Life Continues...

I was standing in the yard this morning, trying to find a good signal for my cell phone...yes, our coverage IS that bad out here...when I spotted this female turtle preparing to lay her eggs.  I think she is a snapping turtle, or 'snapper' as we call them, but I'm not fully conversant on the many types and species of turtles.   Her shell measures maybe nine or ten inches from front to back.  When I went back out a few minutes ago to get an accurate measurement, she was nowhere to be seen, so I suspect she has buried herself in the sandy soil, and is laying her eggs right now.  There is nothing visible out there right now except for a hole in the ground measuring about an inch and a half.

How cool is this? :D

The Bridge

I have always loved this bridge. It crosses the St. Joseph River in the little town of Mottville, Michigan, not far from where I grew up.  It's narrow and old, the longest surviving three-hump camel back bridge in Michigan, and until twenty years ago it was THE only bridge to get from one side of the river to the other on U.S. 12, also known as the Pulaski Memorial Highway.  I crossed it countless times when I was growing up, and it gave a real sense of adventure if you met a semi while on it! 

The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic in 1990 and a new, wider bridge was built.  Local groups fought to keep the old bridge from being razed.  It was preserved and is now open to foot and bicycle travel only.  For those like me who are passionately in love with all things watery, it is a place of great beauty and peace, even with the rumble of traffic traversing the new bridge just feet away.  It's not uncommon to see people fishing from it in the summer.

In the river to the east of the bridge there are the remains of a piling from a much-older bridge that was torn down when the camel-back bridge was built.  My father told me that the hand-hewn beams that were salvaged from the destruction of that bridge were used to frame up the barn where we raised sheep and stored hay and farm equipment at my childhood home.  When I was a little girl, the owner of a restaurant beside the bridge on the banks of the St. Joe would go out just before Christmas and moor a rowboat with a Santa Claus mannikin sitting in it to the old piling, We always looked forward to seeing the Santa Boat when we'd drive past, for we knew that its appearance meant that Christmas would be here soon.

There is a set of wooden stairs leading down to the water from the bridge.  Last fall we stopped at the bridge with friends visiting us from Texas.  We walked down to the water and crossed below the old bridge on the huge boulders that lie beneath it.  This past winter, I stopped one snowy day and got some wonderful pictures.

Here is the same view, photographed yesterday afternoon on my way home from work.

 We've had a great deal of rain lately, and the river is just about as high as I've ever seen it.  I walked down the steps to the water yesterday and found that the rock-strewn pathway we used last September to cross under the bridge is completely submerged.  If you look very closely, you can see the boulders under the water in the picture above.

This is a wonderful place...come visit it with me one day!

I love to mow...

I know that sounds odd, but I really do enjoy mowing the lawn.  It's good thinking time.  I have long conversations in my head with friends and family who have passed on and with loved ones who are far away.  I remember and re-live special moments in my life and dream of special times that I hope will come to pass in the future.  I hear my mother's voice and feel her touch.

 I love the repetition of making passes around the yard, and the clean swaths of fresh-cut grass.  I love the smell of mint that rises into the air when I mow the low ground near the little stream, and the scent of wild onions that grow beneath the cottonwood tree when I mow out near the barn.

I love seeing the red and white clover blossoms and the tiny yellow wildflowers that grow just shorter than the lawnmower blades cut.

It's a good time to take stock of how things are growing around the yard and in the woods.  Right now the wild roses are blooming, and the wild irises, too.

And if I am to judge by the number of buds on these bushes, we'll have a bumper crop of raspberries in a few weeks.

One of the best things about mowing is that when you're all done, it looks like this:

And this:

Then it's nice to take a few minutes and cool my toes in the stream...

... and to take a look around and enjoy the beauty that surrounds me...

We had a tremendous thunderstorm yesterday, bringing us buckets of rain and pea-sized hail.  Our little stream nearly overflowed its banks, and the low-lying land at the bottom of the yard is still squishy wet today. Some new bits of broken crockery washed downstream from the old dumping place, and I fished them out of the water.

We were so lucky to find this beautiful place.

Sunrise at Sunnybrook

There is a millpond at the end of the lane that runs past our house. 

Every morning, the mist rises from the water as the air is warmed by the rising sun.

I was sitting on the porch this morning around 7:00 a.m. and was treated to this sight. 

The mist drifting through the trees was dramatically set afire by the sun.

What a wonderful way to begin the day!

Funny... :)
http://bigtrev.blogsome.com/category/1/  This is a very funny and REAL ad from Ebay.  Read and enjoy until I get the time to write up something new... :)

It was time to go for a ride...

Every year for the past few years, we have looked forward to the Tennessee Lunch Run as the first ride of the spring. It's a time to dust off the bike. to head south, to clear winter's cobwebs from our heads and to meet up with our riding friends.  
We missed the lunch run last year, due to layoffs and reduced working hours at Rich's job.  We are still without a motorcycle, since Rich's wreck last fall.  I didn't think we'd make it this year.

But we are blessed with good friends.  Ross, our dear friend from Logansport, Indiana, has three motorcycles. He owns a Goldwing, a Kawasaki Nomad, and a vintage Honda.  When Rich was in the hospital after his wreck, Ross insisted that we WOULD be going to Tennessee this spring, whether we had replaced our bike or not.  Rich and I would ride Ross's Wing, and Ross would ride his Nomad.  
Steve, our friend (and some time drywall mudder extraordinaire) from Ohio, planned our route.  We loaded up one Tuesday evening and headed for Ross and Joyce's house, ready to ride out Wednesday morning.  Steve was already there, and after a great supper and some time to catch up on the events of the past winter we headed off to bed to rest up for the coming day.
Wednesday was a day to ride easy and get the feel for being back on two wheels again.  We rode back roads all day, stopping for a giant tenderloin sandwich along the way, and putting in for the night in Madison, Indiana, where we met up with Jay and Marian from the Indianapolis area.
On Thursday, we rode from Madison, Indiana, to Madisonville, Tennessee.  We hadn't planned on making it that far, but the roads were good, the company was even better, and the weather was perfect for riding, so we kept going until we arrived at our Friday destination.  Gail and Joyce, Rickey and Denise were already there, having spent the week traveling and riding from Oklahoma and Arkansas.  
On Friday the rest of the gang began arriving, from Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, and many other places.  The weather for our weekend was pretty craptastic, for the most part.  We had rain, and lots of it, although it was very nice for riding on Sunday.  Pics from our Sunday ride:

It was a wonderful trip, right up until about 10:30 am Monday.  We were traveling near Berea, Kentucky.  Steve was leading, but did not have his helmet on, so no CB contact was possible.  Ross was behind Steve.  Rich and I were following Ross.  Traffic was heavy, and there was a steady drizzle of rain falling.  
We may never know exactly why, but Ross's bike took a sudden left-hand turn, and in the blink of an eye, Ross was sliding on the pavement, with the bike sliding and tumbling and throwing sparks ahead of him.  Ross stopped sliding at the inside edge of the highway, with his feet toward the concrete barriers and his head toward traffic.  Somehow he managed to get himself up on his feet and to safety against the barrier.  A woman stopped to hold an umbrella over us and to wrap a blanket around Ross as we waited for the emergency vehicles to arrive.  Because Steve had no CB and had been separated from us by traffic, he never knew about Ross's wreck until he arrived at home in Dayton, OH, and got our messages.  He just thought we'd turned off to head north and west, as we'd discussed.

All in all, Ross was a very lucky man. He had some road rash on his elbows, knees, and backside, a sprained ankle, some cracked ribs, a night in the hospital...and a badly smashed-up bike.  Bill Kelso, another friend from the forum, came down to pick up Ross and his bike on Tuesday, and bring us all home.
I finished Ms. Nina's socks in Bill's truck on the way home, all but working in the loose ends.  I started another pair, in Kroy this time, Cascade Colours.  I think they're going to be very pretty socks.  Pictures to come in the next entry. 

Spring is here!

The marsh marigolds are blooming, with a new riot of bright yellow appearing almost as you watch.  My grandson calls them "Marshmallow Flowers" and he loves to go down to our little stream whenever he is here, to see them and to look for 'fishies'.  As I walked along the bank yesterday to take pictures, I could hear frogs PLOP! into the water at my approach, but was never quick enough to catch them in action.  I could see that we have some cleaning up to do, after the winter melt and runoff.  There's trash in the stream, some of it new, but some from previous generations, usually hidden under the streambed and surfacing when there is an especially large rain to wash away the sand.  Old bits of crockery, glass jars, rusted cans are uncovered, and require some caution when we wade in the shallow water. 

Rich has been tossing rocks of various sizes into the stream as we clear them from the lawn, and we're beginning to get a nice burbling sound as the water tumbles around and over them.   It's quite relaxing and mesmerising to spend a few moments watching and listening.  Sometimes we're lucky enough to spot a crawdad sunning himself in the shallowest parts of the stream.

The birds are nesting and calling to one another in the marsh. Yesterday I caught a glimpse of a red-winged blackbird and a week or two ago I lay in bed in the early morning and watched a robin building its nest in the walnut tree right outside my window (a friend pointed out to me that the bird was probably disdainful of my laziness!).  I've been cleaning up the fallen walnuts...that job should have been done in the fall, but I was distracted by Rich's motorcycle accident and then it was too cold and snowy to get the job done.  The squirrels have had plenty to eat over the winter, and they're quite fat and luxuriantly-furred this spring!  The ground beneath the walnut trees is littered with walnut husks and empty shells to be raked up.

Still keeping our friend, Loren, close in thought and prayer.  He passed a critical 48-hours-since-surgery mark last night and is making some small improvements.  It will be a long, long path to recovery for him.

For Loren, in Arkansas...

Keeping you and yours close in heart and prayer.  Keep fighting, friend...get well.  As I just told another friend, you're a cranky old curmudgeon, but you're OUR cranky old curmudgeon. 

A picture from our ride after the Tennessee Lunch Run, 2007

 From left, Steve, Loren, me, Rich, Ross

"The time has come," the walrus said, "to talk of many things.."
Lewis Carroll "The Walrus and the Carpenter" from Alice in  Wonderland

Of weight loss and sewing machines that don't work and keeping one's disagreements with the world private wherever possible...

I know, that doesn't rhyme. 

• I have set out, with a friend in Arkansas, to lose 100 pounds.  To that end, I have invested in an inexpensive bathroom scales.  It's time. It's necessary. It will be very, very difficult. Keep me in your thoughts.  My question is, if I reset the starting point on the scales to -10 pounds, does that count as a weight loss? Ok, ok....
• The Pixie II sewing machine has been returned to the store from whence it came.  It was a bad, bad sewing machine,and we did not get along at all well. I shall be having my good machines repaired.
• Today I had to referee a domestic disagreement between two people who mean very much to me.  You know who you are.  Please, please, please, make it your goal to keep all disagreements just between the two of you and NOT public ok?  I don't want to read about your fits and problems with one another or with anyone else on Facebook or MySpace, I don't want to hear about it on the phone, I don't want to know about it in person.  Your parents and family don't need to know you're fighting, your friends don't need to know you're fighting, and your children don't need to know you're fighting.  See if you can go an entire week without posting/telling/whining about your fights and disappointments in any sort of public venue, ok? Ok.  Thankyouverymuch.
• We have steps leading down from one of our exit doors now! HURRAY for my husband and master carpenter!

Spring Stuff...

I bought a new sewing machine...I have a good one that just needs to be cleaned and serviced, but this one was only fifty dollars, and it would cost me at least that much to have the other one worked on. It's called a "Pixie II" and is made by Singer.  It's slow and loud and I think a bit temperamental.  We'll see if it makes the grade.  Since most of my sewing stuff is still MIA in packing boxes, I picked up a few doodads and gizmos and patterns and fabrics, too.  I'm going to do some sewing for the grandkids, and maybe for myself, as well.

I sewed a valance for Robby's room. It goes well with the quilt, I think.

I've done some knitting...finished up this long-languishing pair of socks.  I think this is Fortissima Socka.

And this pair. I started these while Rich was in the hospital recovering from his motorcycle wreck.  Need to find the ball band. I can't remember what the yarn was but it's lovely stuff.

I made some progress on Ms. Nina's socks. I hope to have them done in time to deliver them to her at the Tennessee Lunch Run in April.

I found this yummy sock pattern in this book, Easy Knitted Socks by Jeanette Trotman. I mentioned the pattern in a previous post.  They used Kidsilk Haze for the model, but I think I'll try something a little more affordable.









The job at Hobby Lobby proved to be a mistake, both for me and for the company.  I am going back to my old job in Shipshewana, beginning this Thursday.  I am very sad to have failed at this, but glad that my former employers want me back. 

We had the granddaughters over for the night last Saturday, for the first time.  All I can say is girls are really, really different from boys! 

Dude!
I have the BEST big brother!  Greg has lived in Canada for nearly thirty years.  I asked him about the wonderful Olympic Flame-Bearers' mittens from the recent Olympic Games in Vancouver, BC, Canada.  I had tried to order some online, but the Internet source I found was sold out.  A few days later, I got these in the mail!  
He sent me a package of five pair of the wonderful mittens, three adult-sized and two child-sized.  They are beautiful, fleece-lined, and warm.  I love them, and I love my big brother...but then, I love him whether he sends me mittens or not.

Dang, that's a lot of red in that picture! = )
 

FAIL :-(

I didn't quite manage to finish my KnitOlympics socks...the cuffs are done, and I got maybe a third of the way down the legs before the Olympic flame was extinguished last evening.  A weekend full of company (while wonderful) and the loss of pages one and two of the pattern (which is not such a good thing, when it's your own original pattern and the digital file for it is lost on your crashed hard drive) slowed me down just a bit. I had to go back to Barbara Walker for the pattern stitch, then figure out how I altered it to work in the round.  Then I ripped back my first attempt at figuring it out and tried again. Much better the second time!  So here is what I have finished. They're going to be lovely, and I know Ms. Nina will be very happy with them. I'm going to have to try to find another ball of the Red Heart sock yarn. I think I may run a little short of the cream color.

This is the hat I knitted for our friend John, for his visit here from Louisiana last weekend.  You will note that I still HAVE said hat...John didn't make it here.  He has a few cracked ribs and didn't feel up to making the trip.  He will tell you that he injured his ribs while rescuing a woman and her child from the crashed and flaming wreckage of her car.  Don't believe it.  The truth involves a fairly large quantity of Maker's Mark bourbon, a Mardi gras parade, and a wrecker that stopped moving in the parade just before John walked into it.  That's a lovely cashmere scarf under the hat. It would have been John's, too.  I'm just sayin'... = )

We had a nice weekend without him, but it would have been great if he could have joined us. Friends from Indiana were here to celebrate their 37th anniversary, as well as my sister and her husband to celebrate her birthday, and our son and daughter-in-law and grandsons, too.  The friends spent the night, as did Robby, and we had a wonderful time! 

We missed you, John.  Hope those ribs heal quickly and that you'll make it up here the next time.

Citius, Altius, Fortius
(Faster, Higher, Stronger)
I have decided to participate in the Knitting Olympics this year, as a challenge to myself and as a spur to get going on a pair of socks that I promised to a dear friend nearly a year ago.  In honor of Ms. Nina in Alabama, and in memory of my little great-niece Haley Rose, I cast on a pair of Haley's Roses socks during the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC, Canada. 
Ms. Nina's socks will be in Red Heart's Heart and Sole sock yarn in cream, and Opal Uni-Color in pink.  I designed the Haley's Roses pattern to help raise funds to fight neuroblastoma.  ALL proceeds from the sale of the pattern are donated to Lunch for Life.

In other knitting, I recently finished a hat in Lion Brand Fistherman's Wool.  I'd never worked with this yarn before, and I found that I really enjoyed it.  The hat is for our friend John, who will be visiting us next week from Louisiana.  He is a Southern Boy, through and through, and is afraid that he will  freeze up here in our Northern winter :)  Maybe the lovely, warm hat will help a bit to keep him warm during his stay with us. 

The new job at Hobby Lobby is, well, it's a job.  I am frustrated with my apparent inability to accomplish all that they expect from me in the time allotted.  I hope that will improve as I gain experience.  I do get to play with a lot of yarn.  I have two projects going that I keep in my locker at work: a simple shawl in a yarn called "Epais" from Yarn Bee and a pair of socks in "Walk Away" sock yarn.  Both of these yarns are new to me. 

I found a pattern that intrigues me in one of the knitting books at the store.  It's for a pair of over-the-knee stockings that tie with sheer ribbon...I have no idea where I would wear such things, but I am oddly drawn to them.  I may end up having to knit a pair, just because.  Maybe I could hang them artfully on the wall in the bathroom or drape them over the back of the bedroom chair!  :D  

This will be a weekend of frantic housecleaning, as I get ready for an onslaught of company next weekend.  My friends are all familiar with my aversion to housework, and never expect much in that area, but I do like to surprise them every now and again with a mostly-clean house... :) 

The Bad Blogger Returns...
So, it's been a few months. Some things have happened...

• My husband had a little unscheduled get-off (that means a BIG wreck) on the BigYellowBike. He is recovering from some injuries that put him in the hospital for six days, three of those in trauma care. The bike was totaled. Now the search begins for a new ride. Three words: WEAR A HELMET!
• Our dear friend and drywall-mudder extraordinaire, Steve, a.k.a. PoleCat, wrecked his beautiful orange bike, too. Also recovering, and the proud owner of a brand-new Goldwing, red this time.
• Injured husband and drywaller means that the house progress is stalled. Again.
• Our friend Ross has had several health issues, worrying us greatly, but is doing ok at the moment.
• I brined a turkey for Thanksgiving...yum!
• I celebrated my fifty-third birthday.
• 50 Socks for 50 States was published on CD and my copy came in the mail just before Christmas. My original patterns are Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, and Texas!
• There was Christmas.
• There is a new year.
• We rode (in the car) up to Lansing on New Year's Day to meet with a few folks from our motorcycle forum. This was the fourth or fifth year for the Mid-Michigan Lunch Run, and the first time we have gone without Ross and Joyce.
• There was snow.
• My sister's tumor has begun growing again and she is back on chemo.
• Because of this, my hair is growing very long (I am not cutting it until hers grows back).
• I am learning the ways of Ravelry...sigh...another Internet addiction.
• Our son got married.
• This brought us a daughter, and three new grandkids, two girls and a boy!
• After four years (mostly) at Back Home Again, I will be starting a brand new job on Monday, at Hobby Lobby at Concord Mall in Elkhart, Indiana. I'll be working in the fabric and needle-arts department. Come see me!
• This is the funniest thing about this new job: the building that houses the HL store in Elkhart used to be a Montgomery Wards store. I worked there thirty years ago, in the paint, hardware, electrical, plumbing and heating departments, in THAT VERY BUILDING.
• I just can't escape my past!
• I stopped smoking last spring, and am doing very well with it!
• Rich stopped while in the hospital after the bike wreck, and is also doing well.

I know there's more, but that will do for now!

More Images from Our Trip to Arkansas
Sometimes I like to play with black and white images. Here are a few:

Ross, Steve, and Michael wait for the ferry at Bull Shoals Lake












JP, Ross, Steve













"Wormy" and John, Bull Shoals Landing










JP, "Wormy" and William, Bull Shoals Landing


























Waiting for the ferry to dock














William


















Rickey, Michael, Steve















Boarding the Bull Shoals Ferry

Oh, My Goodness!
I haven't posted here since June? I am a bad, bad blogger. Someone should take away my blogging privileges... BUT, since they have not done that, I will attempt to rectify my neglect.

So, what's been happening? Two rooms of the 'new' house are finished, with the exception of the bathroom cabinetry and the baseboards. Well, ok, they still need some other stuff done, too, but when you've lived with plywood floors and raw drywall for over a year, this is a huge leap forward. They are splendid! Our dear friend Steve (a.k.a. "The Polecat") spent several weeks here with us in July and August, mudding and taping drywall, and let me tell you, he is a wonder at that job. He will be coming back soon to finish the work.
Rich has been designing and building the wood trim for the finished rooms. There are no words for how beautiful his work is. In one upstairs bedroom, we have a pressed-oak bed and dresser set that was a wedding gift from my great-grandparents to my grandparents. Rich matched and hand-carved a part of the design from the furniture to make corner-blocks for the door and window trim. I can't get the pics out of my camera at the moment (missing camera-computer patch cord), but will post them as soon as I can.
In the upstairs bathroom, he designed the MOST wondrous trim, painted white to accent the pale-gray walls. Again, pics to come. He will be building a vanity and some other cabinets for that room, as well.
The master bath, downstairs, is making progress, too. Rich beadboarded the walls, and will be using a tile design that mimics an antique tin ceiling for that room.

There has been knitting! The last of the Fifty Socks for Fifty States samples have been knit and mailed off to Washington for their photo ops, and the patterns are in the process of being edited as I type. They all turned out beautifully, and I am proud to be included in this compilation of patterns. Guess what...those pics are also being held captive by my missing camera patch cord.

Travels on the BigYellowBike
We only got to make one motorcycle trip this year, thanks to the economy and Rich's pay cuts. I know, I know, at LEAST he still has a job...we hear that a lot, but let me tell you, it's cold comfort when it's time to pay the bills and when we are missing our dearest friends.
So, we didn't make the Tennessee Lunch Run in April, and the Chatamoochie Run in August, and WOTS in September, but we DID head off to the Harrison Gathering the first weekend in October. This is, as always, my favorite ride of the year. Most of my chatroom friends make it to Harrison, and I look forward to this ride all year.

We started out Wednesday evening, September 30th, as soon as I got off work. We had everything packed the night before, and Rich loaded up the bike and trailer when he got home. Our nephew, Rick, lives just down the road from us, and he had promised to care for our cat and keep an eye on the house while we were gone. It was chilly, but we layered up and headed for Logansport, IN, to spend the night with our friends, Joyce and Ross. PoleCat was already there. We discussed the idea of heading on out, as the weather forecast for Thursday was threatening cold and rain, but decided the risk of running deer was scarier, so set our alarms for early morning and headed off to bed.
Thursday morning, we layered up again and headed out, Ross, Steve, Rich and I. Sadly, Joyce is suffering the effects of an attack of shingles from more than a year ago, and cannot stand to wear a helmet. I surely do miss having her along on our rides! It was cold, about the same as last year, but with layers, warm riding gear, and rain suit on the top to cut the wind, it was not terribly uncomfortable.
We rode part of the day in light drizzle, but mainly managed to stay ahead of the huge storm front that was coming across Illinois. Others on their way to Harrison were not so lucky, and rode in the rain from Wisconsin to Arkansas. After a mostly uneventful but long day, we stopped for the night in Poplar Bluff, MO. We called Galute (Rickey) in Arkansas and set up a time to meet him for breakfast on Friday, along with John Parsley (JP) and Michael, who had ridden in that day from Alabama and Tennessee to stay at his house on the way to the gathering. We got a text message from John Hicks (FrigNbored) who had already arrived in Harrison and was safe and warm at the hotel. After supper, off to bed to rest up for the last leg of the ride.
Friday morning, we saddled up and headed to Ash Flat, Arkansas, to meet up with the gang. Hicks was too lazy to get out of bed and join us, so he missed out on this:

ONE biscuit at Meacham's Restaurant, in Ash Flat, Arkansas...it was as big as half a loaf of bread!

From Ash Flat, we headed for Harrison, by way of Melbourne. Rickey led us on a beautiful ride through the Ozarks, with a stop to visit friends Larry and Rita at their new home, fondly called Chatamoochie by the chat room bunch. What a lovely house in a perfect setting!
It was late in the afternoon by the time we reached the hotel. After a shower and some clean clothes, we joined the parking lot gathering to meet new friends and catch up with old ones.
Friday evening, we set out for supper with Frig and Michael, but had a small mishap in the hotel parking lot. Rich turned a bit too sharply and the BigYellowBike went over. I grabbed him to try to stay on board, but managed to pull him off along with me. I am told I rolled twice and Rich made a complete somersault before we came to rest on the sidewalk, embarrassed but unhurt, and laughing hysterically. Several of our friends rushed to help upright the bike and get us going again. There is a saying: "There are two types of motorcyclists: those who have dropped the bike, and those who WILL one day." This was not our first time, and it probably won't be our last. Oh, and if you talk to Frig, I was NOT drunk and I WAS wearing more than just my yellow boots at the time, no matter what he tells you!
Poor Michael...he has been described to me as "the happiest man I have ever met" and it is absolutely true! Michael loves to laugh, laughs easily, and laughs long, and he was so tickled by our unscheduled get-off that he giggled throughout supper. The man needs to cheer up a bit! :D
Saturday, we rode...and rode...and rode. Galute led us once more on a tour of the hills and valleys of northern Arkansas. Eighteen bikes were on the ride, more than G usually likes to lead, but he did a splendid job, as always. We crossed Bull Shoals Lake on the ferry, ate lunch at Cody's and finished with a ride on Push Mountain, where we all had our photo snapped by the Push Mountain Pics photographer. You can see the proofs here. Rich and I are on the BigYellowBike. It was a perfect ride, as always, Rickey! Thank you so much for taking such good care of us all.
Back to the hotel for the evening, to chat and kick tires.
Sunday morning, we packed up, had breakfast with the gang, and hit the road again. Ross, Steve, Rich and I followed Galute and Denise to their house. They took us to see the breathtaking property that will hold their future home, fed us like royalty, and put us up for the night. We are SO blessed in our friends!
Monday morning, we parted company with Ross and Steve. They were aiming north and west, toward the South Dakota Badlands and the Wisconsin Dells, and Rich and I were going north and east, toward home. They are dear friends, great riders, and perfect traveling companions, and we look forward to many, many more trips with those two nuts!
We said our good byes and thanks to our hosts, and headed out. It was a wet ride for us for much of the day, although we did see some sunlight in Illinois. We made it as far as Champaign, Illinois, before stopping for some supper and a rest.
Tuesday morning, we woke up to heavy rain, thunder, and lightning. We don't mind riding in the rain so much, but the light shows are a little scary, so we waited a bit before we hit the road. The skies did clear a bit, but we ended our trip riding four hours or so in wet, chilly, windy conditions, arriving back home in Constantine, damp but safe. All in all, a wonderful trip to a wonderful place to see wonderful folks...it just doesn't get any better than this.
Addendum...Ross and PoleCat continued riding throughout the next week, traveling in snow and cold and rain to the Wisconsin Dells gathering. On Saturday, the PoleCat hit a patch of gravel in a curve and went down, hard. He is bruised and sore, with a couple of cracked ribs and a severely damaged motorcycle. A friend from central Indiana drove up with truck and trailer to pick him up and take him and his bike back home to Ohio. We are thankful that we did not lose a dear friend. Y'all be safe out there!

Thanks to Denise from Arkansas and Sheila from Kentucky, I do have some pics to share:


Rickey, Rich, Denise, PoleCat, and Ross at Meacham's Restaurant in Ash Flat, AR.













Riding the ferry across Bull Shoals Lake is one of my favorite parts of the Harrison trip. This year, we had fifteen Goldwings and three other bikes on the ferry.

The approach to Bull Shoals Lake.















Two Johns (Hicks and Parsley), on the Bull Shoals Ferry.











Mr. William McGee, our dear friend and sometime riding companion from Tuscumbia, Alabama.











There are more pictures here, at Galute's online photo album.