As you probably read in Scooterchick's blog we have been using copious amounts of elbow grease on the back yard and have finally gotten to the point that we can relax a little.
If you know me that means it's time to twist the throttle. It's been 3 weeks and 3 days since we left the Great NorthWet and we haven't had a chance to ride yet..........All right snivel-time is over, time to suit up. Since we are both ATTGATTers this takes a little time.
Having donned Chaps, Boots and Mesh Jacket with Visi-Vest, earplugs and gloves I'm ready to go.
By the time I'm ready Scooterchick is already out the driveway and revving the engine. Excited to go much? Part of "the whole deal" is that we wanted to leave early due to the heat. By the time left around 9:45 it was already north of 85 degrees.
Since we hadn't taken time for breaky, we stopped at Ann's Country Kitchen. This is a double-wide establishment about 25 miles from our home here. You probably know the type of place just by looking at the name. Nothing fancy just good food cheap. I can recommend it to any ADV'ers who pass by.
Scooterchick is highly in favor of coffee and chow, since we skipped breakfast.
Here is yours truly, helmet off ready to dig in to some country cooking. This place does a brisk business, and part of that is because it's the only restaurant worth patronizing within 20 miles or so.
Now to peruse the breakfast menu. Will it be sausage, bacon or ham? Earth shaking decisions are not really required here.
I check out the menu and prepare to order. Eggs, Bacon (crisp) and.........
Meanwhile, my darling samples the coffee, and takes a picture of her signature keychain. it is a gift from one of the people in our ministry and scoots it's way into a surprising number of pictures at http://patricia-coutts.blogspot.ca/
Her selection made, Scooterchick relaxes with a smile. Now we wait for the arrival of the food. Although the coffee tastes like coffee colored hot water, we expect the food will be better. My Baby ordered Scrambled Eggs (with cheese) and Sausage.
That's right every breakfast is better with pancakes. These ones were light, fluffy and delicious. It was only when I went to add the butter that I found out butter was "off menu". OK I can eat margarine I thought, then I took a closer look.
Now hold on! They're not even making the pretense of calling this butter substitute. What the heck is whipped spread. Okay, so it says 0% Trans Fats. I'm on board with that, but 52% vegetable oil. What on earth is the other 48%. I speculated that it could be 52% VO and 48% a) "we're not saying" b) don't ask-don't tell or c) "Is that a microphone? Get that camera out of here!!!"
Oh well. I ate it anyway, Tasted like......um.........whipped spread!
We continued up Hwy 58 and turned left at Hwy.19. this road runs parallel to Caddo Ridge. This is a ridge that runs east-west and is north of the Wichita Mountains. The wind is always blowing along this axis, and the farmers have raised up a whole new crop.....wind!
There are 6 wind farms along this ridge and the wind turbines are slowly swoosh-swoosh-swooshing non stop. The vast majority of these are Vestas 1.8MW units which stand on masts about 60m. tall swinging 90m. diameter rotors at about 15 rpm.
Here we have a picture of the inimitable Scooterchick cruising down the ridge.
Here is a wide angle view of the Blue Canyon Farm. The turbines are majestic as they slowly harvest the breeze, but a little awe inspiring up close.
We arrived at our destination Carnegie OK at around 11:00. it was starting to get warm, heading north of 90F. by this time. This is the flagpole at the corner of Main and Broadway. Literally, it is in the middle of the intersection. it clearly states that Carnegie is the "Busiest Town on the Rock Island."
For those unfamiliar with the Rock Island Line, here is some info.
The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road
The Rock Island Line is the road to ride
The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road
If you want to ride you gotta ride it like you find it
Get your ticket at the station for the Rock Island Line.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago,_Rock_Island_and_Pacific_Railroad
Here is a long view of the flagpole sporting the Stars and Stripes and the Oklahoma State flag.
It is very common in these parts to do a mural on a building showing the history and notable aspects of the town. Carnegie is no exception. This is their mural, which could use a redo. That baking sun fades everything including your automotive finish, if you leave the car out in the sun instead of undercover.
This is a picture of Main Street. As you can tell Carnegie is a hive of activity.....not so much!
On the way back from Carnegie, we stopped at an abandoned homestead. There are many of these in rural Oklahoma. We wanted to investigate and see if there were any old bits or bobs to put in the garden as decor. Here is me, from Scooterchick's vantage point.
The place is badly overgrown, and we needed to investigate.
The garage was once supplied with electricity, as is evidenced by the ceiling fan. I believe it's day is done though. There was an inordinate amount of trash about the place.
I have no idea what sort of machine would use a pneumatic tire this size. It appeared that the birds used it for a nest however.
When it comes to garbage, the previous tenants had a "just throw it anywhere" mentality, and apparently they were firm believers in this credo. Absolutely unbelievable. Until you see it first hand, then you find yourself saying "I see it, but I still can't believe it."
Looking out through the window on the back porch, we can see that even the outbuildings are tired of being here. Often one wonders what happened.
Inside the house was a recliner, and in the recliner was a framed picture of a girl between the ages of 20-30. Who was she, what happened to her? There were also numerous toys and children's clothing and shoes. What happened to the children? God only knows.
There was a shelf on one wall. There were still some chochkies....the sad remains of someone's collection on the shelf. The mystery continues.
The living room was a shadow of it's former self, as was the furniture. This house was still solid, but would take an awful lot of work to bring it back.
Scooterchick got a picture of a Sasquatch in the remains of the kitchen. No........ wait, that's me!
We rolled on outta the wreckage, and at one point Scooterchick was riding along at about 60, wildly waving her left arm. I couldn't understand why she was gesticulating so wildly, and she didn't pull over to explain. It wasn't until we arrived back home and divested ourselves of our riding gear that I found out. The reason for her extreme arm exercises was because she had felt something fly up her sleeve. Something big.
When she finally got her jacket and greenie off, I pulled at the back of her shirt and said "what's this?"
This turned out to be a dragonfly with a four-inch wingspan. When my Baby looked at it, she sat down and tried hard to concentrate on not blowing chunks!!!! Here is the corpse, displayed for posterity.
E finalamente, a picture of the scooters in repose. we arrived back at the ranch just after one. We both showered off the sweat, and in my sweetie's case, bug debris and rejoiced in the fact that it was only 95 degrees and we were in air conditioned comfort. It ended up going to 98, but we managed to avoid that.
2 comments:
Thanks for getting that bat sized bug off of me! haha
Yeah that was some arm-shakin, helmet wailin' surprise!!!
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