Alien Adventure Days 5, 6 and 7

I won a helmet at the Rally so I tie my old one on the back, have another fine breakfast with Meredith, Ken, Howard, John and Steve. Then we are off via Oatman city.

 Saw this guy pedaling and had to get a picture.

 Another burro just hanging out...

 One more shot of the road from Oatman to Kingman.

 Easter Dinosaur.

Hoping for a close encounter..

 Umm...

 Rachel, Nevada, I'm able to check another town off my bucket list.

 Went to the only bar in town for dinner and had to wait in line..

 They had parked out front.

Mail box.

\

The next morning I'm off for home. The 'high winds' were forcasted at 60 to 70 mph. They weren't kidding!!
I stopped at the first gas station, a Shell, which was 30 miles down the road from Rachel
I get gas and food and while eating my omelet, I get to talking to a couple from Canada.  The husband is a big cowboy with a big cowboy hat, and we had a nice conversation.  They had spent the winter in Yuma, he told me about a bike rally in Yuma and mentioned how the bikers had always rode around in large groups.  I said, 'I'm not much for group rides'. The big Canadian looked me up and down and replied, 'Yes, I can see you're cut from a different wood'. I thought that was a nice compliment, and if I judged my Canadian friend correctly he knew it was also.

 By the time I get to Delta I'm worn out from the high winds and grab a room.

 Next day I'm on my way home via Eureka, Utah.

 Closer to home the snow disappears... all is good.

Most of this trip was super. The last two days, not so much, but you have to take the good with the bad so I won't complain....too much!

1958 miles. Good trip!

The Highway 6 Deli

Out for a Saturday ride with no real destination. I wind up by the town of Vernon and start following dirt roads to ...who knows where? Total dirt riding for the day was around 35 miles, more than enough for me.

I forgot my camera so these are taken with my cell phone cam.

The Black Rock Canyon road.

While I was stopped here a guy in a Toyota FJ crawled around me and kept going up the hill.

 This is far enough for my dirt skills, I do a 400 point turn-around here.

After that road I decide it's time to head for home, but when passing through Eureka I see this hole-in-the-wall deli.

It is small, different, and not crowded.....just the way I like em!

I turn a U-ey and go in.

They have a menu of several sandwiches. The owner told me, 'if you want something not on the menu, I'll try to fix it for you..'.

But, I just got the burger - they made certain it was fixed the way I wanted it. My face and hands were a mess when I was done....so you know it was good!

They have a unique gift shop. This photo is from outside on the sidewalk.There are lots of other interesting things to see on a stroll through this quaint old town.

 The Highway 6 Deli. Eureka, south end of town...worth the ride! 

Not a lot of miles, a tad under 200, but a fun and tasty day!

Burger Run March 2013

Vegashotwheeler, aka: Mike has set up another burger run to Hoover's Restaurant near Marysvale Ut on March 16th.

Unfortunately Mike didn't quite make it to Hoover's. No..he didn't crash, but he had a severe reaction to some meds, and an energy drink. The reaction kicked in as the northbound Vegas group neared Mesquite Nv. Mike was airlifted from Mesquite back to Vegas, spent a night in the hospital and is recovering nicely at home. He had texted me of his situation just as I was leaving my home to meet the Utah riders for our ride south to Hoover's.

When we all got together I apprised the group of Mikes situation, his condition was a concern for all, but there was nothing we could do for him, so we pressed on with the ride.

 Most of the Utah riders met in Goshen. There were 13 or 14 bikes....

The Obligatory group shot....but wait, here comes some more riders!

Just as we snapped the group pic, three more Rough and Tough Riders pulled up on their Gnarly Adventure machine!

This called for another group pic. Those guys seemed like good kids, I hope they had as good a day as we did.

Ok, picture taken it's time to get riding.

170 miles later we reach Hoover's

The Vegas guys arrive a few minutes later and we get down to the business of eating, talking, and laughing!

Vegashotwheeler likes The Hoover's Pastrami burger.

This pictures for you Mike!

(Thanks Jess aka WildManonaTiger for letting me photograph your burger.)

Another Vegas rider that couldn't make the ride is DesertDweller aka Steve. He LOVES scones...this pic is for you Steve!

(ps. Adrian and I enjoyed them for you...)

Hoover's served up their usual tasty food, and the riders had the usual BS session. As far as I know everyone had a grand ol time!

Thanks Hoover's!

Another pic of the bike line-up this time including the Vegas bikes.

We all say our goodbyes and head out. Adrian and I ride south to Otter Creek and see these amazing rock formations.

We don't have a set destination and as the sun is getting ready to go down we see a good price on a room in Bicknell, we stay at the Aquarius Inn.

A couple blocks down the street is the Sunglow Restuarant. They are famous for their Pickle pie, and Pinto Bean Pie (yes, you read that right..). We didn't have either one, but we both had a nice entree (the Sunglow really has some great tasting food!) and then I got a pecan pie, and Adrian got an apple pie which we put in the fridge in our room and had them for breakfast.

If you're passing through that area the Sunglow is a great place to eat.

And we're up at the crack of mid-morning and on the road again.

We make a stop to raise the water table, and while doing so these guys run across the street.

Ice fishermen.... on Fish lake.





We take SR 72 from Loa, north..

 Forsyth Reservoir.

 



 The day was windy, but the weather wasn't bad until we started up Huntington Canyon (SR 31) where we ran into a lot of white. A couple of times the visibility was down to 30 or 40 feet, that and glazy looking roads had us tip-toeing around the corners. But, it's all good, once we got down to Fairview and on to US 89 it warmed right up....haha.. and we had a great ride home!



Thanks Vegashotwheeler / Mike, for setting up this fun event. Next time we hope to see YOU there!

Thanks to the 20-ish riders that attended - everyone contributed to the good time. 

Thanks to Kaybi for letting me use your camera, and a special thanks to Ryker for the tiny finger print on the camera lense. (Grand kids...gotta love em!)

I can't wait for the next burger run!

Shoot, eat, sleep, repeat.

Warning!!

This is a non motorcycle related post.

But....what is the most fun you can have while not on a motorcycle? You are right; sex.

However this post is about guns and shooting.

Most senior son Jacob has been after me for quite a while to go to a defensive handgun course with him. He finally found a way to convince me to go....he made it 'free'..... sort of. He would pay for the course if I would cover the housing costs. Sounds good to me so we make our reservations. Jacob and Tiffany, their two children, and Beverly and I are set to go to Las Vegas for the Front Sight defensive handgun course.

Jacob, Tiffany, and I will be taking the course. Beverly will be babysitting the children. I think Grams got the short end of the stick, but she insists that that is what she would prefer to do. 'Gramma's'...go figure.

Early Friday morning we arrive at the incredible 550 acre Front Sight compound, which is a few miles outside of Pahrump, Nevada.

And it IS incredible! Everything about Front Sight is done expertly. The grounds are immaculate, well designed, and professionally done.

We are immediately directed to the range where our course will be held for the beginning of our class.

There is no idle time, chit-chat, or potty breaks; no time is wasted throughout the entire two day course.  The instructors are precise, and articulate. The presentations are well rehearsed, with each new principle being built upon a previously taught principle. Even the humor is well presented and used to make a point.

Students are never expected to demonstrate a skill until said skill is shown and explained in detail. Safety is paramount, the first three hours were devoted to safety, and proper handling techniques.

Both 10 hour days were filled with pertinent information. We would break for a short lunch, which was the only non-teaching time, however before lunch time was over a lecture would start in the lunch room.

EVERY presentation was worth listening to.

I was concerned that we would be high-pressured to buy something, but I was in error. There were two short presentations for gun safes, and hearing protection. Both were short and sweet, and made to the group. No pressure at all.

The mornings were chilly.

Shooting was done from 3 to 15 yards.

Weapons malfunctions were simulated, and we were taught how to solve them.  Notice the bullet lodged in the ejection port.

Draw and fire practice, later in the course we were against a timer.

The ever present Instructors; always ready to answer a question or offer advice. We had at least four, sometimes more for our class.

Tiffany was arguably the best (student) shot in the class. It's entirely possible I was the worst. (The targets were shared by everyone in our group.)

Jacob, Tiffany and me.

Don't forget to calculate walking time...

Looking off our deck where we stayed.

Ryker and Jaysie.

I have to admit I was skeptical about the value of the course, and reticent about the kind of environment I would find there. I expected the instructors to be arrogant type A boot camp style drill instructors.

I was wrong on both counts, pleasantly surprised with the patience, professionalism, and skill set of each instructor.

Would I do it again? Yes, I plan to.

Would I recommend a Front Sight course to others? Absolutely! But...I would not recommend paying the prices advertised on their web site. Jacob got on  their emailing list and waited for a good deal.

Last but most, I was able to spend a weekend with family, and that translates into Good times!