Ahhhh,, the summer of 14,,, ADVENTURE SERVED UP GORMET STYLE!!!!

[cowpuc]

Having never actually been to Muskogee before, we really didnt know what to expect.. I had preconceived ideas about the place,, I figured there wouldn't be a bunch of kids standing around smoking wildwood flower but I half way thought there probably would be a few ol geezers giving away the greatest thrill of all, White Lightening samples on the corners.. We rode around the place and, not to my surprise,, didnt see or smell any hemp rope burning, on the same token we did not find any folks seeking the thrill of white lightening either... Actually,, Muskogee Oklahoma was a pretty neat place all in all..

Hoping to make Texas before dark, we headed that a way,, south toward the Lone Star State.. Things really started to quite down shortly after leaving Skogee,, the traffic was lighter and the Oklahoma evening was just starting to set in as we pulled into yet another really cool Oklahoma treasure..

Seemingly, my touch of Native American Indian blood increases my curiousity of their way of life. I also LOVE traveling the west, especially the hot desert regions.. Link those two together, plus the general freedom that is afforded with wide open country and it doesn't take much to see how Indian Reservations can become part of the CTFW equation.. Thru serendipity , I have found myself camping, riding and just generally goofing off on Indian land many times - for some reason though,, I never knew that Oklahoma had a share in the modern Native American way of life..

Stopping and learning about the Choctaw Indian's on our road to Texas was very interesting!!!

 

The ride after bidding farewell to our Choctaw friends was perfect in everyway.. We headed south toward the Texas border during what I call, the "Magic Hours".. There has always been something very special, almost mystical, about the last couple hours of daylight just before its dark.. Its a short period of time that is a mixture of the calming of the soul after CTFW all day, combined with gorgeous sunsets and multiplied by the sweet smells of evening air filling ones senses.. Truly, it is pure motorcycling MAGIC for Tip, Tweek and I and we drank down every drop of magic as worked our way toward the Lone Star State..

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had NO idea that south Okie had so much water.. The area we went thru looked like a fishermans paradise.. Tippy loves to Bass Fish and, now that she has become an expert in reeling them in,, she can tell whether or not there are bass in certain waters just by the evening smell.. As we passed the waterway in the picture below she leaned forward, giggled and said "I smell Bass"!! Adding to the magic of the Magic Hours all the more!

You ever heard the saying - "In Texas, everything is bigger"?.. You dont have to be right on top of the Oklahoma - Texas border to get a little more appreciation for that saying.. Even from a mile or more out,, the view on the roadway will exclaim clearly for you that indeed,, "In Texas, everything is bigger"!!

 

 

 

 

It got dark pretty quickly after we left the Texas Welcome Center.. It was still plenty warm and completely rideable but, neither Tip or I really enjoy night riding that much - ya just seem to miss to much after dark.. As dark closed in on us, I could see the lights of a small city off in the distance so I gently coaxed Tweeks in that direction.. The town turned out to be a place called "Dennison".. As we strolled into town, I noticed an abandoned building with an overhang on the back of it,, I pointed at it and announced "Campground" to Tippy to let her know I found one first this time.. CTFWers dont live by sight alone, we decided to go find some dinner in Dennison before we tossed the tent down..

We were sitting in this little Mom n Pop Chicken Joint, knawing on a Chicken Leg, when this middle aged gentleman who was sitting behind us asked if the bike in the parking lot belonged to us (it was obvious).. I had seen him outside looking Tweeks over pretty good so I was not shocked at his curiousness.. He asked about our travels and, come to find out, had a few of his own that he shared about him and his boat..

At the end of our dinner conversation, he asked where we were staying for the night.. Tip and I looked at each and smiled,, I pointed out the front window toward the abandoned building "campground" that was a mile or so away and told him about it.. He looked at us with a smile on his face and said,, "I keep my boat at a Marina not to far from here, the place is called GrandPappy's - it has a camping area attached to it that is very well patrolled, has hot showers and its a really nice place, I can give you directions and permission to stay there if you would like"... We took this kind Texan up on his offer, tossed a leg over Tweeks and drove off into the darkness in search of a Marina called Grandpappys located somewhere outside of a town named Dennison which is somewhere in the great State of Texas located here in the USA..

One disadvantage of CTFWing and not carrying a GPS is that people will look at you kinda funny when you come riding into their establishment in Texas after midnight on a beat up ol motorcycle covered with stickers and sporting a historic plate from the State of Michigan all the while inquiring where the nearest Marina is located.. After chasing around the outskirts of Dennison, getting caught up in the moment a number of time and generally getting pretty lost,, Tippy and I got to experience this very thing,, twice as I recall.. Thankfully, the second time we asked was a winner and we finally found GrandPappy's..

As I caressed Tweeks mane to keep her as quite as possible while riding her thru the Marina Campground I KNEW we were gonna get busted.. Sure enough,, here came an S-10 Pickup with a bubble on top.. The lady driving the pickup listened to our story, smiled and said "Yep, I know,, he called and I have a perfect spot just waiting for you".. Tip and I looked at each other,, laughed and said COOL!!

 

 

Apparently, a newly wed young couple had just got in a little fight,, something about one of them not really liking the camping scene.. They had left about an hour ago and the lady guard who found us in the campground had kept their campfire going just for us - UNREAL!!!

We chatted for a long time,, she told us we could stay all week for free if we wanted... Sadly, we told her that we were headed toward a Graduation Party for our Daughter in Sacramento via the Alamo and Big Bend and we just couldn't afford the time.. After asking her if she would sign Tweeks (she did) and letting me snap a pic of her and Tip, she told us to help ourselves to the showers and bid us a good nights sleep - Tip, Tweeks and I thought we were gonna do just that but this certain big ol Crow had a different agenda in mind!!

Edited January 10, 2015 by cowpuc

[cowpuc]

I can still recall the last words spoken by a friend of mine as Tip and I pulled out of his driveway to begin this journey.. He looked at us, looked at Tweeks and than inquired - "So, where you two loafers headed".. When I told him we were going out west after a quick trip down to the Alamo and Big Bend he shook his head. This person is truck driver that goes down into Texas on a regular basis so I wasnt really surprised to here him say "you aint gonna like it down there. The Alamo aint nuthn but a bunch of ol buildings in the city", to which I replied, "We are going in search of a FEELING more than to see something - I wanna feel the patriotic soul of Crockett and Bowie"..

As we left Dennison I set my internal CTFW compass in a south by southwest direction with the hopes of skirting around a place I had heard about called Dallas.. I knew that San Antonio was south of there so I figured we could take advantage of the gorgeous Texas back country in the out lying areas and do like Santa Anna did and sneak up on the Alamo..

It wasnt long before I discovered that the name "Dallas" actually means "INESCAPABLE CITY"! As we picked our way thru acres of concrete slabs and big Texas buildings I thought to myself,, "it seems like sooner or later the need for more of these huge buildings would run out" - obviously that was going to come much later cause the building construction activity down there was UNBELIEVABLE!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we pulled into a suburb of Dallas called Waco (no offence to my Texas friends but it sure seemed like thats the way it was - all one big city) to get gas, Tip was asking me if I still intended to stop and say hi to BikerJohn.. I stood there putting gas into Tweeks, telling her that BikerJohn said he didnt get out of work till 5ish and we were gonna be a little early,, maybe we could stop at the exit John told us to pull off at and give him a quick jingle regardless...

 

 

"BikerJohn" is not Johns real name, John is John's real name but I only knew John by "BikerJohn" because that was the screen name that appeared in the Private Message I had gotten from him before we left to go CTFWing. I had never actually met, or spoken to, BikerJohn before this time period so I only knew him as "BikerJohn" ..

He and I belong to this internet gathering composed of the biggest bunch of lop eared varmints on the web.. A smathering of misfits, scallywags, troublemakers and ice cream devouring bike fanatics who, one by one - at one time or another, happened to visit a wonderful website called "VentureRider.org" or VR for short, found a sense of belonging, a familyness, and never left.. I had posted something on VR about Tip, Tweeks and I intending to meet up with a bunch of these misfits at a 2014 Rally in a placed called "The Dalles" which was kinda our way home from the Alamo.. BikerJohn and another VR varmint known as "CMCoffey" were also CTFWing in the direction of this particular gathering and they invited Tip and I to stay on a campsite with em if we all made it out there.. The message in the PM that BikerJohn had sent me said something about "it would be nice to meet you folks before we camp together" - which I took as "I wanna know what I am getting myself into so I can change my plans if I need to" (that BikerJohn - he is one smart cookie)..

I turned Tweeks right blinker on as we came to the exit ramp leading into Round Rock Texas, where BikerJohn told me to stop.. I noticed right away that the idiot light (thats kind of an insulting thing to call a neat little light) on the dash didn't flash at its usual speed,, not that I go around timing little flasher lights on dashboards but,, I really did remember that particular one blinking faster.. I leaned back and let Tip know that Tweeks was not feeling good and that we may have a major issue happening..

As I slowed down, I could feel Tweeks engine rhythm go into a spasm in lower rpms, I told Tippy that I thought we may have a stator gone.. I am no mechanical genius but I have been down the road of Stator failure before, a couple of times on these old Yams and a number of times on other bikes.. What happens is the stator, whose job it is to induce an electrical current that, among other things, supplies juice for recharging a battery, decides to go on vacation.. Usually, not always, but usually, when a Stator goes on vacation they like where ever it is that Stators take their vacations and they never return to their jobs..

We coasted into a Burger King that just happened to be right off the exit, Tweels stalled and a push of the started button revealed that, sure enough, her battery was dead.. Tip went inside the BK to get something for us to drink as I pushed Tweeks into the nearest shade (thankfully they had some - it was perfect weather for riding but a little warm for rebuilding a bike in a BK parking lot). I was digging into Tweeks maintenance department (right saddlebag) to get my handy dandy little Harbor Freight Ohm Meter when Tip returned with the Ice Tea.. She walked up and asked why I was staring at all those parts and tools that I had spread out over the parking area next to Tweeks.. I told her that a gremlin had stolen my ohm meter.. She smiled as I selfishly gulped down the last drink of tea and bit into an ice cube.. I handed her my wallet and told her to just by a cheapy meter if she could find one as she headed off (there was a mall not far away).. I removed panels and pieces, checked the Stator terminal I had replaced not long ago, checked battery connections and fuses.. Tip made it back with a meter just as the clock said it was time to call BikerJohn.. I called John and told him we were in the area but were kind of in a pickle as far as meeting up with him.. He asked where we were, I told him and he said - stay there - I am two minutes from you!!

 

A truck pulled up beside us that had Texas plates on it, the driver was a friendly looking character with the biggest Texas smile you ever did see.. BikerJohn shook my greasy hand without giving much thought to the grease (we gear heads are like that), introduced himself, said hi to Tippy and than asked what was happening.. I told him I had just checked the Stator with the ohm meter and the Stator was indeed,, gone on vacation.. John (now I can call him John cause we were now official brothers) asked if there was anything he could do.. I said,, well,, point me in the direction of someplace to buy a battery charger and a car battery. I would then wire Tweeks up, skip the Alamo and we would head to my Son-In-Law's in California and fix Tweeks there..

John got a funny look on his face, as if he had just picked up a little of the voltage Tweeks stator had left behind on its way out the door to vacation land.. He said "hold on a minute here, I know someone who may be able to help".. He jumped on his phone and called this guy named "Squidley".. I recognized the name "Squidley" from the website, VentureRider.org, that I had mentioned earlier.. John smiled and handed me the phone and said "Squid wants to talk to Puc (thats me)".. A cheerful voice in the phone said "hey,, Cowpuc, how are you,, whats going on?".. I told Squid about Tweeks symptoms and that I had ohm'd her stator out and it didnt look good.. I also told him about my immediate plan of running her off a battery to California and fixing her there.. Squidley said,, you can do that but - I have another idea,, I have a spare 1st Gen setting here that I am sure has a good stator that I would be happy to remove and then help you fix Tweeks - I about hit the concrete!! Squidley continued with his offer,, he said,, I could tear this one down tonight, have the parts/tools and garage space ready for you to pull in and work on Tweeks tomorrow.. You could spend the night there in Round Rock, get a battery charger and charge your way over here, fix your bike and say hi - we would be GLAD to have you!! I could tell by Squidley's voice that he was sincere in his offer and that he almost seemed like he was hoping we would accept it. GREAT people this VentureRider.org group is, with BikerJohn and Squidley being perfect examples of why I can say that.

We charged Tweeks battery off Johns truck, Tippy climbed in the cab with John and I packed some of our belongings around her feet.. I could feel Tweeks giggling as we followed them into the direction of Johns home where his wife and children would be subject to visiting with a couple of tired CTFWing bikers from Michigan.. That Tweekers gets us into so much adventure!!!

 

REGRETFULLY,, IN THE MIDST OF ALL THE CHAOS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS BREAKDOWN - I ONLY TOOK A COUPLE PICS TO SHARE ABOUT THE TIME I SPENT WITH JOHN AND HIS LOVELY WIFE FOR WHICH I APOLOGIZE! I DO HAVE VIDEO AND PICS OF JOHN AND I IN OREGON, SAMPLES BELOW, THAT I WILL BE POSTING!! THE TIME WE SPENT WITH THEM WAS PRICELESS, IT JUST ALL HAPPENED WAY TO FAST FOR PICTURES I GUESS..

 

 

 

After introducing Tip and I to his family, Tip stayed and vistited with John's wife - Maurey, while John and I headed into town to find a Battery Charger.. Squidleys house was about 3 hours away and we needed something that would keep Tweeks battery up enough to fire the ignition off the charged battery..

After locating such a critter, we headed back to Johns where we wired Tweeks up with an exterior wire connected to the positive post on her battery.. As we stood on the slab out front of Johns house working on Tweeks, John hauling tools and electrical supplies out, me pulling fuses to things I wouldnt need for the trip,, I apologized for Tweeks breaking down and causing such a mess.. John actually laughed and said,,, "I AM GLAD YOU BROKE DOWN HERE - I HAVE HAD MY NAME ON THE "I CAN HELP" LIST AT VR FOR EVER AND I NEVER GET TO HELP ANYONE - THANK YOU FOR BREAKING DOWN HERE!! We laughed together like a couple brothers just having fun as I ran the wire through a vent in the front of Tweeks fairing and wrapped it around the vent. As a momento of that occasion that wire is still hanging there to this very day - LIFE IS GOOD!!

 

John loaned me an extention cord for the trip, one that he had gotten from his father.. He tried to convince me to just keep it but I told him I would return it at the rally at The Dalles Oregon that we were all suppose to be meeting up at,, kind of an insurance program on my part that he would still speak to me there (glad I did this - I had fun playing with that cord during our travels - you will see some pics of it later in the story)..

After finishing Tweeks prep for the trip to Squids on the next day, we cleaned up and took the ladies out on the town for dinner.. John and Maurey had a pretty good handle on where to eat in Round Rock Texas, it was late but we all had a good dinner.. Instead of tossing the tent up, John insisted we sleep in their air conditioned home. After visiting with Maurey's mom and the teenage boys that make up the parenting part of John and Maury's life, we hit the hay. Tweeks slept under her cover outside, Tip on the couch and me on an air mattress on the floor at the home of our Texas Hero - BIKERJOHN..

 

 

The next morning, we hugged them all as they prepared for the business end of raising a family in Round Rock Texas.. We thanked all of them for their hospitality and headed for another adventure that awaited us 3 hours away..

 

It always seems like the discovery of some of the most gorgeous country comes about by getting lost,, or,, in this case, by having a breakdown.. As we followed the directions to Squidleys house that John had provided for us, I couldn't help but notice the beauty of this part of Texas.. Regardless of the fact that we were riding into a potential problem (running out of battery out in the middle of Texas where they probably dont have 110 volt outlets mounted along the road), we chose to relax and enjoy the beauty of the day.. We stopped along the trail, recharged Tweeks battery, visited with folks who asked if we were ok and enjoyed each others company like it was just all part of CTFWing..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Squidley had warned me that his driveway was kind of a motocross track - sounded like my kind of back country riding!! We stopped near his home for a final recharge just in case Tweeks had one of her "I feel like stalling in the middle of this driveway so you have to run a cord all the way out to me cause you cant push me" attacks.. I got to what appeared to be Squids driveway, and found it to be perfect for motorcycling.. Ok,, a little tricky but nothing that was uninviting!! We motocrossed our way up to Squids garage.. Found the keys in exactly the spot he said they would be.. Unlocked the door on his garage, and SURE ENOUGH - PARTS - TOOLS and a perfect place to fix a bike....

 

 

 

 

 

I commenced to repairing my motorcycle, in a garage owned by someone I had never met, after he had left the keys to his house - garage and vehicle hidden in a place that only he and I knew of... Adventure at its finest...

Edited January 11, 2015 by cowpuc

[Oldodge]

Awesome Puc! Just awesome!

[Yammer Dan]

I ain't had that one happen on the road yet...Knock on wood!!!Hope I'm in friendly territory when it does.

[videoarizona]

Puc, I'm lovin the read! I do hope you will make this into a little book. Nice to follow your adventures in real time when you and Tip are on the road, but it's really nice to re-make the adventure with you later on!

 

Thank you for your efforts and the memories you are sharing with us. I'm waiting for the next installment!

david

[cowpuc]

John Melloncamp's song titled "Born in a small town" perfectly describes the reality of my childhood.. I really was born and raised in a small town in West Michigan USA.. The name of that town is Fruitport and it is located about 8 miles east of the (almost a) metropolis of Muskegon.. Times were different in that day and age,, for one thing, a day in the life of, say,, an 8 year old, is like a month in the life of a geezer like me (at least, it seems that way).. I remember doing things like building tree forts, watching dog fights, playing neighborhood base ball, riding my bike to the candy store to buy wax lips and little wax coke bottles filled with Kool Aid for a penny each, scraping chewing gum off the side walk that still had flavor, climbing onto the roof of the school in search of a left over Red playground ball (remember those?), damming up the creek behind the church and crawling thru the road culvert when the water got knee deep and doing all of this in the same day during DAYLIGHT hours! Time went by very very slowly back than,, almost like the Earths rotation was slower or something....

 

At night, I would sneak out of our house,, jump on my beat up ol Huffy pedally bike, unhook my dog "Doc" from his chain and he and I would sneak off.. We would head for Fruitport Park located on the far end of town, right on the shores of Spring Lake.. Back in those days, there was a pavilion there that rich people use to bring their yachts to from Chicago and listen to bands like Tommy Dorsey and Mitch Miller during the Big Band era.. Up above that pavilion was the actual kiddie park with swings, slides, monkey bars and teeter totters all scattered around in amongst the huge White Pine trees that covered the hilltop over looking that same Pavilion.. On average, there would be 15 to 20 of us juvenile delinquents at the park playing Kick the Can, Midnight (midnight,, miiidd night,, hope I see a ghost to night) or even a simple game of Tag.. Everyone in Fruitport knew their neighbor and there was a certain element of trust,, or respect,, or,,, familiness - that's it - there was an element of familiness that hung over Fruitport like a thick fog on a frog pond on a cool summer night.. That fog of familiness hung around throughout my childhood, I loved the feel of it and was able to safely wonder thru childhood with it's security of love and protection wrapped tightly around my shoulders..

If you fast forward into modern times,, it seems like that fog got harder and harder to find.. It seems like life had gotten harder on the functioning of the modern day nucleus family and, maybe therefore, created an even more difficult time for societal family fog to develop.. Unfortunately, even extremely creative people like Algore with his invention of one of lifes greatest social medias ever invented, the internet, and its wonderful potential for advancing world wide family fog has not stopped the fogs degredation.. On the same token though, if a person looks hard enough for it - that fog is still out there.. Ironically, one of the places that I have found a remarkable resurgence of that long lost family fog has been on the Internet at the place I mentioned earlier - VentureRider.org..

 

About 15 minutes after starting to work on Tweeks in Squids garage, Tippy and I heard a bike pulling in.. As I stepped outside I was greeted by one of the friendliest smiles, heartiest handshakes and biggest bear hugs a broke down ol biker could ever imagine - the fog was thickening.. The person responsible for the fog thickening is in the picture below and is very well known on VentureRider.org as "Squidley". One of the things that Squid is known for on VR is his support of "familiness" and,, Tippy and I were about to learn how and why he is known for it.. After warm greetings and, just like BikerJohn the other Texas Hero and VR member who had called Squid had said to us,, a giant "THANK YOU PUC FOR BREAKIING DOWN HERE - I HAVE BEEN DIEING TO MEET YOU FOLKS" (fogs getting so thick you could cut it with a knife) we walked inside Squids garage. He looked at Tweeks,, smiled and said "so this is Tweeks" as he padded her lovingly on her stickered covered trunk and said, "lets fix er!!"..

 

Squidley obviously had some kind of an upbringing,, somewhere along life's route this goodhearted fellow had learned not only kindness and thoughtfulness, he had also learned focus and exactness in job planning.. He had mentioned on the phone that he would have all the tools and parts sitting on the bench waiting for me,, he wasnt kidding!! While visiting with Squid (good gear heads can chit chat while they spin wrench's) I learned about his Military experience - maybe some of his job planning skills came from the Military,, maybe from family relationships,, either way - he certainly is a VERY talented gearhead!! Another thing that I noticed right away while getting greasy in Squids garage was,, he was not shy about getting his hands dirty.. As a matter of fact,, I think he was actually enjoying himself taking over every time I laid a tool down to stop and take a drink of water or something.. It started kinda slowly at first,, a shy little - "hey Puc,, you ever notice that one of those side cover screws has a copper washer on it?", turning into a "yea,, I think its this one - here let me show you".. It wasn't until I saw him sneaking over to grab his air gun and heard the air compressor come on that I KNEW I was in trouble!! In a very short time I was on the opposite side of Tweeks, calming her down by rubbing her rear brake lever as her and I watched this genius of a Texas Hero do his thing!!

 

 

 

 

Squid finally set the tools down and gave me a chance to take over his work area.. I thought I had outsmarted him,, after all ,, as Tweeks owner and road companion, one would think I would get the last stitch on the old girls surgery.. Not being outdone,, Squid comes walking around the front of her with something in his hand.. Two GORGEOUS stickers that said "VentureRider.org" on them.. He said "I noticed Tweeks doesnt have any of these on her and I was wondering" - to which I replied "only if you will put them on her and sign her new engine side cover!!".. Tweeks sat there calmly with a repaired - freshly signed Stator, a hardwired stator harness terminal (MUCH BETTER), new gaskets and now being adorned on her windshield with a these beautiful stickers to remember the family fog that she had ridden thru down in Texas!!

Squids wife, "Sweetnothing" is her screen name at VR, is farrrrrr from being a "Sweetnothing", she reminded me a lot of my wife and her and Tippy hit off like two sisters.. They had disappeared while us men were out in the garage spinning wrenches and making the world safer for innocent bystanders and other people on the road.. It wasnt until we were washing our hands when I came to realize Tip and I were going to be guests at a Squidley family chicken dinner that Sweetnothing had rustled up for us.. I am still not sure and didnt bother to even ask, but I always have wondered if Sweetnothing might have a touch of ESP or something. Somehow she had to have known that Fried Chicken is my FAVORITE food of all time!! THANK YOU SWEETNOTHING (should change that name to ALLSWEET!!)

 

As we sat around in their yard, eating chicken, visiting with Squid, Sweetnothing, their daughter and her husband, I was busy paying back Squids guard dogs with small pieces of left over chicken.. As usual, me and the dogs hit it off pretty good.. It was getting late and I made mention about dropping the tent outside with these two rascals now that we were the best of friends.. Sweetnothing smiled and didnt agree with that idea,, she said she had place all set for us inside.. Once again, Squids great big Texas bear killing grin shined in the parting sunlight as I knew,, no was not gonna work..

 

 

 

As I stood in Squids shower with hot Texas water trying to scald the deep tan off my back, it occurred to me that I had left my bar of soap in Tweeks trunk.. Hot showers can be a rarity when CTFWing so, I didnt panic when I realized that I didnt have any soap - I figured even a soapless shower was better than no shower at all.. Than I noticed Squids squirt on soap in the corner of his shower sitting there daring me.. Oh what the heck,, a real brother wouldnt mind and that family fog had gotten pretty thick... As I stepped out of the restroom at Squids house and announced that now I even smelled like my brother Squid I got an agreeable laugh from everyone,, a sure mark that indeed,, real familiness fog is still available and its even accessible thru Algore's Internet if you look for it!!!

As Tip and I snuggled down into that nice soft bed in Squid and Sweetnothings back bedroom we giggled like a couple kids.. Sweetnothing walked by the doorway and I asked if I could have a drink of water before we went to sleep.. She laughed and said good nite.. We told those guys thanks for everything before we all closed this chapter of the adventure Tip and I were on.. We knew that the AM was going to come way to soon and that the Texas Hero Family of Squid and Sweetnothings would be getting up early to fulfill their rolls in providing for themselves and their family.. One of the last conversations I had with them was about something really really special they had done for us.. This 2014 trip was not just about motorcycle touring for us. Our second born daughter was graduating from her Residency program out in Sacramento California and, because of their kindness and thoughtfulness, it appeared that we would still be able to make it there in time to celebrate with her!!! We did make her service and of course, I shared the events that took place here in Texas with my daughter... She agreed with me that a song just for our two Texas Hero's, BikerJohn and Squidley was in order.. Here is a copy of that song.. If you do take a listen,, pay attention to the timing of the unplanned, unintentional horses winnie - its perfect,, almost divine and it certainly fits right into declaring these two cowboys as Hero's!!

Edited January 15, 2015 by cowpuc

[pbjman]

Hey Puc! I am enjoying the tale; thank you for posting. I even showed it to my wife and she really liked it too. But I dunno if it is having the intended effect for us. Is it supposed to help us get through the winter blahs or wind us up and give us that "can't wait for summer" feeling?

And I'll say a prayer for your medical stuff again too!

[cowpuc]

Glad you and wife are enjoying the ride along PB!! Gooooood question on the affect,, I assure you that my intent was to help drag us all thru these winter months and get us all back on the road with some sense of sanity!!! I do see your point though.... Last year I did this and got lots of response,, all the way into summer time, from folks who said they really appreciated me waiting till winter to post up ride reports.. If folks have changed (and we do over time) and I get tarred and feathered this year for posting these up and causing ride anxiety I PROMISE I will do it earlier for the 2015 season!!!

[Yammer Dan]

I turned the song up and the Warden came running. Claimed she thought something was killing me......

[Oldodge]

Your timing is perfect for me Puc. That song is a fitting tribute to a couple of great cowboys. Thank you for sharing!

[cowpuc]

I turned the song up and the Warden came running. Claimed she thought something was killing me......

 

I have gotten that comment a lot in my singing career Dan,,, usually the cure is found when the husband of the wife who has those types of thoughts stops singing along with my music and just lets my gentle, professionally trained singing voice sooth the atmosphere.. My advice is for the two of you is to try it again,, you should go buy her a 10,000 dollar diamond ring, couple dozen roses, get a hair cut,, maybe toss on a tux - kneel on your right knee as she opens the door that you just knocked on and say,, my sweet Warden - that singing Puc inspired me to do all this just for you... She will probably really like my singing after that!!!

[Chaharly]

I let the song just play right on through. Congratulations to your daughter and keep the stories coming. I could almost feel that summer air, but our heater always shuts off at the worst time!!

[Yammer Dan]

I ain't sure she wanted to stop whatever she thought was killing me or help them........

[cowpuc]

I ain't sure she wanted to stop whatever she thought was killing me or help them........

 

:scratchchin:Oh well,, that is a hard part of the entertainment business,, there is always a few in the crowd whose artistic taste differ from the agenda.. I am not much for dodging tomatoes and certainly always try to avoid ,, I therefore promise you Dan O',, no more singing!! (unless I just happen to bump into another video in my touring pics of me singing,, in that case I will be sure and post em just for you bro!!!)

[cowpuc]

Seeing Tweeks Volt Meter at a solid 13 volts again sure made me smile.. Just knowing that her new stator was doing its thing and seeing her sitting there idling in Squids garage was reassuring that we were once again,, headed out CTFWing.. Squid was pulling out for work just before we hit the road.. I returned the big ol bear hug that the smilin Texan gave me sitting there on his bike and nodded in agreement when he said "your my brother now, the door is always open here, you folks can come down and visit anytime", to which I replied, "Squidley,, THANK YOU for all you did brother, that invite goes both ways you know".. I watched as he pulled out on his gorgeous Black, Gen 2 Royal Star Venture and headed for work..

 

I walked back in Squids garage, finished up lashing down our trail gear onto Tweeks back,, her lights were again nice and bright and her idle was consistent and as smooth silk.. Tippy and Sweetnothing walked out as I was pushing Tweeks outside.. I pulled the door down, locked it, shut off the lights and walked over and gave Sweetnothing a hug goodbye and thanked her for her kindness and for sharing her home with us.. She too reminded us that we were always welcome to their gorgeous haven of rest deep in the heart of Texas...

Living out of your saddlebags while cross country touring on a motorcycle has its ups and downs.. Many times thru the years I have been asked that age old question of "what do yo do if you breakdown" to which I have always replied,, "breaking down is kinda like getting lost,, if you can keep from panic and just look at it like part of the adventure,, there is a good chance that the things you will see and the people you will meet thru the experience will be amazing - possibly even life changing in a very positive way".. Tippy and I were still chatting about our the new friendships we found in BikerJohn, Squidley and their families and the amazing time we had with them as we pulled into Denny's in San Antonio..

 

As I sat inside Dennys about 15 minutes from the Alamo eating my pancakes, I kept hearing sirens blaring.. Tippy looked at me and said "something must going on in the city".. The whole time we were eating,, police cars, ambulances and fire trucks kept blaring by on the highway (at least it sounded that way).. We finished up breakfast, walked back out into the warm Texas sunshine and were instantly greeted by more siren's.. Funny thing was though,, the sirens were not on the highway where most Police Cruisers and Ambulances travel - they were coming from the treetop of the tree that Tweeks was parked under..

 

 

At first I thought someone had put a speaker up in the tree to play some kind of a joke or something, than I noticed a flutter up in the trees as I walked toward the travel pack I carry above the fuel tank door on Tweeks back.. I opened the travel pack, grabbed my camera and tried to make a video of the birds that were mimicking the siren sounds they had obviously grown accustomed to.. It occurred to me that these fairly good sized birds may very well have been the famous "Mocking Bird" that I had heard so much about.. Whether they actually were or were not Mocking Birds I am not sure, but what ever they were - if I were cruising along on Tweeks and one of them flew up behind me making the "Siren" sounds they were making on that morning - I would definitely pull over and let them by!!!

One of the things I have always enjoyed about going site seeing with Tweeks is the ability to always find decent parking places.. You may not necessarily find her parked in places where normal people park but,, Tweeks always finds a place to hide out while Tip and I go exploring.. The Alamo provided a perfect spot for Tweeks right across the road from the main entrance..

 

 

The Alamo really is buried deep within the City of San Antonio.. Its kinda disconcerting when you think about what happened there long before any of the buildings surrounding the Alamo ever existed.. It takes some imagination to be able to visualize how it all happened.. The grounds were very well laid out with descriptive signs and such posted to keep even the most directionally challenged person adequately informed.. A person can only visit a certain number of wishing wells and stuff - I got a little bored...

 

It wasn't until we found the little hideout where Crockett and Bowie had their last meeting and I sat in the exact corner of this little stone built building where they had this meeting that the boredom completely disappeared and the "feeling" I was looking for found me.. Patriotism runs thick within those historic stone walls and I can honestly say, I will NEVER forget a place called the Alamo down in the great State of Texas!!

 

 

 

During the early spring of 2014 I was helping a friend of mine build a Harley Sportster Trike for his wife.. During the build process we got yapping about my 2014 summer ride plans.. This couple has done their fair share of travel but never on a bike.. They were always intrigued by our exploits in becoming tent camping motorcycle bums during the summer months.. As I explained to them that we were gonna try and escape Michigan a little early this time and try to make it down into Texas before it got to hot down there.. Sharon, my buddies wife, got to yakkin about this "River Walk" thing they have down at the Alamo and,,, in her words "NO ONE GOES TO SEE THE ALAMO WITHOUT TAKING THE RIVER WALK"... I probably would not have paid to much attention to her cause I really am not much on "tourist attractions" per say BUT,, her husband chimed in and said "yea,, and if they catch you in the river water they will fine you 500 dollars" - that peaked my interest..

After we finished at the Alamo I told Tip I wanted to see if we could find this river walk thing with the high valued water that no one was suppose to touch.. I head checked Tweeks as we walked out the gate, she was standing there minding her own business and had not attracted any unwelcome attention so Tip and I went looking for the crawdad creek..

 

 

 

 

As we meandered thru this luxurious motel that had a sign posted out front that said "River Walk This Way" on it, I couldnt help feel as though someone had noticed my grubby Harley Hat and that I was being watched.. We kept going down steps and thru doors and finally came out to a real fancy patio like area with a man made river flowing thru it.. A small boat full of people went cruising by that kind of reminded me of a movie set production for Tarzan the Ape Man... Some little kids on the boat were being held tightly by their parents all the while leaning toward the water with sweat running down their poor little faces from basking in the 108 degree Texas heat.. I noticed several signs that confirmed the knowledge my friend had passed on to me about a swim in this creek costing 500 bucks and I really felt sorry for the kids..

 

We walked the river for ways,, didnt see any beaver, mink or exotic wild life,, circled back around to find Tweeks calmly waiting for our return..

 

 

 

 

 

We said goodbye to Crockett and Bowie and headed toward Big Bend National Park.. It was getting later in the day when Tippy announced that she wasnt feeling well.. She was feeling kinda sick in her tummy and I could tell by the look on her face she really needed to rest a little.. We grabbed a motel in a place called Junction Texas ,, parked Tweeks - pulled the shades, turned on the air and waited to see if she would feel better in the AM...

Edited January 16, 2015 by cowpuc

[Chaharly]

Another brilliant read puc. Is this the first time you've posted your adventures?

[cowpuc]

Another brilliant read puc. Is this the first time you've posted your adventures?

 

Thanks for the compliment Cha - I really appreciate it!!

Actually I have posted a few ride reports here on VR.. I've always wondered whether or not I was setting myself up for an execution of some kind by talking openly around here about the folks that I have met.. I was also never sure how people would take to our odd form of travel,, kinda old school, living off the land - sleepin in the bushes stuff.. It wasnt until I purposely sought out meeting people from the site that I suddenly realized that people actually seemed to enjoy reading about a lot of this crazy stuff and,, some even told me so when I finally got a chance to meet them - a real encouragement to keep writing!! Fortunately - I have yet to have anyone beat me up when I finally did get the honor to make their aquaintance..

[Motiv]

Hey Cowpuc and Tippy,

We are enjoying the read, it's like some sort of addiction when I check back for the next chapter and it's not there well, that must be what withdrawal feels like!

Gonna have to seek out some of your past books when this one ends.

[Venturous Randy]

Forty six years ago tonight, I was spending my second night in San Antonio at Lackland AFB in basic training. I would have been asking what have I gotten myself into, but I didn't have time. About the fifth weekend I was there, we were granted a day pass so several of us went to the Alamo and yes, the River Walk was there then. I remember I was pretty homesick and even more so when I walked into the Alamo and on the wall was a picture of Davy Crockett's birthplace, which is about fifteen miles from my house. Yep, your great videos brought back some long ago memories.

RandyA

[Gary N.]

Enjoying the read a lot. When my first wife, and I went to SA to the Alamo we had a real hard time to find the River Walk. We must have walked over that ditch a dozen times. We were thinking of something more along the size of the Detroit river...LOL

[cowpuc]

Forty six years ago tonight, I was spending my second night in San Antonio at Lackland AFB in basic training. I would have been asking what have I gotten myself into, but I didn't have time. About the fifth weekend I was there, we were granted a day pass so several of us went to the Alamo and yes, the River Walk was there then. I remember I was pretty homesick and even more so when I walked into the Alamo and on the wall was a picture of Davy Crockett's birthplace, which is about fifteen miles from my house. Yep, your great videos brought back some long ago memories.

RandyA

 

 

 

 

Wow Randy,, talk about touching!! Thank you for sharing that bro!!

[cowpuc]

I slept like tired little kitten with a tummy full of warm milk in our room at that little motel in Junction Texas.. What ever bug was pestering Tippy last evening had taken residence somewhere else by the time we woke up in the morning.. I was glad to see my riding partner and best friend smiling again and I knew by her smile that we were back in business and ready to cover some miles.. I was doubly reassured of this as I stepped out into the warm Texas morning air, looked over at Tweeks and saw her shaking off the morning dew.. A small glitter on the pavement caught my attention, I walked over and picked up the lucky penny that was lucky enough to become part of our travels.. My refusal to act my age came out and I took finding that little penny as a sign that indeed,, we were headed for a GREAT ADVENTURE!!

 

 

 

Its funny how quickly the miles can disappear once your backside gets permanently molded to an old worn out familiar saddle.. Gallons of fuel can disappear thru those 4 little Carb bowls as time evaporates before your very eyes.. If your not careful and if you get as comfortable as I do on a bike - you can easily forget just how far you have traveled while taking in the beauty of our country.. Tippy has traveled with me long distance a few times now and had to help push Tweeks on a couple of those outings so she keeps a pretty close eye our fuel needs.. Tip knows that once I get engrossed in the movie that I am participating in and caught up with watching the people who are spectators to the movie that I tend to get lost in the endeavor.. I have come to depend on her, not only for navigational purposes but also as a trustworthy fuel gauge and assistant tow truck in the case of a breakdown in our communications..

While heading south across Texas looking for a National Park called Big Bend, I was in one of those moods.. The hot Texas air massaged my bearded face as my knees gently guided Tweeks along a desolate two lane road. Stretched out in the saddle, leaned back with my head in Tippys lap, I peered up over Tweeks dash and gazed side to side at the gorgeous Texas desert surrounding me... I was really getting into it when Tippy tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I thought we should go back to that gas station we had just passed and see if we could get some fuel..

When we turned around and pulled into the gas station a friendly old guy came out and greeted us.. He said he saw us go by and had hoped we would come back and get some fuel.. Initially I thought maybe he was just trying to make a quick a buck off an obvious pair of tourist (the stickers on Tweeks are a dead giveaway that we are tourist in the purest since of the word) but, as this kind old gentleman pumped gas into Tweeks tank he told me that the next closest station was inside of Big Bend N. P. and it was a long ways off.. He also said that since we were headed that way, we needed to be aware that the Park Station would be closed and not open again until the next morning - once we got there we would have no choice but to stay there.. Turned out this gentleman was a very nice guy, looking out for our best interest.. Just after I took the picture of him and Tippy below, I told him that I would tell all my friends about my buddy in Marathon Texas and that if any of them came thru there I promised they would stop and buy fuel from him.. He laughed as if he knew if my friends did happen to come thru here at buying fuel from him was a given - seems how he had the only gas within miles of Big Bend!!

The flora in Texas is really interesting and quite beautiful.. One of things that caught my eye as we traveled south out of Marathon toward the Park was the big white mushrooms growing out of the asphalt.. I had never seen anything like it in all my travels.. I could see this mushroom way off in the distance. I reached down and squeezed Tippys knee and pointed at it so she could see it too.. As we approached what I thought was a mushroom, it occurred to me that what I was actually seeing was a white hardhat, probably from an oil field workers truck or something.. After we went by the hardhat and I could clearly see that the persons head who had owned the hardhat was not still inside of it, I turned around and went back..

 

Tippy knows that I usually stop and pickup unusual stuff I see along the roadways.. Other than rock here and there or a maybe a new/used Tee Shirt from Goodwill (I actually use second hand stores to replace dirty clothing and stuff along the way - why go to the laundry mat when replacing is cheaper AND funner!!), I get a most of my souveniers in this fashion (excluding stickers of course).. I have come home with some pretty cool stuff by doing so.. Tip did ask me what I was going to do with an oil mans hard hat as we stopped and looked at it laying there.. I reminded her that I had nicknamed our 8 year old grandson, who lives in California, "Earth Mover" because of his love for heavy equipment and I thought this hat would make him a great souvy.. Earth Mover's Grandma LOVED the idea and risked her life running across the road (not a vehicle for miles around) to pluck the white mushroom from its earthly connection. The shadow of the hard hat hanging on the back of Tweeks rear carrier made an ominous wave to the spot where it had been laying in the road before a sticker covered old Venture came CTFWing in its direction on that beautiful Texas June evening..

 

 

 

 

Even though its hilly country, the REAL mountains of Big Bend N.P. can barely be seen from the entrance sign marking the main gate.. You dont have to travel very far into the park though to realize that the terrain changes very rapidly.. Those changes combined with mountains, valleys and deep ravines create the nicest warm dry evening breezes known to man.. We drove deep into the park as the sun was setting and it cooled off into the high 90's.. As we pulled into the little gas station with Tweeks fuel gauge flashing its little red light I looked at Tip and commented about the accuracy of the knowledge that our friend back in Marathon had shown.. Indeed,, we were here for the night.. No need to panic though,, our bedroll was still attached on Tweeks back and we came here with the intent spend the night!!

 

 

 

As we drove around the area we discovered a laundry mat, a campground and could even see the mountains of Mexico off in the distance.. As we were exploring Big Bend, something very strange occurred to me, as far as I could tell - we had ALL of this National Park to our very selves!! Not a car, not a sound, not a movement - just Tippy, Tweeks and me!! We rode around a little looking for the perfect place to camp..

We didn't want to be selfish and we wanted to leave plenty of room around us just in case the rest of the world decided that they were gonna join us as soon as the sun went down.. We rode over to the very back of the campground area, parked Tweeks in some Mesquite bushes, walked a very short distance toward Mexico, broke thru the bushes and the desert opened up to a gorgeous evening view of Mexico's mountains only a short distance away!! A perfect spot for another sing along as the brilliant South Texas sun draws to close another day of CTFW..

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2015 by cowpuc

[Yammer Dan]

See anybody swimming the river??

[cowpuc]

See anybody swimming the river??

 

The next chapter is gonna address that issue:scubadive:

[cowpuc]

The warm breeze coming up from Mexico was intoxicating with the sweet smells of the desert air it carried.. Being pretty familiar with the need for proper tent orientation in order to capture as much of that sweet smelling breeze as possible, Tippy waited outside the tent while I laid down inside to get a feel for how much of that air the tent was capturing.. It only took me a couple tries before I got the tent in the perfect spot.. Tip climbed in and was fast asleep before I finished brushing my teeth.. Then I climbed in, slid my shoes off, positioned my 32 ounce styrofoam cup of water for late night thirst quenching, laid down on the tent floor, looked up and OH MY GOODNESS!! Talk about a star show!! Between the stars, the breeze and the howling coyotes, I found myself soon competing in that log cutting contest with Tippy that I always enjoy.. I opened my eyes a second later and the stars were gone,,, the sun was just breaking the morning sky and we still had the park all to ourselves.. Tweeks slept good too,, she only had a couple drops of dew left on her saddle so I knew ride time was fast approaching..

 

 

Our belly's were as empty as Tweeks fuel tank so the first place we headed was back to the gas station we passed on our way down to the camping area in search of breakfast.. Thankfully the station attendant decided to show up for work even though there was no one but us in the park.. We pulled up to the pumps, Tip wondered inside as I fed Tweeks.. I finished up, went inside and found Tippy chatting with the young man who ran the place.. I inquired about the whereabouts of all the people that I half way expected to see running around.. He said that most folks dont venture down that way so late in the year because of the heat and told us to come back during the winter months and the place would be alive with bikes!! After educating him about the snow in Michigan we had to fight just to get out of there in order to get to the park in June, he shook his head and mumbled something about really loving Texas.. We pawed thru his cooler full of quick fix sandwiches, found some cheese and crackers and a quart of orange juice.. Stuck the sandwiches in the microwave, ripped open the cheese and crackers, twisted the top off the juice and sat down on an old bench out front and watched the sun turn up the heat..

 

 

 

With full bellys and a fresh tank of gas, we headed deep into the park to do some exploring.. The beauty of the higher elevations soon gave way to a pretty good looking path down the mountain towards what we suspected to be the Rio Grande River Valley.. We are well known "coasters" (legends in our own minds) with records being set all over the country.. Our current all time farthest coast was in a place called Kings Canyon out in California, that was like a 34 minute coast and a distance of 29 miles (NON STOP - KEY OFF). As we approached this mountain top in Big Bend, Tippy and Tweeks both knew exactly what was coming!!

 

 

 

High speed coasting can really be fun,, I often imagine it has to be similar to being in a glider or something.. As we coasted down the mountain I thought about the famous young man we had bumped into one time out in Utah who was crossing the country on an Electric Motorcycle that he and Craig Vetter had built.. He was sitting there there watching the battery on his bike charge we I noticed him, we got yapping about the different sensations one experiences while riding an electric motorcycle.. I disclosed to him that I was a "coaster", after figuring out what I meant by that - he told me he thought that was wayyyy cool.. He even had me sign his bike and he signed Tweeks.. The coast down the mountain didn't produce any records BUT it did produce a landing right beside the mighty RIO GRANDE!!

 

 

 

 

I was amazed at how slow and shallow the Rio was.. I told Tip that I could now see how illegal immigrants could easily cross it.. It looked like they could walk across the Rio Grande here and barely get their feet wet.. Then I noticed the great big foreboding wall on the mountain on the Mexico side of the river and realized that the river was probably the least of an illegal's problems..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking about illegal's, the Border Patrol guys were really nice,, they smiled as we showed them our Michigan Enhanced Drivers Licenses that were suppose to work like passports.. No one there had ever seen or heard of such a thing.. I told them that we hadn't seen any other people and certainly no Aliens - illegal of other wise.. They said things had been pretty quiet in the area.. I told them we would keep our eyes out for Aliens and that we were headed to Roswell in search of them!! Saying goodbye to Big Bend was difficult cause it was beautiful but,, being that I had now committed to the Border Patrol a thorough search of the Roswell area for Aliens,, we headed that way..

 

 

 

The trail leading up from the southern border to Roswell across the Lone Star State is pretty flat.. Definitely not the type of terrain for someone who is hooked on say,, the Tail of The Dragon.. Tip and I have always enjoyed the variety of riding that our country offers and, that being said, it was fun experiencing that part of Texas.. Every area seems to have its natural ability to over come boredom,, this part of Texas would prove to be no different than any area when it came to that.. Up to this point of our trip we had gotten away with not experiencing any rain.. As I looked westward across the Texas landscape I noticed how dark it was becoming.. I picked my head up off Tips lap and told her I thought we might be in for a good drenching.. It wasnt long before those dark clouds revealed their true intent and it wasn't to get us wet.. The wind hit us with a fierceness that only states like Utah, Montana and Wyoming can appreciate.. These winds were different though as they contained almost as much prairie dirt as the actual ground from which it came!! The only thing I can compare it to is the sandstorm scene that is in the movie "Hildago" - it was that AWESOME!!

 

 

 

One of the things that I have always appreciated about these old 1st Generation Ventures are their fixed fairings.. I have ridden non-fixed fairing (some call em "Bat Wings") bikes for considerable distances during some of my touring days and, for high speed cross wind riding - I like the stability of the fixed.. The fixed has proven to be easier on my shoulders (fight a non-fixed for a few 16 hour high wind days and you will probably feel it too).. Not all bike riders agree with this whole thought but,, thats ok,, I ride my ride and they theirs.. I do like the LOOKS of the Bat Wing better (dont tell Tweeks) but looks dont really matter when your busting thru dirt filled winds like we were!! We rode right through that dust storm and came out in the sunshine on the other side.. Tweeks was a dusty mess as we pulled into a gas stop to get fuel and take a break.. My arms were stinging and I noticed that the skin that had been pealing from getting a little to much Texas sun had been sand blasted right off my arm, leaving a dirt filled blotchy look to them.. I went inside and cleaned up the best I could. Tip and I sat down at I table to drink a pop..

 

 

Sitting there yapping I remembered another Venture Rider member who had asked me to call him if I got into this part of Texas.. I made a quick call to TxSturgis just to say hi.. "Tex" was busy working on a Combine or something when he answered the phone.. I told him where we were,, he said he knew of a Ural Motorcycle event that was going on not to far from us.. He looked up the phone number for the event cause he knows I like cool bikes.. Tex had to go back to work but it was great getting to say hi anyway.. I later called about the Ural Event which was only a couple towns over, we had missed them by a day - RATS!!

After crossing into New Mexico, we got real close to Roswell and started seeing more houses and farms.. One place just outside of Roswell really caught my eye.. As we passed by this particular spot along the road, I couldn't help but notice acres and acres of OLD cars and trucks!! Acres and acres of parts and pieces too!! Being a gear headed car buff and a admirer of antiques, we had to turn around and snap some shots of the place!!

 

 

 

 

Regardless of what you have heard about Roswell New Mexico and Aliens, believe me, its not as easy to find those Flying Saucer creatures as one may expect.. As a matter of fact, we camped right in Roswell and I watched the sky all night (except for when I was sleeping) and I never saw a single Alien!! Thankfully,, someone thought far enough ahead to actually preserve one of the original Aliens that crash landed back in the 50's and they keep him on display for us tourists!!

 

 

 

Edited January 19, 2015 by cowpuc