A Labor Day Adventure

Friday, August 31st, Kevin Pugh and I left Paducah bright and early. Our intention was to hunt for National Park Stamps along the Mississippi River, while traveling to St. Louis to attend The National Ironbutt Rally Finishers Banquet Friday evening.

Our first park was The Trail of Tears at Egypt Mills, MO, just north of Cape Girardeau. After collecting the stamp, we crossed back into Illinois to visit their Trail of Tears Park at Wolf Lake.

Leaving Wolf Lake we rode north on Hwy 3 to the town of Chester, home of Elzie Crisler Segar, creator of the cartoon character Popeye.

We arrived at The Double Tree Hotel in Chesterfield in the early afternoon. That allowed us plenty of time to talk to returning riders and check out their bikes. To an avid motorcyclist, this was truly the place to be. That evening, we attended the banquet and the award ceremonies. Suffice it to say, these fine folk are in a class by themselves, and were entitled to all the respect and honor they received. Kevin and I met many of the riders, and heard some amazing stories that evening.

Here are the top 11 rider average points per mile ridden, Jim Frens (eleventh) is included because he went to Homer, AK and fell just outside the top ten.

1. Martin Leir 27.618 BMW-R1200GSA
2. Jim Owen 29.942 ` BMW-R1200RT
3. Brett Donahue 28.069 Harley Davidson XLH1200R
4. Jeff Earls 29.002 BMW-K1200GT

5. Eric Jewell 28.014 BMW-R1150RT

6. Tom Melchild 29.898 Yamaha FJR 1300

7. Greg Marbach 28.915 Yamaha FJR 1300

8. Michael Evans 27.293 Yamaha FJR 1300

9. Alan Barbic 29.959 Yamaha FJR 1300

10. Peter Leap 26.819 Honda ST 1300

11. Jim Frens 22.824 Honda GL 1800 As an additional treat, The Blue Angels were performing nearby which gave the Doubletree parking lot a front row, ringside seat. Seeing them up close is nothing short of amazing.

Later, back in our room, Kevin and I kicked around the idea of stretching this weekend ride a bit to pick up more National Park Stamps in more distant locations.

Early the next morning, after calling home the night before (and to no one's surprise,) we headed west on I-70 to Independence, MO to visit the Harry S. Truman NHS. I had previously collected this stamp on my Alaska ride but Kevin did not have it at that point.

Our next stop was in Topeka, KS to visit the historic location where the landmark decision against segregation took place. (Brown Vs Board of Education)

Leaving Topeka, we angled north to Beatrice, NE to visit Homestead NP. This was another stamp already in my collection, but not in Kevin’s. We turned east from there and rode through Lincoln and Omaha, NE, stopping for the night in Adair, IA.

Sunday morning it was a short 180 miles or so to our next stop, The Herbert Hoover NHS.

I collected the obligatory Iowa State Sign picture for my collection, after failing to see it on the Council Bluff side of the state.

Our next destination was The Lincoln Home in Springfield, IL. This is a rare and valuable stamp because there are only two National Park Stamps in the entire state of Illinois. The second stamp is in the Chicago area.

After leaving Springfield, we returned to St. Louis via I-55 to the Jefferson Expansion Memorial near the Arch. I needed to replace this stamp in my collection due to an incorrect date on the first visit. The streets around the Arch were blocked off, and the heavy traffic prohibited us from collecting the Arch stamp.

Altogether, I added three new National Park Stamps, two new states, two bonus stamps, and corrected a previous stamp during this ride.

Three hours later we arrived back in Paducah after riding a total of 1630 miles. (Two hundred forty Friday, six hundred seventy Saturday and seven hundred twenty Sunday.)

"If you don't follow your dreams, you might as well be a vegetable." ~Burt Munro~

The 07 National Iron Butt Rally Start

We arrived Sunday, July 19 after attending Grumpy's breakfast. As you might expect, for someone interested in LD riding and well farkled motorcycles, this was the place to be.

Rob Nye's Spaceship. A typical IBR cockpit.

Fuel Cells & Star Traxx were common.
The new Victory Vision garnered it's share of attention.



Tim Yow's bike arrived on a "Tr&*%er" .... eeewwwww.... LOL
(He had a flat)
Many riders worked all day in the parking lot to get things just right.
The IBR was well represented Internationally

Farkleing takes on new meaning at the IBR.

Of personal interest: My first sighting of the new Jesse bags.

The event photographers. You did not want to hit this ladder as you passed the start line.

Warchild (Dale Wilson) & Lisa Landry giving the start and last minute instructions.

The rally dramatically starts in a heavy rain.

Warchild walked the line between the bikes, signaling each rider, from side to side, to leave about 3 seconds apart. Ninety seven bikes were gone in less than five minutes. The start was flawless.

For the next eleven days the story will unfold. It should be mighty interesting to watch!

After the dramatic start, Kevin Pugh and I left Chesterfield, stopping at the Ulysses S. Grant Historic Site for Kevin's stamp. From there we rode south, enjoying the Ozark twisties of southern Missouri.

Eventually we arrived at Van Buren for The Ozark National Scenic River stamp. It was more or less a straight shot east on Hwy 60 returning home.

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will lead you there." ~ unknown~

Grumpy's Pre IBR Start - MTF Breakfast

Grumpy (MTF handle) graciously invited any MTF member to stop by his Ladue/St. Louis home for breakfast and a meet and greet Sunday morning, the day before the St. Louis IBR start.

I am sure Grumpy's neighbors were not expecting 24 bikes to roll up on a quiet Sunday morning. We were all very well behaved so maybe, in time, he will be forgiven.

A little bit of everything could be found represented on the street.

The driveway and street were lined with bikes.

Grumpy (right) welcomes MTF'ers.

The backyard got a workout as well.

The food was excellent.

The Wizard held court.

Fletchers BMW Adventure ... Sweet!

I refuse to tiptoe thru life only to arrive safely at death. ~Unknown~

National Park Stamps Collected While on the AK Trip

It should be noted that multiple stamps can be collected in some parks with more than one visitor center.

Ulysses S. Grant NHS
Jefferson Nat. Expansion Memorial
Santa Fee National Historic Trail
California National Historic Trail
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
Harry S. Truman National Historic Site
Oregon National Historic Trail
National Frontier Trail Center
George Washington Carver National Monument
Wilson Creek National Battlefield
Homestead National Monument of America
Pony Express National Historic Trail
Chimney Rock National Site
California National Historic Site
Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
Scott’s Bluff National Monument
Scott’s Bluff National Oregon Trail
Fort Laramie National Historic Site
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Mormon Pioneer National Monument
Grant-Kohrs National Historic Ranch
Glacier National Park
Waterton-Glacier
Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge
Klondike National Historic Site
Gates to the Artic National Park
Yukon Charlie Rivers National Preserve
Denali National Park
Chugach National Forest
Wrangle St. Elias National Park
Wrangle St. Elias National Park
Wrangle St. Elias National Park
Kenai Fjords National Park
Lake Clark National Park & Preserve
Sitka National Historic Site
Klondike National Historic Park
North Cascades National Park
Lake Chelan National Park
Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
Ross Lake National Recreation Area
Mount Rainier National Park
Cowlltz Valley Ranger District – Mt St. Helens
Mt. St. Helens National Park
Mt. St. Helens National Park
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
Lewis & Clark National Historic Park
Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area
Redwood National & State Park
Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area
Lassen National Volcanic Park
Great Basin National Park
Old Spanish National Historic Trail
Arches National Park
Canyonland National Park
Old Spanish National Historic Trail
Colorado National Monument
Fort Scott National Historic Site
Pea Ridge National Military Park
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail

"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." ~Lao Tzu

AK Trip - Day Forty Three - Saturday, July 28th,

Mountain View, MO to Paducah, KY

We left Mountain View early and rode the last few miles into Paducah, non-stop, arriving this morning.

All together we rode 11, 839 miles, measured by my Suzuki V Strom. (The trip meter has already turned over once at 10,000 miles.) Ted's Wing is showing about 7% more miles. This does not include the 600 or so miles on The Alaskan Ferry.

The trip lasted 42 days, 2 hours and I posted 39 pages to this blog, including 335 pictures.

This was one amazing trip by any measure. I would like to thank Ted for his steadfast partnership and his friendship during this extraordinary ride. I will always consider this trip as one of my best rides. Hopefully there will be many more.

In the next day or so I will post a complete list of the National Parks we visited for those interested. I plan to continue my quest for the Ironbutt Master Traveler Award (Gold) in the near future with trips to Maine and Florida. I will also make shorter trips to surrounding states.

“We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.” ~Hilaire Belloc~

AK Trip - Day Forty Two - Friday, July 27th,

Iola, KS to Mountain View, MO

This morning Ted and I got and early start and rode the 38 miles over to Fort Scott National Historic Site, arriving before they opened. That gave us just enough time to gas up and be ready when the doors opened.

From Fort Scott we crossed into Missouri at Nevada and headed south, through Joplin and on to The George Washington Carver National Monument.

Pea Ridge National Military Park is located near Bentonville, Arkansas and provided our next stamp.

On the way back up to Springfield, MO we stopped at Wilson Creek National Battlefield.

We ended our day in Mountain View, MO after riding 400+ miles in the heat. We considered riding on into Paducah but, after taking stock of how tired we were, decided to ride the last part tomorrow morning.

If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home. ~James Michener

AK Trip - Day Forty One - Thursday, July 26th,

Garden City, KS to Iola, KS

We are definitely being watched over.

Today we were at Clark Motorsports in Garden City, KS before they opened. Fortunately the Service Manager was in early and got to my bike quickly. It did not take long for him to determine the chain was in a bad way. The bottom line was it “might” have made it back to Paducah but the odds were not good.

As luck would have it they had a replacement chain in stock. I had no intention of holding my breath for the next 800 miles wondering if it was going to let go. That made the decision to replace it easy. The staff at Clark Motorsports was great and got us back on the road by 10 am.

Clark Motorsports
4575 E Hwy 50 Plaza
Garden City, KS 67846
(620) 271-9380

Once we finally got rolling the miles went by quickly. We followed Hwy 50 to Dodge City and then took Hwy 54 – 400 to Wichita and southeast to Iola, KS. We managed to squeeze out 400 plus miles, in hot weather, after a late start.

We are about 40 miles from Fort Scott National Historic Site and we plan to be there bright and early in the morning when they open. After that we quickly cross over into Missouri north of Joplin and head south for two more National Parks.

We rode through Greensburg, KS today. Many will remember this small town was totally destroyed by an F5 tornado May 4th of 2007. The town was flattened and remains largely the same today. A tent on the main street serves as a hospital.

The last thing this town needs is a gawking tourist taking pictures. I will let the link below serve. Suffice it to say, riding through Greensburg was a sobering experience.

On a lighter note. This morning while we were getting ready to leave, I looked over and noticed Ted taking out a pair of socks from his oversize bag. The socks were still wrapped in the original store packaging. Six weeks after we left Paducah this man is still pulling out brand new clothes he has never worn…. LOL…. Go figure!

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. ~Mark Twain