WNR WINTER (SNOWBIRD) REPORTS

First of all I have been watching the weather channel and getting weather reports over the WIFI, so I know what kind of horse_ _ _ _ weather you guys have been having back in Iowa.  So I'm not going to even mention the weather we have been having here in Panama City Beach!  Just let me say that we have been able to put close to 1,500 miles on the trike so far in February.  We did have a couple of days of rain, but nothing like what's going on in Arkansas where we took the Guys' Trip this summer.  Some of the highways we rode then are now either completely under water or flooded out completely.

I'll try to catch you up on some winter travels that I know some WNR took.  Hopefully that will help cheer you up some!

Jim & Cathy spent some time in Texas in January riding some of the hill country like we did later on.  They did remark that they had some great riding and wished they could have spent more time down there.  I didn't get any photos from them to post, but I'll bet they have some.

Also Dennis and Marlene ventured into Arizona by passing through Mexico on ATV's!  Hopefully we'll get some photos of that adventure.

And believe it or not Chuckles and Lois made their way all the way to Arizona where they were able to rent a Harley.  And Chuckles only tire kicked a dozen before he picked one!

We were able to get about 220 miles in on a late January ride.  Even though this looks like the bridge in Prairie, we are overlooking Roosevelt Lake north of Miami, Arizona!  Went January 27-February 1 to visit my sister, Janet, who lives in Tempe and Leeta who is just finishing up a rotation there.  Rented a Heritage Softail for the day from Eagle Rider in Tempe.  It felt SO good!

Julie and I have only about 6 days left here in Florida.  We were able to ride all but about four days.  We had some rain early in the month and I had severe backs spasms and was out of commission for two days.  I actually ended up in the ER in Panama City.  I feel better now and had an MRI last Monday and see the doctor here again this coming Monday.  The doctor asked me to describe the pain. I told him that it felt like somebody put a dull screwdriver up next to my backbone and hit it with a hammer!  Nice timing for Dr. Schwartz to be gone!  Here's a breakdown on some of our more interesting ventures down here.

Notice the shape of the palm tree in the background.  Happy belated Valentine's Day to everyone.

Who says everything is bigger in Texas?!

SHRIMP BOAT AT PANAMA CITY MARINA

TRIKE AT THE MARINA

WOODRUFF DAM

POWER HOUSE AT THE DAM

We rode over to Chattahoochee (where it gets hotter than a hootchie coochie!) to visit the Jim Woodruff dam that forms Lake Seminole, one of the largest lakes in the south.

FOUR-HEADED PALM TREE

250 + YEAR OLD LIVE OAK TREE

Today we passed through Panama City and stopped at a city park there.  There are two spectacular trees located there.  In the top photo is a four-headed palm.  It is the only one known to exist in the world!  However it is now dying after living over 100 years.  The lower photo is of a living oak tree that they call the "Old Sentinel".  It is well over 250 years old and has been guarding the bay since before the Civil War.

And finally a couple of views of a spectacular sunset over the Gulf of Mexico.

I see now you are expecting 3-5 inches of more snow.  Let's hope that's it, and spring is on it's way!  I'll try to do more posting from South Carolina, where we're headed next.