Vol 15 No 4 June 30, 2011

Delivered in Pekin, Illinois on Friday, 3 June atWheelWorx, a company that makes and re-conditions train wheels. Building a new plant there. We had the new equipment to set it up.

Loaded at Ritchie Bros Auctions near Chicago that afternoon - two large used seeders, an easy and light load.

Arrived at Joe and Michele’s Saturday evening, and met Baillie’s new pets - two female Alpine goats, Khloe and Kocoa. Khloe is all black, Kocoa is brown and cream with ‘sideburns’ and wattles. Both cute and loveable!

Wikipedia: Alpine is a breed of domestic goat known for its very good milking ability. The breed originated in the French Alps. Mature does weigh around 57 kg or 125 lbs, and are about 0.8 metres or 30 inches tall at the shoulder.

These girls should only grow to be 85 lbs (hopefully). They are 10 weeks old, Baillie is still giving them milk bottles. Very entertaining, fun pets. They follow Baillie around, lay on her lap, and jump on everything - chairs, picnic table, trailers, the hammock, motorbikes! (sssshhhhh!) Baillie was sitting with the ‘girls’ doing her homework and Kocoa took a bite out of her page!

Sunday we attended the Flat Track motorbike races at Medina, NY for Crusaders Racing TT.

Website: The Crusader Motorcycle Club was started in 1957. The grounds were leased from a local farmer until April 1995 when the club purchased the land. In September of 1997 the club members built the clubhouse that is there now. The track, which is clay base with stonedust mix on top, has basically been unchanged since it was made.

The commentator announced all the riders’ sponsors - the majority were sponsored by Mum. Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Kevin (family members), etc. but some had local and national sponsors. It was a lot of fun and very well organised and run - a great track, too.

This you tube video was taken in 2008, but is at the same place on the track where we were

watching. Where the bikes go into big slides, we were getting hit by small stones and a lot of dirt!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVqdhAiFX5w&feature=related

Jim and I delivered the seeders in Auburn, NY on Monday morning. Jim delivered the truck to Frank’s Garage to get maintenance and a few items replaced (we had a new radiator shipped in), we intended taking the week off work.

Monday afternoon I went with Michele into Attica to collect Baillie from school. On the way we met about 15 tractors on the street. Michele said that it was “Tractor Day” at school. She had been at the school earlier in the day and took this photo of the tractors in the school parking lot. The high school students are encouraged to drive any type of tractor to school. A fun day they have each year in June (towards the end of the school year). Not sure about licensing of tractors and students…???

I was excited to attend Attica Middle School’s Spring Concert with Michele and her parents. Baillie is in the 6th Grade Chorus and the Band. Awesome and I was impressed by the quality and presentation of the items. Baillie plays clarinet in the band.

We did some visiting and Jim worked on the old moto guzzi’s he has in Joe’s garage. We rode the 1976 Moto Guzzi Convert Jim bought off EBay a few years ago. He has been fiddling with it, and seems to be running very well. Had the le mans off the truck as well.

Headed to Westfield, NY on Friday morning for the Western New York Moto Guzzi Rally in the Vineyard. Joe and Michele organise and host this rally for the Moto Guzzi Club. Joe took his pick up to Westfield on Thursday and took a tent for us and our camping gear and clothes, so we didn’t have much on the le mans.

Saturday was warm for the most part. This year we found something different to do other than wine tasting: Art, Jim, and I rode to Panama Rocks, near Panama, NY on Saturday.

Website: The Panama Rocks extend about half a mile and consist of twelve acres of an erupted, Paleozoic seashore originating over 300 million years ago. It is a ridge of quartz conglomerate rock, which was carved and shaped by a glacier, and is all set amid an ancient forest. There are 200 and 300 year old hemlocks and other species of venerable trees, and some trees having diametres of over three feet. The way tree roots grow down and around the rocks adds a special uniqueness and character to this forest.

Very impressive - it is a 1 mile (1.6 km) hike and a bit hazardous. The self-guided trail (indicated by small red arrowheads painted on trees) encircles the towering rocks, hundreds of crevices and alley’s and caves. The trees growing on the rocks are supported by roots clinging to the rock faces. Abundant moss and ferns and it was much cooler temperatures. Also some critters - mostly chipmunks and birds. Beautiful lawns and picnic facilities at the entrance. The property has been locally and privately owned and became a tourist attraction around 1910. All park costs are paid from an admission fee.

We took an hour for the hike, explored a bit and I took a lot of photos - it was very beautiful and unique. Lots of historical stories from the 1800’s - outlaws hiding their loot in a crevice then forgetting which one! Could still be there!

Saturday evening a group of rally goers walked to Lake Erie to watch the sunset from the cliffs. It was not a spectacular sunset because of cloud cover, but it was a fun excursion.

(The small stream is between the ammenities and the campgrounds - pretty.)

127 people attended the rally. Friday evening dinner was Buffalo fare - beef on ‘weck and Buffalo wings, Saturday was barbecue chicken dinners. Tea, coffee, cookies provided all day. There were plenty of local wines, and someone bought Kentucky moonshine for people to sample - a little goes a long way! The clear one is the most potent - close to pure alcohol, the pink one has strawberries in it and (I was told) they absorb all the nasty stuff (?). That one was drinkable, well sip-able in very small portions! The bottle is the manufactured finished product which is much smoother and more popular! It took all weekend to finish off the two jars or moonshine. I only know of one person who ate a strawberry… The jars were continually passed around for people to sip - no concerns regarding germs as no bacteria could live in the pure alcohol.

A continuous campfire and a huge bonfire Saturday night are features. People attended from adjacent states, but some came from further - Maine, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Michigan, Virginia, Oklahoma.

It rained early Saturday morning and Sunday morning - with pack up in light rain.

The radiator would not fit into our truck! It was a replacement for our model truck and should have fit right in. It would not fit. The old one had to be put back in, and on Tuesday Jim and I deadheaded to Detroit (through Ontario, less miles but same toll cost) to where we bought the radiator. Turned out that when the radiator was replaced about 5 years ago - that radiator came with it’s own frame and it was different to our model truck. Spent all day (11 hours) at Detroit Radiator Corporation while they modified the frame and fitted the radiator. That was an expensive repair counting in the days in Buffalo trying to fit the radiator, dead head 268 miles (430 km) to Detroit and another day there for it to be replaced.

Thursday morning we loaded in Akron, Ohio at a cross dock. The shipment came from New Jersey in a van, and transferred to our trailer because the consignee had no loading dock and could only unload a flatbed. Six totes of corrosive fluid for a Citgo Refinery - a hazmat shipment. Delivered that Friday morning south of Chicago, then to northwest Chicago to load and tarp galvanized steel. Headed south to Brunswick, Georgia.

Arrived Saturday evening and it was hot, humid weather. We stayed in a motel for Saturday and Sunday nights. Something to remember - can’t buy alcohol in stores on Sunday and only in bars after 12.30pm on Sunday. Luckily Jim is experienced in these matters, so he bought supplies on Saturday evening when we got in.

Took the bike off the truck Sunday morning. It was extremely smoky, the Okefenokee Swamp was on fire and that had been our intended destination for the day. Instead we cruised around Brunswick and the Golden Isles.

Tourist Brochure: Brunswick and the Golden Isles - a port city and four islands offering so much to do. Local fishing boats and large ocean-going freighters from around the world can be seen along Brunswick’s waterfront. With a deepwater port, Brunswick supports thriving seafood and shipping industries, Naval stores, pulp and wood products, bulk cargo, and tourism are prominent in the local economy.

Travelled over Sidney Lanier Bridge several times: Georgia’s tallest cable-stayed suspension

bridge - 7,780 feet long (2371 metres) and 486 feet (148 metres) tall.

Awesome views from the bridge of the tidal marshlands and river networks around Brunswick and a lot of coastal Georgia, even though it was very smoky!

Did a ride around Old Brunswick. Has some rundown areas, but obviously a rejuvenation and renovation in progress. Massive oak trees dripping with moss are all through the area. There is a huge oak tree called Lover’s Oak, according to local legend, Native American couples met beneath the majestic spreading limbs of this enormous oak. So, how old could it be? 300, 400 years?? Photo of Lover's Oak and the shrimp boats on the waterfront.

Mainland Brunswick is named for Braunschweig, Germany, the ancestral home of King George II, grantor of Georgia’s original land charter. The streets and squares of this quiet port city give Brunswick a decidedly English flavour.

Interesting: Following the American Revolution, Brunswick did not change the names of its streets and squares, which honour English royalty and geography; Gloucester, Prince, Halifax, Norwich. I wonder why?

We had lunch at St Simon’s Island Village at Blue Water Bar and Café, on the top floor overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Great food, though we arrived at 11.45am, Jim had to wait until 12.30pm for a beer! (Excellent lunch though!) The Avenue of Oaks is the grand entrance to the Island. The Island was originally an antebellum plantation known for its superior sea island cotton and extensive flower gardens.

Stopped at the lighthouse: built in 1872, the lighthouse and keepers cottage are the oldest surviving brick structures in Glynn County 104 foot, 129 interior steps.

After lunch we went back to the motel and met Joe. He had been in Daytona Beach for the weekend and picked up our mail for us. Only had a quick visit with him because he hade to keep moving. We took a break in the hottest part of the day, then went for drinks at Spanky’s Bar, we had spotted earlier and looked interesting. Then to Georgia Pig barbeque restaurant for dinner.

The city lays claim to Brunswick Stew, a tomato-based stew containing various types of lima beans, corn, okra, and other vegetables, and one or more types of meat. Most recipes claiming authenticity call for squirrel or rabbit meat, but chicken, pork and beef are also common ingredients. A twenty-five gallon iron pot outside the city bears a plaque declaring the stew was first cooked there in 1898. The Brunswick Rockin’ Stewbilee, held annually in October, features a stew tasting contest where visitors sample over 50 stews.

Brunswick Stew is available at restaurants in the south-east, but we had some in Brunswick and the GA Pig has excellent Stew! And barbeque! We had a lovely day sampling Brunswick, Georgia!

We delivered at The Ports on Monday morning, 20 June. The galvanized steel we had was for export.

Website: It is recognized as one of the most productive ports on the East Coast and is the sixth busiest automobile port in the United States; it is the primary export facility for Ford and General Motors. In addition, the port is also the primary export facility for Mercedes-Benz. (Factory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.) The port serves as the central import facility for Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Porsche, and Volvo. Audi, BMW, and Volkswagen utilize the port for imports as well. In addition to automobiles, exports also include agricultural products and other bulk cargoes. Obviously, there were lots of car haulers around!

Loaded before lunch, 90 miles north in Savannah, Georgia at Dozier Crane. The new Manitowoc crane was already loaded on an RGN - an oversize load. We had a counterweight and a 40 foot boom, ours was a legal load going to Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Jim had to do a safety course, so we spent Wednesday morning at the Landstar facility in Rockford, Illinois on the way up.

Driving through Wisconsin, a large black bear ran across the road. Jim had to brake to miss it. The dash cam videoed it, and I took an image off that. That is the closest we have come to a live bear on the highway.

Internet: Black bears are an important and impressive part of Wisconsin’s dwindling wild landscape. They are the largest omnivore and one of the largest native animals. Adult male bears are called boars, average 4.5 to 6 feet in length and weight 250-500 pounds. The smaller females, or sows, weigh 225-450 pounds and measure 4 to 4.5 feet long.

Despite their unassuming appearance, bears are very strong, especially in their legs and shoulders. When they need to, they can gallop over 30 miles per hour.

There had been a lot of rain in northern Minnesota and was still raining, A landslide at a highway construction site blocked the highway along Lake Superior, we had to take a detour that had about 10 miles (1.6 km) of very wet mud - that was interesting! Sloppy and many deep potholes, the truck and trailer were covered in mud, we could have planted flowers on the rack where the tarps are stored!

Delivered the boom and counterweight to a construction company in Thunder Bay, Ontario on Thursday afternoon. Weather was cool again. No frost this time, but we had long sleeves, jeans and jackets on.

At the first rest area in Minnesota we stopped and Jim took a nap. The rest area is also a Minnesota Welcome Centre and the start of hiking trails into Grand Portage State Park.

Wikipedia: Grand Portage State Park is at the northeastern tip of Minnesota on the Canada/USA border. The Pigeon River separates the two countries. The Pigeon River was a useful route from the Great Lakes to inland Canada for fur traders, except it was impassable over its last 22 miles (35 km) due to the waterfalls and rapids. To avoid this stretch, early native inhabitants developed a footpath around these. To French commercial explorers it became known as Grant Portage, or “the great Carrying Place”. While busy outposts sprang up at either end of the Grand Portage, the future Grand Portage State park remained largely undeveloped.

In the 1890’s logging began on both sides of the border. In 1899 a series of sluices, dams and flumes were built to float the logs safely around the waterfalls and gorges.

In winter ice can form on the falls 10 to 20 feet thick, but water continues to flow underneath.

I hiked to High Falls - the largest of the falls at 120 feet (37 metres). It was ½ mile from the Welcome Centre on a paved path. There had been a lot of rain during the past three days and the falls were roaring. The first photo here is of High Falls I 'poached' from the tourism website which is probably how it looks most of the time, and the one with the higher volume of water is how I saw it! Spectacular!

On my way back I happened to look up and see a red squirrel on a limb above the trail. It was very still and probably hoped I would not see it! It stayed still until more people came along. Very cute looking! Smaller than the east coast grey squirrels I am used to seeing.

Loaded rough steel castings in Duluth, Minnesota late Thursday afternoon. The heavy-wear castings are used for grinding and crushing machinery. We had plenty of time to get to Buena Vista, Colorado.

We had most of Sunday off at a small “Gunsmoke” truckstop in Buena Vista. Jim worked around the truck and trailer a bit. Other trucks with the same load as us arrived during the afternoon. The Coyote Cantina was across the street - an interesting Mexican Restaurant and Bar.

Delivered at Climax Mine warehouse in Buena Vista, Colorado on Monday morning 27 June - seven truckloads unloaded.

Wikipedia: The Climax Mine located in Climax, Colorado was a major molybdenum mine. In its heyday, it was the largest molybdenum mine in the world, and for many years supplied three-fourths of the world’s supply of the metal.

Molybdenum is used as an alloy for making very strong steel.

The Climax Mine began full production in 1914. But the demand for molybdenum fell drastically at the end of World War I, and shut down in 1919. Molybdenum later found use in the metal alloy for the turbines of jet engines.

The Climax Mine re-opened in 1924, and operated nearly continuously until the 1980s. The mine was shut down in 1995, awaiting higher molybdenum prices.

In May 2011 mining operations at Climax Mine resumed, albeit at a reduced level relative to its heyday.

(Climax is 45 miles (72 km) north of where we delivered along the Continental Divide at an elevation of about 11,360 feet/3465 metres)

We drove the rig back to a truckstop in Denver, we were not scheduled to load again until Friday, 1 July.

We took the motorbike off the truck on Monday afternoon and went to the nearby Coors Brewery for a tour that included free tastings! We have done this tour before, it is very close to the truckstop. This is beer brewing on a large scale!

Website: Come, see and taste traditional brewing at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Since 1873 the Coors Brewery has thrived on a legacy of quality, innovation and customer service. The tour showcases the company’s history and passion for brewing. Your tour takes place in the world’s largest single-site brewery.

The beer tap is unusual! The jingle for Coors Light is "Tap The Rockies". (That is not real ice around the tap.)

Tuesday morning we headed north taking the twisty back roads up the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Scorcher weather temperatures forecast for a few days! There was also a lot of flooding because of an above normal snow pack melting, all rivers and streams were in flood. Ban on swimming, rafting, tubing, kayaking, etc. We started out on the Peak to Peak Highway, that was cooler temperatures. From “AMA Ride Guide to America” … many peaks and valleys, all conquered with tight curves, lots of hairpins, sideways esses, and cresting turns.

Stopped for coffee along the way, then zigzagged via Estes Park to Fort Collins and stopped at the New Belgium Brewery. We had hoped for a tour, but reservations are required so we went on the ‘standby’ list. We missed out on the 1.30pm tour, we were give a token each for a free 5oz beer while we waited in their hospitality lounge. We missed out on the 2pm tour as well, and didn’t wait any longer so we cancelled. We were then given three tokens each for samples before we left! It was hot, so very much appreciated.

Website: We’ve been putting the NEW in BELGIUM since 1991. It starts with the Belgian brewing tradition of ignoring tradition. Add in our Belgian brew master and his imaginative blend of brewing delicious beers with loads of character and aspiring ingredients. Fun names - Jim’s favourite is Fat Tire.

From Fort Collins we headed west and stopped at Mishawaka Amphitheatre & Restaurant for a late lunch. The Amphitheatre hosts many concerts and the deck is over the Cache La Poudre River.

Internet: The name of the river means “hide the powder” in French. It refers to an incident in the 1820’s when French trappers, caught in a snowstorm were forced to bury part of their gunpowder along the banks of the river.

The Cache La Poudre River is the only river in Colorado to be officially designated "Wild and Scenic". The Big Narrows, a forbidding granite chasm made passable by convict labour blasting through the rock in 1919.

We travelled through high elevations and several passes, many mountains still had snow on them. Stopped for a break in Walden and the Stockman Saloon was very ‘old west’ with an original bar.

Rabbit Ears Pass was interesting and straddles the Continental Divide. Rabbit Ears Peak is a rock formation on top of the mountain. (The third lopsided photo of Rabbit Ears Peak.)

We arrived in Steamboat Springs at 6pm and booked into a motel in the old section of town. 250 miles (400 km) for the day all awesome views, heaps of twisties - a great day on the bike.

We walked along the Yampa River which was seriously in flood and threatening some businesses. Photo shows the fast flowing river level with its banks. More sandbags!

Website: The Yampa Valley and surrounding area contain several geothermal hot springs from which the city derives its name. The city is named after the spring located near the present day library. So named because its bubbling sounded like a steamboat to early settlers. Unfortunately, construction and blasting for the railroad silenced the chugging spring in 1908.

A famous ski centre, Steamboat Springs is one of North America’s largest ski mountains. Offers 142 trails and 3000 skiable acres. Located 7,000 feet up in the Rocky Mountains, Steamboat is legendary for its six peaks.

The photo shows the town with the nearby ski slopes. Even with the tourist industry, the city has an ‘old west’ feel too. A lovely city in the summer time!

We followed the suggested route from the “AMA Ride Guide to America” and took in some beautiful scenery and highways back to Denver. It was peak wildflower season in the mountains! Many more passes, mountains, rivers, canyons. We stopped at a couple of towns for coffee or a wander around.

Had a late lunch in Empire at the Original Hard Rock Café. Website: The Original Hard Rock Café got its start in 1934 when the restaurant was named in honor of the area’s hard rock miners that were the early customers.

This café is not related to the chain restaurant that originated in London in 1971 and has spread around the world.

It probably gets a lot of business because of its name though! It did have great food, too.

Back to the truck Wednesday evening - a 230 mile day on the motorbike.

On Thursday we did a local trucking job. Picked up a generator on a trailer 30 miles south of Denver and delivered it to a trucking company east of Denver. Paid good and only took up the morning. The load we had already accepted for 1 July postponed, so we spent all Thursday afternoon looking at load boards to find a replacement. There were many loads to choose from, but we wanted to go east, so were picky. Late Thursday we deadheaded 300 miles (480 kms) to Cozad, Nebraska.