a very cool morning and beautiful drive lots of hill, twisties, etc. Once we got east of Cimarron it started getting hot and WINDY. Saw lots of Pronghorn Antelope. The crosswinds in the Oklahoma Panhandle WORE US OUT !! We arrived in Woodward, OK and decided to recuperate at the NW Inn with a good swim and nights rest. We had previously noticed in Red River that the tire on the right side of the trailer had worn ALL tread off and was basically 'slick'. This was very troubling since the trailer and tires were brand new when we left on the trip. Also the left side tire was not worn....something is amiss with the trailer or tire. We purchased a spare to haul on home with us just in case.
Day 23...180 miles...Still a very windy ride on towards home. We decided to stop at Ron's Trikes ( an Escapade dealer ) on the way home to have him look at the trailer tire issue. Ron was very nice and said something was probably wrong with the tire/wheel's balance and replaced the wheel and tire. We arrived home a short time later....in 1 piece !! 6265 miles !!!
April 11-13, 2008 . . . 552 miles. We headed to Muskogee ( Phil is a true Okie from Muskogee...born there in 1952 ), Ok for the famous Azalea Festival at Honor Heights Park and parade. This was a motorcycle trip Kathleen and I took 25 years ago, BC. That we decided to repeat. The winds were a gale force and it was great practice for our upcoming 4000 mile trip to California and back.
Leaving Muskogee on Saturday afternoon we traveled north to Tahlequah( one of the destination stops for the Oklahoma Grand Tour contest ) and on to Pryor to spend the night with Phil's parents. Sunday morning we headed north to Vinta to catch highway 60 to travel across the northern edge of Oklahoma thru Nowata, Bartlesville, Pawhuska, and Ponca City. Again fighting crosswinds of 25-30mph. At Ponca City we stopped at the Standing Bear Museum ( another of the Oklahoma Grand Tour destinations ). We then headed south to Stillwater and enjoyed the wind to our back for a change.
It was a fun trip and a good 'tune-up' for our summer trip.
October 12-14, 2007 . . . .destination Talimena Scenic Drive and Mena, Arkansas, 531 miles round trip . . . .We traveled SE through Tecumseh, Seminole, and Holdenville to McAlester where we spent the night at the very nice Hydrangea Bed and Breakfast. After arriving and checking in at the Hydrangea we traveled to Krebs, OK to the famous Pete's Place for a wonderful dinner. If you haven't eaten at Pete's Place, you should put it on your "to do" list. Saturday morning after a wonderful breakfast at the Hydrangea we headed towards The Talimena National Scenic Byway in the Ouachita National Forest. Along the way we traveled thru Hartshorne. They were having a "Hard Times" celebration all along the downtown street. We stopped there briefly to see the activities. We resumed our voyage but oddly enough....we stopped at the Talimena State Park for a bathroom and leg-stretch break....where Kathleen ran into someone she knew from 20 years ago...in the small bathroom there in the park. We continued up the twisty scenic drive noticing that we were a little too early in the year to catch the autumn foliage colors but it was a beautiful ride regardless. About 3/4 thru the drive we arrived at the Queen Wihelmina State Park and Lodge in Arkansas and enjoyed lunch at the lodge and a 1-mile hike to work-off the lunch. We continued down the route and arrived in Mena, Arkansas where we had reservations at the Ozark Inn motel. It was quite funny...after a bit of searching we found the motel to discover there were NO cars there...it looked abandoned. A note on the office window said to look around for the office manager who was working somewhere in the motel. After a brief search we found a couple folks who were busy remodeling a room. I asked if they were open for business and received an affirmative nod. I mentioned that I had made reservations....tho' it looked like I probably did not need to do that :-) Turns out the room was fine ( just newly remodeled--- finished minutes before we moved in ). Sunday morning we headed home but took a different route. We were trying to beat some predicted thunderstorms home but we did manage to stop briefly at the Heavener Runestone State Park and Robber's Cave State Park. We arrived in Eufaula ready for some lunch and found a VERY nice quaint cafe, The Flower Shoppe and Caffe. They serve lunch, only, daily from 11am-2pm. It is a "must eat there" place if going thru Eufaula at an appropriate time. We arrived home after a nice 265 mile trip for the day, completing our 531 mile trip. We may do this again soon and try to time our trip to see the fall colors.
July 7, 2007 . . . .destination to see the grand-daughters and family in Stillwater, OK...145 miles round trip . . . . . We traveled over to Jones, Ok and caught Hog Back Road, a favorite road to utilize going north from home. It has very little traffic and some gentle curves that are fun on the cycle. It ends up in Luther where we caught old Hwy 66 for a few miles to Wellston. Just past Wellston we caught Hwy 177 thru Carney, Perkins and on to Stillwater. We enjoyed a nice visit and late lunch with our daughter and her husband, son and his girlfriend, as well as our 2 granddaughters, Natalie and Savannah. We departed Stillwater, heading east on hwy 51 to take a different route home, via hwy 108 thru Ripley, OK. We were surprised to find the hwy appeared to be under construction with "Caution: Motorcycle" signs everywhere....but they must have been through with the construction as the hwy was very nice and had just been re paved. We continued on thru Agra, Chandler, Meeker, Harrah and Choctaw. At Choctaw we stopped at one of our favorite places, Sonic, and enjoyed a slush to cool down a bit before heading on home.
July 4-5, 2007 . . . .destination Quartz Mountain State Park, 360 miles round trip . . . . . the morning of July 4th we began our trip towards Quartz Mtn State Park with our first stop to be at our friends, Ron and Mary Segal, in Clinton, OK. about 2 hours away.
Along the way we went thru Tuttle, OK. and were amazed that the streets were lined, 2 deep, with people for several blocks....WE WERE IN a PARADE...and didn't even know it. I guess they were actually waiting for the real parade to start but it was kind of cool driving thru the town with all the people standing there to wave at. We wished we had brought some candy or something to throw to all the kids and townspeople as we cruised their main street. We continued on thru Minco, Binger, and Corn towards Mary and Ron's house. We were very excited to go thru Corn as it was a little town that Kathleen and I had both bypassed for over 45 years....knowing where it was but never having actually been there. We had a wonderful visit and lunch with Ron and Mary before continuing our journey thru Cordell, Rocky, Sentinel, Lone Wolf, and Granite before arriving at Quartz Mountain. The lake was FULL....it was down over 30 feet just 3 short months ago. It is beautiful....the granite mountains were so green.....these were things that have been very rare to see at Quartz Mountain the past few years. We visited and dined with Kathleen's brother and sister-in-law that evening. The next morning we broke out the collapsible fishing poles we had stowed away in the saddle bag of the motorcycle and spent a short time failing to catch anything.
We loaded the cycle and headed back home...going thru Lone Wolf, Hobart, Gotebo, Mountain View, Carnegie, Fort Cobb, Albert, and back to Binger. We had a nice lunch at a quaint little Cafe in downtown Binger before heading on home. This was our first cycle adventure and it was most enjoyable with no difficulties. Even tho' there were chances of rain both days....we didn't even get sprinkled on until getting about 2 miles from home.
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