Sketches

Over the past week or two I have found myself{as the riding season wanes} sitting here messing around with a program that allows you to turn photos into Sketches, Cartoons, etc....here is the link:

Photos to Sketches

And here are some of the results:

Some come out well, others, not so much, but fun just to kill time working on them.

back later>>>>

Bunker 51 and the Battle for Tan Son Nhut and Saigon

 TET 1968 occurred a full 18 months before I arrived in Vietnam and almost 2 years before I headed for Saigon and Tan Son Nhut to do duty on my 2nd Air Force Base in Country....after a stay at Nha Trang, working Law Enforcement, I was shipped off to TSN to work C Flight{overnight} security...my first night of duty was on the rebuilt bunker O51 in Echo Sector:

Here is the updated story of The Battle of Tan Son Nhut and Bunker 51: 

Click Link Below:

Bunker 51 TET 1968


In total 111 Security and Air Police died in the Vietnam "War"....some in battle, some by accident, illness, and other means....the 4 men who died at Bunker O51 remain the faces of the Air Force Security Police of our time....



back later>>>>>
                                                    
                                   >>>PRH Cop School Sept 68

Looking Back 40 years and more....

I woke up this morning, shortly after Patricia left for Wapak....I thought it might be a day for riding the Dual Sport TW....after~all I felt better this morning.  The multiple football officiating games or just plain old age, seemed to be having a negative effect on my 66 1/2 year old body, and the last couple of days have not been pleasant, but the couple of days in a row without football and just sitting around seemed to help.

I took a quick shower, grabbed a cup of coffee and checked out the Internet, like I usually do first thing when wife is working...the forecast was not looking good for riding, it was 50 and windy and they are calling for a mix of clouds and sun.  Hell back in 1974 or 75 this would be great riding weather, after all I rode that dual sport Kawasaki 250 all year back in those "Red Door" days, before I headed off to Athens, Ohio, and my first college stop at Hocking Tech, in Nelsonville, Ohio....now 50, cloudy, and windy, seemed like a pain in the ass to me, at least riding Motorcycle wise....

So no TW ride today....but it did get me thinking about what has and is happening to me and this Republic these days....and it's not pleasant.

1974 was certainly not the greatest of times in American History.... however for me that period was about as good as one could have for a 25 year old....I had met Patricia, just a year after the saddest of times, when my dad had died of a massive Heart Attack on Christmas Eve of 1972...I was coming out of that and other mistakes I had made since my Air Force days.  I purchased my first motorcycle, a 1974 Kawasaki, in April of that year, and it quickly became my vehicle of choice for travel for the next 18 months, until I headed off to Hocking.

That period, Nixon Resigned, Ford came in to office, and shortly thereafter in 1976 the worst President in American History{pre-Obama} was elected....Jimmy F**king Carter, was the most useless piece of Human Dung I can imagine leading the nation, however since that time, with the exception of the Reagan years, things have not improved, and we are now saddled with a Kenyan Born Faggot, and Marxist, anti American Muslim in the White House....our Government and Military, along with the Court System has been purged of Patriots, Christians, and Straight, and replaced with a group of angry man hating, abortion loving women{in name only} Gay Rainbow Warriors, and Radical Islamic Supporters....pray all you want or can, the Republic is not coming back, we are outnumbered, and there are to few "real men" willing to pick up arms, shovels, rope, and trees, to take care of the interlopers...in addition to the corruption of the Government, the so called Churches, with the rare exception, have been taken over by the same groups.....

So excuse me for looking back with fondness the period of 4 decades ago...those times are done, and aren't coming back....not bitter am I, after all I had my run, and for me it was the best of times...sadly I doubt if my kids and grandsons will be able to say the same....but I would like to stick around long enough to see the bastards that have ruined this nation get what they deserve....

Meanwhile, as soon as the next sunny and somewhat warm day comes....I plan on taking a ride and smelling the sweet air of what is left of this once great nation....

You can now return to watching "The View", "Dancing with the Nitwits', and American Infidel.....or holding on to the perverted belief that Obama is really a Christian who doesn't hate America.....SUCKERS!

Where is Waldo? {Ohio}

Old Buddy Nick and I finally got in a dual sport ride of length on our own yesterday...the destination was one that I was familiar with, and Nick had been there as well, on several occasions....but not on 200cc Motorcycles via the back roads. 

Harvest has began, the leaves are just starting to change, but not that colorful just yet....however the weather was perfect, not a cloud to speak of, in the blue skies above.  We started out from Nick's place in Montezuma on the south side of Grand Lake at 8:30am, the temps were in the mid 50s, with a bit of haze, by the time we rode back into his garage to down a couple of beers, it was nearly 5pm and temps on the plus side of 80...low humidity and winds make it perfect riding weather.

First we arrived in New Bremen, Ohio, where Nick had worked at Crown Equipment for 38 years, since we left our college days at Athens, Ohio....we stopped at a little restaurant he had frequented in his early years...the breakfast was good, and the prices fantastic...between the tow of us we had the BIG breakfast and coffee, all for less that $5 each...by 9:30 we rolled out of NB and headed east via the back roads of early fall towards Waldo, Ohio....a small town some 100 miles east and slightly south of Celina and on the Marion/Delaware County Borders, about 22 miles north of downtown Columbus:

Waldo is famous for 1 thing{well 2 in my mind, since my ancestors were famous and infamous back in the 1800s}....

First off the Famous Baloney is was the reason, or so we told ourselves, for the trip....G&R Tavern, home of the World Famous Bologna Sandwiches:

G & R Waldo

So we zig-zagged our way down back country {mostly} paved roads....checked out the harvests going on, as the farmers were taking off the beans, and some corn...the weather is allowing for this for the time being.  South of Huntsville, where we stopped to fill up the TW's small 1.6 gallon tanks, I thought I saw a dead cat on the roads....I should have stopped and taken a photo, it turned out to be a Albino with Red tinges

Opossum ....in all my years I had never seen one in person, sadly he didn't survive the trip across the country road...

Being armed with a compass and Ohio Road Map, don't need no stinking GPS{although both our phones are equipped with same} we were not concerned with getting lost....I did however have to use the map one time, I came up on Ohio 347 between Marysville and Delaware, and checked out the map to get us going back east and slightly north towards Waldo...we ended up putting on 115 from my house to get there, about 18 miles longer than a straight shot...that after all is what we wanted, back road miles....

Once to Waldo we hate the usual fare, I had a Baloney with Pepper Jack and Sweet Pickle, Nick ordered the same, he had a side of Onion Rings, me?  I had a side of Deep Fried Mushroom with Horseradish Sauce...we each had a long neck to go with the meal.

We filled up at the BP station on the north side of town and then wandered our way back to the Town Cemetery where many Houseworth ancestors are buried, including my GG Grandma Ursula,  a descendent of the Mayflower Bunch and  who owned large tracks of land in Waldo back in the mid and late 1800s.  Great Great Uncle "Maish" the longest living Civil War Veteran {98+ years} in Marion County is also buried nearby...a couple of photographs and we headed a different course, somewhat more north, back towards Montezuma...about 1/3 way back we stripped off the riding coats, it had become much to warm for those....as we passed Bayview Lodge less than a mile for Nick's the time and temp sign read "81"  A full 35 degrees more than when we had taken off some 8 hours earlier...

A good ride finished, we tossed down a couple Amber Ale Long Necks....


Back Later>>>

Photos-from top to bottom:

Arriving at G&R and ready to eat..{2} A refurbished one room school house near Kettlersville {3} Crossing I-75 on separate overpassed both ways to and from our destinations...{4} Ohio still has several active covered bridges, this one between Indian Lake and Jackson Center we came across quite by accident on the way home..{5} Great Great Grandma Ursula Scribner Houseworth grave stone needs dome cleaning, some mold has grown it....maybe I will do that next trip to Waldo, I usual make 2 visits to town every year, mostly for the G&R fare....{6}  Solomon "Maish" Houseworth's stone....the guy would make book material by himself, he was quite the famous resident of Waldo for a variety of reasons....you can find more about him in the page of my Blog on Houseworth Family History:

Houseworth Family Genealogy

Looking back at the upper Great Lakes Ride 2015

It's been about 5 1/2 weeks since we got back from our Great Lakes Ride on the TWs....since that time Kurt has rode his TW as far north as James Bay in Canada, about 3200 miles round trip in 8 days, making our ride, half that much in the same time frame, seem pretty tame.  Fact of the matter is however, I would rather average 150-175 miles a day and take in the sites and scenery, much more enjoyable, especially if the weather is like it was back in July and early August...since our trip, some rains have returned and the  heat and humidity has been brutal...not something you want as football officiating season begins.

 

 

I though I would put down some of my favorite photos of the trip that may or may not have been posted before....I will probably make one more "Road Trip" before putting the  TW away for the winter....that will be at my old stomping grounds from here to Waldo, Ohio, where the family ancestors lived back in the mid 1800s and some remained until the early 20th Century...Nick and I will likely do that as the leaves change in early October....Waldo is also home to the world famous Baloney Sandwiches at G&R Tavern, which we will surly partake in.

In the meantime, here are some of the Great Lake Photos I enjoyed taking and looking back at:

Riding Northern Wisconsin and Michigan's "Yooper" aka  The U P

Part #8 2015 TW Adventure Riding....Meals at Moab

continued.....


It was a total of 10 days from the time we left Celina, to Auburn, then on to Moab, and despite motels, small cramped cabin, convenience store foods and coffee, we actually ate pretty well, especially after we arrived in Utah.

In addition to some fine bar/restaurants and outdoor seating pubs, we had Mel....the senior member of our party was staying at the north camp and fixed several nice meals....one night we were treated to more steaks that a small army could eat...but we did our best.....

The restaurant fare downtown was a mixed bag...we had some good breakfasts at several locations, ate out of doors at pubs, and a couple indoor meals, the most memorable for me was the supper at the Blu Pig, when my meal was paid for by Mr Iron Butt himself, Twilight Mike....we had never met in person, but we made a bet, to be paid off at Moab, on the Oregon vs Ohio State National Title Game....of course the Buckeyes handled the Ducks and the meal was paid in full at the "Pig"

Moab's Blue Pig

spelled Blu Pig....

In total we ate either at the North Camp or downtown most meals...and the prices were reasonable....I think we used the grill at the KOA only one time, and I believe that was the Friday night before we were to head home.

Other places we stopped that were worth the mention included:

Eddie McStiffs

The first morning we dined at the pricy but great food place called the:

Jailhouse Café

The most reasonable breakfast house we tried was

Pancake Haus   although I am no pancake fan, the eggs and taters were great

If you get to Moab, any of these places get my recommended seal of approval...


The Moab trip would end on Saturday and we would be back in Indiana and home to Ohio by Sunday evening....as you might expect, after a week plus of near perfect weather, it was spitting rain and snow when we pulled into Borneo's Ranch, outside of Auburn....the first volley of a coming wet and cold spring and early summer had come....

Our next big adventure riding would be 1600 miles or so around the Upper Great Lakes...details of that ride coming up next;

back later>>>>

TW200 Adventure Riding 2015...part #7 Moab Solo Ride

continued......

Riding Moab Solo.....

On Thursday of our week in Moab, Utah, most of the KOA Crew decided to stay around town and shop, or hang around the camp...{dang the more I write about this, the more I miss Moab}...well I decided it would be a good day for me, just to kick back and ride solo.  Not having to follow or go to a certain point, or be back at any one point in time.

So I headed out mid morning and rode for about 100 miles in 3 or 4 hours...some of the ground I had covered previous rides, most of it along Kane Creek Canyon, but today I would ride both sides of the creek....nothing to challenging, but a good high above the canyon and over the Colorado River....plenty of photos to snap...by the time I got back in the middle of the afternoon, I was satisfied and ready to down a few beers....and did so with some of the gang at a little restaurant not far north of the KOA...photos from riding alone....got to stop and smell the red dirt and enjoyed the Hell out of it...

 
 

Yamaha TW Adventure Riding...Part #6 Mel's Moab Ride...

continued.....



On Wednesday of our week plus riding Moab our Senior TWer{even older than me} Mel, who fixed many a quality meal at the North Camp, decided to take a ride with the gang up Kane Creek Canyon....after my experience the day before, I was eager to go along, but not ride as far as the day before.  Mel was going part way, and Nick and I decided to go that far with Mel, and then let the rest of the gang finish what Borneo, Fred, and I, had started previous day....

Mel....

We met at the local McDonald's dressed in a variety of costumes and bike colors...  :) 

Borneo checks out Fred's Lid befoe heading out on Mel's Ride>>>>>

As a group we rode along the paved portion of the Kane Creek Road through a couple of small water filled patches...as we neared the portion of the road that would lead us to the summit, Mel decided that was enough for him....and after taking a couple of photos of the group, the dozen plus headed towards the overlook and beyond, while Nick, Mel, and I, retreated to the McDonald's to visit over coffee...

Frankly I can't remember what happened to the rest of the day....I suspect Nick and I retreated to the KOA for a couple beers and a cigar...but damn I forget...another reason I must do a written diary on these trips, so I can transfer them to blog form.

<<<Group Shot of the gang before Mel, me, and Nick headed back into town, and the rest rode for hours and miles...

Mel, as I said, fixed a couple of great meals and more at the North Camp, and we also hit restaurants in the town of Moab....those "Meal Stories" will come up later in the report....

Next Up...."Solo Ride"

back later>>>>

Mel, Left, Admires Fred's "Iron Nuts" at the North Camp.....

2015 Adventure Riding on the TW....Kane Creek Canyon Road...part #5

...continued....

Down Goes Betty:

While I had my second lay down of the week, when my 2014 TW went sliding almost over the gorge{only a 10 or 12 foot drop, but jagged rock it was}...after the bike was righted, mainly by Borneo, we waited for Fred and his "Betty Boop" to come riding back to check on us....after a few minutes, we could hear Betty....and even to the untrained mechanic's ears, something didn't seem right:

Betty it turns out had broken something in her engine and she has lost most of her oil.....and none of us was carrying any extra...."Sheet"...

The original thought was for Fred to borrow Kurt's or my ride and head back into town and get some extra oil....that problem was resolved when a family riding two expensive Quads came into view, and being the friendly and well equipped folks they were, just happen to have extra....

Despite my dislike of crowds....I am glad these fine folks stopped by our sorry trio when they did....

The oil was what was needed for Betty, so we ended out ride to the top and headed back the way we came....much less a problem heading back down the Kane, little less traffic, and no blocking vehicles..

The trip back was much more relaxing...Fred on Betty rode on ahead before she ran out of oil....

Once back into town, Borneo and PRH stopped at one of the indoor/outdoor pubs and grabbed a bite to eat with a couple of locally brewed craft beers....nothing better than a quality beer, after a somewhat stressful ride in perfect weather and conditions....did I mention we would have nearly perfect weather the entire 8 day stay? 

Fred parked near our KOA Cabin, and hooked up with Paul{Zdiver} from Arizona...parking his van at that site, and settling down to work on the wounded "Betty Boop"

I think I decided to  pop open  a couple more craft beer "Longnecks" my riding was done for the day....but once again, just like the day before...I was bruised, but more than happy with what I had done...

Done riding but not done visiting.....we as a KOA group headed for the North Camp to break some bread with the 2 dozen or so of the campers there....

Mel's Ride is Next....

back later>>>>>

Part #4 2015 The Year of the Yamaha TW200 Adventure Rides{photos and story}

.....continued....

After the ride on the Potash and to the top of the "Island in the Sky" I finally figured out I was back in the saddle as far as Motorcycling....41 years after my first bike, this trip the day before was like something I had never done on two wheels...even in the handful of MotoX Races I had participated{poorly but I finished all but one} back in the Mid 1970s, when I was a young Hell raiser in my middle 20s....

The next day, just three of us, Borneo, Me, and Fred the real Hell Raising Old Fart{not as old as me however} from the Nevada/California border town of Verdi, would lead the way....out Kane Creek Canyon road high into the desert mountains above Canyonlands....a couple of "Issues" would see that we did not make it to the top{although those two and a handful of others would the next day}...

Riding into Kane Creek Canyon...

First off{damn me for not getting more photos}, after reaching what I thought was the "summit" of the ride...Fred yells, "Let's Go" and heads off down and around a rocky ledge...which turns out some portions, where vehicles, including trailers and pickup trucks, were traveling the other way...were 6 feet or less wide.  For someone not thrilled about heights, this was a heart pounding BP rising trail, but what the Hell?  I followed along...the most hairy part being a thin ledge where a young guy in a pickup, hauling a haul trailer, was coming the other way...Fred sped by him with no problem, I stopped, Borneo then followed Fred, just inches from the edge of the trailer and inches from the drop off on the right, which, let's say was a few hundred feet down the mountain...I finally said "F_ It" put the TW into gear, and it jumped towards the edge...I hit the front brake, then turned left and told the young man in the truck, "Don't Move that Thing"....and I rode by, not look at the trailer or edge of the earth....I made it and on we went....

The Overlook, I thought this was the end of the ride up....Wrong!

I had promised myself not to do anything like that, given my festering fear of heights...but once done, I was ready to roll onward and upwards....

The next issue was me, riding in the middle of the threesome{being the lest experience rider of the 3}...heading up a patch where I hit red sand, then flat rock, and quickly back to the sand....losing control of my front wheel the bike and rider{me} headed for the next cliff, not as far down{only 10 feet or so} but straight into some nasty looking jagged rocks, if I didn't do something...I did, and pulled the tire and handlebars to the left, the bike slid towards the edge and laid on top of my right knee...the back knobby fat tire and wheel hung over the edge....

Saved Again....

Borneo came up from behind, quickly dismounted and pulled the bike from the edge...as a weight lifter I was impressed with his quick response, and must a bit more than disappointed in my weak response and ability to lift the 300 pound bike...

"Damn Getting Old Sucks"

But Kane Creek Canyon is something else.....

Well Borneo saved my bacon, and while we stood there thinking about our next move, we could hear Fred and his "Betty Boop" coming back looking for us....They found us, but Fred and "Betty" had their own set of problems to deal with....

That part of the story next!

back later>>>>