Sunday, October 19, 2014

A Mix Addendum

That's what I get for putting off my Posting....there were a few more items that were meant to be on yesterday's Post that completely skipped my mind.  Here they are......some new content as well.  :)

Last weekend our local village hall sponsored a History Day, an event intended to highlight local family stories, a presentation on genealogy, book signings by a local author that has done extensive fact gathering on times and places.  Some of our relatives had a booth, many other family members were present to both learn and share more about old events, places and people.  Our Florence Town Hall is the oldest, continually used town hall in the state of MN, a very fitting place to hold the event.  I bought both books and had them signed by the author.  Now another winter project that I'm looking forward to.






As most everyone knows that has spent any time looking at this Blog, much of my riding time is spent in southwestern Wisconsin.  There are many areas in that corner of the state that almost feel like a second home to me and if I'm ever looking for one of those, SW WI locations would be at the top of the list.  Long ago, some of my first motorcycle exploratory rides were in and around the Kickapoo Valley region of Wisconsin.  Not only do I spend time riding there, but I frequently pay attention to that area's history, check the local newspapers on a regular basis and attempt to keep up with trends and happenings.  It was through a few of my historical 'questions' and online poking around about some of the valley towns that I stumbled upon Brad's Blog and his discussions about the long and involved story around the La Farge, Wisconsin Dam Project.  Flood Control, recreational opportunities, displaced families, eminent domain, "the government", etc. all very much impacted the region's people.  The process started many years ago and the effects continue to linger on.  Much has been written and documented; Brad's Blog brings the very human side to the story, some other background info here.

For those of my visitors that are in the area, next weekend's Flyway Film Festival (almost right across the river from us) in Pepin and Stockholm, WI is an event that we've never attended but it's on our bucket list for next weekend and if things go as planned, we'll at least be present for a screening or two.  I've always heard good things and it really does sound like fun.

Ben and I managed to squeeze one ride in today of the gravel variety.  Tomorrow we plan to do the pavement version.  We covered my nearly famous "85 miles of gravel" and though there were a few adjustments to the route, the general intent of the ride was accomplished.  Road construction and a forced gas stop made us alter the plan just enough to make it fresh.


Minimum Maintenance Road #3 of 4......




Have you ever thought about owning a Triumph Rocket III??  I honestly wasn't that interested myself  but I may have to rethink that.......watch this and you'll be rushing (somewhere) to own one.....


Our area is mostly oak, birch and poplar with small pockets of hard maples.  We planted a grove of soft maples along the driveway and when we moved to the farm, there was one single hard maple on the back side of the hill.  That was harvested a dozen years ago and now the only hard maple on the property is here in our yard.


 It was a glorious day here in the valley.......


 The driveway pre-drifts of white.






If all goes according to plan, we'll sneak another ride in later today.  These days need to be savored.

6 comments:

  1. You really seize the good weather while it lasts. I like the minimum maintenance roads, when dry they might even be Vespa-compatible ;-)
    But I sure wish I had a small off road bike to play in the dirt.

    Lovely fall colours, this colour variety we don't get in our neck of the woods, so thanks a lot for sharing.

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    1. Sonja, We were out again today in even finer weather. It was an absolutely beautiful day and I'll prove it soon. :)

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  2. In spite of the wonder weather pictured, it must be snowing for you to be spending time looking for YouTube videos or are you really looking to grow a competitor for the Rocket III?

    Nice addendum and I like the look of the "Minimum Maintenance Road".

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    1. Richard, you are right to wonder but I can barely spell You Tube. If it wasn't for friends sharing, I might not even know where to look.

      We didn't stop to photograph #4 yesterday, it was by far the roughest and Ben's proclamation of "that was my favorite part of today's ride" should tell you something. You should know that Ben has been replaying Charlie Boorman's Dakar highlights for us lately.

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  3. It looked like a glorious day for sure. One hard maple seems so strange when there are so many here. Enjoy the last moments of autumn. (Like Sonja ... I'd so love to have a little sister for the Star for off roading on roads like those.)

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    1. Karen, we've got a string of October-perfect days right now, so much appreciated and hopefully most of us will make some good use of them. These roads are really fun and much easier on smaller machines though at a mild pace they can be enjoyed on most anything.

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