“…it’s about the journey, not the destination…”

                                                                    Summer Trip 2023

Downtown Mount Gilead Ohio on a sleepy Saturday morning.

        Today will be a ride that I’ve driven many times over the years. My wife and I will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary next summer, so I’ve been driving to and from Galion for over 40 years. Instead of taking interstate highways both ways I’ll reward myself with a ride through the countryside from Galion to Zanesville OH, as I did at the start of the trip. The route takes me through wonderful small towns like Mount Gilead and Mount Vernon, and then very nice roads from Mount Vernon to Zanesville through hilly, curvy eastern Ohio. A great way to start the day.

I rode through Mount Vernon as people were setting up for the usual 

Saturday Farmer’s Market in the town square.

        The temperature was 51 degrees as I left the Sleep Inn in Galion at 7:15 am. Very quickly through Galion I am out in the beautiful Ohio countryside with very little traffic. The air is fragrant on this cool, crisp morning. Into down town Mount Gilead, then around the obelisk in the center of town and eastward towards I 71 and OH 13. I 71 goes down to Columbus so I don’t want it. I continue east until I hit OH 13 and take that into Mount Vernon. Apparently there is a farmers market in the town square in Mount Vernon each Saturday. I stop to take a couple of pictures, the south out of town until I hit OH 586 toward Martinsburg and Fallsburg. The road goes up and down over hills, and has a number of sweeping curves that are wonderful to ride through. After 25 miles or so OH 586 runs into OH 146 that takes me into Zanesville.

The Farmers Market in Mount Vernon is quite a substantial enterprise. 

The park in the center of town is beautiful.

        I ride into Zanesville to the intersection with I 70, where I gas up before getting on the interstate. Since I don’t have a working fuel gauge I’ll do this the old fashioned way. I know I can go 150 miles on a tank ( often having 2 or 1 1/2 gallons left ) I’ll stop every 150 miles. This means one or two extra stops, but that is a small price to pay to avoid running out of gas. Once on I 70 it is around 75 miles to Wheeling WV, and then another 75 miles or so to New Stanton PA where I’ll get on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I stop in New Stantion to top off the tank, and the bike has gotten 41 mpg on that tank and I had 2 1/2 gallons left. A comfortable safety margin. 

Inside the Eat ‘n Park in Somerset PA.

        It is around 30 miles to the Somerset exit where there is an East ‘n Park restaurant where I usually stop for lunch. After that is a long ride on the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Harrisburg PA. Just short of Harrisburg I reach 150 miles on the tank. I stop at a service area to gas up, and since the day has warmed up, to take off my long sleeve shirt and apply sun tan lotion. This will be my last gas stir until I get near home. It is around 30 miles to the exit on to PA 283 to Lancaster PA. This is another 30 mile ride, and then east out of Lancaster on PA 340 to PA 896. South on 896 to New London where I top off the tank. It is 7 miles to my home and when I pull into my driveway my wife is waiting with the garage door open. I pull the bike inside. 17 days, just under 6,000 miles; a trip of many  contrasts of cultural differences, architecture, agriculture, and geography. A great trip. The reward is a kiss from my wife, a cold beer, and then we go out to dinner. A perfect way to end a perfect trip.

In the garage, safe and sound, my wife holding a cold beer. What could be better? 

 …it’s about he journey, not the destination…”

                                                               SUMMER TRIP 20223

Classic drive in movie treater in Huntington Indiana.

        Today I only had 200 miles to ride to my next destination. An easy day today. When I set out there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was chilly enough for me to wear my rain jacket, my “buff,” and to have the heated grips on medium. US 24 out of Logansport is a 4 lane highway. The only respite from “interstate” like roads today would be sections of US 224. Along this route traffic was light, but this would be the exception for the day. Only 200 miles, but a lot of it with traffic.

At the Ohio state line.

        My wife was “born and raised” in Galion Ohio. It always feels like a homecoming when I come to Ohio. At this point I have been on the road for 16 days, and I’ll be home tomorrow. I have ridden over 5,000 miles, and tomorrow will be 500 more. Heck of a trip.

Notice all of the trees in the background. You didn’t see that in 

Montana, Wyoming, or western Nebraska.

        I have no gas gauge but I will stop for gas every 150 miles for the rest of the trip. When I fill up today I had gotten 145 miles on 3.5 gallons of gas. That is 40 mpg, and I still had 2 1/2 gallons of gas left. That is a good safety margin. Lunch was at a Subway about 70 miles from Galion. A little over 1 hour to ride. I ended up in my motel room by 3 pm. Tomorrow 500 miles, 10 hours in the saddle. 

The rich, green, fertile farm land of Ohio.

 “…it’s about the journey, not the destination…”

Up and out this morning by 8:10 am. Rich, agricultural Illinois.

        This is another 300 mile day. Usually at an average of 50 mph results in 6 hours of riding. Interesting by 9:10 am I had ridden 63 miles, far above 50 mph. Once again the route I took ( US 34 to I 74 to I 474 to US 24 east ) often finds me riding with very little traffic. If I am near a big town, an industrial town, there will be some traffic. Once away from population centers the riding is wonderful, little traffic. 

Little traffic in the Illinois countryside.

        Something that becomes more and more apparent to me is the number of trees I see. There were trees in Montana and Wyoming, but they usually meant a town, or a house. Now, as I ride east in Illinois towards Indiana there are tree covered hills, forests on each side of the road. VERY different than Montana and Wyoming.

At the Indiana border. 

        The morning went well. Easy riding. After lunch things would change. I had been keeping an eye on the fuel gauge. I had gotten 43 mpg on a tank in Montana. Then the mileage went back to 36, 37 mpg. On the first tank today I got 39 mpg. After lunch, as I watched the fuel gauge I saw I was getting very good mileage again. THEN…as I was riding through Watseka IL I noticed the fuel gauge going down to zero. I then saw that the temperature gauge was at zero also. I’ve been through this before. I had blown a fuse. I pulled over to the side of the road in the shade to investigate. I took off the seat and the left side cover so that I could take off the fuse cover. The tail light fuse was blown. As I looked in the cover there was only 1 fuse in there and it was the wrong amp. Luckily there was an Autozone right up ahead. I  bought a pack of various fuses, replace the blown fuse with a new one….and it blew. Not good. I plugged in another fuse, turned the key and the fuse blew again. This is a problem.

More and more crops, and more and more trees. 

        OK.  I checked what was out. No fuel or temp gauge, no lights on the dashboard, not driving lights, no tail lights. BUT…I DID have headlight, brake lights, and turn signals. I could ride home like this as long as I didn’t ride at night, which I didn’t plan to do. OK on to Logansport IN. I lost an hour as I rode east, from the Central Time Zone into the Eastern Time Zone. I got to my motel by 5:30, checked in, went out and had dinner. I got back in time to watch the preason Eagles/Browns game. Tomorrow an east 200 mile day to Galion Ohio.

When I went out to the bike it looked like rain. I followed it all day but never got wet!

 “…it’s about the journey, not the destination…”

US 34 just over the line in Iowa. Lots more agriculture now than in north western Nebraska.

        Omaha is a pretty big city. LOTS of traffic lights, and, of course, people. Very different than Wyoming or Montana. Getting out of Omaha took some planning, but, after about 1/2 an hour I managed to cross over into Iowa. Once again my chosen route got me away from a lot of the traffic. 

Western Iowa is very hilly, but lots of crops..

        The riding today was very good. Although the roads are very straight, there are some elevation changes as  you go up and down over the hills. One of the things I really like about traveling like this is seeing the little towns along the way. An interesting aspect of this trip is how the architecture has changed. In South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming there were lots of apartment houses, and single houses that looked like pre-fab houses, obviously new. As I rode across Iowa there were many more houses than before riding across from Wyoming. When I was in Nebraska as I got closer to Omaha there were more and more houses. Now in Iowa this continued. 

Central Park in Corning IA. The bike IS in the picture!

        Since I only had 300 miles to do today I decided to take a break around 10 am. I approached the town of Corning and decided to ride in and find a city park. I did; Central Park. It had lots of benches, a pavilion and a fountain. A surprising aspect of this was that as I sat there reading I could hear oldies music, as if one of the houses was playing the music too loud. After reading for 1/2 an hour I decided to get back on the road. As I walked back to the bike I realized that light poles had speakers on them and that it was the town playing the music. How American. 

The Pavilion in Central Park, and a view of down town Corning IA.

        I had ridden around 100 miles by then and decided to ride 50 or so more get lunch and fill up. This brought me to the town of Osceola IA. After gassing up I asked the clerk in the convenience store if there was a family restaurant in town. She gave me directions to Nana Greers Family Restaurant. I enjoyed my lunch there, especially the desert.

Apple pie ala mode…with about a PINT of ice cream on the pie!

        I had about 3 hours of riding left. US 34 proved a very good road. I rode through the agricultural richness of Iowa, the land growing less hilly as I approached Burlington IA, my destination for the day. Arriving there I gassed up again having traveled 153 miles since lunch. By 4:45 I was at my motel. Tomorrow across Illinois, into Indiana to Logansport another 300 mile day. 

The monument in Corning dedicated to those who served to protect America. 

 “…it’s about the journey, not the destination…”

                                                                Summer Trip 2023

The Raine Motel in Valentine NE is an old fashioned Ma and Pa motel. I had a very pleasant night there.

        I pulled out of Valentine by 7:15. My destination was Omaha NE, 330 miles away. On the way I wanted to stop for lunch at a little restaurant in Beemer NE, which I had stopped at for lunch in 2018 on my way back from Alaska. I wonder if the woman who worked there would remember me?

Now I was in agricultural Nebraska. 

        When I first entered Nebraska it was too hilly and rocky for crops. It was a great area to have cattle, but it was just not good for crops. By the time I reached Valentine there were more and more crops. East of Valentine I rode through mile after mile of corn and soy bean fields.

I arrived in Beemer around 11:45 am. I went inside and, after I told her 

my story of 2018 she remembered me!

        I got to Beemer before noon, and went into the cafe with a wooden nickel Mary had given me in 2018. With my story she remembered me. Chris, Mary’s husband, fixed me a nice lunch. As I left Mary told me to come back the next time I passed by. I assured her I would

Lovely downtown Tekamah NE. 

        Riding west on US 275 the closed I got to Omaha the more traffic increased. I decided to take a slightly longer route taking NE 32 to Tekamah, then US 75 south to Blair. Then NE 133 down to Omaha. Tomorrow east to Burlington IA. To get there I would have to ride all the way across Iowa. I need to find some backroads to do this!

Sign on the wall of the Beemer Cafe.

 “…it’s about the journey, not the destination…”

                                                                SUMMER TRIP 2023

Look at the population on Van Tassell WY on the sign in the background.

        The aspect of touring the way I do is that every day I get up, pack up, and see many different things and towns on the way to a destination the I probably have never been before. This makes each day an adventure. When I ride with my college room mates we rent a cabin somewhere and stay there for 3 to 5 days. They usually go hiking and I explore the area. Very different that what I do when on my own. On this trip I stayed in Bozeman MT because I had to get new tires on the bike. I love the freedom I felt, the excitement of discovery of each day since I left. It is so much fun.

I stopped around 10 am to read for a while. It seems silly to me to ride as fast 

as possible through an area without really looking at what is there.

        Today my goal was to ride US 20 out of Casper WY east across Wyoming to Nebraska, continuing on US 20 to Valentine NE. I expected to ride around 330 miles. I had to ride I 25 out of Casper for 30 miles or so as US 20 merged with it. Once on US 20 riding eastward traffic dropped. As usual on the routes I choose there were few cars or trucks. Easy riding. 

Riding east towards the Nebraska border there were still amazing views of rock formations.

         I decided to gas up and have lunch in Chadron NE. By the time I got to Chadron I had just about 200 miles on the tank. The bike has a 6 gallon tank, and took just under 5 gallons. The bike got a little over 39mpg. After lunch at Subway I started heading east towards Valentine. I only had 140 miles or so to go, around 2 1/2 hours of riding, and the entire afternoon to do it. However I would pass from the Mountain time zone to the central, loosing an hour. 

North western Nebraska is not like the strerotype. It is hilly, not flat. 

        As I was riding, at 65 mph in a 65 mph zone, 4 Harley’s, who had been at the gas station where I filled up, came roaring past me probably doing 75 mph. Within minutes they vanished from the road in front of me. Around 45 minutes later, as I was going through a small town, there were these guys, who had been standing around talking back in Chadron, standing around and talking as I rode past them doing 65 mph. By the time I reached Valentine they hadn’t caught up to me. In my opinion, motorcycling is about riding, not talking.

Another scenic view from along the road in Nebraska.

        I got to Valentine around 5:45 pm local time. I gassed up once again, and once again I got 39.2 mpg. I found my motel, checked in and had dinner. Tomorrow US 20 east once again until it meets US 275 which runs down to Omaha. I plan to stop for lunch at the town of Beemer NE, at a restaurant I stopped at in 2018 on the return trip from Alaska, which I did on my BMW R1150 GS. I wonder if the woman who runs the restaurant will remember me? It will be fun to find out.

Rock formations in north western Nebraska.

 “…it’s about the journey, not the destination…”

                                                                SUMMER TRIP 2023

Route 16 just west of Buffalo WY.

        Today was a great example of journey vs destination. Casper WY, my destination for today, is only 114 miles from Sheridan WY by interstate. I rode just a little over 300 miles today. Along the way I would ride an excellent motorcycle road, end up riding about 2 miles in the mud, and then ride one of the best motorcycle roads I’ve seen. THEN have a picnic lunch in a beautiful little park, and ride along a river through an amazing canyon. What a day!

Some of the amazing rock formations along WY 16.

        I got on the road around 8:10. The ride down I 90 to Buffalo was uneventful but pretty. In Buffalo I started to ride to the small community of Saddlestring about 5 miles out of town it turned into a dirt road. The Goldwing, an amazing bike, weighs over 1200 lbs. It is not a dirt bike. Discretion being the better part of valor, I turned around and rode back to Buffalo. There I got on WY 16 west towards Worland. INITIALLY  it was a nice ride. Going up the Bighorn Mountains into a pine forest. Very pretty. 

The very nice park in Worley WY where I had my picnic lunch.

        Riding on 16 through I came across a sign stating road work for 22 miles. The road became a little rough, but no big deal. Since it was Sunday I was pretty sure there would be no work done today. Riding along, enjoying the alpine like view I came across a “pavement ending” sign…..and then no more pavement. It did not become a gravel road. It became a dirt road…which had been rained on over night…turning the dirt into mud. Riding the ‘Wing in the mud is EXTREMELY difficult. I felt the bike slide several times…picking up this bike in the mud is almost impossible. YUCK!

Some of the amazing scenery along US 20 out of Worley toward Shoshone.

        You will notice there are no pictures of the muddy section of the road. I was far too busy keeping the bike moving and  up over the 2 mile stretch of mud. Not my favorite….BUT the reward was an amazing ride down the mountains on the other side. It was fantastic. 

US 20 south of Worley, where it passes through a canyon along a fast moving river.

        I decided to gas up in Worley and get lunch. Right across from the gas station was a Subway. I got a sub and then went to a nice little park and had a picnic. After that the route was all US 20. Down to Shoshone and then over towards Casper. Along the way were some fantastic rock formations. It was 97 miles from Shoshone to Casper. I arrived in Casper by 4 pm, gassed up, and was in my motel by 4:15. Tomorrow on to Valentine NE.

Fantastic view south through the canyon.

 “…it’s about the journey, not the destination…”

US 310 south our of Laurel MT.

        It is so GREAT to be back on the road. Today my goal is to reach Sheridan WY, following a route suggested by my friends from Alberta, Brad and Murray Reid. My route was I 90 E from Bozeman MT to Laurel, then south on US 310 to Lovell WY. Then take US 14 A east over to Ranchester WY, on to I 90 to Sheridan. Brad promised me that the ride on US 14 A was great.

As I rode south on US 310 the town of Frannie WY, self

 declared “the biggest little town in Wyoming”

        US 310 came out of Laurel with US 212. When US 310 split off it became a two lane roadway. Very little traffic. When I arrived in Lovell I gassed up the bike, because I didn’t know what was ahead of me. I also got lunch at a little gas station. The young lady made me a cheeseburger and fries, and delivered them to my table. Very nice people.

The ride on US 14 A was one of the most memorable I’ve had. 

        As I rode out of Lovell there was a sign stating that there were steep climbs 22 miles up ahead. They weren’t kidding. As I rode towards the mountains the scenery was spectacular. I’ve been saying that a lot on this trip. 

The mountains that US 14 A crosses over. Beautiful. 

        The road started to climb into the mountains, and the grades very steep. The scenery was breathtaking, but I needed to focus on the road. Very curvy. There were some rough patches on the road, but it was great motorcycling.

I stopped to read for a while on the way up. You can see my chair on the other side of the bike.

This was the view from my chair. Again, I simply can’t do the view justice.

        On the ride up there were a number of 25 mph curves, but generally a fun ride. The surprise at the top was what a sign called “ The Highlands.” I rode for about 30 miles across this landscape that reminded me of an alpine meadow. It was fantastic. 

The ride down. Unbelievable. 

        The ride up was super. The ride down might have been as good…or better, from a motorcycling viewpoint. As I rode down I passed rock formations that, signs informed my, were 207, 250, 309, 500 MILLION years old. Again spectacular. The road surface on the was down was better, and I could really get into the curves, some reminiscent of the Blue Ridge Parkway, but with greater scenic splendor. Wow.

The rock formations were sensational!

        When I reached Ranchester I had no choice but to get on I 90. A quick ride brought me to Sheridan, my destination for the night. Tomorrow I am going to take a circuitous route to Casper WY. I plan to take a number of “back” roads and explore Wyoming a little. Should be a very nice day.

Another view from the way up. I just wish I was better at photography. 

 “…it’s about the journey, not the destination…’

                                                                     SUMMER TRIP 2023

I had to stop and take this picture of the amazing mountains off to my left. 

        Today I decided to take a ride to White Sulphur Springs and have lunch. My route would be MT 86 out of Bozeman to MT  89 up to White Sulphur Springs. I thought there was a good chance of some mountainous scenery. I was right.

Mountains off in the distance along MT 86.

        When I looked at MT 86 on the map I thought it might be interesting. What I found was that MT 86 was a really good motorcycle road. Some nice curves at times, elevations, some 25 mph curves, and it demanded you pay attention. When I hit MT 89 it was more wide open with a speed limit of 70. Rolling, grass covered hills on either side of  the road with the ever present mountains on the horizon.

The Branding Iron Cafe in White Sulphur Springs Montana.

        Reaching White Sulphur Springs I located the restaurant I had read about. The Branding Iron Cafe was obviously the place where the locals eat. The food was good not pretentious. You could tell by watching the interaction of the servers with the customers they all knew each other. It had a real genuine feel.

The popular place for breakfast or lunch.

        It had been about a 90 mile ride there from Bozeman, so I expected to make it back without filling up. Going in the opposite direction provided a different perspective than I had had on the way up. As usual the run back seemed faster. Back on MT 86 I looked forward to the curvey section and enjoyed it greatly. 

Another beautiful view of the mountains. There are no pictures of the curved 

section because I was too busy riding and enjoying the section to stop and take pictures!

        After I got back to the motel I was out by my bike when a friendly guy walked up. We started having a motorcycle conversation and soon his brother showed up. They were from Alberta Canad and out touring together on their BMW’s. We ended up going out to dinner together and planned a ride for tomorrow. 

My two new friends. 

Sign from inside the Branding Iron Cafe.