Harley2004's Travel Blog

Grand Island, Nebraska, April 30th, 2004 - Grand Island, Nebraska

 This place was Great visited Apr 30, 2004

No miles today, still in Grand Island, Nebraska. Cold and light rain today. Temperatures were in the lower 40’s with wind chill in the upper 30’s. Not a good day to ride. We did take a taxi to the Grand Island Mall and managed to get a new pair of perscription sun glasses from Lens Crafters. They even adjusted my military issue glasses also. Not much to write about, just one more day here waiting for the weather to warm up and the snow to stop in Utah and Montana before we continue. It was actually warmer in Alaska today than it was in Grand Island. We plan to visit the local Harley Davidson dealer tomorrow and just stay warm.

posted Apr 12, 2005 | Comments (0)

Grand Island, Nebraska, April 29th, 2004 - Grand Island, Nebraska

 This place was Great visited Apr 29, 2004

Not many miles today. We were just going to move a little further to the west before the cold wet weather hit Nebraska. Forecast called for mid-60 degree temperatures in Grand Island and I figured if we left Lincoln at 11:00AM we would have plenty of time to get to Grand Island before the rain and colder weather hit on Thursday night. Wind was not too bad initially, only 20 to 30 MPH, but it was much colder than yesterday. It was 61 degrees when we pulled out of the motel at around 10:30. We found the cold, wet weather just a few miles down the road. Stopped in York for gas and to get warm and them proceeded on towards Grand Island. It didn’t get warmer it got colder and about 20 miles from Grand Island the light rain started. Rain was coming from the Southwest, so I got off Interstate 80 and rode a few miles North to Aurora to take Highway 34 into Grand Island. When we pulled into the motel at 12:30PM it was 41 degrees. Just too cold for riding. I’m extremely glad I scheduled only a short ride. A tractor-trailer driver at the motel when we arrived had been blown off the road late Wednesday night by a 60 MPH gust of wind. Weather report out of Kansas City verified that we had experienced 50 MPH gusts on our route from Kansas City to Lincoln. It’s going to get colder and rain is predicted for tomorrow, with plenty of snow where we are headed next. We plan to lay up here for a few days, do some banking, already got some pictures developed, and get some new sun glasses (just in case we happen to find some sun). Weather should be warming up come Sunday. Into the motel after a short, cold, damp ride of 94 miles, 8,717 miles this trip, 130,377 total miles. View from the Rear by Peggy: This has been the coldest day so far and thank goodness it was the shortest... There was no sun, just clouds, and the further West we rode, the colder it got...!! I was waiting to see it start snowing at any time - the wind gusts made it worse... Looks like we'll be spending a couple days here which is okay with me - a really nice area... We have seen so many wonderful things... Oh, just read in today's "Grand Island Independent" newspaper that they are "Ready to Make Ethanol" - Central Nebraska is beening called the "Ethanol Capital of Nation" - "Seven plants will soon be operating within 50 mile radius of Grand Island". These seven plants will have an 'annual grind' of 144.5 (+) million bushels (of corn) with an 'annual production' of 377 (+) million gallons of ethanol - per the above mentioned newspaper. Now I know why there are acres and acres of corn planted in these Nebraska fields... Also, portion of same newspaper said '...Todd Sneller, administrator for Nebraska Ethanol Board, said those plants are not only creating new markets for farmers and jobs in those communities where they're located, but also generating new wealth and the economic impact is being felt throughout the state's economy...'

posted Apr 12, 2005 | Comments (0)

Lincoln, Nebraska, April 28th, 2004 - Lincoln, Nebraska

 This place was Amazing visited Apr 28, 2004

Turned out to be a real beautiful day today. Only got down to 58 degrees with a predicted high of 90 degrees in Lincoln. The temperature had climbed to 68 degrees by the time we left the motel in Kansas City, Missouri a little after 9:00AM. That’s the good news! Bad news is we would be in major wind today, 25 to 35 MPH winds with gusts up to 50 MPH. And it was every bit of that. Extremely hard to hold the bike onto the road. Our route today carried us North on Interstate 29 across the Iowa state line. With great difficulty we got the Iowa state sign ABC’s of Touring picture. The wind coming from our left side made it necessary to hold the bike on the kick stand as tractor trailers speed by at the 70 MPH speed limit. If I had known how bad it was going to be, I probably would not have stopped. But I did and we got the picture. We followed Interstate 29 North to Exit 10 in Iowa and turned West on Highway 2, crossing the Missouri River and at the Nebraska state line, we found the Nebraska sign in a protected area with a wide, new concrete shoulder, so we got that picture also. Two more ABC’s of Touring points, total 73 points so far. Followed Highway 2 West to the Southern part of Lincoln and then Highway 77 North to get to Interstate 80, where our motel for the night was located. Into the motel at 3:00PM after l83 hard, windy miles, 8,623 miles this trip, 130,283 total miles.

posted Apr 12, 2005 | Comments (0)

Hamburg, Iowa, April 28th, 2004 - Hamburg, Iowa

 This place was Great visited Apr 28, 2004

Had to include this stop to get the program to pick up a visit to Iowa. See journal entry for Lincoln, Nebraska, April 28th, 2004.

posted Apr 12, 2005 | Comments (0)

Kansas City, Missouri, April 27th, 2004 - Kansas City, Missouri

 This place was Amazing visited Apr 27, 2004

It was 41 degrees when I woke up this morning in Joplin, Missouri. Weather channel was reporting that the West was having record breaking warm temperatures which were as much as 20 degrees above the normal for this time of year. Not to worry though, they will be over before we get there and we’ll find cold temperatures again. Anyway, the temperatures had climbed to 51 degrees before we left the motel a little after 9:00AM with clear skies and only light wind. Headed West on Interstate 44 again to the last exit in Missouri and took the short trip back West on Highway 166 to Baxter Springs, Kansas, this time turning North on Highway 69. We followed Highway 69 until 10 miles North of Fort Scott, we turned West on Kansas Highway 31 to Mound City and then picking up Kansas Highway 65 to Xenia, Kansas. Got the picture of the city sign for our "X" city. We have now completed the alphabet for all cities and all counties (except there are no counties that start with an "X"). We found that Xenia had done some growing since we came through here in 2000. New city signs, new home by the western city sign. A young man setting up a baseball diamond in a field beside the city sign. We talked a little with him. He was the son of a preacher, was home schooled but was playing baseball for one of the school baseball teams. At least the area around Xenia looked alive this time. In 2000 it looked dead and we didn’t see anyone, just two old signs about a block apart and a dirt road leading South. We reversed our directions back onto Highway 69 North, switching to Interstate 435, the Kansas City by-pass. Followed the by-pass North to Interstate 29, then back South a few miles on Interstate 29 to Exit 12, where we got pictures of the Harley Davidson Plant in Kansas City. That’s two more points today, one for Xenia and one for the KC HD Plant. That’s 71 points now for the ABC’s of Touring. Back South again on Interstate 29 to the next exit to our motel for the night, Into the motel around 3:30PM after a beautiful ride of 233 miles, 8,440 miles this trip, 130,100 total miles.

posted Apr 12, 2005 | Comments (0)