Probably too cold to ride - nah!

March 8, 2018
Thursday
Texas

It's probably too cold to ride but we rode out anyway. We just needed to clear a few cobwebs out of our heads. The last few months have been hectic. And busy will be the word of the day for the foreseeable future so we are taking advantage of a little downtime. The biggest thrill of the day was nearly having our heads took off by a turkey. Ha! It was a big loop around ride under mostly gray skies - but... we noticed the trees are beginning to bloom. So... it's all better now.

Gas tank portrait

Hole in the clouds

Our favorite road sign

The shadow riders make a brief appearance

Rear view mirror nonsense

Where did that sucker come from!

Bradford Pears are blooming!

Exact number of s'miles today unknown but it was enough to take the edge off a day!

Sometimes you get a perfect shot...

March 3, 2018
Saturday
Texas/Oklahoma

Saddle up! We're going for donuts.

Every Saturday our excellent local dealership, Red River Harley-Davidson serves up coffee and donuts. Some of us are regulars earning a label - Donut Posse. We hope that's an affectionate term. Ha! Today, we are shaking off a bit of cabin fever as we have been house bound since mid-January because Tim had back surgery. He's been out solo a couple of times but not very far. He thinks he is good to ride. We are happy to report we have indeed confirmed that he - make that we - are good to go.

A number anomaly (that's what we call them) rolled up on the odometer as we cruised the few miles to RRHD, registering 83083.

After donuts, we escorted one of our friends part way home. Mike is from Bowie. We rode with him to Henrietta. And sometimes you get the perfect shot from the back of the bike. You gotta love digital cameras!

We peeled off and wound our way north into Oklahoma and home - taking the long way around of course. It is chilly despite the sun. The landscape is still mostly brown and winter is far from gone.

Today's s'miles = 134.3

Slide show with a few pics (approx. 20) - no music.

Recovery Ride - Yep! Good to Go!

February 15, 2018
Thursday
Texas

This pic pretty much says it all... This is the first ride about a month after back surgery. Tim rolled out with Dad earlier today to make a short ride. They logged 49 s'miles.

It's official. We're good to go. Yay!

Friday After Turkey Day Ride

November 24, 2017
Thursday
Texas

I cannot think of a better thing to do than ride with Dad the day after Thanksgiving - no black Friday sales where we were - no crowds and crazy shoppers - no traffic - just blue skies, mostly clear country roads and ice cream. And the lakes are blue!

S'miles = 129

Slide show = 23 photos with music

Keeping it short and simple

November 6, 2017
Monday
Texas

Any ride is a good ride. Today we rode out a few miles to clear our heads. Our world has lost its summer color. We travelled country roads where not much was going on except the sound of jets flying out of SAFB over our heads. Look closely at the cloud pics I caught a couple of them.

Our world has lost its summer color

Hard to catch!

Missed it!

Gotcha!

S'miles = 42

Lazy Mid-Week Picnic Ride

November 2, 2017
Thursday
Texas

We have a day off and we have decided to be off. There's always something to do you know but today we will not be detained by the mediocre. No today we ride.

We rolled out about 10 am lazy-time. It was a bit chilly and the flags are already standing straight out but skies are clear and the whole day is ahead of us. We roll south on Hwy 281 toward Jacksboro TX. It's not long before we make our first stop at a roadside park where we picnic on packaged grocery store sandwiches and chips and odd and end snacks from the house. You will note in the photos that a Witch is tagging along. She did not get her Hallowe'en ride so we are making it up to her. Ha!

Our picnic spot for today

Our companion finally gets a ride

The historical marker on the site names the area Lost Valley, a 20 square mile section of rolling hills and prairie where in the mid to late 1800s settlers, wagon trains and Texas Rangers met with Indian and white renegade trouble. This is a bit of local Texas history we were unaware of so we learned something new today.

Historical Marker - Lost Valley

The next stop is just a few miles up the road at Dairy Queen in Jacksboro. We were having a cone for you, Dad.

Ice Cream Stop - for Dad you know.

The remainder of the ride found us rolling south and west through assorted small towns including Gibtown (Tim and Dad stood the flag-line at the Gibtown Cemetery a few years back during a Daughters of the Confederacy dedication.), Perrin, Mineral Wells, Weatherford and on through the Possom Kingdom Lake/Reservoir area where I snapped a few photos of the Dam on the Brazos River.

The Dam at Possom Kingdom

Trees are showing autumn colors. Grasses are turning. And the light has an amber hue. Oh the seasons they are a changing, The Ride rolled over 82444 in the PK area today. We took a lazy circuitous route home and rolled in just before dark. We are calling it a good day - a good ride.

S'miles logged today = 230.4

Slide show (about 47 pics)

The Witch Gets a Ride

October 29, 2017
Sunday
Texas

The Witch gets a ride or actually if my reputation has preceded me you could say two witches get a ride... some do... but I digress.

Every year around Hallowe'en (my favorite season - it is a season at my house) this rubber witch gets a ride on the Harley. Why? Because we can and because we get a kick out of the double take she gets.

So, we rode a few country roads through the small towns in the area, looking for signs of Fall and Hallowe'en. We rode past cotton fields and abandoned buildings and remarked on the tumbleweed crop. They are about ready to cut loose.

It was a long, lazy Sunday afternoon ride in the Fall. We rounded the day out with a burger at Heff's.

We're calling it a day well done.

We found Cousin IT hanging out with the locals.

Cotton fields

Tumbleweeds

Heff's - a most excellent local burger joint.

152.9 s'miles

Bike stuff, breakfast and pumpkins

October 19, 2017
Thursday
Texas

Go ahead. Say something snarky like if you can read this - the witch fell off... I dare you!

Today's ride was about bike stuff meaning we stopped at Red River Harley-Davidson for a part. Then we rode to Iowa Park for breakfast at the Hwy Grill. Tim had been here once before while out scooting around with Dad. He said was as good today as it was before... just a straight up country breakfast with some tasty pancakes. No complaints here.

Before we rolled out of the parking lot (such as it is - mostly gravel) an elderly woman stopped her car and commented oh what a lovely bike and said she used to ride with her husband a long time ago. She said she loved our Hallowe'en decoration. Ha! And told us to ride safe!

Waiting patiently at RRHD

Country breakfast at Hwy Grill - Iowa Park

The Hwy Grill - Iowa Park

Quaint Harvest Decorations

Pumpkin Sighting!

More pumpkins!

Mural - Archer City

Nother mural

The rest of the time we spent on The Ride today was running up and down country roads through little farm towns decorated in quaint Harvest themes and past cotton fields and impromptu pumpkin stands.

We're getting a bit ahead of ourselves but calling it a good Fall ride.

123.2 s'miles

Wichita Mountain Picnic Ride

October 1, 2017
Sunday
Texas

Wow! It was cool enough for a picnic ride so we rolled out north this morning. Oklahoma was the destination. We planned to ride Mount Scott and wander around the Wildlife Refuge and just generally goof off a day.

We made this ride earlier in the year with Dad but did not travel up Mount Scott on that ride (it was early, breakfast was waiting at Ann's and the gates were not open yet). This area was a favorite Sunday drive for the Folks when I was a child. They hung out in the mountains as teens and newlyweds. Nearby Medicine Park was a bustling little city with a huge lodge where family reunions were held. There was an amusement park and skating rink among other things. There are many side attractions  to visit in the wildlife refuge like the Holy City which is the site of an Easter service each year. We will explore all that another day.

Mount Scott is a prominent mountain just to the northwest of Lawton, Oklahoma rising to a height of 2,464 feet. It is located in the Wichita Mountains near Fort Sill Military Reservation and lies in the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge. The road to the top is three miles and it is paved and well-maintained. The peak was named in honor of General Winfield Scott (1786-1866). Old 'fuss and feathers" is ranked as one of the best commanders of his time. In the 1830s, Scott was placed in charge of removing Cherokees to the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) among other duties.

We rode by Meers and Anns (both excellent places [actually, little dives] to eat) but we found a picnic spot at the base of the mountain and munched on grocery store deli sandwiches, chips and snacks before rolling west out of the refuge for a quick visit with friends Nancy and Don who live in Mountain Park OK.

We rolled in late in the day, happy to have logged a couple hundred miles on a great Sunday afternoon. Word is our friends Ann and Larry from Bowie were riding the Wichita Mountains today but we missed them all the way around. Too bad but we'll hook up soon and do it again together.

We agreed riding Mount Scott was fun. We also agreed if we rode up and down it about twenty times it would be almost like a foothills ride in Colorado. Ha!

Today's Wichita Mountain Ride = 248.9 s'miles

Slide show of today's ride with music. Enjoy!

Burger Run - YUM!

September 30, 2017
Saturday
Texas

This pic says it all... we need to ride. Ha! It has been rainy and muddy and the City has the street in front of our drive torn up and nearly impassable with mud and barriers but Tim managed to get The Ride out. We left the house around 2:30, rolled out by Lake Arrowhead and found ourselves rolling toward Jacksboro.

As we rolled into town, we considered the Dairy Queen - nah! And The Green Frog - nah! Let's see if Herd's is open. Yay! We have heard about the place but never caught it open when we were hungry. The old-fashioned no frills burger is great. The atmosphere is old burger shack - no dining area - eat outside. No problem. We loved it.

Old-Fashion Burger - Herd's Burgers

The Ride at Her's Burgers - Jacksboro TX

We met a couple who rolled in on a Harley Trike. We sat at the same table and munched on our burgers. They were from Lake Worth (near Fort Worth). As it turns out, Tim and the man we met were stationed at Carswell AFB at the same time. Small world.

Rode in just after 6 pm

texas-bucket-list-herds-burgers-in-Jacksboro

We took the long way home logging 161.9 s'miles