As advertised, we set out early and rode about 460 miles over 11 hours from Ft Worth, TX to Tucumcari, NM, a long, sometimes boring/sometimes exciting day. Ft Worth was once an important stop on the Chisholm Trail, and thought of as the Gateway to the West. It can be hard to imagine covered wagons traversing ground now covered by 8 lanes of concrete, and arterials the size if a NJ city, but you can if you try. We’ve covered about 2,300 miles so far.  
After double checking the weather, we left Bill and Jane Hadley’s home and headed north toward Wichita Falls and I-40 for points west. We stopped for fuel and some food in a old, small town called Henrietta, home of Stewart’s Sweet Shop located across from CityHall. Ms. Brenda Estridge, a patron, showed us pictures from when it was originally a boot manufactory, making custom cowboy boots for the discriminating Texan. When the boot makers moved to different digs, the shop became a café and bakery. Cookies and other pastries are in prominent view and promise gustatory delight. Mr. Pete Langford, (photo attached) is a distinguished looking transplant from Nokoma, about 20 miles to the south. He made our acquaintance and kindly bade us welcome, asking after our welfare and where we were from. Once again, we arrived as strangers and were graciously made welcome by Mr. Langford, Ms. Estridge and her sister, and the staff. They could have chosen to treat us as customers only but did not; we found kindness and grace. In addition they have our thanks for a delicious and filling meal. 

For most of the rest of the day, we pushed on through the Texas panhandle, headed to Amarillo and beyond to Tucumcari. The weather continued to be on our minds with threats of thunderstorms and hail beset us behind and before. With a warning from another biker in Claude, TX, we knew hail was imminent. We raced north to Amarillo to find shelter.  We made it in time to shelter in relative comfort under an overhang at the Comfort Inn in Amarillo (thanks!) as pea sized hail pelted the area. Connie, the weather maven, gets full marks for getting us to shelter in time.

The rest of the way to the New Mexico border was kind of boring, frankly.  It was so vast and flat.  There were some big feed lots for cattle going to market and we held our noses and felt sorry for the animals. A lot of wind turbines, which is surprising for a state known for oil. That was about it until we hit the NM border where the land immediately became undulating with little mesas and lots of scrub. It is beautiful! A little foretaste of what is to come.

Today we head to Gallup, NM with Grand Canyon Village the day after. But first, we’re going to visit the refurbished train station here in Tucumcari. Very exciting! Really.
 

An editorial correction. The two firefighters we met in Knoxville were not named Don and Vaughn. They were and remain Tommy and Kenny as they will surely tell you. I apologize for them both. (I have no idea how my brain heard mixed up their names. Comments are not welcome.).

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Sorry for the delay, but we have just spent a delightful couple of full days with cousin Bill and Jane just outside Ft. Worth. They have been gracious hosts in every way. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful folks to put us up (put up with us?).
Cousin Rick and Janey joined us today for a fabulous supper of Texas ribs, brisket and sausage. It’s food to write home about.

The ride in from the east on I-30 was eye opening. It’s true, everything is big – really big, in Texas. We passed through 8 lane interchanges covering an area roughly the size of Hoboken, some with ramps crossing 80 feet above us. Amazing. A lot of pickups, all white or black. Turn signals are definitely seldom used options, too. Makes riding a careful enterprise.

Tomorrow we set out very early toward Tucumcari, NM, about 440 miles away. This will be one of our longest travel days, getting us closer to the Grand Canyon. This will test our endurance some, especially our posteriors. There may be some whining along the way. Connie has promised to be understanding. We’re looking forward seeing the renovated train station in Tucumcari, which is important for the silly reason that it is a destination city in the game, Rail Baron. Can’t resist.

Well, off to finish packing and to bed. More soon. Be well!

We had great weather and a nice ride into Texas.  We stayed up late enjoying our visit with my second cousins, Bill and Jane.  Hence, no post.  More to follow from the traveling story teller (Hank) later today.   Meanwhile, have a great day!  – Connie

Writing from Hot Springs, Arkansas at the end of a fun day. We rode about 225 miles from Cabot, AR mostly by back roads, our favorite kind of route. (If you look at our Spot map, you’ll see a rather convoluted track that avoided Little Rock, but not the National Park Hot Springs Nat’l Park and it’s neat roads.) After 5 days of mostly interstates, it was a welcome day.Early on, we stopped to check our location (and restore feeling to our butts) in front of a repair garage under construction. A man came toward us to find if we needed help. His name is Ron Davis and he took time from rebuilding this shop for his son’s business in Mayflower. Turns out this area was wiped clean by a killer tornado a few years back and the property (pad and land; no building) became available. He impressed us as a kind, hard-working man who enjoyed meeting us as much as we enjoyed his company. Ron, like so many folks we’ve met, was friendly and happy to be of help. He suggested a fun route and shared generously of his knowledge of the area. He also said nice things about our planned trip, which we found endearing.

A couple of hours later, we stopped to rest in a country church parking lot. The church was in Walnut Grove, AR, and, like so many, had a cemetery along side. We walked among the plots for a few minutes and noticed the entire cemetery was beautifully maintained, with nice, even expensive, monuments and flowers marking each grave. A few families were richly represented. We noticed markers for Bates, Fischer, Murders (you read that right) and Battleberry. There were others, of course. But it is clear that generations, from at least the late 1800’s, have visited and beautifully tended these family plots. We noted two brothers from the Bates family, who fought on opposing sides of the Civil War, but were killed in battle but returned home to be buried side-by-side. We found that moving. From what we saw of the area, folks don’t have a lot of money, but where, and who they are, matters to them. Memories matter. And they follow through generation after generation.

We arrived in Hot Springs and are staying in a little family owned Alpine Inn. Turns out the owners are Scottish (Glasgow) and very welcoming. Hot Springs was once famous for having geothermal spas that attracted some impressive people. FDR came here several times to recuperate and refresh during his presidency (though he also died here in early 1945 before his 4th term was completed). Al Capone and other gangsters of that era spent time here for R & R, though they held a perpetual truce while in town. This is also the birthplace of President Bill Clinton.  

Tomorrow it’s on to Ft. Worth to visit family. Looking forward to arriving. More later.

We left Dickson, TN this morning in clear but chilly weather (about 45 degrees) headed to Cabot, AR, a little over 300 miles to the west. The day stayed beautiful and warmed into the 80’s by mid-afternoon. Had to tuck away our fleeces and loosen our coats to take advantage of the moving air.
Western Tennessee is much flatter than the eastern part of the state. A lot of sprawling farms and the earth is so green. Just beautiful. Passing by Memphis, we crossed the big, muddy Mississippi into Arkansas which has gotten so much rain lately. Heavily agricultural, we saw mile after mile of farm fields under water, especially near the White River. Some homes and other buildings were also flooded. It’s amazing how resilient and tough farmers are to work their land no matter how nature behaves. I realize I take for granted what it takes to get food to the shelves of Wegman’s.

Cabot is about 25 miles north of Little Rock, and seems to depend mostly on agriculture and some local small colleges for its business. Folks are friendly enough and seem mostly working class. They do not walk anywhere, which kind of makes sense because there are no sidewalks. And little enough shoulder to the roads. We discovered this on our stroll to the local Kroger’s to buy fixings for our supper and sandwiches for tomorrow. (We also wound up with a Kroger’s member card. Not sure how that happened.) Passing drivers looked at us as though we were aliens landed from the moon. (We’re only from Jersey!) Nevertheless, our shopping was successfully completed. We just finished our supper and are contentedly sipping an adult beverage.

Tomorrow, we’re headed to Hot Springs, where a lot of famous people (and many who aren’t) have vacationed for the thermal baths. More tomorrow.

A sporting good store in Memphis, really.

Left Knoxville this morning and ran into cold, wet and very windy weather. We watched the temperature dip from 54F when we started out to 47F at noon.  Brrrr.  We had to slow way down to be safe so did not make Jackson, TN as we’d hoped. Spending a warm-up evening in Dickson, TN, a suburb to the west of Nashville. We only covered about 225 miles, so we have some make up tomorrow to keep on schedule. Our goal is to arrive in Ft. Worth, TX on Monday, with a little exploration around Hot Springs, AR and the nearby Ouachita National Forest along the way. The weather promises to be a bit warmer and less windy, so we are hopeful. 
We ran across a couple of bikers this morning in Knoxville. Vaughn and Don are fire fighters from Newport News, VA out on a vacation. While we were telling tales and saying nice things about our respective rides, Connie and I noticed an extra rider, a moose no less, strapped on each of their bikes. Come to find out the moose is named Tommy and he’s the mascot of the Newport News Fire Department. And Tommy goes wherever his firefighters go. We got a lot of pleasure from it. And we wish the Don and Vaughn a safe ride home.

That’s all for now. Have a good night.

We are spending the day in Knoxville waiting out a strong storm front. For today’s blog, we thought we share some of the more mundane practicalities of traveling on a motorcycle for a long trip.

We’re often ask what and how we pack for a long trip. The short answers are: not much and very thoughtfully. On the bike, we have two side cases over the back wheel; one top case that sits behind the passenger; a “tank” bag that sits on the gas tank; and a waterproof bag we have strapped to the top.

We, mostly Connie, have had to reorder our thinking about what is essential. So through trial and error over the past 10 years, we’ve done well at getting the list rather short. It may look like a long list, but it’s really not much. (See the pic)

The clothes list has become shorter every year … and this year in particular when we purchased clothes people wear hiking and backpacking. This means the clothing weighs little and packs small. It also means that it’s not made to be put in the dryer, as is evidenced by our room decor. 😀
We also have to think about weight in the individual cases. We pack our clothes and rugged sandals in the side cases with all the miscellaneous in the top case. Water bottles and tools are in the tank bag. Light weight fleeces and hiking poles are in the waterproof bag.

Another practical matter: if you’d like to see a multi day view on our live tracking map, you can change the display. Visit the site. In the upper left hand corner, click “2017 X-Country”. From the drop down menu, chose “adjustments.” Choose as many days as you’d like to see and the click “update map.
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Long day on the road. We covered 355 miles in about 7 hours to Knoxville, Tennessee. Had something of a late start after trying to find a solution to securing an extra bag to the top of our rear storage compartment. Ended up tying it off using a “Rube Goldberg” concoction of straps. It worked – the bag stayed with us. But getting it off for the night was a chore and a half. The cool look we try to convey was spoiled some by the sweating, grunting and flurry of naughty words. (A violation of procedures on all three counts.) Clearly this will be a work in progress. Otherwise the bike (Trixy) performed flawlessly. 
Did I mention it was a long day? We stopped several times for fuel, refreshment, and (surprise) conversation with a number of friendly and inquisitive folks. The people we met in western Virginia and Tennessee are so polite and solicitous. Willing to ooh and ahh at our story and share of their own travels. Getting a coffee involves a whole host of pleasantries and salutations from the moment you place your order till the barista places the welcome cup in your hand. I note that, being from Jersey, it’s a challenge to maintain focus on the niceties when caffeine is at stake. Clearly I require cultural reprogramming, or decompression or something to adjust to the more relaxed social mores.

We’re staying in Knoxville an extra day due to coming inclement weather. So Friday is our next travel day, probably heading to Arkansas. For the moment, we are gorging on tasty victuals picked up from the Kroger’s nearby. 

Signing off for now. The chips are calling.

Had a terrific day riding Skyline Drive, from Front Royal, VA in the north, to Rockfish Gap, 109 miles to the south. The speed limit is 35 or less the entire length. So, with stops to ogle the scenery and chew the fat with fellow travelers, it took us all day. This is not a complaint! Just a wonderful way to spend a relaxed day, just the Queen and I. And some nice folks out for a drive. One couple, Craig and Carrie hail from Canberra, Australia and are enjoying their visit to the East Coast. Had a lot of fun comparing notes about the pleasures of travel. We also met Richard and his wife (Really embarrassed not to have learned her name!) from Connecticut who are retired and cruising through the area just because. We both are driving BMW’s and started a mutual admiration society around our rides.

Sitting in our room waiting for supper to cook. Bought fixings at the Kroger’s for dinner, breakfast and lunch tomorrow. Helps economize a bit, and keeps me from creeping into warehouse status. Did eat out last night and this morning at a cute, small town diner called … wait for it … the Knotty Pine. Good food at a very reasonable price. Drafts for about 3 bucks. If you’re in Front Royal, stop in for a bite. 

Well, dinner’s ready. And the Rangers are on in a few. Gotta go. Till tomorrow … 

There isn’t much left to do now.  We are both very excited and a bit nervous.  Connie’s mom, Pat, is housesitting for us.  So she’s moved in.  It’s funny, her car was packed to the gills for her stay here; meanwhile for the same length of time … we have three small bags packed as lightly as possible.

We depart tomorrow morning around 9 am!