A Redleg's Rides

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 40: Norman Rockwell Museum

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 22:25:32 +0000

The plan was to drive to Stockbridge, MA and tour the Norman Rockwell Museum.

No issues driving along the NY Thruway and then onto the Mass Pike.

We got to the NRM, Norman Rockwell Museum, shortly after opened at 10:00 a.m. after disconnecting The CRV so I could back the motorhome into a bus spot, we went over to the new museum:

Martha and I are fans of Norman Rockwell, so be warned, lots of pictures of his artwork follows:

I believe this is the first cover he did for the Saturday Evening Post:

Boy with Baby. Carriage

He illustrated I believe 323 covers for the Saturday Evening Post over his career, these are the ones that caught my eye:

Hero's Welcome

He showed America's fascination with automobiles:

Speeding Along

Little Spooners or Sunset

Doctor and the Doll

Blank Canvas or Deadline

Package from Home

Willie Gillis in Church

Some soldier is in trouble:

Double Trouble for Willie Gillis

Disabled Veteran

Willie Gillis Generations

Homecoming Marine

The Homecoming

Coming and Going

I like the embarrassment evident in the son's face as he gets "the talk":

The Facts of Life

The Runaway

Family Tree

The last cover....

We then wandered through the rest of the museum which was showcasing mostly his artwork but also some other artists as well. It was also the second day of a special exhibit related to the 250th anniversary of American Independence.

Again, here is the artwork that caught my eye:

Painting the Fence

Yankee Doodle Sketch

The New Tavern Sign

Home from Vacation

Stockbridge Main Street on Christmas

Visiting Hours by

Amos Sewell

Audibon Observing the Passenger Pigeon

The following painting by Rockwell really resonates with me:

Glen Canyon Dam

FDRs famous Four Freedoms speech inspired Norman Rockwell to depict them thus:

Freedom of Worship

Freedom of Speech

Freedom from Fear

Freedom from Want

The Lineman

Veterans of Two Wars

United Nations

The Golden Rule

Refugee Thanksgiving

Outside in the museum's lush grounds, is Norman Rockwell's studio, transplanted from its original location to its present site:

We didn't have a tour appointment of course so we just peeked in one of the windows:

A tour of Stockbridge's main street ended with us finding more of Norman Rockwell's artwork within:

Voyager

The Collector

Shuffleton's Barber Shop

After we picked up the motorhome again, We headed over to the town of Westfield, MA to the Harvest Host location we are overnighting in: Bright Ideas Brewing Co.

Dinner was pizza and beer:

Tomorrow, New Hampshire!

Spring Fling 2026 - Days 38+39: Philly Visit and Touring along Hudson River

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 02:01:46 +0000

Friday, Jun 5

Martha and I drove into Philadelphia to visit with Thing 2 at her apartment near the city's downtown. Thing 2 moved to Philly for work and resumption of nursing school about 3 months ago.

We went to lunch at the large eatery complex known as Reading Station. We went for cajun food but ordered too much food unknowingly! Still it was a good lunch:

We got photo bombed.....

In the morning, we also went to IKEA to get Thing 2 some furniture:

A couple of city views:

It was a very good visit. I had been dreading going into the city but it turned out to be a manageable experience. After dinner with Thing 2 along with 5 friends of her, we parted company and Martha and I returned to Macungie for the night.

Saturday, June 6

We left Mike and Terry's home before 9:00 a.m. and by early afternoon had arrived at a harvest host site. It is the Hudson River House and Distillery in West Park, NY. No hookups, just a gravel parking lot. There are three other rigs here tonight with us.

We disconnected the CRV and headed over to the other side of the Hudson River over the mid-Hudson bridge to visit the FDR Museum and Presidential Library located in Hyde Park, NY.

Pretty good museum and house tour. If you got a few hours, I recommend you check it out.

As usual here are some things that caught my eye in the home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the presidential library he set up.

FDR birthplace, home

Library/Study

Manually powered elevator, FDR could

apparently raise it himself

Boyhood bedroom

Adult bedroom

Fire Extinguisher, you throw it at a fire....

FDR and Eleanor's gravesites.

At the front of the library/ museum

In case you're into genealogy and how Teddy

Roosevelt and FDR were related...

The First Pet:

FDR desk

Hanging out at the visitor center with the Roosevelts

By this time it was late afternoon and too late to take a guided tour of the Vanderbilt to mansion nearby. Also run by the National Park Service it gives you a glimpse into the world of the gilded age.

So we settled with some outside shots of The Mansion:

Italian Garden

The back porch

We hit quite the thunderstorm, with hail, on the way back to the RV. Traffic going eastbound across the Mid-Hudson bridge was at a standstill due to construction on the east end. We looked out, since we were on the westmound traffic and managed to catch the westbound flow as it started moving.

Lots of walking today, almost 8000 steps for me.

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 36: Longwood Gardens

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 20:15:13 +0000

Wednesday, June 04

We went over to Kennett, PA (Mushroom Capital of the World) not to see mushrooms but to visit Longwood Gardens.

It's the largest botanical garden I've ever visited and according to Mike and Terry H. it's second only to the Royal Botanical Garden in England.

Normally, this kind of place isn't my jam. I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

The Bonsai Trees exhibit was the highlight of the place, IMO:

The girls fooling around after watching some Instagram influencer type pose for pics in same spot:

We had a late lunch at the Victory Brewing Co. Then we were driven back to Mike and Terry's place via the most questionable routing possible by Waze app. Good to see that Google maps doesn't have a monopoly on occasional bad routing guides

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 35: A Drive to Lititz, PA

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 01:51:39 +0000

Mike and Terry drove us to the quaint town of Lititz, PA today.

Although located in the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country, we didn't see any of them.

Still, the town itself was pretty nice. Our first stop was the Wilbur chocolate factory. They're offerings were quite delicious but they also a bit pricey so we didn't get a lot of stuff.

We did some meandering of the shops prior to lunch, and then we retired to the Bull Head Pub located along Main Street.

Pretty nice pub and the food was tasty. I had the pork chop sandwich, while Martha had the fish and chips.

Some more meandering after lunch had us checking out the first Pretzel Bakery in the USA, established in 1861.

Inside the bakery there were some displays of historical photos and displays related to the bakery. Near the shop where one can buy pretzels and related items, there was some hard work on display with an Amish theme of sorts:

Today's moto content

Our purchases in hand, we meandered back to Mike's car for the drive back to Macungie.

Not much else to report, no sightings of Amish horse buggys.

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 33+34: Macungie, PA

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 23:30:22 +0000

Sunday, May 31

Driving day. Left at 7:42 AM and had arrived at the home of an Army buddy of mine whom I've known since 1981; at the ROTC Advanced Camp in Fort Bragg, NC.

Mike and his lovely wife Terry have been long time friends since then, I attended his wedding to Terry and I am his first daughter's godfather.

I'm lot docking in their driveway in the town of Macungie. It's near Allentown (yes, of Billy Joel fame).

Monday, Jun 01

Good day today. We went to the nearby town of Bethlehem and Mike and Terry showed me around the Steel Stacks. Rusting remnants of the enormous furnaces and support infrastructure from back in the day when steel was produced there.

Steel that would be included in such projects as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Battleship Missouri of WWII fame.

The place is now an eye-catching backdrop for a small show pavilion, a media center, a future hospital and assorted entertainment venues.

Can you see the small bit of greenery?

Nittany Lion, mascot of Penn State

After the Steel Stacks, we drove into Bethlehem's historic center and had a great lunch at McCarthys Irish Pub:

We rested the rest of the day away. Martha flies in tonight at nearby Allentown and I'll be of course picking her up.

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 30: More Riding and Meeting and a brief stop at the PA Military Museum

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Sun, 31 May 2026 01:30:00 +0000

It was a bit brisk today as I rode Yagi, my TW200, towards Boalsburg to meet up with Steve W. of Scooterinthesticks. Paul R. Met us there with his all black Harley-Davidson 48.

We then rode to the home of Dave B. And he was already astride his cool looking BMW K1000. A K Bike or "flying brick" within the Beemer community, Dave's motorcycle reminded of Jack Riepe's K Bike.

Together we would then spend the morning riding lovely winding county roads through nearby forests. Past farms, large and small we rode, under bright sunshine but cool temps.

We stopped at the Sunset West diner for a late breakfast. Here they are afterwards as we prepped for a bit more riding.

We didn't ride too much longer but it was quite enjoyable! The temperature remained coola and the winds appeared to be gaining strength times.

At the next stop, I said my goodbyes to Paul R. Who would be splitting off to catch a flea market event where he hoped to find interesting old cameras I think.

Steve W. then led Dave and I to a small country store near the highway exit which I had been using to get to my campsite. I said my goodbyes to Dave B at this time.

Before all the above happened, I had stopped at the Pennsylvania Military Museum. I only had a few minutes but got these pics of outside displays:

Spring Fling 2026 - Days 30-31: Riding Scooterinthesticks' Rides

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Sat, 30 May 2026 18:22:13 +0000

Thursday , May 28

A multiple moto experience day!

I spent several hours today riding with Steve W. of Scooterinthesticks fame and one of my inspirations for riding year-round.

Yagi, my TW200, had been giving me trouble lately and I had once again fixated on the starter circuit. It turned out to be ( I hope) a bad battery. Steve W. Guided me to a local battery outlet where I got a replacement for only $60!

Steve W. led the morning riding. I was on his Honda Trail 125 with its unusual gear pattern and clutch-lever-less shifting operation. I got the hang of it pretty quickly though and enjoyed the beautifully bucolic scenery of central Pennsylvania!

We stopped for a break and snack at the Meandering Mallard, a favorite of Steves's :

In the second half of the morning ride, Steve had me switch over to the Himalayan motorcycle. Made by Royal Enfield, it's quite larger than the Honda Trail 125 and my TW200 as well. I liked it a lot, it had good ergonomics, good power but it would not allow me to slide back on the seat to ease my knees. Steve told me that he usually just stands up on the pegs.

I return to the campsite after the morning rides and installed the new battery which had been charged up in Steve's garage while we were riding. Yagi is now consistently starting with no problems, I am really hoping it was just a simple matter of a failing battery and a bad diagnosis on my part. Yagi, will be going out riding tomorrow with Steve and his friend Paul R. Stay tuned.

I drove the CRV back to Steve's house and we went out to dinner at a place called Otto's. We rode Steve's two scooters, the silver Vespa and they cream and brown colored scooter.

2005 Vespa GT4 149cc

The silver Vespa which has been Steve's longest companion in his scooterinthesticks blog:

2006 Vespa GTS 250

249cc

After dinner, I met Steve's lovely wife Kim at their home and had a nice chat. I also met their two Belgian Sheepdogs: Lillehamer (Lilly) and Aiden. Both are beautiful and friendly dogs.

Here's a couple of Aiden:

Here's Lilly:

Photo courtesy of Steve W.

Friday, May 29

20 year Anniversary of when I first swung a leg over a motorcycle, as I started Day 1 of the MSF Basic Rider Course. How'd I spend it? Riding and meeting new friends.

Steve W. And his riding/photographer buddy Paul R. Showed up on their Honda trail 125s at my camp at 9AM as planned.

Steve W. led us at an easy pace to and through the Penn-Roosevelt State Park . It was about 4 miles from my campsite! No RV camping though as I found out later.

We stopped near a picnic shelter by a creek for pics and chatting.

Photo courtesy of Paul R.

Photo courtesy of Steve W.

Paul R. And I

Photo courtesy of Steve W.

No, I haven't gained more weight, just wearing layers under the riding jacket.

More riding ensued through thickly forested roads along with some highways. A planned destination was precluded due to a road closure so we instead rode to a late breakfast at a diner called the Naked Egg.

Good food and conversation was had. Steve and I parted company with Paul after the meal. We then headed to Steve's place to get his dogs fed.

Steve had noticed that the zipper had broken on the front of my riding jacket and he offered me his old riding jacket as a gift. It's in very good condition and it is the very first jacket he ever had years ago when he started riding himself! He said he'd been trying to find a good home for it for a while now.

How could I refuse? The old jacket lasted about 18 years, not bad.

Snazzy, right?

A short ride, this time with me on Steve's Kawasaki W650, a nice motorcycle to a introduce me to a Vietnam veteran friend of his and his wife. Steve would take me via a brief Moto Tour of the Penn State campus.

Howard and his lovely wife Claudine happily greeted us and we sat to chat about several subjects. The main purpose had been to answer questions from Howard about boondocking.

We finished the visit and left again for Steve's place. Here's another pic of me with my new to me riding jacket with working zipper.

I returned to my campsite around 2:30 PM and relaxed the afternoon away. A good day!

20 Years ago....

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Fri, 29 May 2026 10:51:55 +0000

20 years ago to the day ( where did the time go?) I first swung a leg over the seat of a motorcycle on day one of the MSF basic rider course.

I never ridden a motorcycle before that day, and inspired partially by the fact that a couple of my then co-workers rode motorcycles to work, and a false rationalization on my part that it would save me on gas money I decided to try it.

Little did I know the places, the motorcycles, the people and the adventures that I would end up having over the next 20 years!

My first posting on this blog was on August 12th of 2006 so it won't hit the 20-year mark till then.

Since my first motorcycle, a Honda Aero which I quickly outgrew, to a BMW r1150 RT, to 4 Ural sidecars, a Suzuki DL1000 with a sidecar, a BMW R80 classic and finally my Yamaha TW200. You might say there's been a few motorcycles along the way.

From my December 31, 2023 post: I had ridden (roughly) a total of 238,563 miles ridden. That works out to be a bit over 9 times the circumference of the Earth in 17 years and on nine motorcycles. I've only ridden an additional 5424 miles since the end of 2025 and 2026 is not looking that good in terms of a lot more miles on a motorcycle.

Though my riding has tapered off quite sharply in the last few years since 2023, I hope I have another decade of riding in front of me at least.

Thanks for riding along with me. It truly has been the people I have met along the way that I have met and become friends with in the last 20 years that made these years so much better.

Courtesy of Google Gemini and ezgif.com

I will be spending today riding with Steve of scooterinthesticks and his friend Paul R.

This is cool and slighty troubling at the same time, I asked Gemini to generate a short story after searching the blog for reported travel destinations and got this:

The open road has a way of turning a simple journey into a life-long story, and for the author of A Redleg’s Rides, that story spans an impressive map of North America.

It began in the high, thin air of Colorado, where the mountains served as a constant backdrop for two-wheeled exploration, before the tires inevitably wandered toward the rugged landscapes of Utah and the vast, sun-drenched expanses of Arizona. From there, the adventures stretched across the plains and borders of the American West—through New Mexico, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa, all the way to the rugged terrains of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

The journey didn't stop at the mountain passes. The rider navigated the heartland—Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Pennsylvania—finding unique routes and hidden gems along the way. Even the far edges of the continent felt the hum of the engine, with travels extending to Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, and Nevada, and dipping down into the southern heat of Texas and Oklahoma.

Whether it was navigating a Ural through a desert wash, testing mechanical limits, or simply chasing a sunset, A Redleg’s Rides serves as a journal of a life spent in the saddle, proving that for those who choose to ride, the destination is never just a dot on a map—it’s the miles that come between them.

Note: very little editing was needed.

Spring Fling 2026 - Days 28-29: Now in Pennsylvania

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Wed, 27 May 2026 21:27:16 +0000

Tuesday, May 26

Ending a very enjoyable visit with Larry and Jane H., Martha and I drove the CRV to the Richmond International Airport.

Martha flew home for a few days to take care of medical appointments and some chores. She'll be rejoining me on the night of June 01 here in Pennsylvania.

I drove on back to FOB Lee&Lyn and spent the night after prepping the RV for departure in the morning. I was fed dinner and we watched TV.

Wednesday, May 27

I left the FOB around 0715 and by 10 AM had dumped tanks at the Artillery Ridge RV Campground near the Gettysburg Battlefield Park.

I parked the RV with CRV in tow and checked out the visitor center and museum.

The museum was a bit disappointing, colored negatively by lots of middle grade age kids running amuck within the museum. It was also raining most of the way to Gettysburg so touring the battlefield was not in the cards.

The museum is managed by a private foundation, not the Park Service. It cost me $14.75 for just the museum, and truth be told, not worth it.

I left and of course soon after the sun came out. Oh well.

I continued for the 2 hours it would take me to get to the Rothrock State Forest campsite that I had reserved last week. It's dry camping with a picnic table and a site for a tent for $10 a night.

Had a bit of a moment, when positioning the RV for a level spot when I got stuck in mud on the wet grass area that apparently had been saturated over the last few days with rain.

Luckily I managed to get out back on to the gravel path but I did leave some ruts in the grass, hopefully the rangers won't fuss about it.

I'll be here, solo dispersed camping until Sunday. Plans are to meet with Steve of Scooterinthesticks for some riding and some visiting.

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 25 - 27: A Quiet Memorial Day Weekend.

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Mon, 25 May 2026 22:00:38 +0000

Saturday, May 23

Rainy day today, light rain but all day with brief periods of overcast skies. It's supposed to be like this the whole weekend.

Didn't do much of anything, which was nice. Just relaxing with our friends and their Black Labrador: Boomer.

Boomer and Larry H.

Sunday, May 24

Larry H. drove us down to the Yorktown Battlefield Park where we checked out the visitor center.

Yorktown marked basically the end of the American Revolutionary War. It's where British General Cornwallis surrendered to forces under General Washington after a siege of the town of Yorktown.

The usual artifacts of course at the visitor center, but quite minimalist I thought. The focus is on an auto tour to view the defensive line and earthworks used by the British. We chose not to do the tour.

A couple of things that caught my eye:

A 1/4 replica of the British 44 gun Frigate Charon. Apparently, the largest warship during the siege/battle. Hit by French warship cannon balls which had been superheated prior to firing, she collided with another ship then drifted onto shore where she burned to the waterline.

Gun deck:

The Captain's cabin:

The "head", located near the bow of a ship.

The Lafayette Cannon was the other thing of interest to me.

This particular British 12 Pounder had a bit of history involving French Major General the Marquis de Lafayette, a famous military leader and ally of the American army

Note the "divot" on the side of the cannon.

It was part of the defenses of Redoubt #10, one of two remaining redoubts preventing the American besieging forces from completing a second and closer siege line as part of the Yorktown siege.

Heres the official story: LINK

Out side of the visitor center and a short walk towards Yorktown, is the Yorktown Victory Memorial. Built to commemorate the American victory in 1781. More on this monument here: Link

Back at the visitor center:

Then it was time for lunch....and an afternoon of resting at Larry & Janes home

Monday, May 25

Another rainy day today, almost 3 inches just today according to the nearby weather station.

We stayed indoors and watched movies and the rain.

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 24: Chancellorsville Battle Park and now in Williamsburg, VA

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Sat, 23 May 2026 02:24:28 +0000

We left FOB Lee&Lyn this morning and drove the CRV down to Williamsburg, VA to stay over the Memorial Day weekend with friends Larry&Jane. We left the RV in the FOB.

Larry and I served together in the same unit at Fort Bragg and Martha and Jane were nurses together on the same post. Martha had introduced Jane to Larry originally, they eventually married. I met Martha at a party hosted by her, and to which Jane and Larry had been invited. Larry got me an invite to the party you see as he didn't want to be the only guy there. The rest, is history.

On the way down to Williamsburg, we made a short stop to the Chancellorsville Battlefield Park. Another good visitor center and we learned about the bloody battle that took place during the US Civil War.

Casualties were so high that:

The battle was also where one of the South's more famous generals was killed, sadly due to friendly fire.

Stonewall Jackson, mentioned in the previous post, of 1st Manassas fame, was shot accidentally by Southern troops while coming back from a reconnaissance ride in the dark.

Martha standing near the spot where Stonewall Jackson was shot:

Stuff from the visitor center that caught my eye:

Soldiers sewed their corps symbol onto

their kepis

I'd known observation balloons have been used in the Civil War, just not for this battle.

1991, the Army still used wire land lines as General Hooker tried to in the below pic, for communication. Just not for such long distances of course....

To give you an idea of the flow of forces....the area within which lied Chancellorsville was known as the Wilderness, a large obstacle which was as mentioned before a defensive strongpoint for the South.

The south would again hit an unguarded Union army flank position and cause their defeat, again. Chancellorsville is regarded as Robert E. Lee's finest victory.

Lee hoped to continue this success later at a small crossroads town in Pennsylvania called Gettysburg.

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 23: Manassas National Battlefield Park

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Fri, 22 May 2026 01:50:44 +0000

Martha and I drove the CRV over to the city of Manassas to check out the Manassas Battlefield Park.

The site of two US Civil War battles: 1st and 2nd Bull Run or 1st and 2nd Manassas. Why the two names you ask? Well it depends on whose side's naming convention you want to use. The North would use the name of the nearest land mark or river, in this case the nearby Bull Run Creek. If you refer to use the naming convention used by the southern forces, they used the name of the nearest town or railroad junction.

So, why were there two battles here?

The visitor center on Henry Hill (battle site of First Manassas) is small but nicely done. Their lighted map display gives you a very good understanding of the battle flow during the Battle of First Manassas. That along with the film it's worth watching before you venture out onto the actual battlefield sites.

In case you've been both wondering about the difference between smooth bar and rifled artillery:

The hideous price paid in terms of casualties in the Civil War, both sides included since they were all Americans.

At the start of the Civil War units tended to be more individualistic in terms of uniform composition and colors. There would not be a standardization of blue for the north and gray for the South until later on.

Martha and I took the 1.1 mi self-guided loop tour and we checked out the various artillery pieces located in the battlefield area along with informational placards.

Here I am standing in the location used by Union Army's Ricketts Battery, it was the eventual overwhelming of this position by the soldiers of Stonewall Jackson's brigade that led to the union army's rout and defeat.

Union Artillery, Napoleon 12 Pounders:

Taking pictures of the battlefield Ariel failed to give a good idea of how things went. So what you're getting today is pictures of artillery and of the Statue of Stonewall Jackson. I recommend you come to this park if possible to get a good idea of the flow of battle.

The artillery pieces I used to show the location of the firing batteries during the 1st Manassas battle.

Southern artillery positions, and yes, they were also Napoleon 12 pounders. Not exactly a coincidence, since both sides drew from the same stocks prior to hostilities beginning.

Even though the superior number of Union soldiers initially seemed to give the battle to them, the arrival of Stonewall Jackson's brigade and his defense of the way to the Manassas railroad junction led to a union defeat.

The statue faces in the direction the union forces came...

It did not take us very long to do the 1.1 mi loop, and the weather was almost perfect for it. The last 3 days or so have been very hot so today is cloudy conditions were great.

Note: Such was the naivete of folks at the start of the war, some actually came out on the day of battle and pic-nic'ed nearby to watch the only expected battle of the war. It would be four more long and bloody years

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 22: the National US Army Museum and Visiting More Friends

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Thu, 21 May 2026 01:56:35 +0000

We drove the CRV about 2 hours in morning rush traffic to the National US Army Museum in Fort Belvoir, VA.

A very well laid out museum that used basically the snapshot method to try and give the visitor an idea of the 250 year history of the Army and the US.

As usual, here's some of the things that caught my eye:

Today's moto content:

This flag was floor to ceiling. It's filled with rows of soldier figures representing the number of soldiers who served in WWII:

The predecessor to the Army's C Rations: K Rations.

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 18 thru 21: Hot Days at FOB Lee&Lyn nee Marshall

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Wed, 20 May 2026 03:09:39 +0000

Saturday, May 16

Sunny and warm till late afternoon, then rain clouds his the sun but very little rain.

Relaxed with my college ROTC friends while Martha took the opportunity to meet up with Tracy, a friend of hers from work when they were both in the Cherry Creek School district in Colorado.

The local volunteer fire department was having a barbecue ribs fundraiser, so Lee and I headed over there and picked up four orders. The ribs were quite tasty and sorry I did not even think about a picture before wolfing down mine.

Here's a pic of Lee S. and myself taken by Martha:

Sunday, May 17

My honorary niece, Jennifer, daughter of Lee and Lyn S. met us at Molly's Pub in oldtown Warrenton for lunch. Her husband Kevin was with her of course and we had us a nice and tasty lunch courtesy of Lee S. And the great service at Molly's.

I had a Guinness...

After lunch, we drove back to the FOB, now renamed more appropriately to FOB Lee&Lyn.

We visit with Jennifer (whom I've known since she was about 4 years old) And Kevin , catching up on things since I last saw them at their wedding.

Too soon, it was time for the youngsters to head back home.

Jennifer, Martha, Lyn, Lee and Kevin

Monday, May 18

Hot and humid! Lyn and Martha did a grocery run while I stayed at the FOB with Indy, their German Shepherd. Google said was 92°F in Fauquier County, the RV thermometerz read 86 outside and 83 inside, we ran the AC for a bit to "exercise" the 4KW generator.

We did get a visit from a couple of the locals while it was still cool in the morning:

3x zoom (optical)

17.6x zoom (digital)

Tuesday, May 20

Another hot day with a high of 92°F.

The main event was a drive to nearby Warrenton for Martha to have lunch with a friend she'd worked with when we lived in VA back in the mid-90s

In the late afternoon, it rained for a bit which served to cool things down to the low 80s.

Tomorrow, the Army Museum...

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 16&17: FOB Marshall

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Sat, 16 May 2026 03:21:57 +0000

Thursday, May 14

We left the Philpott Dam camping ground a day early and drove 5 hours to Marshall Virginia to FOB Marshall.

FOB: Forward Operations Base.

We are moochdocking with friends of mine from college ROTC who live in Marshall, VA. We will be visiting other people that are in the area as well while we stay here. Hence, the use of the term FOB. The RV will remain on my friend's property and we will use the CRV to do all the visiting in the immediate area.

Google Maps once again had us going down the wrong road to my friend's place. It was a bit hair raising as a matter of fact, winding and narrow country lanes.

Anyways, we got here without any problems except for one incident of a line jumping Schweinehündin at the Sam's club gas station in Roanoke. We are now closer to the overcrowded mess that is the NoVA metro area so I expect the people factor will become much more pronounced and annoying.

Friday, May 15

Easy relaxing day today for the most part.

Did take the TW200 off the front cargo rack after annoyingly not realizing I hadn't switched to fuel reserve before draining the battery down trying to start it.

Sigh, jump started it using the RV chassis battery, got it off the rack, geared up and rode off.

Rode to a nearby nature preserve, perhaps 10 miles round trip. I turned off the engine at a construction zone perhaps 1.5 miles from my friends' home. Yagi chose to not start. First she behaved like the battery was drained. It should have charged up somewhat during the ride I thought.

I briefly tried starting it by popping the clutch, no go.

I called Martha to bring me the jumper cables with the CRV....luckily I decided to try bypassing the starter relay with a battery cable I'd started carrying since the events at Prewitt Reservoir.

Yagi started right up and I called Martha back and told her to disregard. Rode Yagi back to the FOB with no further issues. Annoyingly, I tried stopping/starting her a few times the normal way and it was fine!

I rechecked all the connections and they were clean. I did take apart the starter switch and cleaned the connections within as well. We'll see how she does in the days to come.

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 15: A drive to Martinsville and Philpott Dam

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Fri, 15 May 2026 01:13:51 +0000

We drove the 22 miles or so to the town of Martinsville to run errands and just do some light shopping. We passed through town of Bassett and Martha realized it's the Bassett name associated with a furniture company that's on par with the likes of Lazyboy.

After lunch in town, we drove back to camp with a slight detour to view the Philpott Dam which was built to control flooding for the area. Apparently, a big flood in 1947 was a big motivator.

The dam has a small but nice visitor center.

There's a couple of overlooks near the visitor center for not very close views of the dam itself.

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 14: Philpott Lake COE Camping

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Tue, 12 May 2026 23:08:00 +0000

A relatively short drive today, and except for an annoying detour by Google Maps who routed us through a narrow road neighborhood, it went without incident. Sometimes, Google Maps sucks.

I am rethinking the concept of using COE camping almost exclusively while on the eastern half of the country. Some of the ones we have ended up at were pretty out of the way and whatever savings there was to be had through my veterans discount were negated by the extra gas used to get there.

Also, so far they have been accessed via narrow country roads which though paved have no shoulders and significant drop offs at times which makes for some nerve-racking driving.

Having electric power is really nice on cold nights but not sure the trade off is worth it in the long run.

Anyhoo, we got there safely and after some careful maneuvering got the RV and the CRV inserted into the camping spot I had selected. Let's just say the site looked a lot bigger in the pictures when I made the reservation online.

We will be here till Friday morning and from there head to the home of friends of mine from college in Marshall, VA.

The afternoon was sunny but the plethora of trees kept things rather cool.

Altitude: 1165 Feet

High temp: 73F

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 13: Lot docking in Virginia

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Tue, 12 May 2026 00:21:00 +0000

We crossed into Virginia from Kentucky today, only drove 274 miles, about halfway to a COE at Philpott Lake. From there, after 3 nights at the COE, we'll be staying with friends near Marshall, VA.

This is a one night stay (basically breaking up 500+ mile drive).

We're lot docking at a Harvest Host location, the 3 sites have electriciry and water. We're the only rig here this Monday night.

We sampled their craft Bourbon, pretty good stuff. One is supposed to patronize a Harvest Host's wares so we had some samples and a cocktail. We also procured a bottle of their Smoothbore Bourbon.

The name of the place is Axe Handle Distilling in Pennington Gap, VA.

Being a former artillery guy, I'll admit the picture of a cannon was a factor in my choosing the bourbon above.

It's been years since we've stayed at a Harvest Host, this one was a nice one.

Spring Fling 2026 - Days 11&12: A do nothing day before seeing Mammoth Cave

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Mon, 11 May 2026 01:03:00 +0000

Saturday, May 9

A do nothing day here in Kentucky, just resting up and listening to a book while Martha did likewise along with some stitchery. Weather was sunny and warm.

The campground was over 80% capacity believe.

Sunday, May 10

Happy Mother's Day!

Martha and I drove about an hour or so to the Mammoth Cave National Park. It's claim to fame is that it is the largest cave system in the world at 426 mi of surveyed the caves as of September of 2022.

We only took the self-guided discovery tour which was very short. There are several other tour packages as well for those who want to hike more and see more of the cave formations.

The historic entrance to the cave system, behind the visitor's center:

Veterans Memorial:

It took a couple of minutes to adjust to the lighting in the cave. Some portions were paved, some were packed dirt and required some attention.

End of the line for the self-guided tour:

The saltpeter mining site:

Tomorrow, Virginia!

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 10: Patton Museum at Fort Knox, KY

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Fri, 08 May 2026 23:33:00 +0000

We are not too far from the outskirts of Louisville, KY so we drove the CR-V to see the offerings at the George S Patton Leadership Museum at Fort Knox.

Fort Knox is an active army post but you do not need to clear security to see the museum. You used to have to go through that bureaucracy but now they've made it so that the museum is outside the controlled areas of the post.

I was embarrassed to learn that Fort Knox is no longer the home of the army's armor school. They apparently move that to Fort Benning, GA in 2011!

The post is now home to the army's recruiting command and the ROTC command, hence all the ROTC leadership information and emphasis within the Patton museum. Seeing the ROTC displays confused me at first.

Of course, there were tanks and armored vehicles on display since the primary focus of the museum is Patton. There's no fee for admittance to the museum.

As usual, here's some of the stuff that caught my eye.

Patton was part of the Army first

motorized attack.

During large scale training exercises...

I'd always read about the general's matched pearl handled pistols that he wore with his uniform. Turns out, that's not the case, they were two different pistols and they were ivory handled.

General Patton often said his one true friend was his dog Willie, who accompanied him throughout the fighting in Europe. I found it amusing that, per protocol, Willie "outranked" then Lieutenant General Patton (3 stars) when Willie was issued his ID tag for his collar.

Yep, armored vehicles and tanks were displaced along with small arms from both sides.

Armored Artillery

Lee Medium Tank, used early in the war

Patton's home in the field

Sherman Tank

Some memorabilia:

All the major commands that Patton commanded while in command of the US 3rd Army:

No, the WTF initials in the flag below do not mean what they mean these days. Patton commanded the Western Task Force during Operation Torch, the US invasion of North Africa.

I am sure you heard or read about the incident where Patton lost control and slapped a couple of enlisted men who were suffering from shell shock. The general seemed to always be in some kind of trouble with the brass but the fact that he got results and fought always counted for more as well.

I then learned about the last disciplinary action taken on Patton by then Supreme Commander General Eisenhower:

Not too much later from when he was relieved of command of Third Army, Patton was injured in a traffic accident involving an Army two and a half ton truck and a limousine similar to the one below in which he was riding.

Patton suffered spinal injuries along with other injuries and would end up dying of a aneurysm soon after the accident. There was doubt before his death that he would ever walk again so I guess it's just as well he went out that way.

Outside the museum, there were three tanks on display. I'm only posting the one showing the M60 Patton tank which saw service in the '80s when I was posted to West Germany while on active duty. I saw many of them during my time with the First Armored Division.

After the Patton museum, we drove further into Louisville so that Martha could tour the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs. Parking was a nightmare as there was a horse race going on, so I just dropped her off at the entrance and went off to have lunch at a quiet park while she did her stuff. She will be blogging about it next week.

We return to the campsite with no further issues except occasional examples of idiot drivers on narrow country roads. The weekenders are showing up and I expect all the sites will be full by tomorrow.

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 9: Laurel Branch COE Camping

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Fri, 08 May 2026 00:33:00 +0000

A short drive today, only 242 miles. We got out of Illinois first before tanking up the VRRV and saved .76 cents/gallon for 87 Octane gasoline by buying it in Indiana!

The last 22 miles or so were on a series of narrow two lane county roads, and we got to the campground with no issues except some slight wandering around due to minimal signage.

We're in the Laurel Branch area of the Rough River Recreation Area run by the COE: Corps of Engineers.

Our site isn't waterside but just a very short walk away:

Unlike other COE sites, this is a river, not a reservoir created by a dam managed by the Corps of Engineers. Still, pretty nice so far. It helps that we're in a warming trend finally in the next couple of days should be nice and warm.

While walking around checking out the area I found the Rim Rock trail, The trail header which is located really close to our campsite.

It's just a small loop but I could not find some of it so I ended up returning the same way I went in.

Yep, some shitbird defaced the sign but you get the idea:

Nearby the signs and directly overhead, were some colorful rocks basking in the sun-dappled shade:

We rested the rest of the afternoon away, some tourist destinations planned for tomorrow so stay tuned.

Deployed the gazebo and the RV awning to let them dry out from Tuesday's rain.

Follow up: not a repeat camping area. Sure it's got electricity and water but sites are clustered tightly together with campers within speaking range of each other's sites.

We lucked out in that site to our right vacated the evening we got there and remained empty for weekend.

Dam repairs had water levels down significantly.

Spring Fling 2026 - Days 7&8: Rain and Chores

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Thu, 07 May 2026 01:21:00 +0000

Tuesday, May 5

We spent the day inside the VRRV, it rained on and off most of the day and night. I think the high temperature was 52°F. We did get some camping logistical planning down and we have a plan for campsites and visits with friends for the rest of the month.

Wednesday, May 6

Rains tapered off towards dawn and we finally saw the sun in the late morning. Today we drove the CR-V into the town of Centralia, IL for chores.

Laundry got done, just a small load.

Groceries were procured, just a few items.

A different doorknob was bought at the local Ace Hardware, to make it easier to open the bathroom door in the VRRV. The common style round doorknob was proving hard to turn from the inside and in my case my knuckles would sometimes hit the door trim, painful.

Now it's a push down lever handle on both sides, much more ergonomic. I had to do a little trimming of the existing hole in the door to accommodate the slightly larger mechanism but it worked out.

This was the sunset we got today, our last day here at the Coles Creek COE campground.

Tomorrow, we head into Kentucky!

Follow up: though lakeside spot, boulder lined shore precludes access to water. Sites were somewhat spaced apart but could be better.

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 6: Churchill Museum

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Tue, 05 May 2026 02:08:00 +0000

We are now in Illinois after driving 320 mi from the Kansas City, Mo area.

Along the way we took a slight detour to the small college town of Fulton, MO. British prime minister Winston Churchill made a famous speech here on March 5, 1946, a speech where the phrase: "An Iron Curtain has descended across the continent" effectively marked the startup the Cold War.

Westminster College had invited Churchill to speak there, and when President Truman endorsed the idea, the former prime minister accepted. Truman would accompany Churchill to the event.

The church at Westminster College is the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, a 17th-century London church designed by Sir Christopher Wren. It was dismantled stone-by-stone, shipped across the Atlantic, and reassembled in Fulton, Missouri, to serve as a memorial to Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech.

The museum is located below the church:

Martha and I toured the exhibits which were laid out chronologically ending with the speech event in 1946. The life of Churchill was covered pretty well I thought and I learned a few things that I had not known from my previous readings about him and World War II.

These are the things that caught my eye or that I learned, there was of course a lot more information in history about the quite accomplished life of Winston Churchill!

This is how Churchill became a known public figure:

Sir Winston Churchill was a direct descendant and the grandson of the 7th Duke of Marlborough, John Spencer-Churchill. He was born at the family's ancestral home, Blenheim Palace, in 1874.

Martha got a chance to pose at Sir Winston Churchill's desk:

We also visited the church, which is accessible via a set of winding stairs from the museum:

Info on the church and it's rebirth in Fulton, MO:

I found this graphic interesting, it shows London in 1945 depicting all the bomb damage suffered by the city during the war. If you look for the soul spot of color you can see where the church was located back then.

Outside the church, there are five pieces of the Berlin Wall that were shipped to Fulton for the museum:

After we left Fulton, it was about 2 and 1/2 hours and we crossed into Illinois and I now camping for a couple of days or so at a US Army Corps of Engineers campground near Carlyle, Illinois.

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 5: A Truman Kind of Day

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Sun, 03 May 2026 21:02:00 +0000

President Harry S. Truman, 33rd president of the USA came onto his post with FDR's death during that president's unprecedented 4th term in office.

Kept out of the loop mostly by FDR while the vice-president, Truman had the job of president land on him suddenly and he soldiered through to successfully prove his critics wrong.

Martha and I visited his home in Independence, MO first. Don't find out as we did though, you have to buy the tickets for the tour, which run on a scheduled basis, five blocks away in the visitor center. So, we got our steps in today shall we say.

Anyways, a short 10 block walk later, we joined a tour of a people led by a tour guide from the US Park Service. Sorry, no pics of the inside as they were not permitted and the guide made sure that we kept to the specific carpeted path and touched nothing while inside the house.

Here's some views of the outside:

Across the street from the Truman Home, is the Noland house, which used to house relatives of the Truman family. It is now owned by the National Park service and contain some more exhibits and you could take pictures inside.

Since I know little about Medicare and its history, I was surprised to find out that Truman had worked on its creation but had not gotten it made into law before he left the presidency. President Johnson, who did sign the Medicare legislation issued the first two cards to the Harry and Beth Truman.

A young version of Truman and his future wife:

We then went to lunch at a local burger joint, nothing significant to report of that place, just a place to fill one stomach while waiting for the presidential library to open up at noon.

The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library had its interesting points but it wasn't as impressive to me as the World War I museum had been. It is well laid out and plenty of history to read and view especially if you are a fan of Truman's presidency or his history.

The museum was also hosting a special America 250 Year exhibit, with the basement level of the library showcasing photographs and descriptions of American events throughout its history.

A pretty nice mural depicting themes of the westward migration of Americans

Vehicles owned by Truman, from a horse drawn buggy to automobiles

The president and the first lady are buried on site at the library, in the courtyard.

A replica of the Truman oval office:

The saying that Truman is famous for:

Martha at the current main entrance to the presidential library.

We think this used to be the main entrance to the presidential library before they expanded it.

Artwork showing President Truman's house:

The back of the above heart shaped artwork shows the three main migration routes taken by settlers as they move towards the west coast.

We were quite done with touring by 1:30 PM so we headed back to camp. We leave tomorrow for Illinois, stay tuned.

I did go for about a 15 mi ride with Yagi but the plethora of forest around the area precluded much in the way of scenery. Here are views of the dam that forms Blue Springs Lake.

Oh, and we had a visit from one of the locals at our campsite:

Touring the National WWI and Arabia Steamboat Museums

noreply@blogger.com (redlegsrides) — Sun, 03 May 2026 01:45:00 +0000

Today Martha and I drove the CR-V into Kansas City, Missouri to check out two museums

The first museum was the National World War One Museum. It really was very well done and laid out, and the almost 3 hours we spent there were quite educational and enjoyable. The best part was that it wasn't very crowded either.

Some of the things that caught my eye among the many well curated exhibits:

Today's moto content:

After the main exhibit level, we went to the top level and climbed a few steps after exiting an elevator to the top of the tower you saw in the first few pictures. You can get quite a view of the city:

Then it was time for lunch at the nearby barbecue joint called Jack Stack.

The barbecue was pretty good!

Next it was a very short drive to reposition that car closer to the City Market. The museum that showcases the recovered steamboat Arabia is located there. The Arabia, or the Great White, as it was known was one of many hundreds of steamboats that plied the Missouri River in the early to mid 1800s.

It sank in 15 ft of water after it struck a sunken log. It then quickly sank into the river's quicksand bottom overnight leaving only the smoke stacks showing above water in the morning. Even the stacks would eventually disappear into the river. Fortunately all the passengers were taken off and saved with the exception of one poor mule who was found tied up at the stern of the boat.

The Arabia was forgotten and as the river twisted and turned over the years, the wreck ended up almost a mile from the river over 25 feet under a farmer's cornfield.

More information about the Arabia and museum here: Link

Sadly, the museum will be closing its doors come November of this year as the city will not be renewing their lease for the property.

One of the Arabia's paddle wheels, it spins slowly to demonstrate the mechanism involved to get it moving and rotating.

Samples of the varied pre-civil war cargo carried by the Arabia.

Part of the tree trunk that ripped up the steamboat's bottom and sunk her.

Scale model of the steamboat:

The steamboat's boilers:

I found this map interesting, it was used to illustrate the migration routes in the early to mid 1800s. Of interest to me was how it did not show the future states of Colorado, Wyoming, etc. notice the spelling for Kansas.

The actual stern of the steamboat. You can see the tiller mechanism headed towards the rear of the boat:

Here is the rear or stern of the boat and you can see the rudder which was attached to the tiller mechanism.

Cool Artwork

A pretty good day of museum learning, and only one close call in terms of traffic.

Although sunny, temperatures never reached the mid-60s and so it was cool when the breeze would pick up.