Ray&#039;s Motorcycle Experience

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Destination Colorado-Day 5-Durango

June 17, 2023

May 9, 2023

First major leg of this adventure is accomplished, we have arrived in Durango, Colorado. Drive from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Durango, Colorado was very pleasant easy trip, weather beautiful as every day on this trip has been. Some very picturesque views of the terrain in northern New Mexico, some really breath taking vast scenes never experienced. Snow on mountain tops, high elevations, etc. Top a hill, go around a curve, something new and awesome each time. Few photos below, but really they don’t do the real scenes justice, you gotta see it for yourself. Twas a very scenic drive today!

Stopped for lunch in Aztec, New Mexico, at the Aztec Family Restaurant, ate breakfast. Good food, friendly atmosphere.

After crossing into Colorado, the scenery continued, did not disappoint. We were snapping photos constantly, stopping sometimes on the side of the road to get a better shot. Living near the highest point in Florida (345ft above sea level), compared to these mountains with snow caps still on top in May is amazing and wonders of God’s creation. Sometimes wonder if the people that live near these areas truly appreciate the beauty and awesomeness of their surroundings.

Upon arriving in Durango, checked into hotel, was still early so we drove downtown to see whatever might interest us for the afternoon. Located the train station we would be leaving from on Thursday morning the 11th. Stopped by a park on the Animas River, saw this group of ladies and gentlemen training for rafting rescues. They worked for a white water rafting company somewhere in or near Durango. We have plans tomorrow, going to visit Mesa Verde National Park a few miles from here.

Ordered Domino’s Pizza delivered for dinner but added a salad to make us feel better about our eating habits. Should be a full day tomorrow, so calling it a night, needing rest, tomorrow and Thursday are already planned so see ya next post. 🙂

Hope you found this interesting. Hit the follow button to see what happens next. Not a “biker” by definition, just an old man that loves to ride motorcycles and experience new adventures.

Keep the shiny side UP!

Tags: #colorado, #durango, #raysmotoring
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Destination Colorado-Day 4-Santa Fe

June 14, 2023

May 8, 2023

Leaving Amarillo, it was a must to stop by the world famous Cadillac Ranch. The Cadillac Ranch is located on Historic Route 66 in Amarillo Texas. A classic attraction, ten Cadillac cars, half-buried nose down in the ground. They have appeared in some music videos and movies which of course made this place more famous. It was originally thought that other than an art idea, was to show the evolution of the Cadillac fins over the years.

The Cadillacs were buried in sequence from the oldest, 1949, to the newest, 1964. There are 10, each car representing the latest version of the famous Cadillac tail fin. (Texas Monthly)

Honestly its hard to see what these cars might have been in the original state, too much graffiti, everyone wants to paint there mark and its encouraged.

Cadillac Ranch is a public art installation and sculpture in Amarillo, Texas, US. It was created in 1974 by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels, who were a part of the art group Ant Farm. The installation consists of ten Cadillacs buried nose-first in the ground.( Wikipedia )

Nothing really exciting about the Cadillac Ranch other than to say “I’ve have been there!” So continuing our trip to Santa Fe, NM. Scenery on the way to Santa Fe was ok, not a lot of color in New Mexico on the route we chose but it was still a nice easy drive.

We arrived in Santa Fe pretty early in the day, earlier than we had expected since crossing into New Mexico we crossed into the Mountain Time Zone. Spent some time driving through the historic section and shopping areas. Didn’t see anything that peaked our interest enough to explore it further. We found the town of Santa Fe to be very clean, looked new in most places, but packed in tightly. Not the open spaces we are accustomed too. Each block seemed to be one shopping opportunity after another, each only inches apart and parking lots small in size. If its shopping you like, then this would be your dream, but bring your fat wallet. 🙂

Took a walk from the hotel to near by shopping area and found Panera, ordered to go. Did a little shopping, , went back to the room to eat our dinner and began planning our next day on the road.

Chances are not knowing the area we probably missed some interesting things but when you’re only there for one afternoon/evening you’re limited in opportunities.

Durango, Colorado is our 5th day destination where we will stay for 3 days before continuing to Idaho. We have some exciting things to do in and near Durango so stay tuned.

Hope you found this interesting. Hit the follow button to see what happens next. Not a “biker” by definition, just an old man that loves to ride motorcycles and experience new adventures.

Keep the shiny side UP!

Tags: #raysmotoring
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Destination Colorado-Day 3-Amarillo

June 10, 2023

May 7, 2023

Amarillo was our choice for the 3rd leg of this adventure. Was a longer distance than the first two days, we decided the few extra miles were not an issue. Left Paris about 8:00 AM, travel today was approximately 410 miles which should have taken approximately six hours but knowing our desire to stop and look, it took longer. No worries we’re not on a schedule, except to be in Durango, Colorado by Tuesday the 9th. of May.

Photos along the way.

Don’t know exactly how many Amazon cars there were on that train, was really a huge amount but betting they would have added more if necessary. 🙂

We saw so many wind turbines in Texas did some research to find out more about them. We literally saw hundreds of these turbines located in several different “wind farms”. If interested you should Google wind power in Texas. Below is only a small paragraph of many pages you will find. This excerpt was posted on Wikipedia.

“Wind power in Texas, a portion of total energy in Texas, consists of over 150 wind farms, which together have a total nameplate capacity of over 30,000 MW (as of 2020).^[1][2] If Texas were a country, it would rank fifth in the world:^[1] The installed wind capacity in Texas exceeds installed wind capacity in all countries but China, the United States, Germany and India. Texas produces the most wind power of any U.S. state.^[1][3] According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), wind power accounted for at least 15.7% of the electricity generated in Texas during 2017, as wind was 17.4% of electricity generated in ERCOT, which manages 90% of Texas’s power.^[4][5] ERCOT set a new wind output record of nearly 19.7 GW at 7:19 pm Central Standard Time on Monday, January 21, 2019.^[6]“

We stopped at this really colorful (from the road) shop with tons of garden ornaments in Quanah, Texas. All made of metal. Couple of items we really wanted but not at the price they were asking. Very colorful.

Stopped for gas and decided on Subway sandwiches for lunch, stopped at a roadside picnic area to eat, stretch our legs and relax. Drove on to Amarillo and found our hotel.

As usual when arriving at our destination it’s time to see if there are any attractions that might peak our interest. Harder than you might think unless its a place famously known. Doing our research for things around Amarillo we found near by was the second largest canyon in the United States. We also heard there was a downtown district all about the Old Route 66 nostalgia. If there was, we never found it and after reading all the online reviews, its probably a good thing we didn’t. 🙂

We did find Palo Duro Canyon State Park, it was well worth the afternoon. Pay the park ranger at the gate $8 per adult, drive in, take the 16 mile driving tour, stop at pull offs along the way, shop in the visitor center/gift shop or better yet get your souvenirs at the Old Trading Post, you can eat there also. The Trading Post had a much better collection of the type things we were looking for. The drive will take you right to it near the bottom of the canyon. Not sure it really is 16 miles unless they count the return trip. One road down and the same road back to the top, but the interesting thing is you see different scenes on the way up that you didn’t see driving down. Never been to the Grand Canyon (not yet anyway) but if its more majestic that this its worth the trip. It was awesome and these photos do not do it justice.

Getting tired after this adventure so back into the city to find some food. Found Rudy’s BBQ, (which I LOVE) not visited since moving from San Antonio in 2010. Really loved the Rudy’s in Leon Springs, Texas, just north of San Antonio, the original Rudy’s BBQ! Rudy’s BBQ in Amarillo did not disappoint, great food, good service, got to chat with the general manager, Oscar Cavazos for a few minutes, really nice guy. He was kind enough to fill us in on some of the things happening currently with the chain. He reminded me there was a Rudy’s BBQ in Panama City which of course we’ll need to visit after we get home. Highly recommend.

After some tasty food, back to the hotel, really tired and ready for sleep. Not yet, we still needed to determine our next destination.

Day 3 drive summary-Paris to Amarillo, Texas

As fate would have it, next destination will be Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Hope you found this interesting. Hit the follow button to see what happens next. Not a “biker” by definition, just an old man that loves to ride motorcycles and experience new adventures.

Keep the shiny side UP!

Tags: #rudysbbq
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Destination Colorado-Day 2-Paris

June 7, 2023

May 6, 2023

Paris was our second stop on this journey, Paris, Texas that is, guessing you already knew that. Distance from Vicksburg was approximately 325 miles, including stops the trip lasted about four and one half hours. Tomorrow we plan a few more miles than today since today’s venture was so easy.

Paris, Texas had some interesting things to see. We visited the Eifel Tower of course which happened to be next door to the Red River Valley Veterans Memorial. Spent a lot of time there and found it to be very informative, interesting, and a place to humble oneself, appreciate and honor all that gave everything.

We always enjoy the scenery on these daily ventures, take a few photos, stop if we see something interesting or unusual. Would be boring to post everything we take a picture of so below are a few shots taken from the car while running down the highway at break neck speeds. 🙂

Photos below of the Eifel Tower, Paris, Texas style!

Next door was the Veterans Memorial which was very humbling. Anytime we visit a veterans memorial no matter the location, it brings everything down to reality of the sacrifice, courage, and horror that soldiers endure to protect our freedom respect our country and way of life. To me its always sad and normally, not ashamed to say that my eyes well up with moisture. Though its sad these memorials are a reminder of the sacrifice given and are a part of our history that should always be remembered.

Clicking and enlarging the photos below will show you some statistics you might not have known. Some very astonishing and sad facts yet those that we must never forget.

After some time at the Veteran’s Memorial, found this old railroad station restored to its original self. We were the only visitors that afternoon so the nice lady in charge was kind enough to tell us all she knew about the history. Very informative. Drove to downtown area saw lots of old homes. Paris is a lot bigger city than we originally thought.

Found this great place to eat, Braum’s. From farm to your table type of place specializing in hamburgers and ice cream. You can grocery shop while there. Meats, produce, bakery, bread, fresh milk, ice cream, dairy products and more all fresh from the family farms delivered daily. So glad we found this place, it was pretty awesome. We will be looking for a Braum’s the remainder of this trip.

From some research found that they operate over 300 stores throughout Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Missouri, and Arkansas. All stores are located within a 300 mile radius of their processing plant located in Tuttle, Oklahoma. Their trucks deliver seven days a week fresh product to each store every day. Should you happen to be near one of their stores, highly recommend you visit. Braums.com

After these excursions it was about time to call it a day, go back to the hotel and plan our next destination. Day 2 is in the books, looking forward to day 3.

Turns out we decided Amarillo, Tx would fit nicely in our plans. See y’all in Amarillo, bye for now.

Hope you found this interesting. Hit the follow button to see what happens next. Not a “biker” by definition, just an old man that loves to ride motorcycles and experience new adventures.

Keep the shiny side UP!

Tags: #paristexas
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Destination Colorado-Day 1- Vicksburg

June 3, 2023

We’ve been planning this trip to Colorado then Idaho for quite some time. We didn’t want to fly because traveling the roadways we do everything at our pace, stop when we like, see the country up close and personal. The only schedule this trip has are the Durango to Silverton train tickets we had to purchase in advance. Had to pre-book those and a hotel in Durango for our stay in Colorado. Other than that we have no schedule, each night we plan the next stop and book a hotel there. This is a relaxed trip, each day we drive, stop, plan the next day, rinse and repeat. 🙂

Should we happen to see something of interest along the highway you can bet we’ll stop and look it over. Have a feeling this is going to be a fun trip and will cross a few “bucket list” items from my list. 🙂

We started packing the car a couple of days before we departed on May 5, 2023. Left home about 8 a.m. with our destination to be Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Actually when we left home our destination was Jackson, Mississippi but the day went so well and my co-pilot doing research found Vicksburg to be very interesting with history, etc. Our goal each day is to pick a destination approximately 300 miles from our current location and find the most interesting places to visit near our stop. Turns out Vicksburg was 335 miles from home, easy trip with a combination of back roads, very little traffic and a stretch of interstate for maybe the last 100 miles. Fun part of this is we don’t know what our next destination will be until we finish the day and have a chance to sit in the hotel room and decide.

Staying at the same hotel in Vicksburg was a group of motorcycle riders. Found out this group had been meeting in Vicksburg every year for the last 23 years. Mostly trikes, lot of Goldwings, maybe a couple of two wheel riders. Some photos of their rides below. They were nice people to talk with, wish we had more time but gotta keep moving along. 🙂

We did explore the Vicksburg National Military Park which took quite a while to see. Pretty sure we only saw a small portion of what it had to offer. Was a 16 mile tour about the battle of Vicksburg, vital to both the Confederate and Federal forces during the Civil War. Red metal markers pertained to the Confederate lines or emplacements, blue markers for the Union forces. If you’re a history buff and would like to learn more about the Civil War this would be an exciting place to visit. This was an actual battlefield, you can see and feel how difficult this battle was for both both sides.

Found the Shirley House to have an interesting story. Was the only house that did not get burned by the Union soldiers in their siege of the battlefield. Reportedly the man that was about to light it up was shot and killed. The Union soldiers named it the “White House” as it was the only wartime structure left in the park. During the siege it served as headquarters for the Forty-Fifth Illinois Infantry. They built hundreds of bombproof shelters around it to protect themselves against Confederate artillery.

Vicksburg is interesting enough to earn another visit with more time to spend. Below some photos of the Vicksburg National Military Park. Not only the Park held our interest, Vicksburg downtown historic area was pretty awesome too.

Couldn’t resist, a few photos of downtown historic Vicksburg. Wish we had more time to see it all but too much for just an afternoon visit. We took hundreds of photos so its hard to choose which are best to post here.

More to come soon, this is only day one of many. Tomorrow we’ve decided to travel to Paris! See ya there.

Hope you found this interesting. Hit the follow button to see what happens next. Not a “biker” by definition, just an old man that loves to ride motorcycles and experience new adventures.

Keep the shiny side UP!

Tags: #vicksburg
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Camping Karick Lake

June 1, 2023

We searched for a few months but finally found the camper that fit our needs and budget in early April. Drove about 150 miles to purchase and bring it home. It’s perfect for us and we hope to enjoy it for years to come. Of course we needed to test it and get accustomed to setting up, backing into small spots and generally how to camp and use it. I’ve camped there several times in the past but never with the rig we have now.

We chose to camp at Karick Lake’s north campground which is located near our home, within the Karick Lake Recreation Area, in the Blackwater River State Forest. This campground is located on the north side of Karick Lake a 65 acre lake that has campsites with electricity, water, and electrical hookups. There is a southside version of the campsite just across the lake. Has dump station, restrooms, showers, boat ramp, and pier. It provides fishing, boating, canoeing, picnicking, hiking, bird watching, and wildlife for your pleasure. Does not allow you to use gas powered motors on your boat in the lake.

We camped there for about five days, my brother and sister-in-law were camped next site to us (they are expert campers), we enjoyed the peace and quiet of the area. Did some fishing, a little hiking, played some games, ate very well and just had an awesome time. Learned a little more about camping with a travel trailer like this, made notes of things we needed to add to our inventory and things we didn’t need next time out.

As usual we have a few photos below:

We have a very long tripped planned in May to explore more of the north west United States. This trip will not be taking the motorcycle or camper. Plans are to visit portions of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and South Dakota. Deciding our route and places to stay is taking some time, but I’m sure we will figure it out soon, so stay tuned. 🙂

Keep the shiny side UP!

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North Georgia

May 29, 2023

Well January was peaceful and quiet, got in a few motorcycle rides, made plans for some upcoming trips later this spring. Patty had this urge to visit the North Georgia mountains and see one of her forever friends who lives in Jasper, Georgia. So we decided to go in early February. Lydia and John were delightful people and we certainly enjoyed our brief time with them. They live on the side of a mountain, view that is unbelievable. Road up to their home is rather narrow, steep and winding if you’re not accustomed to climbing mountains in an automobile.

Pretty sure those that live there have no issues with the path to their homes but this flat lander sure finds it exhilarating and a tad scary if you’re not the one driving. 🙂 Quite beautiful however!

While there we visited the famous Bigun’s BBQ in Talking Rock, Georgia. Great BBQ, be sure to try the ribs should you happen to be in the area, Highway 515. Purchased some of their BBQ sauce to bring home.

Another special place to visit was Amicalola Falls State Park near Dawsonville, Georgia, very close to the North Georgia Mountains.

A nature lover’s wonderland, it’s only 8 miles from the Appalachian Trail in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The park is named after its most treasured feature, Amicalola Falls, a 729 foot waterfall that’s the third highest waterfall east of the Mississippi River.

Some of our personal photos from the visit to Amicalola Falls Park.

Another stop on this tour of North Georgia was the Panorama Orchards Farm Market store. A family fruit farm established in the 1920’s to produce and market apples. They have more than 20 varieties of apples, as well as peaches, and fall vegetables. A variety of apple related products and baked goods are sold direct to the public here. Sorry, we didn’t have any photos to post on this stop, was raining and we just forgot. You should be able to find it easily, located in East Ellijay, Georgia.

We had many other stops and tons of beautiful scenery as we drove from one location to another in this beautiful mountainous area in North Georgia. Loved it…

On our way home I was able to meet Patty’s daughter and son in law who lived in Mariettta, Ga. Was an absolute pleasure to meet Arin and Chris. Very nice and entertaining couple, really enjoyed our visit with them. We had dinner, found a Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop in Sandy Springs, Ga. Of course could not pass up the opportunity to sample a couple of their delicious pies. Took one complete pie home with me. 🙂

Next day we headed home to plan our next adventure. Did some motorcycle riding while home on days the weather allowed. Started our quest to find a travel trailer or some other accommodating vessel to assist in our travel comfort. The six by twelve motorcycle trailer is not the most comfortable cabin to sleep in though it has sufficed a few times. 🙂

Keep the shiny side UP!

Tags: #georgia, #mountains
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Christmas Defuniak Springs

May 23, 2023

An annual event held on the shores around the beautiful round lake in Defuniak Springs, Florida. An event locals especially like to see and visit each and every year. A beautiful display of lights to enjoy and heighten your Christmas spirit. Visitors from around the world have seen this small town display of lights called Christmas Reflections. See quote below from the city of Defuniak Springs own website.

It’s THE event of the year! Bring the entire family any night of the week or come and stay the weekend in the beautiful, historic DeFuniak Springs, Florida! Come see more than 10 million lights reflect off a perfectly round spring-fed lake glowing in holiday splendor! Enjoy a holiday family tradition that is a delight to all ages as we light up Chipley Park with the annual Christmas Reflection displays. A variety of Victorian, animal, and toy soldier cutouts, Santa’s workshop, and the grandfather clock ticking away are among the thousands of decorations that adorn these historic grounds. This event is orchestrated and hosted by the City of DeFuniak Springs. See below for free holiday special events, markets, and the Festival of Trees which complement this season’s light show.

Display is normally opened every year the day after Thanksgiving and continues through New Years day.

Some of our personal photos from this visit are below.

That was our last adventure of the year rounding out 2022 at home with family and friends relaxing, enjoying the peace of Christmas then ringing in the New Year with a bang.

Hope you found this interesting. Hit the follow button to see what happens next. Not a “biker” by definition, just an old man that loves to ride motorcycles and experience new adventures.

Keep the shiny side UP!