Westward bound

Big Bird riding over Eleven Point River in Alton, MO

Back in San Antonio when L.F., Big Bird and I had discussed the return route from Nationals, we had pretty much agreed to a journey that would include riding through the Ozarks in Arkansas.  We purposely didn't make hard plans however, so that we could remain flexible based on weather and suggestions by fellow riders.  After riding the Tail of the Dragon on the trip up to PA, it was unanimous that at the end of Nationals,  we would head south from Gettysburg and spend a couple more days riding in the NC/TN area.  There are so many great rides in the vicinity of Deals Gap and Talico Plains that we wanted a few days to explore those roadways more.

View from under the Eleven Point River bridge

"Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable."  Although Dwight D. Eisenhower made that statement about planning for battle, the same can be said for any endeavor.  There's no doubt that having a scheduled timeline is valuable and can help get you to your destination on time, but remaining slave to a plan instead of flexing with current circumstances and opportunities may result in seeing the roses, but often takes away the opportunity to actually smell them.  So after watching weather forecasts calling for thunderstorms over most of the mountainous area of NC/TN, we made the call to adjust and blaze a path straight west from Gettysburg towards the Ozarks.  What a great call that turned out to be!

Although there were a few times during the last couple of days we felt sure we were going to get wet, we've managed to remain dry since leaving Gettysburg with only a couple of weather delays.  We've enjoyed dry roads and clear skies for most of the return trip so far.

I had been to West Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri before, but I had never driven through what has turned out to be some amazing scenery.  Even though we took the interstate instead of back roads through West Virginia, it took us through the mountains and offered up some pretty spectacular views and curvy roads.  Once in Kentucky, we jumped onto the Bluegrass Parkway and spied lush green, meticulously manicured land  surrounded by white fences marking beautiful horse farms. 

Yesterday, we made it into Arkansas via the Mark Twain National Forest in southern Missouri and rode nothing but curvy, mostly newly paved roads winding through the Ozarks National Forest.  We've been sticking to roads identified as "scenic" rides in my Harley-Davidson road atlas and we have not been disappointed.  At about 300 miles, yesterday's ride was relatively short compared to some of the rides we have done since leaving San Antonio over a week ago, but we were satisfyingly exhausted at the end of our 8 hour riding day.  There were areas that ran for dozens of miles that rivaled the curves offered up in the 11 miles of Tail of the Dragon!

Kind of like call signs for fliers, bikers get assigned road names.  In both aviation and motorcycling, you don't usually get to choose your own name; your personality or an event will usually result in one being assigned to you.  Fortunately for me, my Navy aircrew call sign of "Sunshine" followed me into my biker world.  Although I think it reflects my typically cheery disposition in the morning, I'm told it describes the  ever-present smile on my face :-)  Sometimes you look around at the name patches on vests and wonder how in the world that individual earned his or her road name.  Big Bird is one of those cases.  A couple of folks we ride with relayed stories of Vic riding down the road and randomly being dive bombed by huge birds.  I thought it must be an exaggeration and they were just looking for a name to stick on him.  I have now seen it with my own eyes!  Yesterday, we were rolling merrily along when out of the blue, two huge birds flew right out in front of Vic!  Not just randomly got in his path, I mean flew straight at him at a high rate of speed!!  Although muffled by the sound of my pipes, I laughed out loud when I realized I had just witnessed his road name in action.  Big Bird it is!

We're not sure how much longer our good weather karma will hold out, but we plan on riding some more of the twisting roads of the Ozarks today and explore the sites that await. 

Hallowed Ground

View from Little Roundtop

History.  I rolled my eyes and fell asleep while it was being taught during my  middle and high school days.  Oh how a teacher can bring a subject to life or cloak it in lifeless narrative.  Perhaps it's unfair to blame my history teachers, but it wasn't until much later in life that I started to take interest in the events that led up to where the world, and particularly our country, is today.  I'm no civil war expert, but I will try to put these photos in perspective for you as I share a couple of days of battlefield touring with you.

Little Roundtop (hill on left) and Big Roundtop (hill on Right)

The first photo is the Union view down the barrel of a cannon from Little Roundtop.  The second photo is the Confederate view of Little Roundtop.  All that space in between is battlefield.  I'm not knowledgeable enough about the battle to narrate troop movement and strategy, so go to the map at this link to get a perspective of locations shown in these photos.  It took several rides and a bus tour of the roads and battlefields to get the lay of the land and begin to understand what happened on 1-3 July 1863.

One of numerous unit memorials scattered around battle field

One of the interesting facts our tour guide gave us was  that the majority of the dozens of monuments and memorials commemorating the different units that participated in the battle of Gettysburg were actually financed and placed by the units they represent.  Everywhere you look, there is some type of stone structure marking the location of a unit and commemorating those who died during the battle.

Site of the 20th Maine during the battle at Little Roundtop

During an advanced officer course I attended when I first arrived at Fort Sam Houston, we watched several clips from the movie Gettysburg as examples of good and bad leadership.  If you have not seen the movie based on the book The Killer Angels, it is a great movie filmed on the actual battle sites in Gettysburg.  One of the more poignant speeches relayed in the film is the one given by Union LTC Joshua Chamberlain during the Battle of Little Roundtop to his men.  LTC Chamberlain and his 20th Maine Regiment were posted on the south flank of Little Round Top and commanded to hold it at all costs.  If they failed, the Confederates would flank and surround the Union armies on the hill.  After defending against numerous charges, LTC Chamberlain's men were out of ammunition and exhausted.  Through his leadership, he rallied his men to fix bayonets and held their position.

Gettysburg vulture atop Little Roundtop

There's hardly a piece of land on which to walk in this town that does not have a story or hold you captive to the scene that played out in those bloody 3 days of American history.  It's hard to reconcile the beauty and peacefulness of this place today with the violence and carnage that occurred 150 years ago.  Everyday, we rolled down a road at the edge of the battlefields to get from our hotel to downtown Gettysburg.  Red barns, manicured lawns, lush pastures flanked by wooden fences similar to those during the battle and canons make for a surreal scene.

We stopped along the road to admire some of the canons and discovered a bird nest and an egg in one of them.  A reminder of the fragility of life and the passing of time and life cycles.  Another siting that connected the past to the present is the ever present vultures.  It's a little unsettling how these birds are constantly circling above the now serene battlefield and cemetery.  As our tour guide was talking us through the battle timeline atop Little Roundtop, two vultures circled overhead and I captured this photo.

Bird nest and egg in canon.

It's been a great trip to Gettysburg seeing the sights, learning about American history and hanging out with over 1200 bikers, but it is now time for us to start moving west.  In typical fashion, I have no set itinerary and the two folks travelling with me don't seem to mind, so we will meander our way back to Texas and see what interesting adventures and sties await.   

Sunshine, Kickstand, Sassy, McGyver, L.F. and Big Bird

CVMA

Texas Chapters at CVMA Nationals

Yesterday started off with a delegate meeting and photo opportunity for the folks attending from all the Texas Chapters.  With 13 chapters, Texas has the most members in the country.  At this point, it's probably time to give y'all some background on this organization and why I am here in Gettysburg with them.

Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association (CVMA) is an association of combat veterans from all branches of military service who ride motorcycles.  It is comprised of full members (those with verified combat service), supporter members (those who have served, but not in combat), and auxiliary members (the spouses of members).  Our focus and motto is "Veterans Helping Veterans."  That motto means different things to, and thus results in different contributions from, different chapters and members.  The chapter in which I belong is involved in a variety of events ranging from money raising charity events for veterans organizations and facilities to helping individual veterans in our community who have been recognized as needing assistance to the simple act of reaching out to a fellow member who needs emotional support. 

I'm not sure of the rules for using images of our  patch, so click on this link to see it.  The skull and ace of spades represent the death that war leaves in its wake.  The color red represents the blood that has been shed on the battlefield.  Military gold represents all branches of the US armed services.  Black represents the heavy hearts possessed for those who gave their lives and for those killed or missing in action.

CVMA became an official non-profit organization in 2001.  Since motorcycle club culture is popular right now and many folks are fans of the show Sons of Anarchy, I need to point out that we are not a motorcycle club, we are an association.  We have a chain of command and wear patches on the back of our vests,  but we don't have a "prospect" process and we don't claim territory.  The motorcycle club represented on the show Sons of Anarchy is considered a 1% or outlaw club and, as you'd expect, make up a small percentage of the motorcycle groups you encounter.  If you would like to read more about different types of riding groups and club culture, this link is very helpful.

My love of riding my own bike was realized back in 2006, and since then, I have ridden with friends and participated in various group rides, but I have primarily ridden solo.  I've just never really found a group of folks that I connected with.  For me personally, CVMA has given me an outlet through which to give back and feel part of a community.  Although the combat experiences of our group are quite diverse, we all share that common experience of having been placed in harms way.  Whether you were a trigger-puller or a paper pusher, the experiences of being in a combat zone, participating in history and being willing to give your life for the brother or sister standing next to you gives us all common ground.  We don't have to explain what or how we feel about those experiences because each of us has been there in his or her own way or are close to someone who has.  That brotherhood is a powerful thing.

Well, this was enough of a post for today, so I'll save the photos and stories from our battlefield tour yesterday for the next one.  Enjoy the day!

Downtown Gettysburg

Civil War bullet holes in Farnsworth House.

OK, I'm settled in here in Gettysburg and have gotten out and about a bit.  I added a pic of Sapper and I that Raven took at the opening dinner to the last post.  That was an easy day of riding in good weather even though we had hit a snag with the truck fire.

Yesterday, quite a few folks from our group straggled into town and we all ended up touring different sites at our own paces.  We only walked the main street (battlefield tours are today), but there was plenty to see and do right on Baltimore Street. 

The street is lined with old brick buildings bearing a placard designating it as a Civil War Building.  One of those buildings was the Farnsworth House.  Built in 1810, this house was the residence of Catherine Sweney and her daughter Lizzie when Confederate sharpshooters occupied it in 1863.  They fled the strategically located two and a half story brick house before a 2-day barrage of fire from Union forces left approximately 150 bullet holes in the house.

Although not quite so historic, one of the ice cream parlors we visited provided us with tasty treats ranging from caramel apples, to hot fudge sundaes (extra hot fudge on mine of course :-)) 

One of the more entertaining stops was the Gettysburg Museum of History.  When we walked in, some of our group felt like they knew the guy behind the counter for some reason.   As it turns out, several of us had seen an episode of American Pickers that highlighted this little museum on one of their shows.  The place had some pretty rare, though sometimes random, pieces of history.  From an American flag flown over Pearl Harbor on the day of the Japanese bombing, to the original X-rays that were used to confirm Adolph Hitler's identity, to Evil Knievel memorabilia.  Random, yet fascinating!

We stopped in several museums and bookstores, one of which I picked up a copy of the book "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane.  I fancy myself a fairly well-read person, but I'm embarrassed to admit that I have never read this classic.  I plan to remedy that deficiency on the remainder of this trip.

The rest of the day consisted of sightseeing and shopping.  We ended the day with over a dozen of us gather at the historic Dobbin House Tavern for supper.  Built in 1776, this one time home is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Not only was it pretty cool to dine in such an old, historic structure, the food was incredible.  They bake all their own breads which are served prior to the meal and were delicious.  My main entre' of roast duck was prepared perfectly.  Of course, we all had to stroll back down the street after dinner for dessert at the same ice cream parlor we had visited earlier in the day!

OK, I'll end this post with a pic of me at a boutique that appealed to the FitHippie side of me :-)  As we attend meetings and tour the battlefields, I hope that you have a great day and find some adventure in the world around you.


We have arrived!

We rolled out of Abingdon, VA this morning into a crisp morning of lower 60 degree temperatures.  We linked up with Raven and Sapper and added two more bikes to our pack.  Unlike the rest of the riders, I had on multiple layers, including a full coat, to guard against the morning chill.  Everyone else seemed to think it was great riding weather though.  By noon, we had warmed up into the 80s and I was a toasty, happy camper again :-)

It was smooth sailing the whole way until we hit a snag just two exits from our scheduled departure from I-81.  Traffic was at an absolute standstill for what we soon found out was a big rig on fire on the side of the road.  The interstate was a parking lot for pretty much 45 minutes, but once we saw the truck, we were amazed that the delay wasn't significantly longer.

Sunshine and Sapper at CVMA dinner.  Photo by Raven :-)

After checking into the hotel and having a meal and a couple of beers, it seems that I am too tired to post anything witty or insightful, so I will just let our arrival into Gettysburg suffice as the big news of the day.  Hope everyone had as great a day as I did riding!

The Dragon...revisited!

Whew, we've covered a lot of miles since I last posted!  Let me back up and start from the last post. 

Bright and early on Monday morning, we bid farewell to south Louisiana and my family and started rolling east.  Yesterday was our longest day...600+ miles to get us from Houma, LA to the base of the TN mountains.  The temperature stayed in the 90s for most of the day, so it was hot, but the traffic and precipitation cooperated with our ride.

This morning, we checked out from our hotel and made our way towards the Cherohala Skyway.  We could not have asked for a better riding day; hardly a cloud in the sky, moderate temperatures, and almost no traffic to speak of.  We started the Skyway from the TN side which skirted the river up to an altitude of approximately 5000 feet before dropping us back down in NC at the foot of the Tail of the Dragon.  For those of you new to this blog, I had ridden  this area a couple of years ago when I moved from NC to TX.  This time, I rode both the Cherohala Skyway and the Tail of the Dragon in the opposite directions.

 

 Another big difference from last time is that I didn't ride it solo, I had company!  To the left is a photo of Jim and Andy next to the tree of shame, though I'm happy to report that we all "slayed" the dragon safely and left no parts on the roadway to be added to the tree of broken off motorcycle parts left by less fortunate riders. 

Relatively speaking, today was a light mileage day for us (250 miles compared to 500 and 600 hundred from previous days).  Once we completed these couple of legendary rides of the NC/TN mountains, we made our way to VA where we met up with more of our CVMA 23-3 family for dinner and lodging for the night.  Raven and Sapper have been on the road for over a month while participating in Run for the Wall and now CVMA Nationals.   It was a great dinner of sharing road stories and commiserating over photography challenges.  Suffice it to say that I have become the queen of GoPro camera mounting issues.  Twice (thanks to my ninja-like reflexes!), I have saved my GoPro camera from meeting its demise on asphalt due to mounting issues.  Hopefully I now have the bugs worked out and will have some great photos to show for it!

Tomorrow, we will all roll towards Gettysburg where we will be joined by dozens of other Texas CVMA brothers and sisters as well as hundreds of members from around the country.  Looking forward to more riding and great company.

 

The Flying V...nuff said!

OK, for today's post title to make sense, you'll have to get all the way to the end.  Between the weather, hundreds of miles and enough eating to put us into a food coma yesterday, it was lights out pretty early for us last night.  Today started off at a leisurely pace...I didn't get out of my PJs until mid-morning!  Even on vacation, I can't shut off my internal alarm clock that seems to be permanently set between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m.  I come by morning alertness through genetics, not from the military though  as evidenced by my mom, dad and me all sitting out on the rockers on the back porch enjoying after-breakfast  coffee by 7:00 a.m.  One by one, the household bikers straggled outside with a cup of coffee and a biscuit in hand to join us.


I finally came in from the back porch and changed in time before the first family guests started to arrive.  The scene you see here in this photo of everyone hanging out in rockers visiting and hanging out played itself out all day.  Unfortunately, it rained on and off all day, so we were forced to stay under the carport and awning and move our chairs around the mist.

The original plan was for us to hang out until after lunch and then go on a swamp tour.  Fortunately, I was never able to get through to make us a reservation, so we watched the weather from the comfort of covered lounging instead of on an airboat on the bayous.  Jim's daughter, Jen, is spending the summer in New Orleans, so made the drive down to Houma to hang out with us for the day.  Perhaps the guests would say otherwise, but from the amount of animated conversation and laughter going on, I would say that a good day was had by all. 

Oh, and did I mention we ate our way through the day...again?!  As usual, my mom pulled off an amazing home cooked  meal for a small army including dessert.  Somehow, a watermelon got added to the mix and we ended up lining the side of the patio shielded from the rain, spitting watermelon seeds into the yard.  Sometimes, it's the simple things in life :-)

One of the things I miss most about living in my hometown is close proximity of family.  In the pic is my mom, my dad, Andy (my sister's son), Jenney (Andy's daughter) and Monica (my sister).  Four generations hanging out for the day.  But this is not an unusual day- these four generations live within 2 acres of each other.  I was reminded constantly throughout the day as family and friends showed up at random times to just sit and visit, how lucky I was to grow up surrounded by close and extended family.  And now Jenney will get the same experience.

After we relaxed and ate all we could stand, we headed "down da bayou" to see a few things that the out of towners missed by not taking the swamp tour.  It's so funny that when we tell someone that we live south of New Orleans, the standard response is usually "I didn't know there was anything south of New Orleans other than the Gulf!"  Not only are we south of New Orleans, we drove another 30 minutes south of Houma today. 

In south Louisiana, there are only 3 directions.... up da bayou (up from the Gulf of Mexico), down da bayou (down by the Gulf) and across the bayou (usually involves a bridge).  Today, we followed the flow of water down the bayou to where it empties into the Gulf.  Pretty much, the end of the earth...well, the end of Louisiana anyway.  The further you get down da bayou, the more creative folks have to get in order to live on land that Mother Nature is trying hard to reclaim.  One of the more precarious inventions are mobile homes up on stilts.  Yes, you've just minimized your risk of flooding, but I'm not sure how much more of a risk wind damage becomes.  I have no idea how long it takes for the floors in this arrangement to start caving!  I sure hope none of their houseguests get confused and try to exit through the back door.  Also, you might want to consider removing the wheels...I don't think you'll be making any speedy relocations from this current situation!

In the best example of ingenuity seen today, not only did these folks raise a trailer onto pilings, they connected three together!  Totally fascinated with this arrangement, we stopped so I could ask the owner if I could take a picture.  He looked amused that I would want a picture, but agreed and we introduced ourselves.  After I told him I'm originally from a nearby bayou, he told me the story of the "Flying V."  They had originally wanted to put two separate trailers up there, but were told that only single family dwellings were allowed (not dual).  So, in an effort to be in compliance with local regulations, they configured three mobile homes into a V shape, cut out the walls separating them, and made a single family dwelling.  Voila, they got their fishing camp and met regulatory mandates!

 

Unsurprisingly, our day ended with round two of the boiled shrimp and crabs from yesterday.  I don't think any of us can fit another single bite of anything into our bellies.  As we ate and visited our way through a rainy day, our bikes stayed nice and dry parked in my dad's boat shed.  As you can see, he removed his boat and allowed it to become the biker barn during our stay.  As we wind down our stay on the bayou, our bikes will remain nice and dry while we go down for a good night's sleep.  What a great trip home!