MORE FROM FLORIDA

 Even though temps here in the Florida panhandle have been below average in January, we have still been able to rack up a little over 600 miles on the trike.  Aside from the riding, we have attended a GWRRA chapter meeting in Dothan, Al, and a supper get-together with the chapter in Ft. Walton.  I have only played golf twice, but I have burned up a considerable amount of pistol ammo at the new range here in Panama City Beach.

I have been able to explore quite a new number of new county back roads, since like Wisconsin, most of the county roads are paved, and down here they seem to be in excellent condition.

A really enjoyable ride I took last week (Julie was attending a quilting session) was to Ft. Rucker, an army aviation training post near Ozark, AL. that has a US Army air museum.  Ft. Rucker is located about 100 miles north of PCB, making for a scenic trip through the hills and valleys of southern Alabama.  I had tried two previous trips up to Ft. Rucker, but when I got there the first time, Obama was cutting back on military funding (imagine that!) and the gate was closed.  The second time, the base was put on alert and no one was admitted.  This time after making sure I was following the rules for motorcycles (helmet, eye protection, gloves, long pants, boots, vehicle registration, proof of insurance, and valid drivers' license), I was admitted onto the base, and made my way to the museum.

The museum is a well-managed facility that has on public display one of the world's foremost aeronautical collections.  Its exhibits encompass U.S. Army Aviation history from the Wright Model "B", the first flying machine in Army inventory, to the AH-64 advanced attack helicopter.  I did take quite a number of photos and some videos of the exhibits, and I will try to share some of those below.  Sometime I plan to get back there and spend more time examining the displays.  It's like a lot of other military museums I have visited, I could have spent the whole day there.

And on the way back, a couple of "hitchhiking cluckers" checked me out near Vernon, FL!

In other news...

IS THERE GOING TO BE A NEW INDIAN JOINING OUR RANKS?!

And also...

This is what the folks down south here think!

MORE PHOTOS FROM JIM & CATHY'S ADVENTURE

 Here are some more photos as Jim & Cathy explored the west this winter.  They are in no particular order, because Bob is not too familiar with Facebook and how to transfer photos.  However it does look like the Gelos are having a great trip with their camper attached to a pick up!

NEW WAVE

HOUSE ON FIRE, AZ

FT EVANS

MEXICAN HAT, AZ

LAKE PLEASANT, AZ

SEDONA, AZ

SEDONA

SEDONA

ZION N P

ZION

ZION

ROCK CITY

Jim & Cathy's Travels

As many of you may not know, Jim & Cathy bought a camper with a pick up attached.  They are currently avoiding the winter weather in Iowa and are touring the southwest.  Here's some of the photos that Cathy sent during their adventure.

THE RIG PARKED AT A PARK IN KANSAS

 

ROCK CLIMBING

SACRED POOLS

PETRIFIED FOREST

WILD DONKEYS

ROCK FORMATION

LAKE POWELL

DINOSAUR TRACKS

THE KITCHEN

THREE NIGHTS STAY

HIKING ANGELS' LANDING

ANGELS' LANDING

NOT AN ANGEL!

ROCK FORMATIONS

RIDING IN FLORIDA

 I'm not trying to make you guys that have your bikes and convertibles in storage jealous, but just to keep you informed, Bob & Julie have arrived in Panama City Beach, FL.  We arrived on the 31st, and I couldn't wait to get the trike off the trailer because I wanted to join the Gold Wing chapter in Ft. Walton for their annual New Year's day ride.

We ended up having a dozen bikes and one car on the ride.  The leader (every bit as good as Bob) took us on some winding back roads through Florida and Alabama.  He took us to Enterprise, AL to Shane's Rib Shack for eats.  We ventured through some small towns with names like Mossy Head, Argyle, Ponce DeLeon, Coffee Springs, and Sweet Gum Head.  The county roads seemed to be in really good shape.  The ride totalled around 150 miles with temps in the high 70's.  They actually treated me as somewhat of a celebrity after reading the article in Wing World.  I plan to join them again in February for their meeting and ride afterwards.  We also plan to attend chapter get-togethers and rides with the Alabama chapter in Dothan.

I'm sorry to report that the Panama City Gold Wing chapter has closed.  Several years ago, the chapter president got tired of having to do all the work involved in keeping the chapter going, so he stepped down.  No one seemed to be very interested in taking over, and without any enthusiastic leadership and less riders the chapter closed.  We still have some friends here who were chapter members and hopefully we will be able to get together with them again while we are down here.

HERE'S WISHING ALL THE WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIDERS A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WE ARE PUBLISHED!!

 Believe it or not, our Wednesday Night Riders couples trip article that Bob wrote has been published in the January issue of Wing World Magazine!  Wing World is the monthly publication of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association and is available to over 45,000 GWRRA members.

The article entitled "Iowa Couples Trip: More Than Just Cornfields" appears on pages 54-57 of the magazine and also appears in the on-line addition at GWRRA.  There are a number of photos in the published magazine and many more in the "additions" section of the on-line Wing World.

Since Bob, Jim Gelo, and Chuck Kelly are GWRRA members, they will have received their copies in the mail, and they will also have access to the on-line version and the additional photos.

For those of you who are not GWRRA members, and would like to get a copy of the article or be able to read the on-line version, let Bob know (brotach@msn.com) and he will see what he can do.

I think the article (not to be bragging) does a good job of telling about our Wednesday Night Riders group, the Freedom Rocks, the JD Tractor and Engine Museum, and the Matchstick Marvels Museum.

PAGES 54 & 55

PAGES 56-57

SOME SAD NEWS

 We lost one of our Wednesday Night Riders on Monday.  Roger Frick passed away after a brave battle with cancer.  Roger and Sue joined our group this year and participated in most of our Wednesday night rides and some of our special rides.  Roger was always a treat to be around.  He always had a friendly smile on his face and easily made us all happy to have him ride with us.

Our sympathy goes out to Sue and the rest of Roger's family and friends.  We are all going to miss him.

A visitation for Roger will be held this Thursday from 4-7 at Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon.

SEASON'S GREETINGS!

 In lieu of sending expensive holiday cards along with the price of postage, we have decided to send our season's greetings to all our WNR friends and followers via the blog.

YES, SANTA DID ARRIVE AGAIN THIS YEAR ON HIS "WING"!

So, here's Bob & Julie's holiday card.....

WISHING YOU AN "OWLFULLY" JOYOUS HOLIDAY SEASON!