WhaDaRide!

Time for another ride. The group we belong to "Temple Riders Association" are going on a ride to Yellowstone NP and then over BearTooth Pass.... sounds like good fun, Beverly and I join them.

Then after the Park and Beartooth, I leave the group and head east. My goal on this ride is the last 5 National Park Stamps in CONUS and more importantly visits with family and friends.

So I get stamps from NPs in Minnesota, and Michigan - Voyagers NP and Isle Royale NP, then drop into Missouri to visit son Jacob and family. It was a typical visit, which means it was too short, and then I was on my way to pick up two more parks; Indiana Dunes NP and Cuyahoga NP - Indiana and Ohio.

Then a stop at another son Fenton and family. Again, a super visit, to short and then I'm heading north to get Acadia NP in Maine....the Last Stamp in the CONUS!

Then south to Fenton's again - its hard to leave the first time so I visit twice to make leaving doubly hard!  LOL and it is - and just possibly this is why, I find a note left for me by my grand-daughter...talk about sweet!!

(The grand kids call me 'Poppy')

So farther south to Tennessee I ride to visit friend Sean, Kris, and daughter Nora (actually also son Jack but he is currently serving in the Army)

Another excellent visit (Kris made Lasagna especially for me) ((awwwwwwww what a life!))

I depart Tenn pointed (loosely) for home. When I see this cut out I couldn't resist....

Super pic eh?

Another stop at Jacob's to watch the grand kids games....and to keep from riding in the dark I spend a night at this Mom and Pop motel.

I'm pretty sure when they refer to a 'honey hole' they are talking about good places to find 'morel' mushrooms....I think. :) 

I decide I need to reward myself for all this miles and miles of riding I've done so far....Ohhhh the misery of 'having' to get up and ride each day.....  ;)

Then it is time to head home for real.

West from Mizzou I take US 36 across Kansas which takes me past Lebanon, Kansas.

I have been near Lebanon before but never actually visited. And what is special about Lebanon? Well, they claim to be smack dab in the center of the 'lower 48'.

And...they have very friendly people there. I met several in my short time at the visitor center.  If I visit again I'll be certain to spend more time there.

Also in Kansas, a stop at the Pony Express museum and sights in Marysville - Very worth while!

And my last day in Kansas I wake up to some pea soup! I decided to not wait for it to clear and ended up riding in 80+ miles of sort of bad to very bad visibility.  My fault for starting out in it. Alls well that ends well.

And a few other pics taken along the way

Notice the train tracks reflecting the sun set.

I know I shouldn't drink and drive....but I couldn't resist this one....

A fast and not very detailed RR...most importantly I wanted to crow  a little about finishing the lower 48 Nat Park stamps.

This ended up being 8400 miles - true to form I covered a bunch of miles on the last day in a hurry to get home. 550 miles mostly in rain and wind....but worth it to get home to my awesome wife!

Life is good!