YOU'LL SHOOT YER EYE OUT!!

Okay, we enjoyed a day of NOT being on the bike today.  After 3 straight days, it was nice to get a break. 
BLUF - we are in Bella Vista, Ark -right next to Rogers, Ark - home of Walmart (and boy has Walmart put a lot of money into the area). We took a small driving tour with my dad and his wife - around Rogers, Bentonville, and Bella Vista.  Apparently, this area is really growing - and it is not the "small little retirement community" that I remember from a few years back. I was told that Benton county is one of the wealthiest counties in the country....
Went to Daisy Airgun Museum where they had all kinds of interesting Daisy items. There was a small gift shop in the back...

Went to Crystal Bridges - a museum with all kinds of fancy paintings - the whole place was purchased/built and outfitted by Walmart....They also have a gift shop and a cafeteria....that make EXCELLENT mocha lattes....

The view from the gallery at the museum

In a forest of real trees - they built a metal one....

Lots of paintings to look at....

Now for the rest of the story.....
Okay, after we got up and had a light breakfast - we had a driving tour of beautiful downtown Rogers, Arkansas. We saw many interesting sites - but our first stop was the "Daisy Airgun Museum" where we saw the history of many of the fancy guns that Daisy has made over the years....

Outside of the Museum

One of our all time favorite movies (and I think it is one of almost every one I know's favorite movie) is the Christmas Story, where Ralphie tells the story of the Red Ryder bb gun he wants for Christmas. Well, the Museum sure makes note of that....

Well, you can see this was made for kids....but that didn't stop me from getting my face in there....

And there was a small display of several of the promotions from the movie

There were also some interesting bb guns that they have made over the years....including the one that I wanted......

What is NOT to love about a disintegrator pistol???

And of course, they had a lot of current model bb guns for sale...

Enough firepower to start a revolution in some third world countries....

The guided tour (by audio) would take almost an hour. We kind of just walked through in about 15 minutes....and the tour did cost two dollars - BUT (and they didn't say this at the beginning) is that you get a "coin" for taking the tour....so that was cool.

Gotta love it....

Another thing we got to see was "THE ORIGINAL Walmart Store" - which is funny - as all of the Walmart related stuff here - and this building doesn't have any (exterior) markings to note that this was Sam's first store....

It is now a plumbing and an antique store - but this is where it all began....

We "topped" the day off with a trip to the Crystal Bridges Gallery. Now I am not much of an "art lover" (the first thing I asked is if they had an "original" Elvis Velour - or the "dogs playing poker"....apparently they don't find that funny in certain parts of Arkansas...). But believe it or not - in little Rogers/Bentonville Arkansas - this is some type of world class art gallery. The building itself is an architectural marvel (the architecture is something I could "get into"...)

Notice that there are cables supporting the structure?

They say the building is beautiful at night as well - with all of the lights and reflections from the water

And I can't say looking at paintings is "my thing" - but some of these (especially the backwoods scenery and the woodsman-type stuff - was really cool. A few even looked like photographs. 

Jeanette took this photo of a family portrait

Jeanette loved this one - she said "the eyes follow you around the room..."  I found it creepy.

So, when all is said and done, there were a few statues and things around the gallery that I really liked.  Below is one of them...

Okay, okay....it wasn't from the Gallery - but it sure would have been funny if it was....especially if it was right next to the "dogs playing poker" picture....

Anyrate, one of the cool things is that Walmart Execs covered all of the operating expenses for the next year or so (approx $20M) so that the gallery would not have to charge for admission. This is good for a lot of the people visiting (and many of the locals) can come and enjoy the art.


We finished out the day with dinner at a place called Monte Ne's - we had been here one time before - and it is THE BEST fried chicken I have ever had....but that is all they serve.  Fried chicken, cole slaw, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes with gravy, fresh baked bread with apple butter.  Period.  You walk in, they count the number of people and bring it to you family style...

2 Roses between two thorns....or is it two thorns between two roses?  Only you can decide for sure...

So tomorrow we will be back on the road again.  A quick trip over to Oklahoma - but we will be stopping in Miami,  Oklahoma (pronounced My - amma) - and visiting Route 66 - and are hoping to have a burger at Ku Ku's Burger joint.  Apparently, this used to be a chain of drive-thru's and now - this is the only one left. There are a few other historic sites that we are hoping to catch there as well - but don't want to "spoil it" for you.
 Hope you are enjoying the adventure!


Wade and Jeanette


GN Tiff GTB <3

Daddy, why are those two bananas riding a motorcycle?

Another day done - another 233 miles - that is 810 total so far for those of you who are counting....
BLUF....Rained good this morning - delayed us about an hour.

Yes, yellow is my color....it apparently matches my bald pale head.....

Had a side trip to the World's Largest Fork

So where's the worlds largest spork??

Visited the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic home in Mansfield Missouri (but not for long)

Almost got "google-mapped" - which is my new verb for following google map directions and winding up on an unpaved gravel road.....(screaming wife optional....)

And now for the rest of the story....
Okay....we woke up in Salem, Missouri (according to Jeanette, this is where they burned the witches in Missouri).....but there was thunder and lightning. After checking the Weather Channel, we found out it was going to blow over by 10 or 11 am. After checking other cities, we decided to head out about 8 am local time - and gear up in our rain suits. We had been on Hwy 37 all day yesterday - so we continued down this hwy until Licking, Mo - and then we turned off onto hwy 63 - and took that into Cabool, Missouri.  We hit a little rain - nothing terrible, but the suits worked perfectly and we wore them until we made a gas stop later that day
We merged onto Hwy 60, a four-lane super smooth highway, that we just put the cruise control on and enjoyed the scenery. Not a lot of traffic and the weather was gorgeous - and we took Hwy 60 into Mansfield, Missouri - where a sign on the hwy proudly proclaimed "LAURA INGALLS WILDER Historic Museum. So we went about 10 miles into town and found the parking lot.

One of several signs in front of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and Home....notice no picknicking, no pets, no smoking.  They forgot one more thing.....no cheapskates!

We took photos of the outside and headed up to the museum...we stopped cold when we saw the admission price....$8!!! WHAT?!?! $16 for both of us? We paid less than that to go see the AVENGERS! Are you kidding me? So we promptly departed the place.

Wade - doing "the walk of shame" when he realizes that he can't visit the LIW Museum....

So we got back on Hwy 60 and took that into Springfield, Missouri....home of.....(ta da!) the World's Largest Fork! It was worth every penny we paid for it (free....my favorite price!).

Jeanette standing next to the world's largest fork....notice the "salad" at the bottom...

Me....looking for the world's largest piece of chocolate cake....and world's largest glass of milk....after all, why else would you make the world's largest fork?

After we saw the fork, we went and had lunch at a Barbecue place. Jeanette had the brunswick stew and cornbread. I had the brisket sandwich and fries. Both of us didn't even make a dent in all of the food....

It's not a pretty sight - but it is part of the food chain.

So the weather got back to a nice warm mid 80's - so we took off the leather jackets and just rode from Springfield, MO until we connected up to Hwy 37 - which pretty much goes straight south into Arkansas... It was starting to get warm - as we were close to getting to our destination....so we pulled over for a quick "butt break."

Found some shade to park and rest for about 10 minutes...

Okay...the last thing for today..... Jeanette is a wonderful partner to ride with - she really is.... and she has been fine with me "memorizing" the routes each day. For the most part, it has worked out well. So today, we were going into Bella Vista, Arkansas. This is a (mostly retired) community - and the roads are pretty confusing (don't know why....but you wonder if they are trying to prevent some of the seniors from driving - as once they leave their house, they may never get back).


So anyrate, I found this nice, easy way to get to our destination - by following Google Maps.....just take this one road off of Hwy 94 - go until it dead ends, take the second right - and follow that until you get to the main road that will eventually get us there.... piece of cake, right?


So what REALLY happens is - I turn off of Hwy 94 and we stop dead..... the road is unpaved, gravelly (and really red dirt)....I have NO CLUE on how to get to our destination - other than the way I laid out. I had been "google-mapped."

Notice Jeanette taking the photo in the rear view mirror...along with the dirt in the road...

So we decide to just go down the road - and hope that it turns into paved road quickly. There was a sign that said "horse ranch 3/4 miles ahead" - so maybe this unpaved part is just 3/4 of a mile... So we are "slip-sliding" down the gravel road - I am trying to stay on the compacted parts - but there was quite a bit of loose gravel. 
So the trick is to try and go fast enough that the front wheel won't get stuck in some loose gravel - but also slow enough that the bike is not sliding around (as I mentioned, with Jeanette, myself and luggage, the bike is probably around 1500 lbs....it is heavy - so balance is one of the most important things...)
Well, after 3/4 of a mile - the road continues unpaved. I come to a dead end.... the connector road is unpaved and has a lot of loose gravel - so now, I have to make a 90 degree turn- on a very narrow road.... so it takes me about 2 minutes of slow clutch releasing (and extreme balancing) - so as I am making the turn, I ask Jeanette while I was turning left - "is there anyone coming from our right?" Her reply was something about a little kid playing dueling banjos - but I didn't quite catch it all....needless to say, there was no traffic....so we made the turn.

Jeanette took a photo behind us - just in case in the future someone was trying to find the bodies....

So we slip slide down that road and come to the main road we are supposed to take - and it is unpaved. Another two minutes of clutch slipping and balancing.... Jeanette was wondering aloud where the nearest hospital was - and do I know if the ambulances were four-wheel drives?....
We finally make that turn - and after about a total of 4 miles, we hit a small patch of paved road....which eventually turned into a slightly larger road.  Bottom line is we got here.

So, we finally have a "free day" tomorrow. No driving on the bike - but we are hoping to go see the new Walmart Museum (apparently it is the "hot ticket" here in Bella Vista, Arkansas) as well as a few other things in the next couple of days.


Wade and Jeanette


Now GN Tiff - GTB <3

Beyond here.....there be dragons!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES!!!
Yesterday - record high temps - 95 deg - wind at about 20-30 mph all day long.  Long, boring flat roads -
Today - cool temps - high of 84, zero wind.  CURVY roads...
Bottom line - Monday night - was ready to pack it in.... Tuesday night - in it for the long haul.
Visited the steel Kaskaskia Dragon

Visited the Madonna of the Trail in Vandalia, Illinois

Visited the Spinach Can Museum

Took photos of Wimpy Statue, Olive Oyl, Swee' Pea and Jeep statue - as well as Popeye.

It's Tuesday - and you aren't paying me - so give me back that burger!

Jeep (small guy standing next to Olive) was my favorite.  There is discussion that Alice the Goon will get the next statue in town...

Crossed the Mississippi - 

Visited the "Liberty Bell of the West" in Kaskaskia, Illinois

Took curvy road through the Mark Twain National Forest
Put on another 255 miles. 


Now for the rest of the story....
Well, I didn't specifically address it - but yesterday was LONG and excruciating - with the heat and the wind - the wind was blowing the bike constantly - so it was hard to relax.  We both got sunburned and were beat by the time we got to the hotel.....
Last night, the rain came in and washed a lot of the heat away. 

It was supposed to rain today - but we only saw a few drops early in the morning. It was overcast until about 11am - then the sun broke out and it was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS.  There was no wind - it got up to about 84 degrees - but I digress.....
First thing this am - we got checked out early (the hotel has a breakfast - I focused on protein - eggs and sausage - Jeanette got cereal - but we were on the road by 7am local time. We went to the Kaskaskian Dragon - and found out that you had to buy tokens at the liquor store across the street....(there is a joke in there somewhere - about a drunk, fire breathing dragons and tokens...I will work on that and get back to you....). 

Sir Wade - the Dragonslayer....at least he would be if he had a dollar token.

What is all of this talk about "tail of the dragon?"  It doesn't look so tough to me..

Boy you got that right.....

But the liquor store didn't open until later - so we just went and took some photos of the dragon....It was still kind of impressive - but I am sorry we didn't get pix of it breathing fire.  It was still scary as you can see from the photo....

I fought the dragon.....and the dragon won...

We then headed to downtown Vandalia and took some photos of the Madonna of the Trail - apparently, these statues were setup across the National Hwy in the late 20s.  The statues are about 18 feet tall and pay homage to the women who went with their looney-bin husbands to "blaze new frontiers".....after driving across the paved roads for two days - I can't imagine how it was to march across - or take all of your belongings in a covered wagon - and fight famine, heat, lack of water, etc. etc. 

With the Madonna of the Trail Statue....these were some brave, tough women.

These women deserve more than a statue.  Sheesh.

We went about 100 miles on Hwy 51 in Illinois - mostly flat roads - but most of the times it was four lanes - so it was easy driving.  We took off on Hwy 150 and went to Chester, Illinois.  Chester is where the "bridge" that crosses the Mississippi is located.  

The Chester Bridge.....what a deal.

So we did have to deal with quite a few trucks - that apparently didn't want to go through St. Louis.  The bridge was built in the 30's for about $1.5M....which nowadays can't even buy the paint for the bridge ....
But Chester is also home to the creator of the Popeye cartoons - E C Segar - and the town is very proud of him - so they put up statues of the Popeye characters all across the town.....

The Sea Hag.....er...the statue of the Sea Hag...

The Vulture....and the statue of the Vulture

So Jeanette and I took turns posing in front of some of the various statues....

So what do Jeanette and Olive Oyl have in common? 

You can see that Jeanette has always had a thing for the old short bald guy who mumbles a lot.  (that may explain a thing or two about why she married me....).
One interesting thing is that originally, the "comic" that EC was drawing was the "thimble theater" and it focused mainly on the Oyls - Nana and Cole (get it Coal oil), Castor and Olive.  Olive's boyfriend was Ham Gravy....so in 1929, Popeye was introduced as a "throwaway" character - and quickly became a hit.  Popeye and Olive Oyl were based on real people that lived in Chester at the time (Popeye is based on Rocky Fiegel....Olive is based on Dora Paskel)....but it was fun looking at the various statues and driving through the neat little town.  We also stopped at the Spinach Can Museum - there is a park right next to the museum (that's where Wimpy's statue is) - but you can see some interesting memorabilia as well as buy Popeye related items.
Just before leaving Chester, we also took a few minutes and paid homage to the Mighty Mississsippi.  I am going by memory here, but I remember reading that Sippey - was Indian for River - and Missey was Indian for muddy....so Missi Sippi - means muddy river.  And even if that is not true....it ought to be. What a brown river it is...
So we crossed the Chester Bridge into Missouri and after about ten miles - went back into Illinois.....you see there is a small sliver of land that technically belongs to Illinois - but it is west of the Mississippi - it is the historic sight of Kaskaskia, Illinois. Which is home to the Liberty Bell of the West.  

It is also where the Immaculate Conception church was built in 1675. 

I didn't catch all of the history, but what was interesting to me - was George Rogers Clark had a hand in liberating this land from the British....that is the same George Rogers Clark that has a park named in honor of him about ten minutes from our house in Springfield....This guy apparently got around quite a bit...(and again - without the benefit of paved roads or motorcycles)....but it was a fun side trip that took about a half hour....we also saw quite a few turtles crossing the road... (and a couple who didn't - yeech.)....
We headed onto Hwy 61 and went into the cool little town of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. It was lunch time - so we spotted this little "local place" off to the side called "Missy's Lil Kettle Tavern". We had an excellent lunch - Jeanette had the grilled chicken sandwich and I had the Jr. Kettleburger....both were superb!

Now that is what I call LUNCH!

Then - FINALLY, we got onto highway 37.  The first part was nice long, curving roads - where the bike could keep up the speed and then the road got narrower and curvier as we entered the Mark Twain National Forest....it was a gorgeous drive with some nice 35-40 mph turns (no real switchbacks or anything) - but it was a perfect drive for someone who had never ridden those roads before. I could feel Jeanette "leaning" into the curves in the back seat....she was getting into it pretty good. As I said before, she is a great passenger - she "actively" rides (and no - I don't mean she back-seat drives) - but she helps me with stop signs - by calling clear, by checking merging traffic, looking for road signs, etc.  I really do prefer to ride with her on the back than ride solo.  Plus, we both love to chat about things we see on the road.  To me, the intercom is the most important piece of equipment on the bike....
We also had a few "anxious" moments - we came across a truck that went off the side of the road - and the cab was overturned and smashed up pretty good (no - we did not take pix) - and a few miles down the road - we had a truck driver apparently not paying attention and he was driving full on in our lane.  I hit the brakes and was looking for a place to ditch the bike - when he pulled back into his own lane....btw - if he had hit us - it would have been curtains - whether we were in a car or on a motorcycle...
 So we arrived into Salem, Missouri around 5pm. We went and hit the swimming pool first thing (I hit the spa) and cooled down. It was an excellent drive today. Tonight, we are going to walk over and have Subway sandwiches and just relax....
One more thing - not as many bikers on the road today - vs Memorial Day....but I must say...yesterday, I saw WAY TOO MANY people riding motorcycles wearing sandals, t-shirts, shorts, no gloves and no helmet. I have one thing to say to those people.  YOU ARE IDIOTS!  And it wasn't single riders - it was couples as well. On top of that - most of those guys were the ones speeding. You are always at risk in any type of road trip you make - but why tempt fate???


Anyrate, it was a great day today.  I hope you are enjoying sharing our adventure!


Wade (& Jeanette "Sea Hag")


Now, GN Tiff, GTB LY <3

FROM THE BACKSEAT............

What a first day we had! It seemed very, very long and very, very, VERY hot. We were absolutely worn out when we arrived at the motel. Done in – cooked, and sunburnt. Poor Wade was sore, tired, and sleepy. We walked to the Walmart next to our hotel and bought a sandwich for dinner which we ate in the room. He fell asleep by 8 pm and I wasn’t far behind him. Someday, maybe, we’ll say it was fun… maybe…. but if we have many more days like the first one – we’ll be calling it quits. We drove in 95 degrees and hotter most of the day and it was humid and super windy – rain was building up but not on us. My feet ached - and I don't know why - most of the time I was sitting....

So this morning we woke up and the sky was overcast and dark to the east. The rain had come during the night and was leaving as we were packing up and driving out.

We began our drive and just wondered what the day was going to bring.

On the back seat I was praying (I do that a lot) and asking God for a word from him right then. I didn’t have access to a Bible so I couldn’t hunt and search, but I was reminded of one of my old, old favorites:

“Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness!”  Lamentations 3:22-23 (HCSB)

Oh most definitely!! Here we were riding down the highway and feeling the coolness of a fresh rain that had fallen just minutes before we were there. The towns we drove through were just waking up and traffic was light. No school in session – so no school buses. The fields we drove by smelled sweet – fresh sweet grasses and hays. The sun was shielded behind those clouds that were leaving the area and left rays of sunlight shining down. What a perfectly wonderful morning. A new morning!

Sometimes life is like that too. For a day, we’re beaten down, worn out, burned up, close to giving up and calling it quits. And sometimes it may seem that someone’s day can last more than the normal 24 hours, but then God will show his mercy to us, his wonderful grace and mercy. It's our 'new day' and we are renewed, built up, empowered with new strength. Every day he bestows this on us. What a relief to shed the old day, shake off the weariness, aches, hurts and soak in the new day with new mercy, new freshness and new energy.