Homeward Bound

While it seems that we slept in late it is only 6 AM when we all get up and start packing up. Linda and I are the only coffee drinkers in the group so I make us coffee and start arranging the trailer while Linda rolls up the sleeping bags, mattress and tent. The others are going north to Dodge City while Linda and I will go southwest to home where we can change our tire. We finish our coffee after saying goodbye and watching the others leave. As late as it seems it is not yet 7:30 when we leave. The temperature is in the 70s and there is no wind yet. But the wind will get progressively stronger all day long. We don't expect to see any sights on the way home that we have not seen before so it will be a non-stop trip except for gas and rest breaks. But in Meade, Kansas we see a sign for the Dalton Gang's hideout. The Dalton gang were train and bank robbers in the 1890s. So we did a small detour and saw the house. It was not yet open so we took a few pictures and continued on our way. We would pass through Oklahoma and Texas before reaching New Mexico. I had been joking with Linda about Nara Visa, a town in New Mexico, telling her great a town it was. It is an abandoned town that the highway passes through. There are several signs showing the miles to Nara Visa and one expects a real town with services. Several of my friends say that it is inhabited by vampires as we have never seen a living soul in the daylight. We get into Albuquerque about 4 PM and crossing the city to get to our house on the west side was easily the most dangerous part of the whole trip. We will change our rear tire, take care of some business and hopefully leave in a couple of days for California.

Now it's the winds of Kansas!

The birds awaken us even earlier than the alarm I had set for 5:30. We want to meet Doug and Patsi at the hospital at 7:30 so we are on the road at 6:15. It is nice and cool at this hour but we know it won't last. I have inspected my tires like I do at every gas stop and am getting concerned that the rear tire is getting too worn to continue the full trip. We may have to head directly home. We arrive at the hospital at 7:15 and wait for Doug and Patsi but it turns out they arrived 5 minutes earlier and are parked out of sight from where we are. Linda sees their bike so we meet them in Tom's room. We visit for about 45 minutes and then start riding toward Kansas. We pass through Joplin on Highway 44 and this time we see glimpses of the tornado damage and it is very sad. I also see a Honda dealership beside the highway and they have a big pile of old tires. I stop in and ask them if I can have one and they agree. I select a tire that will fit my bike and put it in our trailer. Now I have a tire that I can change on the side of the road if I have to and feel more comfortable. If we go straight home it will only save us 2 hours and about 100 miles than going through Kansas so we decide to go on through Kansas. We cross into Kansas and it was like somebody instantly turned on a wind machine. Once again we have strong and gusty winds from the south and they continue all day long. We catch up with the other 4 people sitting in the grass of a farmer's yard waiting for us. We too take a break from fighting the wind and then start going west again. At the end of the day we go to Cold Water Lake State Park about an hour south of Dodge City. What a great find. it is a beautiful lake and we can pitch our tents in an area sheltered from the wind. They have bathrooms with showers and we have arrived early enough to have time to sit around and enjoy the area. There is a little dock going out into the lake and it was very enjoyable to sit there in the moonlight and enjoy the quiet and coolness of the lake.

Back to Norwood

We have our GPS set to guide us to Marquette, Kansas which I thought may be a good area to meet the others who are currently in Branson, Missouri. However we found out that they are remaining in Branson, Missouri for another day. we have been to Branson before so we decide we will go back to Norwood to our friends Tom & Vicki's house and spend the night there in the house with air conditioning. Tom is still in the hospital and Vicki is on the road but they have a key hidden outside. They have already told us to feel free to stop by and stay there anytime. We cross over the river to Illinois by Cairo and expect to turn south and cross again into Missouri. But the bridge was closed probably from damage by the recent high waters so we detour through Cairo to the next bridge and into Missouri. We were in 3 different states in less than 10 minutes. We went straight to Norwood and arrived at the Mooney's house. But their son had been by and forgot to replace the outside key. So we returned to a campground alongside Highway 60 where there was a swimming pool and showers. The pool felt really good as did the shower but the weather was still ot and sticky so we did not sleep as well as we would have liked. The trucks on the highway never stopped traveling all night long and across the highway are train tracks and they too were busy all night. We will meet Doug and Patsi at the hospital at 7:30 AM tomorrow, visit Tom for awhile and then head to Kansas to catch up with the others.

Nachez Trace

Today is the day that we will finally ride our abbreviated stretch of the Natchez Trace. We ride to Tupelo and agree that we will skip seeing Elvis Presley's birthplace. There are 3 areas of the Trace defined by the types of trees you see. We are in the northern section which is mostly deciduous trees. This is a national road and no commercial traffic is allowed. This means no trucks. It is a sightseeing road with a 50 mph speed limit. However from time to time we are tailgated by a local driver who is using the road for his commute and is in a hurry. The road is very well maintained but is hilly and curvy which means passing opportunities for the locals are limited. There are many pullouts for viewing different signs that give information about historical events or locations and also for scenic views, waterfalls, etc. The trace was originally an animal trail which was used by the Indians. When the white men came to the area they also used it and the government finally used it as a postal route. Many farmers used the Mississippi river to float their harvest down river to New Orleans. They had no way to go back up the river so they walked or rode horses hundreds of miles back up the trace to get home with their money. Naturally there were several robbers that also used the trace to prey on the returning farmers. Once the steamboat was invented it quickly became the preferred way home and the trace was no longer used. Merriwether Lewis of Lewis & Clark fame died on the trace of poisoning and is buried at Grinder's Stand on the northern part of the trace. Because we are riding on a road lined with trees on both sides we find that the temperature is 3-4 degrees cooler than the roads beside the trace. We left the trace twice, once for gas and the other time for a BBQ picture in Alabama. At the end of the trace we also took a BBQ picture in Tennessee and then continued northwest toward Paducah, Kentucky. We stopped for a sandwich in Tennessee and found out that there was a BBQ restaurant a couple of miles away just across the Kentucky border so we rode there for our Kentucky picture. Then we continued on and found a state park just before Paducah. We stayed there for the night and were entertained by fireflies. It was still hot and humid but much nicer than the weather in Mississippi. There was also a laundry there and we took advantage of it to get all of our clothes clean again. Tomorrow we should be in Kansas and we may catch up with the rest of our group.

Clarksdale, Crossroads, Tutwiler

So after a good night of sleep in an air conditioned motel room we get off to a late start. We want to explore the area a little bit before we continue on. The weather forecast is a heat alert for the area and I have decided not to go further south but to go east and catch the Natchez Trace at Tupelo. Our first stop is the post office so that we can ship the Barbie doll we have been carrying. It was listed on Ebay and the auction closed last night. Then we go to the Delta Blues Museum. It is quite interesting to find out how many blues musicians came from this area. After the museum we walk across the street to the Ground Zero Blues Club. It is open for lunch so we go in and have a soda and some fried green tomatoes. There is no band here at lunchtime but the tomatoes were quite good. There is a restaurant called Abe's BBQ so we get our Mississippi bbq picture there and go in search for the Crossroads sign where blues musician Robert Johnson supposedly met the devil and sold his soul to learn the blues. We did not find it although Linda says it was by Abe's BBQ. We went south of town to the Hopson Plantation which played a big part in blues history. Behind the plantation is the Shackup Inn where one can stay in old shareropper houses which have been converted to motel rooms, A Harley rider tells us where the crossroads sign is and we go back to town. Sure enough it is right across the street from Abe's BBQ right where Linda said she saw it. Now it is back past the Hopson Plantation to Tutwiler which is considered the birthplace of the blues. There is a mural there depicting the encounter that led to the blues. Our bike's "precision" thermometer reads 105. I am skeptical so I turn on my weather radio which also has a thermometer. After stabilizing it indicates 108. Regardless of the thermometer's accuracy it is definitely hot and humid.Then we go back north again past the plantation and finally catching Highway 278 and go east towards Tupelo which by the way is the birthplace of Elvis Presley. Linda says that she is not feeling well so we stop for gas and rest awhile inside a McDonalds and cool off. We don't know whether the issue is heat, green tomatoes or something else but decide to stop at the next motel and stop for the day. This turns out to be the town of Oxford about 45 miles from Tupelo. Tomorrow we will get an early start to try and cover some miles before the heat gets over 100 degrees.

It's the Blues

Friday June 3 2011

The blog title of Tornadoes or the Mississippi Blues meant that if there were still threats of tornadoes we would go somewhere else but if it was clear we would do the Blues Highway and the Natchez Trace. Today we left Missouri headed for Memphis and Highway 61 which is the Blues Highway. We took Highway 63 south from Missouri into Arkansas. Right away we saw Wild Hogs BBQ and took a picture for the contest I have entered. The longer we went the hotter it became. We stopped in Hardy, AR to sightsee. Hardy's main street is comprised of the town's original buildings which now hold touristy types of businesses. We walked through 2 antique stores mainly to get out of the heat. Then we continued on south. Highway 63 was nice while we were in the Ozarks but it eventually became a proper 4 lane with little scenery and eventually we turned onto Interstate 55 headed for Memphis. Over the Mississippi River we went and took the first offramp because the sign said there was a state information center there. There was not and oops, we were on an onramp back onto I55 going back across the Mississippi with no way to turn around. So we crossed the river 3 times today. Following the GPS instructions taking an offramp that will eventually take us to Highway 61 just as we see that the next offramp IS Highway 61. Oh well. It is only a few miles to Mississippi and we are looking for another BBQ restaurant. We saw many BBQ restaurants but none of them had BBQ or Barbecue in the name. I guess we will get a picture in the Nashville area as we do not want to turn back to Memphis. Just before Tunica, MS we see an information center. They tell us how to find the local historical signs about the Blues Highway and we start collecting pictures. We get to Clarksdale just as the information center there is closing but they invite us in and give us some information. Tonight we will stay in an air conditioned motel and walk into the historical area for food and music as we were told it was only a few blocks. It was slightly more than a few blocks and the area was very run down. We did have a nice meal at "Lady at the Levee" restaurant. The service was good but seemed to be given grudgingly if not grumpily. It was 9:30 when we finished our meal and it was dark outside. We did not know what type of area we were in but we were close to downtown so we walked into the downtown area looking for the "Groundzero Blues Club". There was not a sign of life in the downtown area. We did find the club but decided we did not to be walking back to the motel later at night so we skipped the club and walked back to the motel. We had no problems but were still glad to get back to the air conditioned room. We will explore the town Saturday morning.

Seeds and Caves and Hospitals

Wednesday June 1, 2011

Today was the day that Linda and I would leave for Memphis with Doug and Patsi but Vicki is expressing concern about Tom. Vicki is a truck driver and has to leave on a run today. Tom has heart issues and was dizzy and short of breath in the morning. Linda and I decide to stay another day and catch up with Doug and Patsi later. After everyone has left Tom is going to bed to rest while Linda and I do some local sightseeing. Our first stop is at a replica of an old town which has been built by a seed company. Naturally the seed company has a store there and we check it out. They have seeds for everything, they have seeds for 21 different variations of okra and even more for onions. It is a very impressive store. From there we go off in search of a sign I saw about a cave. It is almost all the way back to Springfield. This cave is privately owned and is very impressive. It is not busy so Linda and I get a private guided tour. It turns out that there are over 6000 known caves in Missouri and over 4000 in Arkansas. By the time we get back to Tom and Vicki's house it is 4 PM and Tom is still in bed resting. The internet repairman was there while we were gone but Tom didn't hear him so the internet is still not repaired. Linda made sandwiches for us. Tom is doing a lot of coughing and finally at 8 PM he says that he can't breathe and needs to go to the Springfield hospital. He says that the ambulance must come from Springfield and that we can drive to the hospital before the ambulance can arrive. So away we go, it's 60 miles to the hospital and it seems like it takes forever to get there. It turns out that Tom has pneumonia in the left lung. We have already called Vicki a couple of times and updated her on what is happening. We return to the house at midnight and will come back to the hospital tomorrow with clothes for Tom.

Attack of the Killer Mosquitoes

Tuesday 5-31-11

Pancakes for breakfast and then it is time to look at the cruise control. Vicki has problems with her internet connection and she calls up the provider. They decide that a service call is needed so if they show up today maybe I can post this on the same day. Doug decides that the cruise control needs to be looked at by a Harley dealer so he goes to the dealer and Tom follows in a car so that if the bike needs to be left overnight Doug will have a way back to the house. I take the top off of my trailer so that one of Tom's friends can weld it tonight. Vicki is going to the dentist so Linda, Patsi and I are staying inside away from the humidity and the mosquitoes. But eventually one must go outside and the bloodsucking mosquitoes are waiting. And while you are fighting off the mosquitoes the chiggers are going after your feet and legs. In the evening the mosquitoes are even more aggressive and of course that is when I am putting the top back on the trailer. Two of Tom and Vicki's grandchildren are here for the weekend and Vicki has to take them home before we eat. Tom has bought some beautiful steaks which he grills outside and they taste as good as they look. And of course the internet repair person never does show up nor does he call to let us know he won't be there.

Armadillos on the Toll Roads

Monday 5-30-11

The wind is still blowing and beating the tents down to the ground. Terry & Joyce's tent is pretty well flat on the ground. Ours had 2 stakes pulled from the ground and one of the tent poles had popped off of the pin that holds it. And the wind is still blowing. Wayne & Calleen and Terry & Joyce are going to go straight east on the highway and go to Arkansas while Doug & Patsi, Linda and I are going to take a tollroad northeast that we will turn onto about 125 miles east of the campground. We decide to stop for breakfast in 20 or 30 miles and Wayne is leading the way. We saw several trees along I-40 that were completely uprooted, we assume that the wind was the cause. We keep going by restaurants and finally we reach the toll road without ever stopping for breakfast. Doug and I turn off while the others keep going. We don't know if they ever did stop for breakfast. By now we are in the green area of Oklahoma which means that we start seeing armadillos. Lots and lots of armadillos, all of them are dead and on the side of the road. As far as I know there is no such thing as a live armadillo and there are also no dead ones in the road, only on the side. We finally stopped for gas and got a breakfast sandwich at the Subway shop at the gas station. The toll road is still going straight east but we are in rolling hills with lots of trees blocking us from the wind so it is easier riding. And so it goes, from one toll booth to another until we finally arrive at Missouri. We are on Highway 44 which goes right by the city of Joplin which just had a very bad tornado destroy much of the town. We see some damage along the highway and to highway signs but the damage to the town was not visible from the highway. The next major town is Springfield and then it is 60 more miles to our friends Tom & Vicki Mooney's house where we will spend a couple of days. In Springfield Doug's cruise control starts giving problems and then his speedometer starts acting up as well. This is a problem for him as he has a damaged right wrist and relies on his cruise control. Tomorrow we will have to see if we can get it fixed and I will have to see if someone can weld my trailer bracket. But at least we are out of the wind which has been replaced by a high pollen count which is not good if you have allergies. Linda and I have had to clean out our eyes with eye drops once already. Finally we arrive at Tom & Vicki's house. They have burgers and hot dogs ready to cook on the grill. Lots of stories are told, some of them may even be partially true. We enjoy our meal and sleep like logs

The Winds of Texas Are Upon You (Oklahoma Too)

Sunday 5-29-11

After seeing the start of the Monaco Grand Prix we leave the house at 7 AM heading east on I-40. There were 4 bikes and 8 people, all except Linda and I were from Utah. Doug & Patsi and Wayne & Calleen on Harleys and Terry & Joyce on a Goldwing. All of us were pulling a trailer behind our bikes. 4 bikes with trailers completely filled the garage. Today is supposed to be a very windy day in New Mexico and unfortunately the weatherman was right. But the wind was behind us and we were getting very good gas mileage until we got to Texas. Then the wind was from the south and it was very strong even for Texas. We had stopped in Santa Rosa,NM for breakfast where Calleen was introduced to Huevos Rancheros. Just before Amarillo, TX we stopped to see the Cadillacs buried nose first in the ground. You could walk south to see them from the road but that would be against the wind and the sandstorm so we decided not to make the walk. By the time we reached Oklahoma we were tired from fighting the wind which continuously became stronger. We were going to a campground about 125 miles into Oklahoma but when we reached one only 50 miles into the state everyone decided that it was time to stop. The lady at the campground gave us a spot for our tents that was supposed to be sheltered against the wind. NOT! It was difficult to set up the tents in the wind and we all had to help each other by holding the tent against the wind while the others put it together. I opened my trailer to get the tent out and the wind caught the lid of the trailer and snapped one of the steel brackets that act as a hinge. I will have to have that welded when we reach Missouri. Of course the wind would die down during the night. NOT! It never stopped all night long. The tents would be flattened and then pop back up only to repeat the process all night long. Finally Terry & Joyce's tent decided not to pop back up. None of us got much sleep that night. This was my third time at this campground and I had forgotten that the highway traffic was very loud and of course the wind was blowing it right to us.

2 Days Before Departure

The plan was to leave today with our friends Doug and Patsi Hendrickson from Utah. We would be going to see our friend's in Missouri Tom and Vicki Mooney. But Doug and Patsi were delayed and now our departure day is Sunday. Naturally that day is scheduled to have very high winds in New Mexico. Normally the winds will come from the west which would give us a tailwind but my guess is that they will shift against us just for spite. Across the Texas panhandle they will probably be from the south causing us to ride at an exaggerated lean angle just to go straight. At Oklahoma City we want to go northeast so we naturally expect winds from the north at that time. You may call this pessimism, I call it experience! After visiting Tom and Vicki I hope to go to Memphis and ride south on the Blues Highway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_61 to Natchez, Mississippi and then ride the Natchez Trace to Nashville, TN. http://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm However there have been many tornadoes this year and if the weather is conducive to tornado formation our plans will change immediately. And from this comes the blog name "Tornadoes or the Mississippi Blues". We will do the Mississipi Blues unless there is a chance of Tornadoes. I will be planning alternate routes today and tomorrow just in case. We also plan on camping on this trip so it makes sense? to leave on a holiday weekend when all of the campgrounds will probably be full. As you can see this trip will be full of opportunities for us to practice our ability to adapt.