Texas, Oklahoma (the state that shouldn't be), New Mexico and HIGH in COLORADO.

So excited that Bob was able to send me some pictures!  Here he has a picture of a typical restaurant in New Orleans.  He says the food was pretty good.

 



I forget if I mentioned in the last post, but Bob said the heat is pretty bad and he has invested in a small A/C unit for the van.  Keeps things nice and cool.  Bidding adieu to Louisiana, he was ready to move on.  Next on the list was to hook up with some family.  On the way, his mission was to stop at LOUIE MUELLER BBQ in Taylor, Texas (just east of Austin).  This place is well known and featured in many publications and TV shows including  Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network.  If you know Bob....he WILL brake for some good eats! 

Here's a shot of the inside of the BBQ joint.  Bob said the inside of the building is black charred from the smokers.  The website describes their process for brisket as slow cooked in 50 year-old horizontal brick and steel pits using post oak wood.  The place has some history!  Bob tried the brisket and the sausage and took some for the road.  His next leg was to Colorado.  He headed north into Oklahoma and then west into New Mexico.  Bob's review of Oklahoma is by far the most awesome conversation we have had yet. 

 

Oklahoma sucks.  There are NO decent restaurants.  Why would anyone want to live there?  I burned a tank of gas driving into the head wind.  It's windy all the time and it blew me all over the highway. 

 

Once in New Mexico, he headed north into Colorado.  I found it helps to visualize the route by pulling up a map and checking the towns.  I wanted to paste one in here, but I will be at it all night!  First stop was in Salida, CO.  Awesome little whitewater town along the Arkansas River.  The snow is still melting so there is still lots of good boating.  He also checked out Aspen.  Bob is armed with a trail map for motorcycles and is now backpacking on the bike and leaving the van sit at a central location.  He is spending time in the back country high above civilization or at least until the snow covers the road!  He's seen Independence Pass (12,300 ft elev), east of Aspen and Monarch Pass (11,000 ft elev) which is east of Gunnison, CO and more.

 

 

 

High elevation tent camping is a whole different experience.  Bob checked with the locals regarding what animal encounters could be expected.  There is still lots of snow up there at 11,500 ft elev and he wanted to be prepared.  He drove the bike until the snow covered the road and set up camp.  Turns out there were plenty of wolves hanging out.  Bob could hear them howling.  The high wind was howling too.  By 5am he was ready to pack it in.  He was starting to feel sick and he suspected it was Altitude Sickness.  Not being able to sleep all night with the wind, he decided to bug out of camp and head back down the mountain. 

 

Next, the plan is to head to Pike's Peak and Colorado Springs area.  I did get a text the other day that he is in Manatou, CO at the base of Pike's Peak.  He arrived just in time for the Hill Climb, which was being held this weekend.  Excited to stay and check it out, I'm sure we'll get another update soon.   Can't wait to hear what that was like. 

 

 

 



Large Breasted Hookers, Transvestites and the Smell of Stale Beer.....keeping it sleazy in the BIG EASY!

Bob was in Florida last I heard.  But then I get a text on May 20th that says:  In the big easy.  Should be here for a week.  At least until after the holiday.  Let's see what happens here. 

....Big easy?  I thought at first he meant the spring break hot spot of Panama City as he said he was headed there.  Well, I sure was wrong!....

May 22nd:  Took my first trip down Bourbon Street yesterday on the bike.  Thank God I didn't get off the bike.  It's everything you ever heard and more.  Large breasted hookers, transvestites and the smell of stale beer is the name of the game here.  Jazz bands playing in the courtyards.  Old and run down big time.  I'm going back tomorrow and I'm going to get off the bike if I can find a safe place to park it for afew hours.  Very interesting area all around Bourbon Street.  I also stopped for lunch on the other side of town in a Latin Caribbean place.  Food was great.  A little on the pricey side for lunch:  $42.  Wish me luck.

May 23rd:  Had to buy an air conditioner yesterday.  It's freakin hot down here.  This is the bomb in here now.  I don't know how much further south I'm going but I think it's getting time to head north.  One stop I must make is Mueller's BBQ in Austin, TX.  Voted best in the USA.

I got an email yesterday, June 14th.  Cell service has been spotty at best.  He will be calling me soon with another update.  :)

Malissa

Panhandling in the Panhandle.

Catching up with Bob.  He left the Tennessee just in time to get caught up in the tornado warnings that were hitting the south.  Learning he was heading right for them, he pulled over and waited out the storms at a Walmart just south of Macon, GA.  He said that indeed, the big RV's were parked along with him, so he knew he made the right choice.  There was a lot of flooding down there as well.  He stayed at chez Wally World for 2 days.

Welcome to SuNnY fLoRiDa! 
May 3, 2014:  After 6 straight days of rain....Bob is going stir crazy and watching way too much TV.

May 11, 2014:  Yesterday he went to check out the manatee in Cedar Springs.  He was hoping to get back before he leaves the area to swim with the manatee and kayak the springs.  He will be required to purchase a dive mask and snorkel.  Sounds like a pretty cool experience!  Hope he can score some pics for us!

May 13, 2014:  'Heading out on the airboat today.  Yahoo giddy up cowboy.' 

May 15, 2014:  'Moving on to Panama City in the Panhandle.  What a beautiful ride along the coast line.  I'm in Apalachicola now for dinner then on to Panama City for a few days.  Voted the best beaches in the USA.  Can't wait to get the scooter out and cruise the beaches.  Gotta work on my tan.  I'm kind of golden right now.  Gotta get afew hours with the shirt off.    I don't particularly care for the farmer tan.  Gotta go she just brought out my fried apple pie ala mode!'

W-O-W.  You go Bob!  We look forward to hearing the details and hope for some pics.  Don't forget your sunscreen!!!!  PS....Panama City was a HUGE spring break hotspot in the 90's.  My brother went there when he was in college....you are about 2 months too late for that party!  :)

-Malissa

Heading south again...

Wanted to update that Bob plans on heading to Florida and is bugging out today before the bad storms and tornados are expected to hit the Tennessee area.  He reports that he did run the Dragons Tail a few more times to get it out of his system.

Safe travels, Bob!
Malissa

Pictures from the Southern Rivers Trip.

I promised some pics and wow did I get some good ones!!!  Thanks Mitch Smolow for sharing these with Bob's fans!  I'm not sure who the photographer actually was, but they did a great job!

Bob will have to fill us in on what rivers they were taken on!

A text Bob sent me today:  Out riding again today.  The more riding I do the faster I ride.  I gotta get out of here before I kill myself. 

Check out what he already survived!.......

Southern Rivers, Dragons Tails, Moonshiners trails: Eastern Tennessee

Bob is a having some great adventures down south!  I'm going to try to do his stories justice.   

First off, Bob arrived in the Cherokee National Forest and noticed the following: Wifi is pretty much nonexistant.  He's working off a cell phone with 2 bars at most.  It's very mountainous where he is and he cannot count on an internet connection.  He picked up a few movies from a Red Box only to realize when he wanted to return them, that there were no freakin' Red Boxes anywhere near him!  So he had to drive back to where he got them in Cleveland, TN. I also had to ask about the weather, and the temps are still pretty mild with 70's in the daytime and cool in the evenings. (my bet is he is still cranking the furnace at night!) hahaha

His first camp spot was along the Ocoee River.  He stayed in a campground of the Cherokee National Forest.  Camping cost about $12/day with electric.  In his first leg, he spent about 3 days mountain biking on the trails.  The terrain was mostly steep mountains and no flats.  You were either going up...or going down. 

River Time.  Next up, Bob hooked up with the PA area folks on the annual Southern Rivers trip.  It's pretty hard core and Bob said he took a bit of a beating!  A week of paddling all day long followed by driving to the next river at night, setting up camp and hitting the hay only to wake up and do it all over again.  And these rivers aren't lazy.  In fact, it is very technical whitewater in class IV-V.  He said he is still sore from his week of paddling.  The rivers he hit were the Cheoah, Tellico, Little, Chatuga (sec III) and the Watauga.  I will have some pics to post in the near future.

When the northerners packed up camp and travelled home, Bob decided to head back to the Ocoee area.  This time he found some free camping on a lake.  He is not far from the paid sites he stayed at originally and found that he can bike on over for a shower since the free sites are pretty rustic with only pit toilets.  Now he's ready to get out his motorcycle that he has trailered with him.  This section of the country boasts many awesome routes for cyclists and draws them from all over.  So far, Bob has biked the Tail of the Dragon twice and plans on hitting it again before he leaves the area.  The Tail of the Dragon boasts 318 turns in 11 miles!  Bob says it is amazing!  The cool thing is that professional photographer's snap photos of everyone as you go up and down so we were able to score some action shots!  I was able to find him by description of bike and colors, but confirmed by spotting the PA plate!  :)  Sweet bike, Bob!

Another run Bob is looking forward to before he leaves the area is the Moonshiner (Rte) 28.  100+ miles from Tenn to Georgia which was an actual moonshiners trail!  Read more about it here:  http://www.moonshiner28.com/

Bob would like to be in Florida in another week for a Dual Sport bike ride, but he's not sure at this point, if he will make it down in time.  We will have to wait for the next update to see if he made it!

He has not complained about any issues with the van, however, his motorcycle gave him a run for his money.  Died on him about 20 miles from camp.  He had some nice folks come by and gave him a lift back to his camp after which he packed up and went to rescue the bike...he had hid it in the woods!  He spent about 3 days trying to figure out what was going on and thought the worse...he blew the engine.  Finally, he figured out the carburator was blocked and was able to get it fixed.  For a while, he was thinking he'd have to turn around and head home rather than trailer the now useless bike all over and he relied on the bike to get around without breaking camp.  So after that scare, he's happy to being fully operational once again. 

It was good to talk to Bob and hear his stories!  He will definitely be missed this summer around the campfire!  I'm glad he is planning on keeping up with the phone calls!  Stay tuned for the next update!

-Malissa, keeper of Bob's Blog.

 

Heading south.

Bob's plans so far:  Staying at the Ocoee for a few days then it's off to ride the dragons tail and the smugglers route.  Then I plan on meeting the crew of the southern rivers trip for some paddling. 

Hopefully I'll get some pics of Bob from the southern rivers folks to post.  A few usually get posted on the PA Creekers facebook page.  :)

Enjoy, Bob!  Can't wait to hear more from you soon!  

 Don't forget friends, please sign up for email alerts when I update the blog!  Type your email in the bar above and hit submit.  You will get an email with a few quick verification instructions and when we post an update, you will get an email in your inbox!  And if you see Bob on the road and can forward pics, please contact me and I will post them!  -Malissa