I've been remiss

Hi gang! Uncle Bob here. I've been pretty lame about posting here. Beckie has been keeping it up to date as Internet is available. I fried the power supply to my laptop so all of my draft posts are locked away. I'm using the devine Ms. M's notebook device with its' tiny keyboard so pardon any fat finger errors.

I want to send out some love for some folks. I had taken to referring to the first part of our journey as the "Rolling Reunion." I wanted to use part of our western travels to drop in on some old compadres and we certainly did just that.

A big "thank you" to Dude and Cheryl in Denver for all of their hospitality. Dude has been "The Dude" long before there was a Lebowski. He and I go back to when we were both no - money, no - rank, shit - listed Army soldiers. We had lost track of each other only to discover that we were living in the same Indianapolis neighborhood. The airlines giveth and taketh away, Dude now resides in Denver, still moving aluminum for an airline. We had a grand time visiting him and his wife, Cheryl, out there in the Rockies. Managed to get in some two wheel time, me and Dude on our Harleys, Beckie on her A.C.E.. Some great riding. So, again, thanks Dude and Cheryl and we look forward to hosting you when you get to Indy for the GP.

Another thanks you to my brother, Dave, and his family in Wyoming and Montana. It had been far too long since we had last visited and I really enjoyed visiting with them and getting to see how much the kids, Angela, Mosby, and Shania, had grown. We got to tour Cheyanne, Wyoming a bit and Hardin, Montana as well. So, to Dave and Ruth, and the chillunses too, thank you for having us and showing us such a great time. You need to drag yer asses to Indy some day for a race, too.

The rig has performed about flawlessly, so far. The truck rides well, powers the mountain roads with ease, and the camper, a.k.a. "The Dawghaus'" has proven to be a very comfortable rolling home. All of our preparations for "side of the road" camping have worked as planed. We have remained comfortable during some overnight stops with no hook ups allowing us to camp "free" some nights.

Our visits with friends and family accomplished we are back in tourist mode. The delightful Miss Beckie and I toured the Little Bighorn battle site and National Cemetery. In her posting about this stop she mentions the young, Crow man who was leading a tour group. I was both fascinated and very happy to see that the U.S. Park Service allows and encourages the "other side" of the story. The young man gave a very animated and impassioned description of the battle from the oral histories of the Indian people. I was extremely moved by his performance. Highly recommended that if you plan a visit there that you take the guided tour from the Crow Community College.

Onward we've traveled down old U.S. 212. A relaxed pace, little traffic, and some of the most beautiful vistas America has. We found a small RV park outside of Broadus, Mt. where we set up for a few days of rest and rig maintenance. Offloaded the bikes and got a few miles of two wheeled touring in. Great riding country here with good roads and plenty of wide spots to get off and take in the majesty of the hills. I have often been awestruck by the beauty and grandeur of this region.

Beckie has already posted of our experience at the "Judges Chamber" cafe. I'm usually not too impressed with the term "organic" as I've seen too many times that some unwashed, hippy "wannebe" has a bunch of poor quality produce at outrageous prices. Not the case here. I can safely say that the salad Chef Ginger served was the absolute best plate of greens and herbs I've ever enjoyed. And it seems almost a sin to call the lamb paninni a sandwich. This indeed was fine dining at its best. If you travel up to this region make plans to stop there for an unforgettable meal.

We rode out a pretty severe storm last night. Watching the sky grow dark as the clouds rolled in, I tuned up the weather band receiver on my Electra Glide. We had to dig out our maps to find out where the storm was and where it was going. Well, it was 30 miles west of us and heading right to us with predicted 70 mph winds and golf ball size hail. Decided to yank down the awning and load the bikes onto the trailer. Loading and unloading the trailer is a bit disconcerting at best and downright dangerous if the trailer is wet so we set to it immediately, not knowing what tomorrow would bring weatherwise. We finished strapping everything down and closing up just as the storm hit. Lots of sideways rain and wind but the hailstoned never materialized in our neighborhood. The 'Haus shook some but all in all not as bad as predicted.

Today we head southeast toward Devils Tower, Wyoming. As the theme from Close Encounters stays stuck in our brains we are once again off toward the continuing adventure.

More later.

Bob