Summer Ride 2009 - Continues...

As I post this I am at my cousin's place in Rockton, Illinois... Started my ride at 0500 on Sunday - 9 August 2009... So far all is going well... Leg #5 of my journey will resume Sunday 23 August...

So far, I've witnessed an FSB ("freeway suicide bird") smack into the helmet of a rider in front of me - nothing but an explosion of feathers... One can only imagine what else exploded around the rider's head and face...The rider was okay, but I couldn't help but chuckle as the feathers flew in my direction..

Heading from Idaho and to Montana Highway 93 south to Missoula, there was a stretch of 20+ miles of torn up roadway (and a reduced speed of only 25mph - all this in the dark) I worked my way to the freeway to make up lost time (I was still in northern Idaho at 3pm that day) to get to the KOA in Deer Lodge and set up camp before dark... It was well after midnight when I arrived and set up the tent in the dark - four pegs and the tent fly cover was all I was able to muster the strength to do after traveling 760 miles... I crawled onto my air mattress and was soon fast asleep...

Monday morning broke bright and sunny... After a breakfast of breakfast bars and reconstituted eggs (yum), I was back on the road to my next destination: Bozeman, MT...

Two and a half days in Bozeman I was able to visit with two professors from my film and TV days at Montana State University (MSU)... Mr. Salah Sayed-Ahmed, who came to MSU in 1968, has been retired for awhile and comes to Bozeman every year from his home in Egypt to visit, so the timing to see him was perfect since he had decided to stay an extra 15 days beyond his usual 30 day stay... At 84 years of age he looks good - his "Mr. Egypt" days are paying off... He still does his best to keep physically fit, but time is beginning to take a toll on him - he has become absent minded and tires easily...

Jack Stonnell was the other professor I visited with... Jack was very instrumental in building the film & TV department from its early beginnings in 1958... This September a 50 year reunion is scheduled and Jack is putting together a video of the department from its beginnings to its status today in the 21st century... Jack, at 78 years of age, is doing well, but is a little slower in getting around... We had lunch and reminisced of our times at film & TV (him from 1958 to 1990 and me from 1975 to 1985)...

My next stop on my summer ride was Lewistown, MT to visit with a friend I haven't seen for 35 years: Debbie (Wauer) Newton... Myself and a friend, Tom Forrest, shot the pictures for Debbie's wedding - an interesting time and an experience I don't want to repeat... Shooting wedding photos is not the easiest thing in the world to do - my hat is off to those wedding photographers who do it on a daily (almost) basis...

Debbie and I had a good time reminiscing of our time at MSU and catching up on what has gone by these last 35 years... Breakfast and a goodbye hug and again I was back on the road: next stop - Bemidji, MN...

Head winds across North Dakota slowed my progress and reduced - considerably - my fuel mileage... I think I averaged about 32mpg across North Dakota (normally, I can average around 43 to 50mpg without headwinds)... After a hot miserable night in Bismark, ND at the KOA (located on the glide path to the airport), I hit the road again and pulled into Bemidji, MN late afternoon (after 4pm) Friday, 14 August 2009...

A day and a half in Bemidji was a nice stop after the hot, hot time on the roadway through North Dakota... Rick and Kris' "cabin" is located on the shores of Lake Beltrami - a pretty good sized lake big enough for water skiing... No, didn't try the water skiing thing - I was content to ride in the boat and watch Kris, Rick, and Molly (their daughter) whip back and forth behind the boat skiing to their heart's content... Later, Rick and I took the aluminum fishing boat out to tour the lake area near their "cabin" (really a house-sized "cabin" if you ask me)... The rains came Saturday night... A quick tip here: don't leave your helmet and gloves hanging on your handle bars, otherwise the gloves will get soggy wet and the helmet will fill with water... Doh...!

Sunday afternoon the sun broke through as we caravan-ed ourselves and luggage over to Kris' parent's (Art and Judy) house to stay the night and depart Monday morning - me to the east and Rick and Kris to the west and home... Sunday evening dinner was a feast prepared by Judy and Art... I had never had rutabaga before that night - I'm here to tell you, wow! it was good...! In addition to that we had chicken, meatballs, mashed potatoes, green beans and bread... All in all one fantastic "swillicious" meal...! What a send off...!

Onward and leg #4 of my journey to Stone Lake, WI and Stone Lake Leather Works (www.stonelakeleatherworks.com)... The KOA in Hayward, WI would be my next stop... After setting up camp I went to find Stone Lake and Stone Lake Leather Works (SLLW)... From the KOA it was about 12 miles... I found it okay - had to stop and ask someone in Stone Lake, "where is Stone Lake Leather Works...?" - 3 miles out of town... Finding it, I met Diana Rogers, co-owner of SLLW... That was when I found out that her and Dan (her husband) hadn't made it to Sturgis this year because back in June, Dan had an accident... It isn't for sure, but he hit something - most likely a deer - and wiped out the left side of his BMW and himself and tore a chunk out of the right side of his head - ouch...! No, he wasn't wearing a helmet... He would still have had the broken bones he ended up with, but the chunk out of his head wouldn't have happened perhaps...

Anyway, I was out (early the next day) to their place - eighty acres of farm land and a great place for kids to run and play... I met their two sons: Wheeler (5) and Weston (3) and Diana's mom and their helper, who's name escapes me at the moment... Diana showed me the leather bibs I was interested in and then out to the barn to try on a leather jacket... I decided on a brown jacket, and black bibs with brown trim (knee pads and pockets, plus a "belt tab" for my leatherman and wallet chain)...

Had to call the credit card company to get them to remove the "parameter lock" from my card so Diana could run it... Seems, and I didn't know this, unless you let your credit card company know you will be traveling, you will only be able to use your credit card in a certain radius of your home... After proving I was the owner of the credit card, the "lock" was removed and payment was made for the bibs, jacket and a leather "neckerchief"... After some more chatting about Dan and how he's doing (the doctor called at one point), we shook hands and I was on my way... Twenty miles down the road I realized I didn't get a picture of my scoot and the sign of their business... I debated whether to turn around and go back - I kept going thinking, okay, another good excuse for a ride when I get back home...!

My next stop: Duluth, MN and an attempt to find where "2990 Miller Trunk Hwy" would be - that is the address of where we lived when my dad was stationed at the SAC base there... Progress doesn't stop and after 40+ years since I was last at 2990, all that I could find was big box shopping malls... After lunch I was back on the road for my next destination: Rockton, Illinois - the home of my cousin...

And today, as I write this, that is where I am as I noted at the beginning of this missive... My next stop will be Kewanee, IL, then onto Springfield, IL and Wood River for more visiting with relatives... By 31 August I should be heading home with a stop in Utah for a visit with my nephew and a dear classmate from my high school days...

So, if you made it this far, thank you for reading... The next time I post to this blog I should be home...

Happy trails, and happy, safe riding... Get out there and enjoy being "in the wind" - it can give you a whole new prospective on life... Bye for now...!!