Day Two

Day 2 began early, as we left Tara, Jess and Jack’s at 6:00 a.m. We knew a long day was ahead of us if we were to make it to Dodge City, Kansas. Highway 50 is a mixture of combined Interstate (Southwest of St. Louis, around Kansas City and Southwest of Kansas City), four lanes and two lanes. We started out with jackets during the morning hours but it didn’t take long to heat up. The riding through Missouri was good. The riding through Kansas wasn’t. I have always said that the best time to travel through Kansas is at night when it is cool and you don’t have to be bored with the scenery. The temperature was bearable, but lower 90’s coupled with 20-30 mph head/cross wind made the riding difficult. We stopped for a late breakfast in Sedalia, MO. An interesting fact about Sedalia – in 1974, I attended the Ozark Mountain Music Festival with some high school and college friends. It was a festival similar to Woodstock, held at the State Fair Grounds. It was estimated that as many as 200,000 attended. The bands I remember were Bachman Turner Overdrive, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker Band, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Eagles, Joe Walsh., etc. The reason I mention this is that I asked our waitress if she remembered the festival and she said the city is currently celebrating the 35th anniversary. If interested further you might Google and find out more. We stopped in Walton, Kansas for a break and sandwich. This picture is of Graham “taking a break”.



We arrived hot and tired in Dodge City, Kansas after 11 hours on the road and covering 500 miles. Originally, we planned on camping. But, considering the day and the lack of camping sites, we opted for the Super 8. We’re planning on a good night rest and an early start with the hope of making it to Cousin, Brooks Harting’s cabin in Taylor Park, CO. I’m not sure of the ability to post while in the mountains – so it may be a couple of days before I post. Remember – ride safe and so will we.

Day One

We appropriately began the trip by meeting our Pastor, Rev. Lennie Lawrence at the church for the blessing of the bikes and bikers. Thanks Rev. Lennie! Susie joined us and took some pictures and we said our good byes and we were off on our 31 day 7,500 +/- trip. A note of thanks to the crew back at Maysville Enterprises. Not too many business owners would be comfortable leaving for 30 days. I’m fortunate that I have really good employees and they treat the business as if it is theirs. Thanks to Justin, Sherrie, Al, Dan, Kenny, Ross, Robert and Darrell.







The trip to St. Louis was non eventful – just what we needed for our first day. We had good weather – mostly sunny and temps in the mid 80’s. We enjoyed a great dinner and visit with Tara, Jess and Jack. No camping on this night. Graham had the couch and I took the floor. An early start is planned for tomorrow – with the hope that we will get to either Hutchinson or may be even Dodge City, Kansas. It might be a couple of days until the next posting. Ride safe and so will we.

Graham and I left from Washington early Thursday morning for a 4 day ride in preparation for the “big” ride in two weeks. We ventured through Southern Illinois – down Hwy 1 to Cave In Rock and crossed the ferry into Kentucky. Our ride took us through Western Kentucky and Tennessee to Southaven, Mississippi, just south of Memphis. After 8 hours on the bikes – riding in sunny 95 degree weather, we arrived at the home of Walt Carnahan and family. Many of you from the Washington, IN area will remember Walt. He practiced medicine in Washington for several years. He is a good general practitioner. We have stayed in contact over the years and remain good friends. His son, Aaron, and Graham are the same age and were buddies when younger. Aaron will be leaving on Sunday, June 28, for his West Point appointment. Kate, his daughter, just graduated from Ole Miss and has an elementary teaching job in Southaven. Walt’s wife, Tammy, is a Nurse Practitioner and they work together in the clinic. Tammy has two sons, Grant and Tate. We enjoyed a dinner out with the whole family at a local bar-b-que restaurant. Just an observation – good friends are always good friends. It is that way every time Walt and I get together, we pick up right where we left off. Graham and Aaron really enjoyed each other’s company and took in the new Transformer movie, while Walt, Tammy and I did some catching up. It was also good to visit with Melanie, Walt’s former wife. She joined us for dinner and as a special treat, she made me a Key Lime pie. We had planned to camp in the back yard and set up our tent and shelter, but the air conditioned, carpeted living room floor was much more inviting. Walt and Tammy treated us to breakfast the next morning and after getting supplies for the next leg of the trip, we were off to Arkansas.

Another long hot day! The first two hours of riding was straight and flat, rice and cotton fields for miles and miles. The balance of the trip was in the Ozark hills – great motorcycle riding. We stopped often for drink and shade. The temperature was in the upper 90’s and sunny. We arrived late afternoon at Prairie Creek Marina on Beaver Lake and set up camp. The main reason for traveling to Northwest Arkansas was to visit with Tony Hise, a high school classmate. Graham and I met with Tony, Tim (Tony’s brother) and Cathy (Tim’s wife) for dinner. There were a lot of stories exchanged. Tim and Cathy were classmates of Susie. Tony and Tim gave Graham a chance to ask any question he wanted about me during high school/college years and they would truthfully???? answer. Thank goodness he didn’t ask. It had to be 90 degrees at 10:00 p.m. when we finally went down for bed. We sweat ourselves to sleep.

We were up moving early – trying to beat the forecasted heat, as we traveled from NW Arkansas to Jess and Tara’s place near St. Louis. Graham had a real scare. Driving on a hilly, curvy road, he rounded a curve to find a dog in the oncoming lane and a car in the middle of the road trying to avoid the dog. The only choice he had was to take the ditch. I’m not sure how he kept from crashing, but he rode the bike through a ditch and along a steep embankment until he couldn’t keep it upright any longer. The bike fell over half way down the embankment on the downhill side. By the time I realized he wasn’t behind me any more and turned around, a truck had stopped to help. We were able to upright the bike and with the help of some other good Samaritans, walked the bike up to the road. Fortunately, Graham was not hurt and the only damage to the bike was a couple of small dents in the exhaust. Considering the circumstances, we felt very blessed. After a stop at the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield, MO, to get some camping supplies that we needed, we headed straight to St. Louis. We now know how to prepare ourselves for riding in hot weather. The next 3 hours of interstate riding in 100 degree temps were brutal. A shower and rest at Jess and Tara’s were wonderful. Graham and I watched Jack while Tara and Jess went out to dinner. Here is a picture of my Grandson, Jack. If he could talk, I know what he would say - "some day this will be my ride!"


Susie drove from Washington to meet us for the Cardinals – Twins game. The weather changed and we had a very pleasant, breezy day for the game. Unfortunately the Cardinals lost. This was our fourth game this year and we have yet to see the Cardinals win.

Overall it was a great trip for preparing for the “big” ride – covering 1250 miles, visiting friends and family and experiencing many different riding conditions. I failed to mention that I did purchase a GPS designed for motorcycles. It was great and will be a valuable asset for the trip. The next entry will be on July 7 – the first day of our trip. Until then – ride safe and so will we

A Graham Update

Graham had surgery on Monday, May 11. Everything went well and he is home recuperating. He will be wearing a brace for 4 weeks and then will start rehab. His doctor hasn't verified this yet but I'm sure that motorcycle riding will be included in his rehab exercises - very therapeutic. He is already bored sitting around the house and watching movies. Right now we are still on schedule to leave on or around July 7.

May Update

Spring has finally arrived! There is not much to report ….except…. we may have to adjust our trip schedule. Graham has had difficulty with his right shoulder coming out of place. Until recently, he has been able to put it back in place by himself. Three trips in 72 hours to the emergency room to have his dislocated shoulder put back in place has finally convinced him that surgery is needed. On May 11 he will have a routine arthroscopic surgery at Methodist Sports Center in Carmel. He will wear a brace for 4 weeks and undergo therapy. Obviously, he won’t be riding his Harley during this time.

Graham’s surgery and rehab schedule will determine our departure date. We’re fortunate that we have some flexibility. If we have to, we will reverse our route so that we can hit Sturgis and/or meet up with Susie and friends in the Jackson Hole, WY area.

Graham has been riding his Deluxe whenever he gets the opportunity. He had a close call last week. As he was turning off the highway onto a side road, an elderly lady, who didn’t see him, pulled out and clipped the rear of his bike. Fortunately, all that was damaged was a tail light lens and a small scratch on the rear fender. A split second earlier and he would have taken a hit in the side.

The following picture of him was taken recently on one of our nice spring days.



It will be a busy May. Graham will be going to the prom. Surgery. There are several “projects” around the house that need to be done in preparation for Graham’s graduation (my back willing). We’ll be making a couple of trips to St. Louis to see Tara, Jess and Jackson and take in a couple of Cardinal games. Graham’s high school graduation is Sat., May 31. We are still planning a couple of test rides but they will have to wait until his shoulder is healed. Until then, ride safe and we will do the same.

More Updates

I have been busy tentatively mapping out our month long motorcycle trip, continuing to acquire misc. items for camping, reading GPS reviews and searching eBAY for accessories for Graham’s motorcycle. I think I have finally convinced Graham that a windshield is a necessity for a long trip such as this. Rain drops, blowing sand and bumble bees hitting a person in the face at 70 mph is not fun. I believe he will thank me for my persistence on this issue somewhere during the trip. Graham wants a deeper, throatier (is that a word?) out of his Deluxe – so we are looking at some slip-ons that won’t require remaping and a bunch of extras.

I have included a map outlining our tentative route, estimating total mileage of approximately 7,200 miles. We plan on visiting 8+ National Parks. I was surprised to learn that the annual National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Pass is just $80 and will allow two motorcycles to be admitted under one pass. That is a good deal! I placed my pass order this week.



We had dinner a couple of weeks ago with friends, Kent and Brenda Brocksmith of Freelandville, IN. We plan to spend some time with them as we pass through Jackson, WY and while they are on vacation. Hopefully, Susie will fly out and join us for 4-5 days and enjoy the Tetons, Yellowstone and all the recreational activities in that area. I recall that in an interview with Joe Tiller, recently retired Purdue University football coach, he invited anyone to stop in and visit if passing through his retirement home in Buffalo, WY. We might just stop in on our way from Jackson, WY to Sturgis, S.D. to get a few trout fishing tips from Joe.

Overview

Welcome to the Singleton Travel Blog! This blogsite is dedicated to the motorcycle travels of father (Joe Singleton) and son (Graham Singleton). The idea of a father/son cross country motorcycle trip began almost 4 years ago when I (Joe) promised Graham, that upon high school graduation we would take a month during the summer and ride to the west coast. Although this was to be an award for graduation, I have to admit that it has been a “bucket list” item of mine since I was his age. I have been riding motorcycles since I was 15 – beginning with a Honda 160 dream. My first Harley, a 1976 Sportster, was purchased in 1979. The purchase of a home and the birth of our first child, Tara, prompted the sale of the Sportster in 1983. It wasn’t until 1992 that the Harley itch needed scratched. I became the third owner of a 1967 Electra Glide with less that 15,000 mi. This was my primary motorcycle until 1996 when I decided to buy a more reliable, safe and comfortable ride – a 1993 Electra Glide Classic 95th Anniversary. This bike served me well until the 100th Anniversary models came out and I was able to sell the ’93 and buy a new ’03 Electra Glide Classic. In anticipation of traveling, I purchased a BushTec trailer to pull behind my bike.

Graham has been riding motorcycles since he was 12. His first bike was a Yamaha 125 dirt bike. My requirement for him to ride a street bike was to attend a motorcycle safety course. We both completed the ABATE Beginners Motorcycle Safety course in April of ’08. In December of ‘08 Graham fulfilled the requirements for high school graduation and we started getting serious about planning our trip and looking for his motorcycle. The next addition to our Harley family came in January of ’09. Graham finally narrowed his choice of ride to a Softtail Deluxe. On January 5 we were fortunate to find a reasonably priced ’07 Deluxe with less than 6,000 miles. We found a decent mid-January day to take the below picture of Graham and I on the two bikes that we will be taking on our summer trip.

The Trip

We are in the intermediate stages of planning our calendar and route for the July 7 – August 8 trip. Here is a tentative route:

U.S. Highway 50 from Washington, IN to San Francisco, CA. with stops and side trips in: Colorado to cousin Brooks Harting’s cabin in Taylor Park, Utah at Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, California at Yosemite National Park and San Francisco at Alice’s Restaurant, Haight-Ashbury District and the Golden Gate Bridge. The plans are to continue up the Pacific coast on Hwy 101 to the Portland, OR area. In the area surrounding Portland we will take in some Lewis and Clark history, Mt. St. Helens and the Hood River area. Our return ride will begin with a trip across the northern part of Idaho to Glacier National Park in Montana. From Glacier we will ride south to Yellowstone and the Jackson Hole area where we will meet up with my wife, Susie, who will fly out to Jackson. We will join up with family friends that will be vacationing in Jackson and do some rafting, hiking and relaxing and recovering. The final leg of our trip will take us to Sturgis, South Dakota for the famous motorcycle rally. After a couple of days in the Sturgis/Mt. Rushmore/Black Hills area we will stop a day or two in Parkston, S.D. for a visit with family and friends. By this time, I’m sure we will be ready to get home and will most likely make straight to Washington, IN. We estimate that the total mileage will be 6,000 – 6,500 miles.

Although the route planning is a chore, the difficult part about planning the trip is the “stuff” that we need to take. We will be camping most of the time – which means tent, mats, sleeping bags, cooking utensils and supplies, clothes for all kinds of riding conditions, etc., etc. We have been researching, accumulating and acquiring needed items – still some things to get but we are making progress.

Future postings will depend on the weather. We are planning 2 or 3 pre-trip rides to get our rear ends in shape, test drive our camping equipment, set-up and tear down techniques and make sure we have all the basics purchased for the trip. We have visited many websites, read books, purchased maps and consulted with other travelers but we could still use any helpful ideas. If you have some advice about sites along the way, camping or traveling tips or resources we can use to make our travels more enjoyable, please contact me through this blog or email me at: mecllc@rtccom.net