This morning Donna and I, after sleeping in a bit, something I rarely get to do, took off for Gabby's in Prole for breakfast. This is one of my favorite breakfast joints. There almost every weekend if I'm not otherwise engaged. Ed and Madeline Buchanan (they ride with the GWRRA and Honda Riders Club) decided to join us and that was fun. We don't know them extremely well but it was fun to just sit and vistit. They are nice people and it is becoming more and more fun to do things with them. We spent two hours just eating and talking.
After leaving there, we came back home so I could finish getting the bike out of the back yard. It was pretty wet before breakfast and I ended up just spinning and couldn't make it up the hill. At least I didn't slide back down the hill and hit something in the backyard. After putting down some kitty litter on the still slick spots, I was able to get up and out into the driveway. We packed up and headed out.
Went down through Norwalk and out the Cumming Road to Hwy 169. From there, we went north and toured the town of DeSoto. A quaint little town. Continued north to Minburn where I took F31 west of town. Went west and then came north into Perry. Tooled around town a little. Found the restaurant that Jim Castleblanco told us about where he and Judy had a good meal. It is salvadorian. Much like mexican. Might have to try this out. We also checked out a place that Harry had told us about called the Mars Dairy Bar. Harry said they had good ice cream and he was right. They also have sandwiches and the one we tried was excellent. Also had some chili. Donna liked that better than I did. This is a nice little place and I'd recommend if your in the are and looking for a place to grab a bite, stop in and give them a try. We may try and have a get together there as an impromptu sort of thing.
Leaving there, we headed north again and went up through Ogden to Don Williams Recreation Area north of town. Kind of a nice little campground. Nothing special but just nice. Came back into town and went east to Boone and into McHose Park. This is a nice park. Came back west to Seven Oaks Recreation and then south before coming east again and then back north into Ledges Park. Left there and took a ride through the little town of Luther. Coming east from there, then south, then east again into Kelley and then on to Hwy 69 and back into town and home. Burned up a full tank of fuel today. It was a good time. A little cool at times but not really bad at all. Passenger got a little cold I could tell by all her fidgeting but she toughed it out.
Fall colors were not as impressive as I had hoped and thought they might be. It was kind of disappointing really. Ledges Park was OK but even there it wasn't as nice as I have seen and I had hoped to come across. Oh well, still a nice day to get out and enjoy a ride. Not many more of those this season.
Get out and have fun while you can.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Colorama / Falling Leaf Rally
This past weekend there were a couple of events going on that some of our people attended. Donna and I and Don and Kathy went down to Harrison Arkansas for the Colorama Rally there. Always a good time there. Really pretty scenery and good roads to ride. We didn't bike it down as the weather was just plain crappy when we were leaving and it wasn't forecast to get any better. They have new facilities this year and it is going to be there next year. I think this is going to be a good move. It won't be like when it was in Forsyth, MO. when Jack and Denise ran the campgrounds but this is just about as good. The owners are wonderful to work with and are trying to really make this place a place to go. They have owned it for about 3 years and are making some improvements as time and money allows. Nothing major is wrong with it, it just needs little things here and there. They have a motel and another building that can be used for meetings, dinners and whatever. There is a small restaurant also. They have a big parking lot to have some riding drills. They have some motel mascots if you like animals. We had both the cat and the dog in our room the first night. They just took to us and decided to sleep with us. There was talk of some bad dealings with the campground that they used so now it looks like the owners of the motel where Colorama was held are also going to try and get their campground reopened and up and running for next year. They had about 80 people attend this year. Not a huge crowd but considering weather, it wasn't bad. They had a good dinner from the folks at the restaurant. Catfish, pork and lots of other stuff. Definately a place to go back to. They are already taking room reservations at the motel for next year.
John, Carl, and Craig all braved the elements and rode to Potosi, MO. for the Falling Leaf Rally. I am told it was a pretty good time but the weather really put a damper on the fun. It sounds as if the riding there is very good but probably wasn't as good this year due to weather. They think there was 200-300 people. I guess that is a low number for them but with the weather, I'm not sure you could expect more. Others I know wanted to go but had to attend a funeral for a friend who passed away suddenly. Too bad that happened and too bad they didn't get to go.
John, Carl, and Craig all braved the elements and rode to Potosi, MO. for the Falling Leaf Rally. I am told it was a pretty good time but the weather really put a damper on the fun. It sounds as if the riding there is very good but probably wasn't as good this year due to weather. They think there was 200-300 people. I guess that is a low number for them but with the weather, I'm not sure you could expect more. Others I know wanted to go but had to attend a funeral for a friend who passed away suddenly. Too bad that happened and too bad they didn't get to go.
State Line Rally
Donna, myself, Ben and Sherrill, and Jeff and Sally went to the State Line Rally in Keosauqua this year. It is always the latter part of September. It was a nice time. More mild mannered than Hawgstock or Conesville. They had some vendors but mostly it was just a big get together. We spent a lot of time around the campfire in our area with the new friends we met there.
There was a poker run and a sled pull and some other activities. They had races on Sunday but we didn't stay for that. On Friday and Saturday night they had a ride out of the fairgrounds and into town, then to the state park and back into town and to the fairgrounds. This was a site to see. We didn't do the ride on Friday night but did on Saturday. We stopped counting at 400 bikes and I'm sure there was 500 or maybe more. They blocked off all the streets and just let us do our ride. People lined the streets to wave and watch. Some tossed candy to the children along the street. Weather Sunday was a little foreboding so we packed up early and headed for home.
While there we didn't do the poker run but took off on our own ride. We visited Eldon where Grant Wood painted American Gothic. That was fun. We toured some of the scenic roads in the area.
There was a wonderful little place to eat. It is called Misty's Malt Shop. They have very good ice cream but also wonderful food. Very generous servings and great prices. If you are in the are, be sure to stop in. Very friendly too.
A good weekend and a fun rally. Something to think about for next year.
There was a poker run and a sled pull and some other activities. They had races on Sunday but we didn't stay for that. On Friday and Saturday night they had a ride out of the fairgrounds and into town, then to the state park and back into town and to the fairgrounds. This was a site to see. We didn't do the ride on Friday night but did on Saturday. We stopped counting at 400 bikes and I'm sure there was 500 or maybe more. They blocked off all the streets and just let us do our ride. People lined the streets to wave and watch. Some tossed candy to the children along the street. Weather Sunday was a little foreboding so we packed up early and headed for home.
While there we didn't do the poker run but took off on our own ride. We visited Eldon where Grant Wood painted American Gothic. That was fun. We toured some of the scenic roads in the area.
There was a wonderful little place to eat. It is called Misty's Malt Shop. They have very good ice cream but also wonderful food. Very generous servings and great prices. If you are in the are, be sure to stop in. Very friendly too.
A good weekend and a fun rally. Something to think about for next year.
Labor Day Weekend Trip
Donna and I, Pam and Glenn, Ray and Judy, and Carl and Donna all left on Friday before Labor Day and headed up to Postville to ride the roads in the area over the weekend. Pam and Glenn and Ray and Judy left earlier in the day and the rest of us left after we got off work.
We set up camp at a little Mom and Pop motel owned by a young couple that just purchased the place recently and is working on fixing it back up. It needs quite a bit of attention but they are slowly working on refurbishing it while tending to their young children. It's no Ritz Carlton Hotel but for the price, it was an OK place to stay. Hopefully they will be able to keep working on it and if we get in the area again, we can use the place to stay at while we look over the area. The couple was very nice and worked really hard at making our stay as pleasant as it could be. I hope they can make a go of it. It is hard to keep something going in that area with all that was lost from the pork plant closing.
Both Saturday and Sunday we took off on rides that ended up being a couple of hundred miles long. Weather was fantastic. Cool in the morning but then got nice. Not too hot though. Saturday we kind of took a northern route along the scenic byways. We found a nice local place to eat. Food and ice cream was good. For dinner we went to Gunder and the Irish Shanti for the one pound gunder burger. It was worth trying just to say I'd done so but I don't think I'll do that again. Pam got a ham dinner that I think could have fed us all. It was absolutely the biggest piece of ham I have ever seen on a dinner plate. It was about an inch and a half thick as well. She gave us some samples and it was very very tasty. With salad bar and potato for about $11. A heck of a bargain. I know Judy had shrimp and she said it was very very good as well. I can' t remember if anyone else had anything but the burger but we all had good food. Such an amazing place to find in a town that boasts of a population of 27 persons. I highly recommend you stop in when you are in the area. That night we settled down and just sat outside talking. Very peaceful.
Sunday we took kind of a south eastern route. Ended up at Pikes Peak Park and then down into Guttenberg before heading back towards St. Olaf to the St. Olaf tap to try the huge tenderloin. It weighs in at just over one pound. In St. Olaf, we were met by Randy and Deb Heath. They had been to J & P Cycle and decided to come on up and join us for the rest of the weekend. After St. Olaf, we headed back to Postville and just sat around and talked again. Another relaxing, peaceful evening. Good times, good friends, good fun, good stories.
Monday we got up and took a leisurely trip to Balltown to eat at Breitbach's Restaurant. This is the oldest bar/restaurant in Iowa and has been plagued by fires twice now. Hopefully their bad luck will end here. Donna made a reservation for us so we got in quickly. Good thing as they had a pretty good crowd. Unfortunately, we were a little disappointed with the place. The waitress seemed miffed that we decided not to eat off the buffet and the food was not up to par. Mine was OK but several noted that theirs was cold or just not too good. They also had run out of pie and that was not a good thing. From here some split off from the group and made their way home by themselves. The rest of us came back with me in the lead and maybe that wasn't such a good idea. I had a few problems finding the roads I wanted to take so the trek home was much longer than I had planned. We wanted to take a scenic ride home but didn't want to take the side treks I unintentionally took. I do apologize for that.
All in all, I think it was a great weekend. I do believe everyone enjoyed themselves for the most part. It was fun to have the group we had out having a good time. Next time, I hope more of you can come out and enjoy the fun as well.
We set up camp at a little Mom and Pop motel owned by a young couple that just purchased the place recently and is working on fixing it back up. It needs quite a bit of attention but they are slowly working on refurbishing it while tending to their young children. It's no Ritz Carlton Hotel but for the price, it was an OK place to stay. Hopefully they will be able to keep working on it and if we get in the area again, we can use the place to stay at while we look over the area. The couple was very nice and worked really hard at making our stay as pleasant as it could be. I hope they can make a go of it. It is hard to keep something going in that area with all that was lost from the pork plant closing.
Both Saturday and Sunday we took off on rides that ended up being a couple of hundred miles long. Weather was fantastic. Cool in the morning but then got nice. Not too hot though. Saturday we kind of took a northern route along the scenic byways. We found a nice local place to eat. Food and ice cream was good. For dinner we went to Gunder and the Irish Shanti for the one pound gunder burger. It was worth trying just to say I'd done so but I don't think I'll do that again. Pam got a ham dinner that I think could have fed us all. It was absolutely the biggest piece of ham I have ever seen on a dinner plate. It was about an inch and a half thick as well. She gave us some samples and it was very very tasty. With salad bar and potato for about $11. A heck of a bargain. I know Judy had shrimp and she said it was very very good as well. I can' t remember if anyone else had anything but the burger but we all had good food. Such an amazing place to find in a town that boasts of a population of 27 persons. I highly recommend you stop in when you are in the area. That night we settled down and just sat outside talking. Very peaceful.
Sunday we took kind of a south eastern route. Ended up at Pikes Peak Park and then down into Guttenberg before heading back towards St. Olaf to the St. Olaf tap to try the huge tenderloin. It weighs in at just over one pound. In St. Olaf, we were met by Randy and Deb Heath. They had been to J & P Cycle and decided to come on up and join us for the rest of the weekend. After St. Olaf, we headed back to Postville and just sat around and talked again. Another relaxing, peaceful evening. Good times, good friends, good fun, good stories.
Monday we got up and took a leisurely trip to Balltown to eat at Breitbach's Restaurant. This is the oldest bar/restaurant in Iowa and has been plagued by fires twice now. Hopefully their bad luck will end here. Donna made a reservation for us so we got in quickly. Good thing as they had a pretty good crowd. Unfortunately, we were a little disappointed with the place. The waitress seemed miffed that we decided not to eat off the buffet and the food was not up to par. Mine was OK but several noted that theirs was cold or just not too good. They also had run out of pie and that was not a good thing. From here some split off from the group and made their way home by themselves. The rest of us came back with me in the lead and maybe that wasn't such a good idea. I had a few problems finding the roads I wanted to take so the trek home was much longer than I had planned. We wanted to take a scenic ride home but didn't want to take the side treks I unintentionally took. I do apologize for that.
All in all, I think it was a great weekend. I do believe everyone enjoyed themselves for the most part. It was fun to have the group we had out having a good time. Next time, I hope more of you can come out and enjoy the fun as well.
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