Riding Arkansas

I stopped in Commerce and spent the evening with David and Betina Zavanut and left on Saturday with them to drive up to Oklahoma where there were going to camp and search for crystals. I continued on to Glenwood and spend the night in a hotel for a change from the Vixen. Sunday I met up with Joe in Helena and unloaded the bike and we headed south and camped at the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers. We thought the weather was heading away from us, but instead it came on with lightning, thunder, wind and rain which confined us to our tents early in the evening. Two miles south of us the wind took down quite a few limbs and trees and five miles north of us they had golf ball sized hail. So we got off lucky.

We rode around southeastern Arkansas visiting museums and such and had lunch with Ann Rowe in Keo, Arkansas camping along a river or lake wherever possible.














After visiting Mena and Queen Wilhelmina in the western part of the state, we arrived Wednesday evening at Mount Magazine resort and decided to spoil ourselves. We enjoyed an evening with a couple from Oklahoma city celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary.

A Vixen here, a Vixen...

It was an easy drive from Flagstaff to Bourne, Texas for the Annual Vixen Owner's Association, the 25th anniversary of my 1986 model. It was a three day event with breakfast and dinner catered, technical sessions, and a dance evening. The most interesting for me was the technical stuff and seeing what everyone else has done to their Vixen, followed closely by meeting all of the fun people from the states, Canada and one from Amsterdam.


That is Pete on the right, the guy that I bought my Vixen from.

I also went over to Kerrville and visited with Ron and Chris Bradley, friends from La Ventana.















After leaving for Arkansas on Friday, I spent the evening and next morning with David, Cynthia's brother, and Betina Zavanut on their intriguing homestead/studio/farm in Commerce, Texas. In interesting and enjoyable couple!

Tomorrow, I hook up with my brother Joe from Nashville in Helena, MS.

Pickin in the Pines

The festival was as good as usual, I think this was my fourth time there out of the six years that it has been held. The highlights were camping, cooking and goofing off with Jeff and Bob, and the close up performances of Sam Bush as well as a group of young women harmonizing. We didn't go to or pay for the main stage, but just hung out in the jam sessions in the campground and went to the workshops. Susan came by on Saturday with more beer and ice and joined us for a workshop. Creighton, Kim and the Prescott gang had their usual contingent of pickers and singers.

I left Sunday morning for San Antonio and made it here to Clovis, New Mexico and checked into a motel for a needed shower and shave.

Vixen away!

This is the new to me Vixen motor home that I bought in Napa last month and then went to Burning Man with it. I am leaving tomorrow for the Pickin in the Pines Blue Grass Festival in Flagstaff and then heading east on Sunday. Go to www.vixenrv.org to see the story behind this unusual motor home. the bike is an '06 Harley Sportster and that is my house in the background.

It seems to have been too long of a winter and a slow start to Spring, but it is finally here. So on the road again. This spring, I had classes in sculpture and in Air Brush Painting and Oakley & Liseanne, Rebecca and Dan and I went to Maui for a week in March. We all returned to Charleston in April for the annual Dogwood Azalea/Reunion. I finished up the fountain in the front yard that Gary Mac and I had started on last fall.









I also started on a statue of Isis on the left of the front steps to the house. She is full size and is formed of concrete added a bit at a time with a rebar and chicken wire frame. There is currently 20 or so applications on her with another 20 to go.
















I sold three motorcycles and bought two others, a Sportster that I leave on in the morning for Missouri and my 49th high school reunion. The class ahead of me is sponsoring the reunion, but needed to invite five classes to get enough people together for a party. There were nine in my class. The other motorcycle is an electric scooter to run around town on. It is surprising how fast and agile it is. It is a bit of a bother to plug it in when I get home every day.


I plan on taking the southern route through Dallas and Little Rock and avoid tornado alley.

Back in Baja

Start at the bottom please.

My trailer was in good shape but the old Explorer didn't want to start and is currently in the shop. Hopefully it is just sticky injectors as I did not put in stabilizer when I left it in March. Most of the gang is here already and it's good to see them all again. The beach is to the right of this shot about 100 yards away and two volleyball courts seeing a lot of action. Temps in the mid 70's and I have already had two dinners at friend's campsites.
Travis is seated in the center. We have been camping together since 1997 and its been interesting to watch him grow. Pablo, the owner of the store across the street from the campground is on the right and his youngest son, Nelson, is in the foreground. The walls show a typical small country store with a quite limited selection but enough so I don't have to run 30 miles to town every other day.
I don't have a title for this 1983 Yamaha SR 250 so I thought it would be a good camp bike and I can sell it before returning to Prescott. This shot is in Santa Rosalia and is the first time one gets to see the Sea of Cortez on the drive down. It is over half way, so it feels good to see it. The road then follows the coast for a hundred miles or so and is my favorite part of the trip.
My brother Jerry and his company truck in Borrego Springs, CA. It's always good to see him on my way back and forth to La Ventana in Baja. More uncertainty at his office as they have recently elected three new members of the small board and have axed the director. Jerry prepared dinner and Greg from the office and friends Mike and Teri also came over. Breakfast in the morning at this restaurant and I headed south to Tecate. Lots of construction and bridge building on Highways 3 and 1. Their stimulus program but they must not be printing money as he exchange rate is 12.5 pesos to the dollar. Last year I could get 13.5 pesos for a dollar. Gasoline was up again to 8.37 pesos per liter from 7.4 last year. But that works out to about the same price as in Arizona. The Infinity got 22 mpg on the way down - I should try driving at 65 more often.

Back home

Jim and AlexaNana
Fred and Bridget
Doc Peter with his daughters
Rian at Lake Superior walking her dogs.

I returned to Prescott on September 12th after 6 weeks and 11,300 miles on the Burgman. A good trip all around and especially sharing it with my brother Joe. After leaving Newfoundland, we attended the Island Rally in Prince Edward Island and watched an old tractor plow day at the county fair. We then headed west to Saulte Ste Marie where we stayed with Rian and her family. Brad from San Diego was also there and we did a bit of drywalling in the basement and Joe taught Rian's mom how to make stained glass. I moved on to Peter's new home on Lake Superior and Joe went over to Marquette, MI to see one of his friends. He kept on going south from there and I followed a day later, visiting Mackinac Island and riding a bicycle around it and then spent two days with Joe Hindley, an artist friend of mine in Sawyer, Michigan.

A short ride down to St. Louis and I enjoyed a dinner with Recie and her children, her boyfriend Skip, Nana, Fred and Bridget and Danny. Then south to Charleston and I spent a day with Daddy before heading west. I stopped by Oklahoma City to meet Jim and Judy's latest grandchild, Jennifer and Alan's first child Alexa, then continued on to Santa Fe and had lunch with Isabella Klein. The ride from Sante Fe to Prescott was especially pretty on the back roads to Quemada NM, Springerville, Payson, and over Mingus with the afternoon temperature a perfect 75.

It has been an interesting year of travel. Two months on the beach in La Ventana, Baja in my trailer and in the midst of many friends, two months in the Greek Islands by myself and doing the tourist thing, and then six weeks riding, camping, and living with Joe.

But I believe it was on page 144 when Zorba said 'Boss, if I took the time to write about what I do, I wouldn't have time to live it, now would I?'

It's good to be home. Otto