Civil War Harley Tour: 2011

Better Late than Never

I’m sitting here in my kitchen with coffee and quiet to keep me company while the dulcet drones of distant snoring comes from another room (although he will deny that vehemently). My sister, Laurie asked for the link to this blog, and before I sent it, I read through the entries...

Despite my intention to sleep soundly, the words and images from Tuesday collided with the thoughts from Wednesday, and I find myself awake at 3:30am. Yet when I sit here attempting to write, I can’t think of anything important to say. The opportunity to see America from the back...

And Still More Corn...

I normally write these blogs in my head as we’re traveling down the scenic highways and byways. After all, that is my job, to record the event for posterity, sitting from my perch on the back of the bike. Between the digital photographs and the pictures taken with my mind’s eye, I normally have more than enough...

Wind. Rain. Kansas.Déjà vu all over again. Today’s ride started out just like yesterday, except I swear I saw Miss Gulch pedaling wildly across the blackening Kansas sky. Clouds were amassing over our heads into a dark and ominous blanket of gray. The wind was furious and I...

Rain. Wind. Kansas.Toto, I think we’re going to have a problem. The weather forecast was ominous as we started the ride from Oklahoma to Kansas, so much so that we left in rain gear. The rain was nothing more than a sprinkle at first, but the skies were growing darker and we...

When we headed out for Oklahoma this morning, I was certain I’d have a blog chock full of tales of ranches, horses, cowboys and the like. What we saw, and mind you, we’re only as good as the roads we travel, were (what seemed like) miles of vast prairie dotted with small clusters...

Today we headed out to Pea Ridge, a turning point in the Civil War and a battle that saved Missouri for the Union. In early March 1862, the Federal Western Army, under the command of General Samuel Curtis clashed with the Major General Earl Van Dorn’s Western Confederates in the...

We headed out of southern Arkansas today along the western edge of the state on our way to Prairie Grove, the site of a turning point battle during the Civil War’s western campaign. We certainly can’t call it a Civil War Harley Tour if we don’t visit at least one battlefield...

When I first suggested to Jason that we visit Washington State Park, he reminded me that my bar for these types of interpretive attractions is Williamsburg, Virginia, and Hope, Arkansas was a long way to go for possible disappointment. I knew I was taking a risk. I was told Sturbridge,...

Day Six: How Dry I Am

My intention for tonight was to draft a simple blog about our experience at Washington State Park, have a nice adult beverage, watch the hockey game and get a good night sleep before a long ride up the western edge of Arkansas to see a few Civil War battlefields tomorrow. Ah, the best laid plans…… We returned...

We left Branson early this morning to hazy blue skies and a chilly 70 degrees. Not that 70 is normally described as chilly, but considering it was 87 degrees when we started out on Monday….. The Arkansas state border was less than 20 minutes away, and it seemed that as soon as we...

When we rolled out this morning, the Missouri sky was painted a soft gradient blue, with only a wispy trace of clouds occasionally floating past. It was an absolutely perfect morning… and 87 degrees. It was the first morning we started out without a jacket, and the only day without...

A Post From Jason: My first blog, so bear with me a bit. For those riders in the crowd, the road has changed drastically so far. From the Appalachians, to the high plateau in New York state (love those wind generators), the road is new for me. Ohio was flat, plain and simple, and...

Growing up, my mother told me (repeatedly) not to talk to strangers, and while it's good, sound advice, sometimes a casual conversation with someone you don't know isn't a bad thing. I’ve learned that people who ride bikes are super friendly, especially to other folks on bikes, but...

Day Three: Hoosier Daddy?

Our initial impression of Indiana was cold, wet and unfriendly, although I can imagine that’s not so unusual for those who have ridden through the state during a thunderstorm. In the daylight, the Hoosier state’s landscape seemed a lot like Ohio before it an Illinois after it – farms, flat, barns, cows, wheat,...

I’ll be honest, I wrote my thoughts on Day Two’s blog under the soft and flickering light of the Harley’s flashers as we stood under a bridge waiting for the rain to pass. It was symbolic, I guess, as we were in Indiana, the boyhood home of Abraham Lincoln, who learned to read and...

So, it’s 9:30 pm and our first day on the bike is drawing to a quiet close. In the last 64 hours, I’ve entertained sleep for about 8. And I use the term entertained purposely, as trying to sleep, and then stay asleep, has been comical. I was up at 5:15 this morning for...

On the Road Again

Okay, sports fans. We're getting ready for the second annual Harley ride. I can't really call it a Civil War tour this year, since we're only visiting 2 battlefields, but since I've established precedence, Civil War Harley Tour II it is. Engines roar at 10:00am tomorrow (Friday). I'll talk to you from...

Better Late than Never

Day 14: Tomorrow, Tomorrow, You're Only a Day Away

And Still More Corn...

Toto, We're Not in Kansas Anymore

Day Ten: This Wasn't Dorothy's Kansas

Day Nine: OOOOOHHHHHHH-klahoma!

Day Eight: The Civil War Rages On

Day Seven: Prairie Grove Battlefield

Pioneer Life: Washington State Park

Day Six: How Dry I Am

Day Five: Arkansas

Day Four: The Show Me State

From the Driver's seat

Garden of the Gods

Day Three: Hoosier Daddy?

Day Two: Barnstorming Across Ohio

Off to a Great Start

On the Road Again

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