Riding the Black Hills

August 20-21, 2012
Ellsworth AFB, SD
Buffalo WY

Got lucky this morning and landed a reservation at the Ellsworth AF base Pine Tree Inn.  Wow, is this ever a nice place.  They assigned me a suite with a king size bed in a bedroom separated from the living room…cool digs for an old traveler such as I.  The place is very new and very well appointed.

On the trip here, a very uneventful trip, I noticed the effects of the drought on the Iowa and Nebraska cornfields.  Not much yield there.  The weather was perfect for a long haul…and I covered an easy 560 miles, arriving in Ellsworth around 6:30pm.  During the ride I was deciding that a 2 day stay in the Black Hills would be nice.  However, when I got up this morning I decided to keep moving forward and hit the road…..inertia must not be given an opportunity!

So I checked out and headed for Custer City, the beginning point for the SCMA’s Iron Mountain ride.  Custer is a nice quaint town, was there last year at the Best Western for 3 nites during the Rally.  After getting a gas receipt and a sandwich it was off to complete the ride. 

I’m a Holly Spears fan !

August 19, 2012
Percival, Iowa

 

It was a long days ride to get here.  But I feel good that I covered 570 miles.  Along the way I noticed a van pulling a trailer with the cursive name on it “Holly Spears” with a portrait of a lovely young lady.  But I couldn’t tell what she was all about.  Well, as I was entering the motel in Percival there was the rig parked in front of the Wendy’s next to the motel, and 3 young men with 2 young ladies were walking towards the rig.  They stopped to let me go by but I stopped aside the rig, cut the engine and asked “What and Who is Holly Spears”?

Here’s a pic of the group.  Holly is the young lady sitting on Sophia, she is the lead singer and lyrcist.  Behind her, left to right is Alex (Base), Jeremy (Drummer), Evan (Lead), and Shannon (Key supporter and organizer). They are on their way from Nashville to Fargo for a gig. I haven’t had a chance to listen to Holly’s CD’s she gave me but I did get to hear a you tube song….she has a beautiful voice and gorgeous smile.  These young musicians are chasing their dream and I hope they make it.

Garmin Busted ???

August 18, 2012
Paducah KY

While making the trip to my buddy Neal’s place in Brentwood I made a stop for gas along the I-40 and met an energetic young businessman named Mark Mendoza saw Sophia and asked where I was heading.  We shared some stories of Harleys and one thing led to another and I found out he is a graduate of ASU in Tempe and runs the franchise Sports Clips in addition to restaurants, etc.  His dad is in Albuquerque and owns/operates Padilla’s, a long standing restaurant in the city.  Mark’s enthusiasm is infectious and motivating….he rekindled my interest in looking for a business to start up when I return to CA.

The ride was uneventful, other than observing 2 very bad accidents in the eastbound lanes with traffic backed up around 5-7 miles.

The visit with Neal was great.  Unfortunately my arrival was too late to see his wife Liz before she flew out until returning Saturday.  And of course, I was departing on Friday morning.  However, there was some bad weather, horrific lightning storms that hit the area hard.  Neal’s patio table had the umbrella torn out and the glass top shattered. 

Riding the Cherohalla Parkway

August 15, 2012
Brentwood (Nashville) TN
 

Last night I realized that tomorrow I will have to return to Deal’s Gap to acquire my ‘Tail of the Dragon’ T-Shirt and decals.  So my plan will be to load up, have breakfast at McD’s then ride to Deal’s Gap.

While loading Sophia in the morning I made new friends with the motel support staff and folks from MS from the room a few doors down.  I believe their names were Mike and Patty Campbell…but I’m not sure.  Once again I can’t find where I had written their names…if I had. They were in a Miata riding the Dragon for fun and then will head back to Diamond Head MS where I had stayed with my buddy Neal while doing the Four Corners on my way to Key West.  They also recently bought some propertyThe ride there went quickly, about 25-30 minutes, and I’m glad that I went there.  I bumped into Doc, who I had met back when I met Dennis at The Dragon Inn yesterday, and got a pic taken with him and his wife.

The Dragon is Slayed !!

August 14, 2012
Robinsville NC

Woke up around 3, then 5, then 6, and finally stayed up at 8:20.  The Sleepless in Seattle routine wasn’t my fault…it was the trucks on the Highway doing all their downshifting….very, very noisy.  And my room was actually above the highway but only some 30 feet away!

After leisurely loading the bike up I crossed over to the other side….of the highway that is, and had breakfast at a small shop named WE (Waffles and Eggs).  Am so glad that I went there for my breakfast cuz they had raw jalapenos which they graciously grilled for me and put it on the side.

Outside the skies were seriously overcast but The Weather Channel app on my Droid didn’t show any thunderstorm activity for Claypool Hill area.  BUT….scrolling the map around showed Knoxville getting plummeted, as well as the Maryville area, but all moving ENE on the map.  It seemed that by the time I reached Knoxville the thunderstorms would have passed thru already.  Buoyed by that optimism I mounted my iron steed and headed out onto the 19 towards Knoxville.  And I was indeed very fortunate.  The closest I came to rain was a thunderstorm on the left of the highway and one on the right about 10 miles apart…and the US19 split between them!  Once on the south side of Knoxville the skies cleared and the sun began warming the gorgeous TN countryside.

Shortly thereafter I connected to the 129 and headed for Maryville and then towards Tallassee.  But first was a planned stop at The Dragon Inn at the junction of TN72 and US129.  I had to meet Dennis and see his hotel and BBQ business that he started last year.  He and his wife are very courageous to embark on this adventure !   His place is all natural wood and gives a country feeling to the stay.  His BBQ is open on all sides giving a nice feel to being in the woods and a full view to the road watching bikers going to and coming from the Dragon.  If you are planning to ride the Dragon from Tallassee south to the Deals Gap you should plan to spend the night at The Dragon Inn or stop for refreshments. (865) 253-3566.

Back of the Dragon

August 13, 2012
Claypool Hill, VA

My night’s rest was a good one and in the morning I took my dirty clothes to the laundrymat  and then went to TheBlueDogArt Café for breakfast.  While there I met Fred Pasternak a local retiree, and Butch Hogan whose wife Sue owns the restaurant.  Annie was the waitress and lunch cook took my order for eggs, coffee and bacon.  Butch engaged me in conversation while also admiring Sophia and the carriage rack that I have on the back for all my gear.  He noticed my USMC(Ret) gearbox plate and told me his stepson is an active duty Marine with a coupla or more tours into Afghanistan under his belt.  After breakfast I returned to the hotel, packed up my gear, headed to the laundramat and got my clothes, then stopped at the café once again to get a pic with Butch and I….but this time Sue was there so we got all of us in the pic.

Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP)

August 12, 2012
Buena Vista

Riding out of Lusby was like learning to ride a bike all over again.  My anxieties about saddlebags being buckled, bungy cords coming off, yada yada started all over again.  So before getting on the US4 and riding over the tall Patuxent River bridge, I pulled into a KFC parking lot and did a complete inspection, again.

While doing that, Al Scroggs, a young man and his wife stopped by in their car and Semper Fi’d me.  He served in the Marine Corps and told me about his father or uncle (I forget the exact relationship) Frank Walton who was an enlisted pilot in the USMC.  I hope to hear from him so we can stay in touch and I can confirm the names.

With Sophia totally pre-flighted I headed over the bridge into VA towards Fredricksburg.  East of the burg I took US20 south towards Orange and skirted east around Charlottesville to get onto I-64 towards Afton/Waynesboro where I would connect to the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP).  After tanking up with fuel I headed to the  BRP starting point and found a closed up motel/gas station/restaurant area where a fella by the name of Ron was selling caramel popcorn that he prepared on site out of the back of his Van.  Ron was making a killing and sold the last of his big bags at about $10 a bag (I think).  We got some photos taken of us.  Then it was off to the entry of the BRP…no sooner did I turn onto it then there was the big welcome sign.