Freedom Rings!

My stop on the Minnesota State Line

July 4th - the day we all as Americans celebrate our "independence", and a day we reflect on the freedoms we all enjoy.  Its amazing what you think about on the Harley - riding through the county roads, drifting around corners effortlessly, gazing over the landscape as you crest a hilly knoll.  Taking in the scenes, the aromas of summertime plumage.  Today is July 4th, and as usual, I took in a rather lengthy 450 miles on Melissa yesterday thinking about life, liberty, my own personal pursuit of happiness gone awry.  Spending some time NOT at my desk, but rather just getting away for a day to pause and take stock in the things I enjoy most - my wife, my daughters, family, friends.  This year has been a very testing and trying time for Mary Lou and I, but not without its rewards.  Even as I write, Mary is preparing to finally, we hope, return to work.  Our test has come full circle, we hope, but the time to celebrate is today - when we all must remember to thank those who have given us the freedoms we enjoy.  Who have sacrificed of themselves in some way to serve our country.  The next time you see a soldier, a sailor, an airman - thank THEM for their service, to our nation.  You'll be glad you did.

Found this sign in a little river resort
stop.  Almost think  this belongs
somewhere in Washington DC.

My riding has been, well, not riding.  Lately work has so overtaken my life that I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.  I get up, go to work, come home, work some more, and collapse at 11:30 PM, only to rise at 5:30 AM the next morning and start all over.  That's not a life.  I finally decided to give myself a long weekend this July 4th and took a day to do nothing but ride.  Anywhere really, but this trip I went to Minnesota.  The route was not really meticulously planned, but I knew the area I wanted to ride - along the Mississippi River.  Some of the views this fall will be even better, but the route is very curvy and challenging, something I needed to take my mind off work.  Riding a bigger bike can be challenging anyway, but this route would help me understand weaknesses I have in my riding skills, so that I can work on those.  Fortunately, the only weakness I found was turning around from a wrong turn, but the riding was excellent.  Lots of viewing, some rocky cliffs overlooking the route, hilly peaks and curving cliffs made for an exciting way to spend an afternoon.   Finally after about four hours I ended up feeling a bit hungry and found a place to eat and call home.  Unfortunately I cut my trip short after finding out that I might run into rain on my way home if I had gone a different route, but instead I altered my planned route home and took the OTHER scenic route home - along the east side of the Mississippi.  Again - the views of the Mississippi River Valley are impressive, and even seeing the barge traffic was neat.  Still have to work on my navigation skills, though, as I took a couple more wrong turns, and was forced to turn back.  Note - if anyone is wondering, a great Christmas gift for me would be a navigation unit for my bike!

The GPS monument set by the
County.  The number will help
to locate the correct notes.

I did stop once to locate one site that has a personal interest to me, and the work I do as a land surveyor.  In September 2010, the local newspaper did an article about a survey of the original Iowa-Minnesota border in 1852.   The starting spot for that survey was a 12 inch x 12 inch oak post and was the starting point that crews used to begin the survey of the state boundary line.  Since that time, the original post has long since rotted away and was lost for a lengthy time, but last July, a crew of ten students led by one of the senior surveyors in the state restored the monument with a new one, which is located in a park just north of the town of New Albin, Iowa - a town that sits just south of the Iowa Minnesota border.  I didn't locate the post, but did locate a GPS survey marker in that same park area.  I will most likely return, after contacting that surveyor in hope that I can navigate to the post and write a short story about my findings.

One of the many rocky bluffs foound
along the Mississippi River - this one
in Winona, Minnesota.

Stay safe everyone - and Happy Fourth of July!

Peace and Love!