MyIronHorseJourney

The other day I was drawn to go up to Small’s Falls, which is part of the Sandy river.  It’s a neat little rest area off Route 4 between Farmington, Maine and Rangeley, Maine.  There are a series of waterfalls and trails through the woods.  During the summer many people come to swim and slide down the waterfalls.  Even during the middle of summer the fresh spring fed waters are cold.  I was very surprised to see two girls swimming already!  I like to hike up the main trail and overlook the biggest falls, then cut through the woods and hit the falls that aren’t visited as much.  I love finding a ledge and sit and listen to the falls.  Because I was there during the week and early in the season there wasn’t very many people there, for me made it very nice!  There is a nice picnic area also.  I usually hit this area a couple times throughout the summer, a good stopping point on way to Rangeley.

Small’s Falls is one of the placers I like to go when I need to get away.  It’s such a beautiful place and I love listening to the water over the falls.  The other bonus for me is the woods too.  If you haven’t been there, well worth the visit.

Love and Light to you all!

I have met so many people on this wonderful journey.  I have also reconnected with some also.  The other day I got to meet someone who has been corresponding with me since November 17, 2017.  She saw my blog on a mutual friends page, clicked on it and found that I was traveling on my motorcycle across country.  We made plans to meet each other in March during Daytona Bike Week.  Unfortunately she had to cancel that trip.  About a week ago we set up a time to meet and go riding.  I would say we were both excited to finally meet each other as we both arrived early!  We chatted for a little bit then got on our bikes for a ride.  We rode all over the western part of Maine.  We stopped for lunch and talked all through it.  It was like we were old friends just catching up after awhile away.  Our next meet up will probably be riding over to Laconia for the ladies ride which is on Wednesday of bike week.  These experiences are the wonderful extras that happen, wouldn’t trade them for anything.

Love, Love, Love meeting and riding with new friends!

Love and Light to you all!

Monday I went back up to the Veterans cemetery for the Memorial Day ceremony.  They had the riderless horse which symbolizes the warrior who rides no more.  Having the riderless horse, the service man standing at solute and then taps playing in the distance it was heart wrenching.  The taps rolled over the open areas where all the graves are and just hit me.  With it being a cloudy cold day it added to the surreal feeling.  Two young men that were carrying flags for the ceremony collapsed, not sure if it was nerves or what.  This all added to the heart wrenching feeling I was having.  A wreath was placed for the unknown solders just before the end of the service.  I’m glad I took the time to witness the riderless horse and the whole ceremony.

I want to talk a little more about this serviceman standing in the picture above.  I overheard a lady tell her husband when she came back from taking a picture of him that he wasn’t a statue, it was a real person.  When the services got started the speaker said that he got here at 10:00 am and started standing and will remain standing / soluting until after the services ended.  I left at 1:00pm along with most everyone else and he didn’t move.  Dedication and honor.  Just think or even try to do this, it is extremely hard on the muscles along with the fatigue.  I’m speechless!  The training they do defiantly helps prepare them for this.

Love and Light to you all!

Saturday I went to the Veterans cemetery in Augusta, Maine to help place flags on all the graves of veterans.  Before we started they had a small ceremony, the bagpipes were beautiful.  About the time we got started placing the flags it started to rain, but with many hands the work was done pretty fast.  Some interesting facts that I didn’t know is that Maine has three Veteran cemeteries, they are state owned and run.  Other states have at least one Veterans cemetery which is Federally owned and operated.  The flags here are all done by donation, and it cost about $15,000 to do all the graves.  Next year they will need to replace most of these flags as they are showing a lot of wear from all the use.

After we were done I rode over to the new Veterans cemetery on the other side of town to see if they needed help.  When I got there it was also done.  Here are a few pictures from both locations.

Please take a moment to remember what this day is all about and

honor those that have served for our freedom.

Love and Light to you all!

As I sit on my deck this morning with the sun coming up I think about what is next.  I have a lot going on since I got home.  My youngest son and his wife are going to be buying my house.  So with that comes cleaning out 20+ years of stuff – ugh!  After being on the road and only having what I could carry on my bike, I know I can get rid of a lot of stuff.  Depending on when this can all take place will be the deciding factor on what I do next.  If I can leave Maine in early August, I would like to go over to Niagra Falls, then cut across all the upper states, Montana, Wyoming, Dakota’s, go down through Utah hit the Grand Canyon and winter in Arizona.  If it’s later than that, the. I would leave Maine and work my way over to Arizona for the winter, of course site see all the way there.  Probably hitting a lot of the states I did last year when I started this journey.

Meanwhile, my plan for the summer is to keep blogging and show the wonderful state of Maine.  We have so much beauty here, and so much I haven’t seen.  My plan is to get at least two rides in each week in between cleaning out my house.

Thanks for following!

Love and Light to you all!

The first week back was busy, visiting with a few friends and cleaning my house after my bachelor son lived in my house while I was gone….  Then BAM, I got overwhelmed with exhaustion.  I couldn’t function I was so tired.  By mid morning if I sat down, I was out for two hours!  I would try and get things done here, work on cleaning out my gardens etc. but just couldn’t get motivated.  It was driving me crazy, but I also knew my body was telling me that I just needed to rest.  Once I finally gave in and gave myself a few days I started to feel better.  Even though I took this trip at a leisurely pace, it was still out of the normal.  I was packing and moving everyday, and outside in all the fresh air all day, in all kinds of weather.

Now I need to get back out and get some riding in! 😎

Love and Light to you all!

As I worked my way back to Maine and now I’ve been reflecting on my journey.  Boy, what an experience!  I am very proud of myself for doing it and not backing out knowing that I was going out there by myself.  I know that a couple weeks before I left I was questioning what the heck I was doing.  The first week or so was challenging learning how to find hotels, usually later on the afternoon for that night. Trying to find something and get in before traffic got heavy.  Along with getting dinner, either being able to walk after I was checked in or picking it up before I checked in.  As most of the time I didn’t want to get back on the bike after riding all day.  I hit a lot of cold weather this winter, more than I had anticipated.  Two ice storms while in Texas, they normally have one every five years.  They had three in five weeks, and I hit two of them.  There was a few times while out on the road that I questioned the trip, but I usually got a sign later in the day that gave me the answers.

I drove 17,311 miles, was gone 187 days, hit 29 states, 66 Harley Dealerships and met up with more than a dozen of my friends along the way.  No including all the new friends I have met!

There were so many areas that I enjoyed, and many, many wonderful people along the way.  The Smokey Mountains this far is one of my favorite places, because I felt at home, the energy in the mountains were wonderful, the roads were fantastic and the people were very nice.  I wish they didn’t get snow, or I would probably make that a winter destination.  But I know that I will go back to that area again to visit!  I saw a lot, but there is still so much more to see in this wonderful country we live in.

One thing that I loved was everyone’s reactions when they realized I was traveling alone and on a motorcycle, it was priceless!  The other thing that was fun was when I stopped at the Harley dealerships and chatted with some of the guys, their reactions and wishing it was them doing the trip was also priceless.

I was very blessed to be able to retire at an early age and take this trip of a lifetime.   I know I’ve only touched on a few things, my mind is spinning as I go over the whole trip.

Love and Light to you all!

Day one of being home, I hopped onto my bike and headed to the coast.  I took Route 3 to Belfast.  That was a mistake as they had most of it torn up with grooves, and are getting ready to re-pave it.   The grooves tend to pull the bike all over the road and can be very dangerous.  I met up with a dear friend and we went to one of the local parks.  A nice little place I didn’t know about before today.  We walked the ocean shore, it was so nice to smell the Maine ocean again.  I didn’t get this same smell from anywhere else that I had been on this trip.

After our walk we had a wonderful lunch and caught up with each other’s lives.  I headed back home a different way as I didn’t want to get stuck in all the construction and grooved roads.  I went Route 137 through Freedom and Albion.  It was a beautiful ride through the countryside.   The sun was bright, and everything was starting to turn green.   At the end of the day I had put on 120 miles!  Feels good to be back on familiar roads.

Love and Light to you all!

After the International Female Ride, I drove about an hour to Dover, New Hampshire for the night.  The hotel I stayed in was new, so new my GPS couldn’t find the address.  Because I’m a diamond member for that chain they upgraded me to a large suite.  Very nice way to end my last night on the road.  Tomorrow I will be heading home!

Nothing like a nice hot tub after a long day of riding….  A friend (Helen) rode down to Dover, New Hampshire to ride the last leg of my journey with me.  We had a great time.  Of course just as I was packing my bike up it started to sprinkle.  Shortly after we got going it picked up a little.  It ended up sprinkling on and off all the way home!

One of the rides I was planning on doing once I got back to Maine is the Four Corners of Maine which is Kittery, Lubec, Grafton Notch and Madawaska.  Helen wanted to do this ride also, so we hit Kittery on our way back into Maine.

After the Kittery stop it was straight up Route 1 until Freeport.  At this stop I texted my kids and told them I would be home within the hour, and to have the garage door open and a place for me to park inside.  From here we hopped onto I-295, I was ready to be home!  When I turned into my driveway the garage was open.  When I walked inside the entry it was decorated welcoming me home, but no one was home….  A few minutes later one of my son’s and Daughter-in-Law showed up.  So nice seeing them!

Someone forgot to water my plants….

Love and Light to you all!

Today I went to Heritage Harley Davidson in Concord, New Hampshire.  They were having a meet up for the International Female Ride Day.  The H.O.G. Chapter organized the meet up, a 75 mile ride and then a BBQ afterwards.  As you can see from the picture above we had a good turn out.  One of the ladies in the ride had a Harley Davidson Heritage in the same color as my bike.  It was neat to see what my bike looks like while on the road.  Very visible- just why I like the color! Couldn’t ask for a better day, the weather was great, mid 70’s and sunny.  We got the rain and wind over with during the night before!  After the BBQ, I headed to Dover, New Hampshire.  I’m meeting up with a friend tomorrow!  Most of these pictures are complements of Heritage Harley Davidson!

Ride Safe!

Love and Light to you all!

I had a great time meeting up with old co-workers while I was in Connecticut.  The temperatures are climbing, so I’m headed to Rhode Island.  By the time I got there it was in the high 80’s (no complaints), but very hot to be sitting in traffic.  Everywhere I went I ended up in traffic.  The next day I headed north to get out of all the traffic.  You know it’s a lot of traffic when the GPS is set for scenic and it puts you on highways!   Once I got to Massachusetts I got on Route 12/13, nice country roads.  I drove up to Concord, New Hampshire and went into the dealership to grab poker chips when I saw that they were having a ride for the International Female Ride Day.  I decided to grab a hotel room and do the ride the next day – should be fun!

Love and Light to you all!

I got to Connecticut a day earlier than planned, so I had some time to kill as I’m meeting up with some friends tomorrow.  Today was a beautiful sunny day, so I decided to go to the ocean.  I spend the afternoon at Lighthouse Point Park in Connecticut.  As you will see I also spent the time having fun with my camera again.  I noticed a kite up in a tree, and shoes that I’m sure a parent is upset the the child has no idea where they left them.  At the end of my walk around the park I came upon a bird feeder.  I was first drawn to the squirrels that were there, then the red cardinal flew in.  They have been coming around almost daily – how fun!  It was a nice relaxing day!

Love and Light to you all!

I know I’m getting closer, the roads have been getting bad with a lot of potholes!  Another cold cloudy day riding.  About 5 minutes out on the road this morning it started to rain, then sleet, freezing rain and snow…. What the heck???  The temperatures only hit the mid 40’s, it’s colder than when I left in October.  This has been the strangest winter and spring for weather.  It’s got to warm up – doesn’t it?

I made it to Connecticut today, a day earlier than I had planned.  Probably because it was so cold I didn’t stop and do any sightseeing.  If I stopped I wouldn’t want to get going again!  Plus I have Maine on the brain!

Love and Light to you all!

Well once I decided that it’s time to head home, it was full speed ahead.  Today I left Virginia, hit part of West Virginia, Maryland and ended in Pennsylvania.  The temps were only in the mid 50’s all day.  Once I got to Pennsylvania with all the open farm fields I could see in the distance very black clouds and rain.  I got into my hotel room and looked out the window, it was pouring!  The cows in the field were running to the barn.  Not sure if that was because of the rain or that it was dinner time?  It was fun watching them run, but also stay in formation.

I’ve been following pollen season all the way up from Florida, today I got really stuffed up!  Will need to remember this in the future when coming home.  Will hit the sack early!

Love and Light to you all!

After breakfast I went out to check to see if I needed to wipe my bike down after the rain before I start loading up.  While I was out there I noticed two cars were from Maine.  On my way up to the Star in Roanoke, Virginia I noticed that the access road to the Blue Ridge Parkway is at the bottom of the access road to the Star.  Cool!  I started chatting to a gentleman on the platform just under the star which over looked the city.  He was sightseeing while his wife was in a conference.  They are from the southern part of Maine.  When I left the Star and got down to the access road it was closed – bummer!  I stopped and programmed my GPS and took off.  After driving through town, my GPS took me to another access road for the Blue Ridge.  While on the Blue Ridge there were many, many groups of bicyclist.  I would say I passed at least 10 groups of 15-20 bicyclist in each group.  Towards the end of the Blue Ridge I wanted to pull over to see if I could find a hotel for the night.  That all depends if I can get a signal!  The lookout that I stopped at had a group of bicyclist getting ready to take off.  A gentleman commented on the color of my bike and we got chatting.  He grew up in Brunswick, Maine and knows a couple people from where I worked.  He said that by the time they got done riding that day he would have about 95 miles on – wow! After all the heavy rain there was a lot of debris on the roads, I had to watch for falling rocks and branches in the roads.

When I got checked into the hotel, I was watching the news and found out that I was staying in Augusta county in Virginia.  Wow, that’s 4 connections to Maine in one day.  I would say my message is start heading home!

Love and Light to you all!