Here are the first pictures of the second part of our journey. I'll add more photos and comments in a later posting. I arrived in Castle Rock on Friday, July 18 at cousin Laurie's and husband Dale's beautiful home. They are great people and wonderful hosts. Dale has a Gold Wing and we took a little ride the next day, Saturday, before Erin and Rose arrived from their various points.
My round trip was 3,824 miles passing though Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, and Iowa going out and back. I made great time and missed bad weather all along the trip with just a couple very brief occasions of rain. About 70% of the trip was on two-lane highways and took me/us through some great countryside. There is so much to see in the good old USA. There were no near misses with accidents on the bike and I met a lot of very nice people. Being on a motorcycle gives one a chance to smell and hear (despite the bike noise) as well as see the sites along the way.
In some ways this trip brought back a lot of "firsts." I saw the first motorcycle model that I ever owned in the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, IA. I visited the Harley dealership in Sheboygan, WI where Rose bought her first Harley jacket and bought be the Harley Road Songs CD that were the precurser to her buying my first Harley Davidson in October 2000. We passed by the first property that we ever owned outside of Manistique, MI officially with a Gulliver address. It was my first time taking the SS Badger car ferry on a motorcycle. And, of course, it was my first time on a couple thousand miles of byways.
Some comments about the photos follow. And, I'll post some other photos as I get them from Erin's camera.
My round trip was 3,824 miles passing though Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, and Iowa going out and back. I made great time and missed bad weather all along the trip with just a couple very brief occasions of rain. About 70% of the trip was on two-lane highways and took me/us through some great countryside. There is so much to see in the good old USA. There were no near misses with accidents on the bike and I met a lot of very nice people. Being on a motorcycle gives one a chance to smell and hear (despite the bike noise) as well as see the sites along the way.
In some ways this trip brought back a lot of "firsts." I saw the first motorcycle model that I ever owned in the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, IA. I visited the Harley dealership in Sheboygan, WI where Rose bought her first Harley jacket and bought be the Harley Road Songs CD that were the precurser to her buying my first Harley Davidson in October 2000. We passed by the first property that we ever owned outside of Manistique, MI officially with a Gulliver address. It was my first time taking the SS Badger car ferry on a motorcycle. And, of course, it was my first time on a couple thousand miles of byways.
Some comments about the photos follow. And, I'll post some other photos as I get them from Erin's camera.
Dale and Laurie with their Gold Wing that looks pretty darn big next to my bike.
My second day with Dale and Laurie gave us an opportunity to ride in some foothills of the Rockies and stop for lunch at the Sprucewood Bar a few miles west of Sedalia, CO
Laurie has the real biker chick look!
Rose and Laurie enjoy a great cup of coffee on their deck. It was a very relaxing time with lots of laughs and good memories.
Erin and Rose did a little bit of relaxing at their house, too.
The beginning of a great meal with Dale and Laurie.
Erin's car was packed to the ceiling...yet they found room for a few purchases along the way home. I need to stop about every 60-90 minutes to stretch my legs and back and I think that we hit every TJ Maxx and KMart along the way during those stops!
One of the unexpected little highlights of the family trip west in 1989 was the city of Sterling, CO. Their elm tress were devastated by the Dutch elm disease and a local artisan made many great lifesize tree carvings. Since that time the trees decayed but their exact replicas were cast in bronze and placed around the city. We had to revisit the place on our way back to Michigan. This one is called "Stargazer."
At the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, IA one will find the actual chopper that Peter Fonda rode in the cult classic film, "Easy Rider." That was the film that kind of launched Jack Nicholson's career.
This is a Honda 65. It is a red version of the very first motorcycle that I ever owned. Mine was black. It doesn't look like much but I was awfully proud to get it and it provided transportation to my job in the gladiolus fields and probably worry for my parents.
If you are a motorcycle fan this museum is worth the stop.
One of the side trips, totally unplanned, on the way back took us to the movie location in Dyersville, IA
Can't you just imagine Kevin Costner walking from the house to see the ball players in their game?
"Field of Dreams" is one of my all time favorite movies and a great scene has the ball players of the past walking in/out of the corn. This place looks exactly like it did in the movie. There were several families there with lots of little kids with baseballs, gloves and bats playing catch, running the bases and different families taking turns pitching and letting the kids hit. It was total Americana.
This is the giant strawberry in Strawberry Point, IA near to the Field of Dreams location. Rose read about the strawberry in the AAA travel book. I must say, it was surprising to us that this made the AAA book! Not much, but it is unique.
Mom had suggested that we visit House on the Rock in Spring Green, WI. It was worth the visit and most unusual.
This is a cantilevered walkway placed from the house over the valley. It is called the Infinity Room and as one looks down the gradually narrowing structure it does give that sense of infinity.
The Infinity Room is under this roof. The view is pretty cool.
As we passed through the city of Milwaukee, Erin wanted to stop at a cafe that was featured on the show Diners, Driveins and Dives on the Food Network. We stopped at the Comet Cafe and had a nice bottle of wine (at half price that day).
The Comet Cafe also featured $ 1.00 Old Style bottled beer. I had to get it especially in respect of my many Yooper friends.
This is one of the firsts I mentioned earlier. This is the Harley store in Sheboygan where Rose bought her Harley coat and I got the Road Songs CD. It should have given me some hint of what was to come as she was never interested in anything Harley before. She had worked for months with a biker friend in Coldwater to get suggestions about possible motorcycles that she might get me. This was also done on the way back from the wedding of Erinn Finlan who is one of the daughters of our great friends Roger and Pat Finlan.
Watch for some more pics to come.
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