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!