Going to Kansas City

On a cold and windy April morning my wife, Kathy, and I left home for our first extended road trip in four years. Way back in 2018 we had taken a trip to Detroit, but since then we have been homebound due to family issues and, of course, the pandemic. But all of that was behind us and we planned to leave the 30-degree weather behind us too.

The day was typical of the type of spring we had experienced Wisconsin. The normal temperature for late April is around sixty, but it was a rare day that was that warm. As we drove toward Madison, I kept an eye on the car's outside temperature gauge to note any improvement.

There had been none when we stopped for a morning snack at a place called Icki Sticki. It is right on US Highway 151 in Verona, a little town southwest of Madison. There were only a few mid-morning customers, and we were able to quickly order a breakfast sandwich for Kathy and oatmeal for me along with two coffees. It was a perfect first stop to get our road trip started. 

A good breakfast stop in Verona

Our destination was Des Moines, IA, but when my wife, the navigato,r noticed that we would be passing within a few miles of Galena, IL, we took a detour. Galena is an old mining town just across the Illinois border from both Iowa and Wisconsin. It is picturesque and the main street has been turned into a haven for little shops and restaurants. For history buffs, the town boasts of being the birthplace of Civil War general and United States President Ulysses S. Grant.

We did not have any plans to see the sights in Des Moines, but we did take a ride through the excellent Iowa State Fairgrounds. I had been there for the BMW National Motorcycle Rally in 2018 and was so impressed I wanted Kathy to see it. Our Wisconsin State Fair site in Milwaukee does not compare well to Iowa's. 

Our first stop the next morning was St. Joseph, Missouri, home of the Pony Express Museum. The city is very proud of its Pony Express connection, with restaurants and motels trading on the name. The history of the Pony Express is short but fascinating. The men who negotiated the contracts with the government and then built the infrastructure to support the Pony Express are interesting characters in and of themselves. Lasting only 18 months, from April, 1860 to October, 1861, the stories of the riders are well-documented in the museum. Ranging in age from 11 to 45, they experienced all types of weather and even attacks by Indians. The implementation of the telegraph system spelled the end of the Pony Express. This museum is not all that well-known, but is a good stop for people interested in the settlement of the American West. 

Looks easy for this rider

We got back on the road and went across the Missouri River to Kansas in order to reach our next stop. In 1995 I was at Fort Leavenworth for a couple of weeks, attending an Army officer school. The post has a rich history and I have always wanted to go back and soak it in. It was late afternoon when we arrived, and there was a lot of traffic as workers were heading off post and home. The building we were housed in is now a hotel managed by IHG. The front desk had a helpful map of the more interesting sites on the post and an audio component to support it. As we drove and walked around, a lot of memories came back. We took and few pictures, stopped at the Post Exchange, and then continued south to Kansas City. 

A great day to be a soldier

I was a little apprehensive about driving into Kansas City in the late afternoon, but there was not much traffic. As usual, I made one wrong turn when I got into town, but it was an easy fix. Our hotel was downtown, and after a few nervous moments we found that we were in a great location. The young lady at the front desk had some good restaurant recommendations, and after a little rest we went out for dinner. 

We ate at a place called the Yard House and enjoyed some good burgers. The best part of the evening was discovering the electric trolley running up and down Main Street. It is a free service and stops at all of the main attractions. We used it a few times during our visit. 

The next morning, we visited the National World War I Museum and Memorial. Built in 1926, Congress did not designate it as an official United States facility until 2004. We spent several hours there and learned a lot about the war and our country's role in it. The Memorial Tower was closed due to rain when we arrived but had opened by the time we were ready to leave. This museum is not to be missed by those interested in our country's history. In light of recent events, it is an even more interesting stop.

Atop the WWI Memorial Tower

Any visitor to Kansas City knows that the city is known for two things: barbecue and jazz music. We had worked up an appetite at the museum and after retrieving our Camry we were on our way to the iconic Arthur Bryant's Barbecue. This is one of those places with pictures on the walls marking visits from presidents and celebrities. Food is served cafeteria style and portions are generous. Kathy chose a pulled pork sandwich, and I went with the classic brisket version. Both were delicious. 

Kansas City's Iconic Barbecue Restaurant

As a longtime baseball fan, our next stop was the Negro Baseball League Museum. While a lot of the focus regarding Black baseball players is on Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, and the other players who integrated the Major Leagues, the history of the Negro Leagues is quite interesting. This museum highlights the players and people behind the scenes who made these leagues popular. The games were often as well attended as the games played by White players and the brand of baseball was at least as good if not better. The museum contains many items of memorabilia and videos that bring the stories to life. 

Negro Baseball League and American Jazz Museum

The American Jazz Museum is in the same building as the Negro League Museum, and we went there next. Kansas City has a rich jazz history and the museum plays that up well. Eighteenth Street and Vine was the center of the jazz scene in the twentieth century, and that is right where the museum is located. There are a lot of hands-on activities and samples of the music produced by all of the jazz greats. The Blue Room is also part of the museum and hosts jazz music. It is a quiet little bar and we stayed around for the Friday evening show. The musicians and vocalist were excellent and it topped off a wonderful day of museum hopping.

Harry Truman Presidential Library and Museum

We had one more day in Kansas City area and we spent it east of the city in Independence. Most of you can guess what brought us to Independence, the home of our 33rd President, Harry S. Truman. The Truman Library and Museum was dedicated in 1957 and was the first presidential library opened under the 1955 Presidential Libraries Act. The library itself is undergoing a renovation, but the museum was open. It is, as you would imagine, an extremely detailed and footnoted examination of the life of Truman. For me the most interesting part was that describing his first months as president and his actions at the end of the Second World War. Following Franklin Roosevelt in any circumstances would have been challenging, but to follow him as a wartime president was intimidating. How well Truman handled his responsibilities can be argued, but the facts are laid out for all to see in his museum. 

The next day we began our journey home. We took the long way, which included a stop in Northfield, MN, to visit family. From there we drove into Red Wing, as I wanted to get some Red Wing shoes. The sales lady was very helpful and I walked out with some new chukka boots. 

Red Wing Factory Store

The big boot inside the store is a photo op that cannot be passed up. 

The weather had not changed much since we left a few days earlier, so we did not stop much as we rode through Wisconsin's Driftless Region. We saw a lot of well kept small farms, neat little towns and villages, and lots of Amish people. Kathy has always wanted to take the Merrimac Ferry across the Wisconsin River, so we took that opportunity before going home.

Wisconsin River Ferry

After a four-year travel hiatus, this was an excellent vacation and entry back into the travel life. Driving home on the four-lane home, we reveled in the freedom we felt over the past few days and began to make tentative plans for our next adventure. 

Canadian Dreaming

Today I woke up to a snow-covered world. The rain falling yesterday afternoon and evening turned to snow in the wee hours and continued into the morning. The temperatures, in the mid-thirties, caused most of it to melt as the day wore on. As one anxious for weather conducive to outside activities, this was a setback.

The time inside gave me the opportunity to plan for spring weather as it will arrive eventually. Lately I have been thinking about my fishing trip to Canada in May. After several years of annual trips, the pandemic has prevented me from going since 2019. At this point it appears that the border will be open. It will be a matter of making sure I have whatever proof of vaccination and testing is required at the border and having all of it with me.

Yesterday I ordered a new fishing rod from St. Croix Rods in Park Falls, WI. They are available in the local sporting goods shops, but I may not have been able to find exactly what I wanted. In addition, I watched a video of someone who ordered from the factory and his excitement over getting it straight from Park Falls made me want to order it. I called to make sure they had it in stock and Peter, the phone representative, said it would ship in one week. I am going to use it primarily for walleye fishing. Now I am searching for the right reel for it. As with everything else, there are a lot of choices. 

In order to fish in Ontario, I will need an Outdoors Card and a license. The Outdoors Card allows the bearer to purchase fishing and hunting licenses. The card is good for a three-year period. I bought one in early 2020, before the pandemic shut down the border, so mine is good until 2023. My fishing trip will be for eight days, so I will purchase the eight-day license. 

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry offers two types of fishing licenses, conservation and sportsman. These vary in cost and the number of fish you can have in your possession. I fish for walleye, northern pike and lake trout. If one purchases a sportsman license, the more expensive of the two, he or she can have four walleye, four northern pike and two lake trout at any one time. A conservation license allows half of each of those amounts. No one can eat that many fish in one day, so the limits really only affect how many fish you can bring home. I will get the conservation license and that will be plenty of fish for me. 

The final two things to check today were my passport and Canadian cash. My passport is good until 2027, so there are no worries there. I have $55 Canadian left over from 2019, so I will go to Associated Bank in May and exchange enough American dollars to get another $150 Canadian. I don't like to be up there with no Canadian cash. 

As I look at the snow and hear the wind blowing, I am happy that this year I have the trip to the wilds of Ontario, Canada to look forward to. 

Nice Canadian Walleye

Another Year of Chaos?

 At the close of 2020 I thought that I would never experience another year of such confusion and calamity. Over the next twelve months of 2021, not all that much changed. The Covid vaccinations became available and tentative steps were taken to resume a life somewhat similar to the one I knew in 2019. Then the omicron variant appeared in Africa and within days was in the United States. I was back in the throes of the pandemic once again and it continued into the new year. I had high hopes that 2022 would be the year that the country, and the world, would recover from the confusion and calamity of the last two years.

2022 began well as far as the pandemic was concerned. Case numbers and infections dropped steadily in January and February. There was no new and scary variant popping up anywhere in the world. Schools were open and by early March I was feeling safe enough to visit restaurants and bars without a mask. The winter had been a gentle one and I was looking forward to an early spring.

But events in Asia changed all of my hard-earned optimism. Vladimir Putin, the former KGB operative and current Russian president, invaded a sovereign country. His m invasion and destruction of the Ukraine threw the entire world into a tailspin replete with nightmare images of a possible Third World War. All of the efforts over the past thirty years to build peaceful relationships among North American, European and Asian nations were destroyed in a matter of days. As a nation, we are now left to decide how to react to Russian aggression reminiscent of its actions in the years following the Second World War.

How this will end is difficult to determine. The Russian people are being told lies about the war. They do not have the ability to vote Putin out of office or control his actions in any way. Many of the writers and media people have left the country, fearing even greater crackdowns on their freedom of expression. The oligarchs have money, but no power. In Russia, money does not equal power as it does in the United States. We are left to impose sanctions on Russia and help the Ukrainians with everything we can short of providing American fighters. Our country and NATO have presented a united front which has isolated Russia from much of the world. Prayers and money do not seem to be enough, but for many of us it is all we can offer to the brave Ukrainian people. 

The warm spring weather I had anticipated has not arrived, although there were a couple of warm days last week. The temperatures show no sign of improving in the next week.  I have gotten out for a couple of rides on my BMW R1250 GSA and my bicycle has seen some action. It is not the start to 2022 I had hoped for, but it is still early. One bright spot is that my church choir will be performing at the Easter Vigil Mass. This welcome turn of events is a good reason to get out my Takamine acoustic electric guitar and practice on these cold and wet March days. 

The calendar will turn to April soon, and the celebration of Easter is not far off. Perhaps this is the month that we as a nation can cast off the gloom of the past two years and walk into a bright future of peace and good health. 

"Stairway to Heaven" Reaches a Milestone Birthday.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin's magnum opus, "Stairway to Heaven". The song, which is nearly ten minutes long, is considered one of the greatest rock songs of all time. Composed in late 1970 by band members Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, it was released on the album Led Zeppelin IV in November 1971. 

The song contains a variety of guitar parts and techniques. The first part, soft sounding arpeggiated chords, is played finger style on an acoustic guitar. These chords are played throughout the song when the verses are sung and are the most recognizable sounds for most people. The remaining parts are played on electric guitars, both six string and twelve string. Jimmy Page would usually use a double necked guitar when playing the song live so he did not have to switch guitars in the middle. As the song progresses, it becomes more of a hard rock tune. Page's guitar playing and Plant's singing become more and more rock, or even metal sounding, as they drive the song through the thought-provoking lyrics.

The verse chords are not that uncommon, but later in the song Page employs variations of these more familiar chords. For someone still learning to play the guitar, like me, this is a great song to spend time on. The chord shapes for the verses are pretty simple although playing bar chords is always good practice. Playing arpeggiated chords is always a challenge for me, but when this song is played well the sound is magical. Learning the chord variations and where they go in the song is a great way to practice moving my left hand around on the fretboard.

The solo, considered by many to be the best rock solo ever, is beyond my skill level. It is still fun to just play the chords while Jimmy is wailing away. One interesting tidbit about the solo is that Page has said that he played is using a Fender Telecaster. He is usually identified as a Gibson Les Paul played so it is interesting that he used a Fender on one of Led Zeppelin's most iconic songs. 

When I began learning to play guitar, my teacher showed me the opening chords to this song pretty early in my lessons. So, I have known the shapes for a long time. Every once in a while, I will get the urge to try and get a little better at playing this masterpiece of rock music. The fact that I pulled it out again so close to the 50th anniversary of its release seems to have a little bit of karma to it. 

Covid Deadly for the Elderly

The New York Times reported yesterday that 1 in 100 Americans over the age of 65 has died from Covid 19 or its variants since the pandemic began early last year. For all other age groups, the ratio is in 1 in 1400. The Times also reported that 75 percent of the Covid 19 deaths in the United States have been people over the age of 65. 

As a person over 65, I found these statistics pretty alarming. Although I have done a lot of reading about the virus since it began infecting Americans almost two years ago, I was not conscience of just how much more deadly the virus has been for the elderly. It's important to note that the vast majority of the people over 65 who died from the virus were unvaccinated. That would include those who died prior to the vaccine being available and since that time. The elderly population continues to have the highest vaccination rate.

I have had all three of the shots available, but still wear a mask in certain situations. There is always at least one in my pocket so if I am in a place that goes from feeling safe to unsafe, I can quickly put one on. Sometimes it is a store or restaurant becoming more crowded or encountering someone who is coughing or sneezing. At the YMCA someone doing a lot of heavy breathing causes me to mask up. 

A couple of weeks ago I was eating with a group of co-workers, some of whom I did not know well. After the meal I had not put my mask back on. During the conversation the woman next to me was telling how she suffered some type of sprain during a fall. When someone asked if she saw a physician, she replied that she does not go to the doctor. This was enough for me know to immediately put my mask on. 

It is frustrating to feel this way after being fully vaccinated, but the New York Times article reinforced my belief that it is still better to wear a mask when out in a group of people I don't know. I am confident that the vaccine works to level the experts say it does, but even they admit that it is not perfect. I am not going to take any unnecessary risks that could land me in the breakthrough case category, or worse, be one of the 1 in 100 people over 65 who have died from the virus already.

The Weather Gods are Messing with Us

The calendar says December, but the weather forecast says something else. Northeast Wisconsin is nearing mid-December and the ground is barely frozen. There is a thin sheet of ice on the Fox River, which developed during the last 48 hours when the temperatures dropped to a little below normal. But even this brief cold snap did not drop temperatures to the bitter cold level. The forecast for next week indicates that we will experience temperatures in the high forties.

For many people, particularly those who do not participate in any outdoor winter activities, this type of weather is welcome. There is no snow to remove from driveways and sidewalks, parking lots are not so icy, and the chances of getting in a car accident due to poor winter driving conditions are much less. But for those of us who enjoy getting out in the winter, this is a disappointing start to the season.

After putting away my motorcycle and road bicycle for the winter I was hoping to be able to get my Trek Farley 5 fat bike out on the snow bike trails before Christmas. The trails need a good base of snow to be packed down by the groomers before they are ridable. We have gotten a few inches of snow, but not nearly enough to open up the local trails. 

A more important issue is what this type of weather will do to the local environment. The flora and fauna in this area thrive on normal winters, with a hard frost in the ground and a thick sheet of ice on the water. In their absence, the water levels fluctuate more than normal, and plants suffer in a variety of ways. Especially problematic for plants is a warm spell in January or February that "tricks" the plants into budding. A subsequent drop in temperatures can have a traumatic effect on the new buds. In addition, a hard frost kills off the bugs and insects that become a nuisance in the summer. 

With apologies to those who are reveling in anticipation of forty-degree days in December, I for one am looking forward to some big snow and some normal December temperatures.

Incoming: Electric Cars and Trucks

If you have read this blog for any amount of time you know that my first purpose in writing is to describe my motorcycling experiences. The thrill of riding and seeing things from the back of a bike never gets old for me. But two wheeled machines do not represent the limit of my interest in motorized transportation. While I did not grow up in a motorhead family nor develop an interest in cars at a young age, it did not take long for my interest to grow once I learned to drive.

The first car I owned was a 1972 Pontiac Le Mans. My dad had to co-sign on the loan, but it was my very own car and represented freedom. Within a month of owning it, I was on my way to New York City for my sister's wedding. At the age of nineteen I drove that shiny copper colored car through Chicago, the mountains of western Pennsylvania, the wilds of New Jersey and into the Big Apple. 

Over the next fifty years I have owned many cars and a few trucks. They have all been gas powered internal combustion engines. No diesels made it into my garage, and I have not ventured into the electric car market. But it appears that, if I live long enough, that may have to change.

Two of the big American manufacturers, Ford and General Motors, are investing heavily in car battery research. These companies have been around for over a century, and they know their business. They would not be spending the sums that they are if they did not see electric cars as the future of personal transportation. 

I have the opportunity to be around people who have been interested in cars their whole lives. Some have made living dealing with all things automotive and for some it has been a hobby. For the vast majority internal combustion engines, gas or diesel, have been the only engines they have encountered. It is understandable that they have a fondness for them, but I am puzzled when some discount the approach of electric vehicles. I have heard the phrase "smoke and mirrors" used to describe battery-powered cars as if there is no science behind the technology at all. 

It may be that the buggy whip manufacturers thought the same thing about horseless carriages. The difference now is that we all have access to the latest scientific information regarding electric car battery technology through the internet. In battery technology, as well as other aspects of 21st century life in America, science is often scoffed at or ignored. My money is on the car companies and their investors to know what the automotive future holds for all of us.