Monday, April 20, 2009

Bonus picture! Skid and Slammer in front of the Super 8 in Riverton, WY. For some reason this was on the internal memory of my camera, I had never seen it until now! So, decided to post it here. It was last summer on the way from Lake Topaz to the Aztec Rally. Don, Sandy and I were probably waiting for these two!




This blog will be different in case you saw it before. And the latest pictures will be at the very end. I lost the whole thing, couldn't remember which pics I'd posted before exactly, but this is a stab at most of them. I left some out, some may be different. And, the comments will probably be a little different. This is Thursday morning, April 16, 2009. I passed lots of livestock on the way from the Coast over to the Willamette Valley, it was a beautiful morning ride.



Jamey mentioned the VROC plate on the Wing the other day...yep, it's still here. Oh, and remember you can click on the pics if you want to see more detail.



Met up with SAG (Steve Gunn) at the 7 Feathers Casino Truck stop. He has very pretty new Road Glide. He also has a helmet lock that he's trying out here.



This is a large complex. Truck Stop, Restaurant and large gift shop on the West side, Casino and hotel on the East side of I-5.



Parking lot of North's Chuck Wagon where we had lunch. When I was growing up in Grants Pass, OR, this area was the lower part of our pasture. Things change in 60 some years.



Mount Shasta.



California Palm trees around the Days Inn at Corning, CA. Our stop for the night.



Don (VSP) was waiting for us the next morning here at the Market Club in Sacramento. This is where the farmers bring produce to be distributed and loaded on trucks every day except Sunday. It's hard to find, but one of our favorite places to eat.



Don stuck with his usual..Fried bologna, eggs and white sticky rice. Steve had the Hawaiian Portugese Sausage breakfast with rice, and I had Fatfree Sausage with apples in it and hashbrowns.



This was a huge platter. I'm thinking a minimum of 16 inches long. A young could came in to eat, and they both ordered this pork steak breakfast! They didn't want to be in the picture, but didn't mind me shooting their food



Don messed up his hair, so borrowed my old black loggers hat for this picture with SAG. (he has a different story I'm sure:-)



Same kind of nuclear stacks that had the big accident at 3 Mile Island. These were in operation with any problems for several years, until the EPA shut them down. The wine from the grapes here really pack a punch!



Mule Creek Prison, a medium securite place here in Ione, CA, in the foothills of the Gold Country.



The Castle. Preston's youth Correctional facility, built in 1892. It's a very imposing site on the hill. Don remembers it from his youth...a pretty drastic reformatory. It's out of inmates now, there's someone there that give tours..would be fun someday.



This is the Back side of the Castle. You can't tell much from the photo, but it's up on a pretty high hill. I sort of snuck into this staff lot that you're not suppose to be in, but it looked like a good place to take a picture from.



And this is for my good friend "Preston"



Down town Ione. I was sort of weaving around taking pics. Until I posted this one, I didn't realize there was a policeman parked there watching us.



Another for my friend Preston Clement!



The specialty here is Prime Rib in the restaurant. It's the General Store, tavern, and just about the whole town of Buena Vista, California


Going up the hill toward Pardee Reservoir.



The one lane road over the dam is still the only way to get over there. We'll be riding on it in a few minutes.



Don and Sherm at the overlook.



SAG and VSP are almost over the dam!



There are LOTS of cows, goats and sheep around here. This loading chute was a popular place for the cows to gather.



Happiness is SAG in my rearview mirror! On his new Harley.



This looked good, but no one was hungry.



Texas has their BlueBonnets, and California and Oregon has their Lupine! It grows wild in the fields, and along the road sides. Everywhere we rode this weekend had tons of these pretty blue things out in full bloom.



California Poppys are in bloom too..Must be Spring.



There are a zillion of these beauties around the country side and in peoples flower gardens.



Here's some of each along the road.



A BBQ I spotted close to where Don lives. He said it's not nearly as good as Doc's, so we went there instead.



Steve and I stopped to squirt some bugs off the bikes, Don went on home. We got a little lost in Stockton, took the long way to get here



This is a friend of Don's. The best BBQ in the Delta area!



Doc himself gave us a tour of the cooker. He's quite a showman, and a very nice guy.



Ribs, brisket, pulled pork and the trimmings..It was ALMOST as good as Coopers, in Llano.



Doc came around to make sure we were happy. Everyone that worked there was exceptionally friendly.



Our waiter and one of the cooks. Nice pants!



He's checking a chicken part to see if it's done. This was a large cooker, full of several kinds of meat.



Don's mother Leona. 87 years old and quite a lady! She's showing off her very healthy African Violets. She also grows a LOT of orchids, and other flowers. The grounds around her house are beautiful.



Leona drives her golf cart out through about a mile of traffic to feed the birds in a park every day. She says she hasn't missed it in 11 years!



Don with his large steamer. He was steaming the raw brats before putting them on the grill. The sticky rice is in the cooker, the Jalepeno Backed beans are in the crock pot,the sauerkraut is in the pot warming up, all the other sides are ready too!



Don has 4 BBQs, we had them all going. Steve was in charge of getting the brickets going. He did a fine job.



8 Kinds of sausage..hmmm. There was Morrocan Lamb, spicy Italian, brats (two kinds), 2 kinds of chicken, and I can't remember the others.



Don is warming up the Kraut, Yvonne is slicing the sausages



Yvonne, a wife of one of the Triumph riders, helped in the kitchen. The eating frenzy was something Don does every couple of years for the RATS (Riders Assn. of Triumph) He says this group is just more of an independant group out of Sacramento. SAG and I were honored to attend with this nice group of riders.



Chips, Leona's clam dip, mixed nuts and chocolate made up the hor d' ovueres. And you're right, I don't know how to spell it.



The table after the line went through. Leona made the potato salad, there was cole slaw too. and Yvonne's corn bread, and some bread from the bakery in Riverton, fresh that morning. The other sides were in the kitchen.




Since Steve was a Host, like a gentleman, he ate last. I din't eat, due to a change of glucose medications, I'm being very careful this weekend. I did have my share of sausage. There was a lot left over, Don made sure everyone had some to take home.



Outside for motorcycle talk. A couple of the ladies were on there own bikes. Sure a nice bunch of people.



Don was showing us how well his "new to him" Moto Guzzi fits him. He's been holding himself up with the wall. When he get a little more used to it, he's going to try riding!



The dessert of huge cookies, more chocolate, and fresh strawberries have been consumed, and it's time to visit. Don't Sausage Feed was a huge success!



In the early evening, Don took us out to a berry stand in a large strawberry field. They are fresh picked out very sweet. I'm going to try getting these home in the trunk of the Wing. (They made it home, but the refridgerator in the motel froze them last night)




About 7 PM we had a call from Cat and Jim. They were in Stockton getting gas. They came over and we all went out to dinner.



Dave Wong's Chinese fine dining. Dave was a high school friend of Don's. He's retired now, but the place is run by his son. We got special treatment, Don did all the ordering, and it was all very good.



We shared all five the of entree's. Everyone was happy!



The finger bowl, the fortunes, and the empty plates indicate this meal is finished!



The parking lot. Jim and Cat have to ride over to Vacaville tonight, they will be close to the meeting place (Jelly Belly Factory) in Fairfield tomorrow. It will be 11 PM before they get there. They are young and tough, and only have ridden a little over 400 miles already today!