April 27th a number of us from the chapter went to Elk Horn to attend the GWTA Iowa State event this year called Iowa Rendezvous. In attendance were Donna and I, Ray and Judy, Ben and Sherrill, Carl and Donna, Glenn and Pat, Harry and Bev, and Ernie and Louise.
3 bikes met at the Quiktrip in Grimes and left at 7am. We took Hwy 44 over and picked up Ray and Judy in Panora and continued our trip over to Elk Horn on Hwy 44. This is a nice road to take. Some nice scenery. When we took off, it was sunny and in the mid 40's. It was really pretty nice. By the time we got to Panora, the sky had clouded up, the wind came up and the temperature seemed to drop. It was a somewhat gloomy and cool ride the rest of the way over.
We arrived in Elk Horn around 9am. There were a few other people there when we arrived. Ben and Sherrill arrived about the same time we did. Glenn and Pat and Harry and Bev arrived later.
We bellied up for breakfast. I was a little reluctant to drive all the way over for breakfast, thinking we maybe should have eaten before we left but I am glad we did not. Breakfast turned out to be well worth the drive over. Scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy and sausage links were all very good. I'm sure I forgot something but the point is, all the food was very good.
We hung out and talked for awhile kind of hoping the weather would break. I had made plans to do a ride and end up in Neola for lunch at The Buck Snort. Around 11:30 we finally decided to go for the ride. Still cool and overcast but we wanted to put some miles on. 8 of us took left for the ride. 2 went on their own ride and the rest stayed at the community center in Elk Horn to continue to mingle.
My plan was to get out, get some riding in, grab a bite at The Buck Snort and be back in time for the games. As many of you are aware, my plans usually do not go as I have planned. We took of north and then west to Harlan. Then west from Harlan to Woodbine. Somewhere in here, the clouds broke and the sun came out. At this point the weather was absolutely gorgeous and perfect for riding. In Woodbine, I had planned on going south but decided to take the back road to Pisgah as it is a wonderful road to ride. After a short break in Pisgah, we headed back a ways toward Woodbine and then went south to Missouri Valley. Fueled up and continued south to Cresent, Underwood, and into Neola. Found The Buck Snort but by now it was almost 3pm. While we didn't have time to eat now as we were going to be eating at 6. The owner invited us in anyway saying we could at least have a drink of some kind. Take a break. The Buck Snort is a very nice little place. The menu looks inviting and I expect we will be making a trip back over to eat there at some point. We all had something to drink and a few tried a snack. They had a fried bread pudding. Never heard of that. Didn't think it was anything special but was interesting. I was told the ice cream that came with it was very good.
We hung out here for awhile and a few bought T-Shirts before we decided it was time to hit the road again. Took the back roads in through Minden to Avoca where we stopped at the Motel 6 to check into our rooms. Time was running short so we headed back to Elk Horn for the evening meal and events afterwards. We missed what apparently were some very fun games and some camaraderie but we really did have a great day riding.
Got back in time for the meal. Ham with a pineapple glaze that Karen made. The glaze was a big hit with everyone and many asked for the recipe. Mashed taters and gravy, salad and desserts. I'm sure I missed stuff here too. Everything was very good. Thanks to Karen and her crew for putting on two wonderful meals. Well worth the cost of registration.
After dinner, they had some awards. Our own Harry Cinnamon got an award for all the work he does on the websites at his own cost on his own time. Thank you Harry for all you do. Another very big award was that Ben and Sherrill Ress were announced as the State Family of the year. They were up against another couple and brought home the goods. There were a number of other awards given out to members from various chapters. Our chapter got awarded $25 for having the largest attendance from an Iowa chapter. One award I was most proud to see was one that went to Darrell and Judy Peters for all their work as State Directors. It was very nice to see them. We have not seen much of them since Judy had the stroke. She seemed to be doing quite well this weekend and that was very nice to see.
Later on, they gave anyone that wanted to the opportunity to roast anyone they wanted. Jo Allen of chapter P roasted JR Green. We all presented him with a roll of toilet paper. I think there will be some pictures coming soon showing the results of that. After Jo Allen, I got up and I roasted two people. I roasted Harry for his fascination with redheads and Ray for a story about a lost shoe. If you'd like to hear more, get with me and I'll tell you the stories.
After this, things were officially over and we all began our exit. Cleaned up, said our goodbyes and took off. A few headed back home. 8 of us stayed at the Motel 6 in Avoca as we had planned a trip along old route 6 on the way home on Sunday. That plan changed as locals told us that road was in disrepair and not a real good road to take. If you are in the area and need a place to stay, I would recommend the Motel 6 here. The owner was most hospitable. He really went out of his way to make our stay a nice one.
Sunday we got up and headed north before coming back east. Ernie and Louise headed for home on their own as they had things that needed to get done. Didn't find any place to eat breakfast until we made way for Carroll. Mac's corner cafe is an interesting place. Food was pretty good. Worth the stop. From here, we headed to Ray and Judy's. Judy offered to feed us supper and who can turn down an invitation at Judy's Country Kitchen. We got there around noon I suppose and just spent the afternoon talking and having a good time. Later on, Ernie, Louise and Nick were able to come back up and have supper with us. As usual, Judy made a wonderful meal. More than all of us could eat. We all left stuffed. Some more conversation and we finally had to make our way home. Wanted to get out before it got dark. I didn't want to ride the gravel road after dark.
All in all, it was a very fun weekend. Glad to see everyone that made it out. Was nice to get a good ride in with friends.
