445 hours to go...

greeeetings keyboard. zup?
Now you know that it is 445 hours till your author pulls up at OIA in a limo and zips on, luggage free, to fly like an eagle, to GC? But it is only 307 hours till my sled and all the sleds will slide into their travelling home for the next week. Are your bags packed? Linda wants to practive packing...Its right now SUnday afternoon, 88 degrees outside, breezy and overcast, and i'm worn out. What a last week. Started out with the sad sad news of funeral ceremonies for one good man, Monk, of Dixie Biker fame. About 6 of us Schogs met at the shop at 9am Friday, and road peacefully and quietly up north on 415 to Taylor Rd. then north on Clyde Morris to Bell View, just behind the Speedway and airport to Lohmans. About 35 or so bikes in the parking lot already. Parked and walked over to the hearse.

There sat one lonely motorcycle. It was as if it knew that its main man Monk would never ride it again.










This was, sorry to say, my first funeral where the Patriot Guard attended to say goodbye to one of their own. I've know one of them, Marine Dave, proudly for a while now, but i let him do his duty and didn't bother him today.

Shadow and his Outcasts come to pay their respect.

Good bye ol Monk, you will never be forgotten and always missed.

612 hours to go...

Greeeetings all. Do you like the way time is speeding up.  I know you feel it. Have had great new insights about the Grand Circle here, found a new side trip, Co. Rd. 133, etc, etc...and now this... a Utah State DOT web cam of Hiway 12...can you freakin believe it??? Follow the link and you will be on Hiway 12. Looks to have lots of dirty snow on the side right now. Good name for a new book, yes? Dirty Snow.  I'd start it off with this great story that Mr. Allen shared with us Friday nite..., but that tale will be for another campfire...
heres the link...
i'll be bright  back...
http://www.commuterlink.utah.gov/

720 hours to go...

Greeeetings all. Time to start pre packing, yet??? Time to pray loud for our own Mr. Allen to get his knee right in 719 hours...Time to get those "must see sights" highlighted in the gps
"Far Away, Across the Field. Toilling on the Iron Bell. Calls the faithful to their knees. To hear the softly spoken magic spell."
A good old friend who was an elk hunting guide in the mountains all around Aspen has turned me on to a nifty by way to check out, just 20 miles south of Moab. The road is called officially, County Road 133, or Needles Overlook Road. A "must see". I'm looking at heading up to Hanksville via 95 and Fry Canyon.
Also, my friend has told me of a "must see" bookstore (I'm an old bookstore junkie from way back, all the way back to Mo's Books in Berzerkley California in the 60's, but that a story for another camp fire), named Back of the Beyond Bookstore, on Main Street. After a few cold ones at the Moab Brewery, i'm off to drool there fer sure.
http://www.backofbeyondbooks.com/

and if you all see any of these type of local history book stores on the way, be sure to give me the location. thanks...

888 hours to go...

Can that be? Eight hundred hours to the future? Man time is warping along.
Had a nice weekend. Worked a bit then met Phil/Karen at the Foxhead in Osteen, for one of their world famous bloody marys and to listen to a very good 4 piece rock and roll band. Older men, who just dig playing their shit. My youngest son pictures himself as being a rock and roll star, and i tell him of how many good pickers are washing dishes right now. its a cruel world, but there it is. We bottoms up'ed, saddled up and roared out of there heading to Ron and Venus's for her deck warming. We zoomed south on 415, then east on 46, over puzzle lake and into geneva for some cold ones, (hey, we are schogs), then stopped in at P/K's to see his shrine to the Golden Circle. Wowwie Zowwie and he's excited about going back? This must be one out of this world adventure on the horizon.
So, i got the call from World of Wheels. "Your bike is ready." Nice, that was fast. What's the damage?" "Well, you had two new tires, front brakes replaced, rear brakes replaced, 50k tune up, with synthittic, blah, blah, so thats ***dollars and ** cents." "Yahooo. Yikes. Well, ok. thank you. I will pick up SnoopSkoot tomorrow" "That'll be fine. Wer'e open till 6" Thats about *** more than i budgeted, but i'll be totin precious cargo, the wifey, and so it is worth it. Now...... for the important news... Phil turned us on to "the Grand Circle" and here is their website   http://www.grandcircle.org/Home/tabid/1168/Default.aspx
wow is all i can say...while surfing today i struck gold and found this book, "Desert Solitaire" by Edward Abbey. My words seem sorely insignifficant compared to  EA's skill's, but then whose doesn't... This book is about his time as a National Park Ranger in Arches. I'll quote his first line and you'll understand. "This is the most beautiful place on earth."yahoooo lets ride.... Our next and most likely last pre ride meeting is Friday, the 16th of April, 7 pm at our illustrious lead road captn's crib up north. Last chance to ask questions...