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