April 16th was like most any other Spring day in paradise… except that was also the day we shoved off for IZ. We did have a couple of stops along the way to make, and our arrival in Taos was still in doubt. Among the stops would be one where I would meet with my surgeon and receive the news… ongoing cancer treatments or… hit the road in earnest! I was a bit anxious…
We scooted up through the panhandle of Florida and over into Southeastern Louisiana… to the lair of Troutdude and Water Bug. I needed a front tire replacement and a rear-end service for the hoped-for epic trek out west, including a week in Taos with other Valkaholics. Dennis was as accommodating as always!
While he was providing the usual tender-loving-care to our girl, he had music on out in his shop for our listening enjoyment… C&W to be precise, because he knew that was my preference, and he did like it too… Among the many great tunes we heard was one entitled, “It Takes A Lot Of Liquor To Like Her”, and it instantly became a favorite of mine! Man, did those words resonate with this weary veteran of life-long interpersonal encounters with those of the feminine persuasion!!! I think I’ll forego any further discussion of that…
Dennis also replaced the rear brake pads, but somehow I’d caught him at an unusual moment in time when he had no front pads on hand! Since a visit to Lucky13’s den was also on the agenda and with his permission, I had two sets drop-shipped to his place for replacement whenever I showed up there… so I wouldn’t have to wait around for them to arrive at Dennis’ place.
ALI was soon enough ready for the eagerly anticipated trek… Not all spruced up, however, as she continues to need a bath in a shameful way! I’m debating now whether she will get one this year or not… Got to be mighty careful not to spoil them, ya know… Plus, I wouldn’t want to scare her into thinking I might be considering trading her or anything…
With Mandeville, LA, behind us we made our way over to Lake Charles, LA, for a visit with another Valker, Hard6. Jerry (uncle Jerry or JP Sonnier) is a long-time Valk enthusiast and at one time was a top wrench on our special brand of scooter. He’s had some serious health issues hit him rather hard, so it was just time for me to go have a word with him and to extend the well wishes from all of us.
We departed bayou country and headed north towards central Tennessee… and my fateful meeting regarding my own prospects. I stayed with Jerry (Big Wolf), and he accompanied me to the meeting… The news was all good… not perfect, but much better than I’d feared! I left Rickman, TN, determined to follow my doctors advise and go enjoy the rest of my life!
I stopped briefly for a visit with Gordon and for installation of those front brake pads… Naturally nothing simple comes from a simple stop nowadays… Gordon also replaced the clutch lever bushing and checked my fluids… he even performed an oil & filter change for us. OK, so now we were ready for that mega trek!
While visiting with Gordon, I mentioned that he really should go with us out west. He very politely informed me that he also has priorities other than riding… and now was a great time for one of those others!
find the nearest bp gas station
barclays bank locations near me I also met with SmokinJoe, and naturally I extended an invitation to him, as well… Alas, he too has other priorities… We will see him in Taos, though...
Big Wolf had a couple of unfinished projects he needed to wrap-up, so that left our girl and her partner with a week or two to kill… We decided to just meander around the southeast and avoid rain… which we did successfully…
Little River Canyon and waterfall in northeastern Alabama… In high rain years, like this one, the flow is a torrent… In drought years it is little more than a garden hose trickle over the rocks. No dams on this river, so the flow is strictly regulated by the amount of recent precip.
After linking up in Calvert City, KY (just outside Paducah), Big Wolf, our girls, and I headed north into Illinois, and made a stop for breakfast.
lloyds tsb near me In Salem, IL, for our first night actually on the road together, we decided a ride through the Badlands and Black Hills just was not-to-be on this leg of the outing. Perhaps we can catch them on the way back home, but for now, we were forced to change direction and head southwest towards Arkansas… and drier forecasts! We spent a night in Dexter, MO, and nothing of any consequence happened… save for a good night’s sleep and a cloudless sky to wake-up to!!!
my location to nearest gas station Our original plan had lasted an entire day! Not a record for this ‘planner’, but by no means unheard-of either. From that point on, our trip has been a haphazard zig and zag dodging rain, while trying to maintain some sort of sensible baseline route that would allow us to return to our original plan at some time, should the opportunity ever present itself… it hasn’t so far…
We rode the Talimena Trail, then spent the night in Mena, AR. From there we rode up Mount Magazine and along the Pig Trail. On our way to Mena, I managed to miss the little café where Mitch and I had had that incredible fried ham & cheese deluxe sandwich a couple of years back. This was the third time I’d attempted to return there, but I managed to miss that culinary treat yet again.
An overlook along the Talimena Trail…
On our way to Mount Magazine, we decided to stop in some small town for breakfast… The café was perfect for our needs, and the food was downright delectable. The setting was grand, too, and this was easily my kind of place! I always know when I have ‘arrived’ in such a place when the lead headline in the local fish-wrapper is something like this one…
Following breakfast a short time later, it was… nap time at an overlook on the way to the lodge atop Mount Magazine.
exzotic girls
While on the Pig Trail leg, we stopped at an overlook and met some other riders… Tom told us of his motel in Eureka Springs, and from his description it sounded perfect for our needs… So, we followed him there and stayed one more night in the land of 'White Water' and ‘notable’ politicians.
The weather forecast still was showing no hope of our being able to head towards South Dakota, so we ventured over into Oklahoma.
Amber waves of grain in the making…
In some tiny hamlet in north central Oklahoma, we passed a store who’s name produced a flashback to that recent visit to Troutdude’s shop and to one of my now favorite C&W tunes, that instantly began to play on my mind’s jukebox…
We're in Pampa, TX, at the moment, but we'll be heading for the Palo Duro Canyon in another hour or so... Then, on to... someplace...
DDT
