Though we enjoyed our trip very much, had lots of fun, saw some things we had only read about in books, magazines. or seen in movies, we were glad to be back home if only to get some rest and reflect on our adventures.
We had planted a garden back in March and it was time to harvest this thing upon our arrival home. Our next few days were focused on doing just that. Here are a few of our results. Lots of other things were planted but were either eaten by the local deer or just didn’t do well. We did get some corn and fresh green peas that we were able to freeze but the big crop was potato’s and zucchini.
Sunflowers we planted around the garden, Patty is 5’4″ 🙂
Some of our potato harvest.
Me as a farmer, not a watermelon but rather a zucchini, and we had lots of them.
As we drifted into June we did a baby’s reveal for my Grandson here on the property. It’s a boy! Did some visiting with relatives, some back road riding on the Victory then planning our next camping trip. In July we decided to set up a couple of camping trips back to back, first one is Fort Mountain in Georgia. Though it was July was very nice and cool especially at night up on the mountain. Did a little hiking, went down the mountain a few times to eat, sight see, and do some shopping.
Campsite-Ft Mountain, GA
Some hiking at Ft. Mountain
We had some extra time while there so went to tour “Brasstown Bald” the highest point in Georgia. Fantastic views with lots of history in the making, recommend a visit if your in the area.
Notice temperature, was in month of July.
After about a week at Fort Mountain, we proceeded to our next campsite, David Crockett State Park in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. Great clean campsite, was a little crowded because unknown to us there was a huge quartet festival in Lawrenceburg which drew a lot of campers to town. It seems that Lawrenceburg, TN is the birthplace of southern gospel music so each year in July they celebrate with this festival. The official name is the James D. Vaughan Quartet Festival should you like to look that up and attend?
That pretty much gets us through the end of July. When we were actually home there was always the occasional motorcycle ride usually in late afternoon on the local back roads of NW Florida. 🙂
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Today (5/24/23) is the first leg of our return home. Departed Deadwood, South Dakota around 7:00 AM (mountain time zone) and arrived in Counsil Bluffs, Iowa around 5:00 PM (central time zone) which means time on the road including stops and sight seeing was about 9 hours. Distance was 554 miles. Tomorrow’s plans are to travel to Little Rock, Arkansas which is approximately 607 miles.
One of our rest stops was a South Dakota Welcome/Information station. Had to do an unexpected short tour and take a few more photos. Below is a small sampling of our personal photos for this leg of the trip home.
Changed our plans, did not go all the way to Little Rock, Arkansas, no hotels there appealed to my co-pilot, not questioning her judgement, she seems to pick them very well.
Today 05/25/23 was our second leg of the trip home. We departed Council Bluffs, Iowa approximately 8:30 AM and arrived in Conway, Arkansas around 5:00 PM. By the way Conway, Arkansas seen on the map by Conway Twitty and Twitty, Texas is how he picked his stage name. Thought you might not know that. LOL
In The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, Fred Bronson states that the singer was looking at a road map when he spotted Conway, Arkansas, and Twitty, Texas, and chose the name Conway Twitty.
Route was down the western side of Iowa on I-29, continuing on I-29 in Missouri to Kansas City, then I-49 the remainder of Missouri to Alma, Arkansas. Then it was Eastern bound on I-40 to Conway, Arkansas. Our distance was 567 miles for the day. Speed limit in Iowa was 75 MPH while Missouri slowed us down a bit with a limit of 70 MPH. Upon entering Arkansas it changed back to 75 MPH. Speed limit of 80 MPH was last seen in South Dakota but Arkansas on the interstates remind me of my days in Texas where the speed limit signs are merely a suggestion. 🙂 🙂
Not a lot to say about the travel through Missouri, more flat land in that area compared to our previous travel days. Noticeable was the mile markers every two tenths of a mile but guessing they have a valid reason for placing them so often? Questionable is the fact that we saw not ONE rest area or Welcome center through the entire state of Missouri on either interstate highway we traveled? Maybe we missed them? 🙂
Arkansas scenery along the highway was fantastic, mountainous and very green! My first time in Arkansas and much more than I had imagined in beauty. A few of our photos below from todays journey below:
Stay tuned for tomorrows travel as we expect this to be the last leg to HOME!
May 26th, 2023:
Our last leg of this trip, homeward bound today, looking forward to getting home. It’s really been a fantastic trip, one we will never forget but getting home is nice too after such a long road trip. No matter how long, would do it again in a heart beat.
Today’s travel started around 8:30 AM with us arriving home approximately 7:00 PM. Total of 582 miles and home sweet home.
In summary this was a 22 day trip started May 5th, 2023, ended May 26th, 2023 with a total of 5,026 miles averaged 26.5mpg. We both loved it and would do it again!
Though this trip has ended we have had other adventures since and will post a few of those as time permits.
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Lot’s has happened since I last posted here but feeling so guilty about not finishing this TRIP, so here’s my attempt to get this done.
We left the beautiful cabin and our friends on the 21st of May 2023 around 7:30 am, drove 592 miles to The Lodge at Deadwood in South Dakota. Great scenery on the way such a beautiful drive. Really great place to stay, we plan a few days here plus it has a Casino. It’s convenient to the places we wish to visit while here.
Our agenda today (May 22, 2023) was to visit Sturgis and Deadwood, both near by. Sturgis was first on the list even though it’s not rally time, not many motorcycles but we did visit a lot of shops, got our t-shirts etc. and did a tour of the Motorcycle Museum. Another check off of the bucket list. Took lot’s of photos and then we’re off to Deadwood.
Deadwood was certainly not what we expected, maybe we never found the old town version. What we did see was lot’s of hotels and casino’s. We checked out a couple of the casino’s, played some, got tired and went back to our own hotel and casino, The Lodge @ Deadwood.
Next day 23rd. of May we were on our way to Mount Rushmore. On the way found this quaint little restaurant, Sugar Shack and ate a huge breakfast there. Had always wanted to visit Mount Rushmore, can now check that off the bucket list. Spent a good amount of time there, very interesting how it was built and the background behind it.
On our way back to the hotel we ran across this very interesting place Dahl’s Chainsaw Art in Keystone, SD which later we found had multiple locations. The art work was fantastic and hard to believe this could be done with nothing but a chain saw.
Then back to our hotel after a long beautiful day. Was raining by the time we got back to the hotel. Made decision to head home starting tomorrow, booked a room at the Harrah’s in Counsil Bluffs, Iowa for tomorrow night. Only $85 for the night, not bad. 🙂
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From Durango, Colorado to West Jordan, Utah very near Provo was one of the most scenic highways so far this trip. Today’s travel was approximately 387 miles but we of course made it a tad longer by taking some detours and stops. Saw some fantastic scenes along the way and found a really unique nostalgic little place to eat.
Sheralds Drive In Frosty Freeze in Price, Utah was like a step back in time. Car hops would come to your car or you could eat at their outdoor tables. Typical menu of old, hamburgers, fries, shakes, onion rings, hot dogs, soft serve ice cream, etc. and all at very reasonable prices. Tables, umbrellas, even the napkin holders were Coca Cola branded originals. Personally ordered a double cheese burger ($4.89), was delicious and huge. Burger & fries was more than I should have eaten, big meal. 🙂 Patty ordered a small burger (it wasn’t small) and onion rings which she said was the best she had since she couldn’t remember and was not able to finish it all. So if ever in Price, Utah, check it out, you won’t be disappointed.
Below are some of the scenes we found interesting along the way. Photos still don’t catch the feel of these places but our way to remember, share, and enjoy. Especially impressed with the Wilson Arch site near Moab, Utah. The elevation of Wilson Arch is about 6,150 feet. This large Sandstone arch, was named after pioneer Joe Wilson, is accessed by an easy scramble up red dirt. If you don’t desire too or have the energy to walk up, the view from the pull off is pretty awesome. See photo below, one with the motorcycles in front. 🙂
Wilson Arch
At the Wilson Arch is where we caught up with the motorcycle riders. Not sure what country they were from, think they were speaking Italian, not sure, but if you know me, motorcycles catch my attention. Approximately 35 bikes in that group. If you’ve been following my blog you know I’m not a big fan of group riding but in that part of the country thinking it would be tons of fun! Had to get a video as they were leaving. See below:
Found our hotel, a nice Hampton Inn in West Jordan, checked in, took a long walk around the property to stretch our legs after the long drive. Tomorrow is the last leg of our trip to Patty’s friends home in Rexburg, Idaho, where we will then spend several days. Looking forward to not being on the road for a few days.
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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.
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Immediately after our camping excursion in late September of last year Patty and I headed to Evansville, Indiana. It was a class reunion for her. For me it was a new adventure, a place I’d never been before.
Met some of her family, friends, and classmates, plus we enjoyed visiting the museum and other interesting places. Since she grew up there, it was like having my own private tour guide. Especially enjoyed the “West Side Nut Club Fall Festival” in Evansville so much might want to do that again this year.
We were in Evansville maybe four or five days with never a dull moment even though Black Betty was not part of this adventure. After leaving Indiana we traveled down to Tennessee for a visit with my long time best friend, Bud! Did an adventure there experiencing a long standing tradition of Flea Market/garage sales for miles and miles along an area near where he lives, was an absolute blast!
When Patty and I travel we take the scenic route when possible. Freeways are boring, backroads may take longer but are so much more fun. Whether we’re on the motorcycle or not backroads we’ve never traveled are new adventures and memories made.
After our stop in Tennessee, next stop on this trip was Double Springs, Alabama where my brother and sister in law have a house on Smith Lake. Both these stops were new for Patty as she had not been to either place. We spent a few days there, did some tourist things and had a great time.
Pictures say more than words sometime so below is a photo dump, first grouping is in Indiana! Funny thing is sometime you are having so much fun you forget to take photos.
After leaving Indiana headed to my friends house in Tennessee we traveled the Natchez Trace as much as possible, again the scenic route is always best for us. Some scenes on the way below.
Next photos were taken while visiting my brother and sister in law in north Alabama.
All of the above pretty much happened within the first two weeks of October, 2022. Near the end of October we did take another trip over to Gulfport, Mississippi for pure entertainment time at Island View Hotel and Casino. 🙂 During these out of town adventures, when home we did do as much riding as possible, weather was really very nice here for that time of year.
Starting in November we were doing a lot of planning for other trips and also preparing for my family tradition of Thanksgiving at my home. Won’t bore you with the tons of photos taken mostly of family eating, catching up chatter, playing games and just a really satisfying time with about thirty family members. In the busy month of November we did manage to get “Black Betty” another mode of transportation in case we needed to trailer her someplace.
That’s a wrap on our activities through the end of November… December will need to be written about in the next post.
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Seems like forever since my last post and that’s a fact! The last half of 2022 was one to remember, much happened that changed my life for the better and made me a much happier person. Some of that change included a lot of riding Black Betty and some traveling adventures with my sweetheart Patty! We did several trips to places I would probably have never gone and we intend to do more this year.
To explain and talk about these adventures in one blog post would be a very long story and many photos. Rather than do that in one post my intention is to break these up into several posts over the next few weeks. Not all of these adventures included “Black Betty” but this coming year you will see more of her. 😎
One of our first adventures was another camping trip to Blackwater River State Park in late September, my favorite place to camp and enjoy the outdoors. Of course we loaded up Black Betty for this trip because it’s an awesome place to ride with great scenery and no traffic!
Following are a few photos taken at the park and some videos riding through the park in the Blackwater Forest area. If you listen closely, in some videos you can hear me chatting with Patty, our helmets have blue tooth sets so we can talk while riding. 🙂
Stay tuned for our next post coming in a few days. We visited Evansville, IN, had never been there before so it was quite interesting for me.
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A Lot has happened since my last post, so let me try to bring everyone up to speed on the latest. As most of you know been searching for a bigger motorcycle, something that would be more in tune with a touring style bike, longer trip capability etc… Been searching for months trying to find the right bike at a price to not break the bank. Hard to find these days as the price of everything has skyrocketed including pre-owned motorcycles.
While talking to some of the Harley Davidson dealers it seems Harley has cut back on production due to scarcity of parts, etc. They have issues getting as many new bikes as they need, therefore used bikes are in high demand so guess what, prices go up! Was talking to one such dealer, Harley Davidson of Panama City Beach here in Florida. Great bunch of guys by the way. 🙂 Made several visits to see their inventory and finally found the nugget that would fit my needs and pocket book. NO, turns out it’s not a Harley Davidson though that was what I had been looking at. They had some really beautiful ones but the price point was more than I wished to spend.
This nugget turned out to be a surprise even to me, Black Betty… a 2014 Victory Cross Roads 8-Ball with a 106 ci engine and a six speed transmission. Hesitated on this several times because as some might know, Victory Motorcycles are no longer manufactured. Production was halted in 2017. Most say it was because Polaris, the manufacturer wanted to focus only on the Indian brand and not compete with themselves. Victory is an American made motorcycle, probably more American than any other brand including Harley. My fear however was that no parts would be available should there be a need. Research tells me that the manufacturer will continue to produce parts for Victory until the year 2027, so there’s that bit of hope.
Little side note, the Suzuki is up for sale. Hate to see it go, has been such a pleasure to ride and enjoy while my leg was getting stronger.
Anyway, fell in love, made the deal, picked up the Victory around the 1st. of July, with only 8,559 miles on the odometer. That’s an average of about one thousand miles per year. Had the bike for a little less than two months, already added another thousand miles to her odometer. Likely would have been more but we have had some serious rain here in the panhandle of Florida. Seems it has rained every day since she came home with me. Also since my last post added a passenger on my motorcycle rides, but we not going to discuss that yet! 🙂
Let me post some photos of this beauty so you’ll understand why I fell in love! What’s the better name, Black Betty or Black Beauty? Or should we just call her VIC or VICKIE?
Right Side View
Since we’ve had so much rain lately my riding partner and I have gotten wet several times. We start by looking at the radar but it seems no matter the weather forecast we attract the rain. By the way we also hooked up blue tooth capability on our new helmets to enable conversation while we ride. Having so much fun riding when we can that until last week had not done any riding video’s on Black Betty. So here we go, finally taped some and posted them on YouTube, a few examples below. These first two are just drive by shorts. 🙂
As you will see in this next video, we are about to get wet once again. Watch until the end to view my riding partner hastily putting on her rain jacket, look in the right rear view mirror. LOL
Next video is fairly common for us lately, yes we do get soaked… but on this day not as much as some previous days. 🙂
And as normal we do pass through the rain showers and start to dry out. Here we were approaching the east side of Defuniak Springs, FL.
Ok so if you’ve viewed the videos and photos, tell me what you would name her? Keep in mind she’s a blacked out 8-ball with minimum amount of chrome.
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My brother and I have a tradition of at least once a year camping at Blackwater River State Park. Love that place and our most favored thing about these camping trips is the eleven mile kayak trek down Blackwater River.
We have missed the last two years due to circumstances, one of which was due to my not being able to walk very well. See previous posts if you’re not familiar why that was? Actually the last time we camped here, it was just too cold to get in the river.
This camp time included some friends of ours, Pam and Richard Anderson. They love camping almost as much as my brother and sister-in-law, camp with them on many occasions. Pam and Richard brought some new toys with them to test. Electric powered bicycles! Of course this conjured up many conversations about the future and electric powered vehicles of all types.
They were actually testing their bicycles for a future planned camping excursion out west where a lot of bicycle riding would be beneficial.
First let me post a few of the photos taken with my phone around the campsite, floating down the river on kayaks, etc.
Monday was devoted to the Kayak trip and of course eating. They sure knew how to eat while camping. In fact, not sure why I brought any food as we never used any of it. Will say this trip down the river was much better than our last one since we wised up about the fact that no matter how smart you think you are, SUNBURN is very much a reality. Sunscreen this time, worked great and no pain afterwards.
Most of my motorcycle rides, ones video taped were all done on Tuesday while out trying to find our friends on the electric bicycles. They left ahead of me and plan was for me to catch up, follow and even do video of them riding. I said plan…. gave them about 10 minutes head start, took off and about a mile down the road realized that my phone wasn’t with me. Was wearing blue tooth helmet and wanted to listen to music and monitor phone calls while out searching for them so had to return for it…. see video below.
After retrieving the phone, next video is me listening to music (no, you can’t hear it on video) while beginning my search for the elusive electric bicycles.
This next video is to let you know that even I can sometimes miss a gear, especially on this sensitive shifter they put on the Suzuki. Still out searching the back roads for those bicycles. Just a mile or so from the park there is a four way stop, my decision was, which way to go first, only three options. 🙂
After running a few miles down two of the options, tried to find them on my phone tracker, no signal, so tried southern route toward the camp road entrance off highway 90 just to be sure they didn’t go that way. Next video is a stop on the river bridge which is really on the way out of the park area back to civilization.
Next video is going back into the campground to ensure that they had not returned while I was out searching. No they had not returned but was able to finally find their location on the tracker.
After locating them on the tracker, headed in that direction and finally found them…. next is a short video. Most times my videos are three minutes long (setting on that cheap camera) but battery was getting low so cut this one a little short.
This next video is after finding them and turning around we stopped for a chat about the bicycles. Was curious how they felt about them and questions of how long before recharging, what distance and or speed can be maintained, etc. In this video, you cannot hear much of what they are saying only me since the mic was on my helmet only. Another short video, quick chat in the middle of the road and on our way.
Long story short, they decided that about 35-40 miles would be the distance on one charge. Charging takes approximately six hours. They averaged a speed of 13-15 mph that day just taking it easy pedaling with the battery assisting. Bicycles set at highest mode could probably reach 35-40 mph if needed. Should they run out of battery power they can be manually pedaled like a normal bicycle.
There was a lot more video taken that day but most of those roads you have seen in the past and felt no need to repeat those scenes. Rode each day while there but not with camera mounted helmet.
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Seems I’m terrible at coming up with new content and certainly didn’t want to post the same thing over and over again. This however does not mean I haven’t been riding. Still looking for a more touring style bike in order to expand our distances and add new places to visit further from home.
Pretty sure I’ve explored all the back roads within a one hundred mile radius but don’t quote me on that because sometimes while riding you find a new path unknown at the time. Most of my riding lately has been without a camera rolling, just out riding the back roads looking for new places and enjoying the wind.
Below I’ll post some videos of rides I’ve taken while a video was rolling just so you know I’m still active and riding whenever the opportunity rises up and pulls me into it. 🙂
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.
Please leave comments, suggestions and hit the like button. Feel free to share this on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other desired location. Subscribe to my YouTube channel, link below. Thank you so much for your time.
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Ray's Motorcycle Experience 