NAFO4-EOM 2014

Alright, calm down people. Yes I am actually going to do a ride report! And yes I actually did stop and take pictures! It did take a while though. Spanky and I hooked up with El Toro Joe just over the border in Indiana on Wednesday night. we then did 540 or so miles on Thursday, so we could be there for the Rally Rallye on Friday. Our first picture stop was at Antique Archaeology in Le Claire, Iowa. (American Pickers original shop)



Proof we were there:



Interesting faces in there:





Friday morning prepping for the rally:



We saw a few of these for bonuses:





This was Spanky's position at most of the stops. Side stand down, engine running:



This is a rally buster. train as far as you can see to the left:



And train as far as you can see to the right:



And this is what Spanky was doing while we waited:



Pictures from one of the overlooks. Spectacular views:





The first of the "haunted" combo. This was where my GPS went wonky. We were supposed to have skittles for the trolls or the bike wouldn't start. Well, I left the bike running to fool them. well, I guess they decided to mess with the GPS. It cut of the next two stops.



Our only Laura Ingalls wilder stop for the day:





The views from Elk Mound. Another of the haunted stops. Supposedly laughing and screaming is heard up there. The only thing we heard was the wind howling:







Are they the ones laughing and screaming?



We ran into this guy at Elk Mound and we shared the next two stops.(The rest of the haunted ones:





We made it back to the hotel to find our Friday meet and great sponsor was setting up:



And then there was a Steamer sighting! He was a little fuzzy for very good reason!



KJ had told us the story. I'll leave it at that.



And the festivities began:





Hey Paulie! Can your feet reach the ground on that?

Nice RR and pics Bob. It's always great to be able to spend time with you and Janet.

The Rally Ralleye(One of the things that influenced my desire to return to La Crosse) was a blast. I did three states last year and saw things I wanted to return to to spend some more time at. The first was Cody the Buffalo:





Joe rode with us today too:



In case you didn't know, Cody was the buffalo in Dances With Wolves that charged the young indian during the buffalo hunt. they got him to do that with his favorite treat. Oreo Cookies! The original Cody has since passed away. Cody II wasn't there. He was visiting nearby Peterson, MN. We drove through there but didn't see him. We did see this guy:



He saw us too and came over to see what we were doing:



No REALLY! What are you doing?



We Toured the buildings onsite and saw some interesting stuff(ed):



Then it was off to Burr Oak and the LIW museam and park. I did a fly by there last year.





We needed a bigger group!



More to come....

Great stuff so far Bob!

In... FYB!!

Good RR.

I'm jealous.

I am still here. I actually have a lot more photos to share. Work is really taking all the fun out of my life right now. I knew it would be this way. That is why I thoroughly enjoyed that 13 day trip!

Intech said:

I am still here. I actually have a lot more photos to share. Work is really taking all the fun out of my life right now. I knew it would be this way. That is why I thoroughly enjoyed that 13 day trip!

Click to expand...

Isn't always like this?

We work long and hard to pay for a short time on our bikes…

… but the memories make it all worth it!

OK. I am back..I am still at work, but have some down time so I will try to put some more in here.

Had a great time at NAFO, but it was time to move on towards EOM. We headed south along the river and then into Iowa. Our next stop was at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa. This place was really cool. There was a lot of different stuff and a whole lot of classics spanning the history of the motorcycle. The only thing missing was the smells and sounds of that vintage stuff running. Dale at Wheels Through Time has spoiled us! I knew that I would be visiting there again on this trip though.









This one was really interesting:



Then there was Easy Rider...





One of the other neat things about this museum is the connection with Mike Wolfe from American Pickers. There are a lot of bikes that Mike picked in the museum. There was this British phone booth that was picked in London. I remember watching the show when it was delivered to the museum:

Awesome Bob! Mow mow mwhore...

Then it was off to St. Louis. We had the Gateway Arch on our list. Pleased with some of the pictures. After a nerve racking ride across large cobblestones we found a place to park and enjoyed the walk to the arch. The weather couldn't have been better.





Tried to get the best angle on this that took away focus of the construction going on:



The river was really high and moving fast. The river boats were not operating due to the large amount of debris, mostly logs, in the river:



Kind of pleased how this shot came out with the sun:



A view looking towards downtown under the arch:



Then there is what I consider my money shot. I was standing right at the base. The sky couldn't have been more perfect.



Then it was time to get in line for the ride to the top.



The view towards the top after we got out of our five person egg. Didn't get a picture of it, but if you are claustrophobic this isn't for you.



The views from the top were spectacular:













Heading back down to our egg to ride down.



Another base shot with a little different angle. I had to experiment, because the sky was so perfect.



After we came down the river boats were running. Unfortunately our schedule didn't allow for a ride. They had the music cranking on this thing!

Enjoying it!! I like that last shot with the river boat framed in the trees.

More, please....

Nice RR and great pics...