cowpuc Posted February 22, 2015 Author #226 Posted February 22, 2015 I had no sooner gotten Tweeks re-shod and put back together and those two grandsons of mine showed up. They were both pumped up about having their Grandpa around for a couple more grueling days. We boys were given an hour or so before dinner was gonna need to be eaten so we wondered over and started picking dirt bikes out of the tree in their front yard. The three of us rode and played until it got late and the dinner bell rang - it is amazing how time just seems to evaporate when I get around these two young California champions and it brings such deep joy to my heart to be part of their young lives while we evaporate as much time together as we can! My second born daughter joined us for dinner. While we were eating, we all got talking about how fortunate Tip and I had been that those two Texas Hero's of ours, @bikerjohn and @Squidley, had rescued us when Tweeks stator had decided to go on a vacation of its own way back in Texas. It was my second born daughters graduation that we were ultimately trying to get to so I mentioned to her just how fortunate we had been. Her and I thought we ought to do something special for those two Texas Cowboys. We decided to put our feeling to song, we walked out by the pasture behind Dead-Eye and Earth Movers house and sang a quick thank-you song to those two Great Texans. It was not until much later that I discovered that one of those beautiful horses in the background had heard our singing and decided to join in with a whinny in perfect timing!
cowpuc Posted February 22, 2015 Author #227 Posted February 22, 2015 (edited) Having spent some time with the kids followed by a quick trip down to tour San Francisco (never did get to ride on a trollie car like they used to show on the Streets of San Francisco - bummer), our feet started getting itchy for real open country CTFWing. A day or so of sitting still in traffic when you have a perfectly good CTFWing motorcycle sitting between your legs can get to you. The kids were sad to hear we would be heading back out but they also knew we would be back. I jumped on VentureRider.org and announced an emergency Meet and Greet at a local Ice Cream Shop - a place called Leatherby's in Elk Grove California, just in case any VentureRider.org members wanted to join us for a farewell ice cream fix. I made the announcement on VR that ALL VentureRider.org members were welcome to this, Tippy and Pucs first official Meet and Greet. There are over 12,000 members registered at VentureRider.org and I figured if we could even get 10 percent of those 12000 people to show up we could have a really fun ice cream party. Later that evening when Tip and I pulled into Leatherby's, I was shocked to see the place packed with people! Unfortunately, they were not all people who had responded to our late invitation BUT, there were a couple of great VR families that showed up! @Condor and his lovely daughter came to scratch the ice cream itch with us, Condor was able to give me a pretty good run for my money on gobbling down some amazingly tasty Banana Nut Ice Cream. If you have been following this somewhat lengthy ride story, you may recognize Condor as being the same person who had helped me put that plate of Gravy Covered French Fry's back at Mount Hood out of their misery - that Condor, he is good buddy!! The other people who showed up for our impromptu Meet and Greet were a lovely couple who also happen to reside in this region of California. @EasyRider and his wife were also at The Dalles Rally, Tip and I had gotten a chance to chat with them just a little while attending the rally and we were hoping that somehow we could have an opportunity to meet their family, we were very glad to see them all at Leatherby's. These amazing people have been pouring out their hearts by being adoptive parents for many years - they are also great American Hero's in the truest form. Their presents and friendship at that little meet and greet was a blessing beyond words! @EasyRiders second to the youngest sat next to Tip and I and we had a blast watching him gobble ice cream - he could almost compete with Condor!! Easyrider presented me with a gorgeous patch for Tweeks that perfectly describes a true CTFWers outlook on life - to this day, Tweeks proudly wears her patch from EasyRider that declares for all the world to see, "Ride To Eat - Eat To Ride"! Edited February 22, 2015 by cowpuc
cowpuc Posted February 22, 2015 Author #228 Posted February 22, 2015 I could feel the difference in Tweeks attitude as the three of us pulled out of my daughters driveway the following morning. Tweeks is different than a lot of her kind in that she has an actual Adrenaline gland hidden somewhere deep within her mechanical/electrical systems that reacts every time she gets excited. The adrenaline mixes with her gasoline and 20/50 weight oil systems somehow and she develops some almost human like attitudes when she knows something special is about to take place. I have felt this attitude many times in her fairly short life and I was feeling it now. It was 7 a.m and we were working our way out of the Sacramento area and headed toward Donner Pass. Having ridden the area where people like @Condor and @EasyRider call home and knowing from experience that anytime a motorcyclist can catch the area during pre-rush hour it it works in that same motorcyclist best interest. We had taken the back roads out of Wilton, found our way up thru Rancho Cordova and came out not to far from Folsom Prison all while discussing a quick trip up to Glacier National Park. Feeling the increase in Tweeks adrenaline levels, I could tell the old girl liked the sound of that so Tip and I decided we would go with her as she CTFW there. Knowing that the state of Montana, which holds within her porfolio that well known park called Glacier, was north of us, the three of us grabbed a heading that would hopefully land us safely up in that region. Wanting to double check our internal compass headings, we stopped at a fuel station near Donner Pass, fed Tweeks, got re-acquainted with human road grub and borrowed a map from the station attendant. After looking at a genuine map of the United States, the three of us were amazed at how much east and than north we would need to travel in order to link up with the Great State of Montana's Glacier NP. Having had our fill of getting cold up in the northern mountains of California and noticing how close we were to the heat of Salt Lake City, we made the decision to hi-tail it across the ick-spress way to Salt Lake. I had been stretched out on Tweeks back, had gotten a pretty good suntan going on one side of my already tanned stomach and was just about to roll into a slight side saddle position to try and catch some rays on the other side of my body (if you don't do this you can return home from CTFWing looking like a creature off Star Trek) to equal my tan out when something caught my eye. As it drew closer I could see that what ever I was looking at on the side of Interstate 80 was not a natural growth from the concrete. One of the really fun things about CTFWing is having the time to stop and see what those little objects found on the the sides of highways are. This has become a form of boredom breaking for the three of us thru the years of CTFWing. It may sound crazy to all but a few fellow CTFWers, probably only CTFWers who also enjoy things like treasure hunting with one of those metal detector apparatuses will really find any value in this little section of the story. Tip and I can get caught up in CTFW Treasure Hunting to the extent that we sometimes will go for hours just looking for treasure. Its not normal, it can even be a little dangerous (I once stopped on a busy 6 lane highway out near a place called Mount Royal in New Jersey to pick up an old motorcycle helmet that had fallen off another riders bike - I will never do that again) but, if you are careful, highway treasure hunting can be a lot of fun and can actually help with a decease known to CTFWers as Ick-Spressway Depressive Disorder or ISDD. This treasure hunt revealed what appeared to be a couple sleeping bags, one of them brand new, inside of someones plastic carrying case. I instantly felt sorry for those very friendly sleeping bags who had gotten separated from their rightful owners - probably some crazy folks out CTFWing - and could not find it within me to just leave them laying there in the hot Nevada desert sun.
cowpuc Posted February 22, 2015 Author #229 Posted February 22, 2015 Fellow travelers who were following Interstate 80 on that day were having a lot of fun taking pictures of Tweeks, Tip and I as we hustled along the interstate with our gear hanging on Tweeks backend and a couple sleeping bags stuffed between the two of us. I am not sure whether or not those same travelers had ever seen CTFWers who were also Highway Treasure Hunters before but they didn't seen to appear that way. We had ridden about a half an hour in this new seating position before the three of us found a place where someone had placed a truck stop along the highway. The girl behind the counter at the truck stop seemed real understanding as we asked if they had a lost and found area for things found along the highway. She called the manager to the front desk to make the decision as to whether or not the store could take on the responsibility of caring for the two sleeping bags that sat there patently waiting for an answer. The manager decided that it was probably in the best interest of the two orphaned bags to stay under his care. I was somewhat relieved to hear his final answer because their company did make for some somewhat crowded seating positions on Tweeks but, we will always remember those two orphaned sleeping bags that we rescued.
cowpuc Posted February 22, 2015 Author #230 Posted February 22, 2015 If you ever decide to give Highway Treasure Hunting a try when you are out CTFWing, there are a couple rules that go with the game that you will want to remember. Ist of all, check the legal requirements for doing so. Some places allow it, some don't. Another big rule and one that applies greatly to places like Nevada and Utah is that someone still has to keep an eye on your motorcycles fuel gauge. Running out of fuel on an ick-spressway in temps above 100 degrees can be dangerous. While those out of gas times when below 100 degree's have a very strong odor of pure embarrassment, when you get over 100 degrees those embarrassing feelings are multiplied somewhat by other feelings of not only embarrassment but also the unnerving feelings that you and your passenger are going to die from heat stroke. Tip and I had violated the second amendment of the treasure hunting rules and had lost track of our fuel usage during this latest exploit. We hadnt even thought about it until one of us noticed the flashing red IDIOT light on Tweeks dash. We emptied our two quart "get out of jail free" spare bottles of fuel into Tweeks and started the process of running Tweeks at exactly 58 miles per hour, coasting down hills and basically begging God to not let us be found looking like one of those skeletons seen on tee-shirts that have "Yea, but it's a dry heat" written on them. When we finally pulled into Wendover and that idiot light on Tweeks dash had turned into a light that appeared to now read - YOU TWO NEED TO PAY BETTER ATTENTION. It occurred to me as we pulled into the first fuel station off the ick-spressway in Wendover that maybe distracted riders from Highway Treasure Hunting weren't as uncommon as I had once thought they were. I noticed that this particular location had fuel prices that seemed like they were trying to get an deserved cut of the profits made from a long day of treasure hunting. We risked having to engage the 2 human power auxillary motor that Tweeks carrys on her back and we rode down the road a little farther and to see if we could save some of our precious earnings. We were all very happy to find gas down the road for almost a whole dollar per gallon less!!
Lone Eagle Posted February 22, 2015 #231 Posted February 22, 2015 Dang, been away from this site for a while - mainly due to work, a little riding around on weekends, and finally being able to catch up on stuff around the house. Awesome look back at our adventure last year, Puc - thanks for sharing so many wonderful memories.
cowpuc Posted February 22, 2015 Author #232 Posted February 22, 2015 Dang, been away from this site for a while - mainly due to work, a little riding around on weekends, and finally being able to catch up on stuff around the house. Awesome look back at our adventure last year, Puc - thanks for sharing so many wonderful memories. My oh my,, look what the cat dragged in Tip!! If it aint our long lost pal @Lone Eagle!! Hey ya lop eared bald one - how's that Harley treatin ya these days bro!! Hope all is well!! Really nice to hear from you! Sharing awesome memories about that rally you put together out there in "The Dalles" was a piece of cake, there were sooo many to choose from - what a great time we all had!! Thanks for jumping on and saying hi Mr. Eagle! Dont be a stranger ya rascal - ya had us worried that you were still at the The Dalles trying to explain why you and @Condor chose their town for the Rally
cowpuc Posted February 24, 2015 Author #233 Posted February 24, 2015 We arrived safely in one of my favorite little camping spots in Utah - a place called Skull Valley. This time we actually made it in time to purchase fuel and get something to eat from the tiny convenience store other than the day old popcorn we had to eat the last time we came into this place. They have a huge parking area beside out back of this notorious western icon and that is the place where I have camped on several occasions going all the back into the 80's. Some of you readers may remember this location as the spot that Tippy and I made a prank video about a few years back. It is the one found on You Tube (all my ride video's can be found there by searching for me - Scott Barnhard - on the You Tube site) where Tip and I shared an early morning uptake of the gorgeous Utah mountains here in beautiful Skull Valley.
cowpuc Posted February 24, 2015 Author #234 Posted February 24, 2015 After we filled Tweeks fuel tank we went inside the Skull Valley Store, got a couple sandwiches, a coke, some fresh pop corn and went out front to sit on our favorite bench to relax while we pondered the day we had just experienced. The last time we were here a real friendly Utah woman had waited on the three of us - this time it was a middle aged man who was also a very friendly person. He came outside and visited with us while we ate dinner. After we chatted about Tweeks and our ride in from Sacramento, we told him that it is customary for the 3 of us to stop in to the store any chance we get, he started telling us about the store. Apparently it is owned by him and his wife, the girl that waited on us last year was an employee and he was glad to hear she had treated us well. He laughed when I told him about the video prank video Tip and I had made while camping behind his store. The owner said we could camp in there any time we wanted and stay as long as we wanted BUT, he said he knew of a spot that we would probably really get a kick out of. He gave us directions that involved riding a few desert trails that started about a half mile east of where we were setting. The attendant looked at Tweeks and said the old girl looked like she would do just fine on some of the deep ruts that plagued the trail leading to the camp spot he was thinking of - even in the dark.. Before heading out to find the secret camping spot that the Skull Valley Store owner had just told us about, I asked about the horse corral I had noticed earlier. The gentleman told me that local cowboys have a round up every year at the beginning of May and that they still use that old corral during that time. Apparently the old "open range" concept is still used out there and, just like in the old days - real genuine cowboys come in on HORSE BACK and round up the cattle that is scattered all over that huge section of land. I asked if they used quads and motorcycles to chase the cattle and he said no - they still do it the hard way. Apparently they do use a special breed of dog to assist in the round up - he began to explain that there is only one domestic dog that wont back down from Coyotes, they are white in color and a joy to watch work the cattle. I recalled many years ago being camped on the prairie and being awakened by some strange white dogs with bells on their collars chasing a coyote - I never did find out what kind of dog they were but, after I explained that to the attendant he said it sounded just like the kind of pooch he was referring to. He invited us out to watch the round up event and said they also do real old fashioned branding and "snipping" during round-up. Than, after all the work is done the cowboys throw a HUGE western shin dig that is second to none!!!! This sure sounded like something that Tweeks, Tip and I will have to attend some year and it is now on our ever growing bucket list.
cowpuc Posted February 24, 2015 Author #235 Posted February 24, 2015 After asking the owner of the store to sign our Skull Valley sticker, we rode out and checked in at the awesome camping spot that our new friend had told us about. I have said it many times over, if you want to find out about hidden little locations filled with magic - it pays for a CTFWer to get to know the local people a little (it doesn't hurt to ride a gorgeous old scoot like Tweeks either). I smiled with glee when we pulled into our new found campground and noticed that it included a small motocross track with an abandoned bus that the area kids obviously used for a spot to cool off while getting some shade from the blistering sun that Skull Valley is so well known for. With any form of civilization a good ways off in the distance and nothing but a crystal clear Utah sky dotted with glittering stars in the heavens above the three of us fell fast asleep.
cowpuc Posted February 24, 2015 Author #236 Posted February 24, 2015 The next morning I double checked the air pressures on the brand new tire I had spooned on back at Sacramento and the new tire I had stuck on the front of Tweeks before we had ever started this nonsense. I didn't bother waking Tip up but instead went out to investigate that rugged little desert motocross track that ran in behind our little camping area. It really looked inviting to me as I have spent a fair amount of ride time clearing jumps and hopping whoops on tracks very similar to this one. I listened carefully and thought for sure I could hear the wonderful noise of a 1973 CR250M Honda Elsinore as it doubled the whoops and cleared the table tops. What a wonderful pleasure to now have yet another great camping spot to return to as Tweeks, Tip and I continue our adventures in the years ahead! Skull Valley Utah, we shall return!!!.
Flyinfool Posted February 24, 2015 #237 Posted February 24, 2015 In that old prank video, was that a CLEAN, and naked shot of Tweeks that i saw? Shame on you posting cycle porn on here.......
cowpuc Posted February 24, 2015 Author #238 Posted February 24, 2015 In that old prank video, was that a CLEAN, and naked shot of Tweeks that i saw? Shame on you posting cycle porn on here....... That it was Fool, that it was!! Probably should of warned folks that Tweeks was gonna appear a little necked in that one!! Here is another of her "streaking" down the salt flats as necked as jay bird, this was taken the same day as the prank mountain video,
Chaharly Posted February 25, 2015 #239 Posted February 25, 2015 Whether its working at your job or CTFWing all over the country, there is nothing quite as relaxing as having your family waiting for you at the end of a long day. After dinner, my two daughters cuddled in by their own father. With my oldest - Awawhoo, on my left and my second born - Cappie on my right, one of those precious daughters of mine pushed play on the remote control and the three of us sat down and enjoyed a before bedtime movie together - the way it has been and the way it always should be! Was puc asleep?!
cowpuc Posted February 25, 2015 Author #240 Posted February 25, 2015 Was puc asleep?! When we finally get a chance to meet IRL, walk up to Tip - give her a hug and say,, "I been meaning to ask you something, does Puc have a tendency to fall asleep during movies" and see what she says Yep,, sound asleep!!
Chaharly Posted February 26, 2015 #241 Posted February 26, 2015 When we finally get a chance to meet IRL, walk up to Tip - give her a hug and say,, "I been meaning to ask you something, does Puc have a tendency to fall asleep during movies" and see what she says Yep,, sound asleep!! Think I should introduce myself before or after?!?
cowpuc Posted February 27, 2015 Author #242 Posted February 27, 2015 During the next day our CTFWing consisted of a good amount of fun in the vast forest areas of Idaho. Places like the Sawtooth, Salmon and Bitterroot forests were captured between us and our hopeful intent on seeing Glacier on our way to our home state of Michigan. It is very easy to lose track of time when exploring remote areas like this, the day went by very quickly and it was not long before we found ourselves once again facing a setting sun. We were in a remote area of National Forest outside of a place called Boulder Montana when the sunset forced us to take refuge from the darkness. I was awoken during this night by the sounds of some thing pawing around in our tent area. The next morning I went out looking for tracks and was able to locate what appeared to be Mountain Lion tracks next to Tweeks. I never realized that those big cats had any interest in riding motorcycles but apparently they do!
cowpuc Posted February 27, 2015 Author #243 Posted February 27, 2015 Most of the things located in western Montana are, what I consider, out of the way. The term "out of the way" has been used in many applications in the English language but, I have always suspected that it's places in the United States like western Montana that gave birth to and explain the definition of the term itself. After CTFWing in the Bitter Root Mountains of Idaho the day before and camping way back in the mountains, we stopped near Helena Montana for some fuel and grub. A local person wondered over and told us about a really neat out of the way eatery just a ways north of us, a place called the Silver Spur located in Vaughn. Knowing that Glacier was also located somewhere to the north and that Vaughn MT would therefore not be out of our way, Tip and I figured that the food at the Silver Spur might be better than the trail mix we were fast becoming tired of eating. We headed out to find the notorious joint. The local person back at the Helena fuel station knew his stuff, the food at the Silver Spur in Vaughn was excellent!
cowpuc Posted February 27, 2015 Author #245 Posted February 27, 2015 If you are coming into the east side of Glacier National Park you will probably go thru a town called Shelby. We could see the Glacier mountains way off in the far west and were guessing that the Going to the Sun roadway that crosses that mountain range had to be at least a couple more hours away, we thought it best to pull into Shelby and feed Tweeks. While I was feeding Tweeks a friendly Montana cowgirl came up and started chatting with Tippy. I thought I noticed Tweeks horns twitching and thought I heard something mentioned about a free Montana sticker so I started paying attention to what the two girls were discussing. Apparently the lady noticed the memory stickers that covered Tweeks back and thought we may be willing to answer a few questions concerning tourism in the state of Montana with a Montana sticker being the reward for doing so - HECK YEA!!! Jan, the sticker lady, liked us so much that she even gave us two of those gorgeous placards!!
cowpuc Posted February 27, 2015 Author #246 Posted February 27, 2015 It didn't seem like the image of Glacier National Park that appeared in front of us was getting much larger as we strolled thru the town of Cut Bank. It was not long before this, maybe an hour or so, that we had topped off Tweeks tanks but, time and space can be down right deceptive in these vast areas so we stopped again just to be sure - besides, running out of gas in the warm desert is one thing - the thought of running out of gas in an area that is named "Glacier" struck a nerve inside of me that said "I DONT WANNA CHANCE THAT".
cowpuc Posted February 27, 2015 Author #247 Posted February 27, 2015 Somewhere between Cut Bank and the entrance to the Going to the Sun Road we noticed a sign that let us know how close we were to actually running out of the land area that is known as the country of the United States. The three of us stopped for a quick picture and also quickly decided that we needed to have another border crossing test of our Enhanced Drivers Licenses. Having found out that they did not work for crossing into Mexico a few weeks ago, we needed to see if they would work for access to the other side of the U.S. border into Canada here at Glacier!
cowpuc Posted February 27, 2015 Author #248 Posted February 27, 2015 The image of the mountainous region that makes up Glacier was now getting much bigger in front of us. The snow filled mountains were obvious and endless in their sheer majestic beauty and they seemed to be sucking us inward like they had just taken a deep breath or something. We shared that beautiful roadway leading into the park with open range feeding animals and also with groups of bicyclist who had chosen that more strenuous method of CTFWing across the region. Every time I see groups of riders traveling in this fashion my legs start aching and I get an exhausted feeling inside me that usually doesn't disappear until I reach down and give our beloved Tweeks a pat on your faithful side.
cowpuc Posted February 27, 2015 Author #249 Posted February 27, 2015 After checking in with the rangers at the visitor center and finding out that, indeed, the Going to the Sun roadway had officially opened the day before, we walked back out into the parking lot to find a small group of people chatting with our bike. We approached them and one of the folks noticed our package of Hostess Twinky's stored in the netting on Tweeks back. He was telling us that they had spotted a big Grizzly and a smaller bear just a few minutes earlier along side the Going to the Sun roadway and that if we were going that way we might want to get rid of the Twinky's. After he signed our bike and walked away Tip smiled as I told her I wasn't about to give up my Twinky's but I sure looked forward to seeing a Griz - the 3 of us headed out bear hunting.
cowpuc Posted February 27, 2015 Author #250 Posted February 27, 2015 We followed the Going to the Sun road a long ways, stopping periodically to take pictures and to look for Grizzly bear. The scenery was as breathtaking as the name of the roadway itself. A person could easily loose himself in this area BUT, if he does he better have lots of warm clothing!! We rode about halfway to the sun and decided to turn around and go back to the lower altitudes that would lead us into Canada before it got late in the day. The Glacier area was beautiful but the thought of tent camping in an area that was 45 degrees in the middle of the day just didn't sound that appealing to any of us.
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