On the Road to the Start

The Trail Boss (Cimarron) and I left Pensacola at about 8:30 AM on August 14, several days late. Millie and I got 10 Venetian Blinds installed, and several of them several times to get things right. She seemed pleased. We also tore out the new half bath laminated floor as it buckled after the toilet leaked after the trim carpenter installed quarter round. The toilet now once again sits on the back patio as a reminder of the Hurricane Ivan destruction. This was exhausting work but had to be done before I left home, as it was the next step after the new carpet was installed. I also lost a day in hooking up her computer .

Once we loaded the Bianchi Strada Touring Bike and the Raleigh spare bike, we found that the tires would drag on an angled driveway and rip a wheel off. Some Rube Goldberg type rigging cured that probelm and we were off. One neighbor Connie Crean came to see us off along with Millie and a picture was taken and we departed. The trip will be down I-10, up to Shreveport, over to Dallas, up to Amarillo, then a stop at Philmont, NM, Cimarron's old scout ranch where he took kids for 15 years. He knows the road like the back of his hand all 1300 miles of it.

We stayed last night in Barksdale Air Force Base in Shrevesport, LA, and ate at a Mexican Place. That was about 546 miles. Then today another 600 to Amarillo, TX. At noon we stopped at Shepard AFB at Wichita Falls, TX, for lunch at the officers club. That was a treat for me as I had Air Force indoctrination at that base in 1971 and had eaten in that club. Tonight we ate at the Big Texan in Amarillo and saw two guys try to eat a meal of 72 oz steak, large salad, baked potato, and shrimp appetizer in less than an hour. It cost them $72 if they failed and they got a refund if they succeeded. They were placed on the stage for all to see and announced to the dinner crowd of several hundred. When we left they were 30 minutes into it and less than a fourth done with the food and appeared nearly done from the effort.

I got nearly more back seat driving from the TB than I could stand as we neared the end of the day. Although he desires to drive many miles, we both tired and 12 hours was too much. However, he's talking of an "early start" (his favorite phrase) but I had to waken him this morning and he took a nap in the camper bed this afternoon.

Tomorrow we tour Philmont (about 300 miles away) and then we go on through Denver as we proceed north west to our goal of Astoria, Oregon.

I may alter the initial trail and ride the bike more on the Lewis and Clark route up the Columbia River Gorge and then over Route 12 to Missoula, MT, and then back on the original route. Sounds better to me--more direct and scenic than the Oregon Coast and more historic.