Victory Rally 2012

If anyone had told me I would be taking another motorcycle trip this summer my comment would have been “NO WAY”, not after the trip we took in July. I will always remember that trip, hot and sick the entire time.

But, what can I say, I gave it another chance! Luke and I rode to Spirit Lake, Iowa the weekend of August 17, and the weather could not have been more gorgeous. What a difference a few weeks can make…..Arnold, Spirit Lake and Lake Okojobi, Iowa are all in one area with the Polaris Factory and Victory Factory located in Arnold. Since we ride a Victory, we decided to attend the “10th Annual Coming Home Tour” for Victory riders. Luke also scored us two VIP passes which included a behind the scene tour of the factory, shirts, food, and a few other goodies. It was a good time and I really do love seeing how things come together and work. Plus, throw in some history and I am in heaven!

We left Wichita on Thursday, stayed in Concordia, KS for the night and it was actually cold by the time we arrived at the hotel and went out to dinner. I wore a coat, a coat….I had to shake the dust off of it! The next morning it was 53 degrees, coat and gloves, GLOVES!

Riding in the cool weather made me appreciate the days we can ride. Fall is coming soon, school is starting and work is gearing up. Riding will be a fond memory soon.

The pictures are from the rally, just a few from the road. The Victory spokesperson is “GUNNY” the Marine; he was fun, taking pics and poking fun at everyone. The corn hatch picture with the gourds and pumpkins was at a pumpkin patch just outside of Arnold, I wish I had one of these corn hatches in my backyard. I love it!

My new passion, but not taking the place of trains and train tracks, are the old bridges, they are so beautiful and seem to stand as icons in the landscape.

Have a great rest of the summer. Fall is knocking on the door. I am not sure I am ready to let it in.

Peace! Pam

Pics from July 2012 Motorcycle Trip

July 2012 Motorcyle Trip (HOTTEST TRIP EVER!)

July 2012 was the hottest on record in many states, cities and counties. So, what did we decide to do? Yep, take a motorcycle trip! The theme of this trip? THE HEAT! It was miserable.

Our original trip was planned for Colorado and maybe into Utah. However, the wildfires of Colorado, Arizona and the west kept us from going that direction. I am not sure why now; it couldn’t have been any hotter!

I do not remember a time when I felt so lousy. I was hot, my stomach ached, my legs were swollen and cramping and at night I simply could not sleep. During the day, I just wanted water or Gatorade; food just didn’t even seem appealing.

So where did we go? Well, we kind of followed the Mississippi River. We had lunch in Hannibal, Missouri, traveled through Illinois and could not believe how EMPTY the Illinois River was, went into Milwaukee, Wisconsin, saw the beautiful Lake Michigan, took the Miller Brewing Tour, went to the Harley Davidson Museum and back through Iowa to the shop of the American Pickers then through Nebraska, Missouri and back home to Kansas. All in eight days!

No kidding, at every stop people would ask us “wow, aren’t you hot”? Or, “must feel like a blast furnace riding on those things”. My favorite “is it hot enough for you”? All great comments, really. Comments of the obvious always make for interesting conversation.

This heat was brutal, farms were void of creeks, ponds and streams; there were small sections of the Illinois River you could walk across, the Mississippi River was so low you could see where the water level used to be along the banks.

I did manage some great photos and we did have some laughs along the way. The pictures I have posted are just random of course; barns, churches, Miller Brewing, Harley Davidson Museum, National Motorcycle Museum, stretches of highway, and probably my favorite, the rows of power lines.

Apparently, in Kansas we will need about 16 inches of rain to get us “back to normal” rainfall amounts. I pray it comes soon.

Peace! Pam