Empty Bed!

Today was one of the most difficult days of my life. I will not go into details at this time, later in our journey, I will touch upon my thoughts in regards to pets, etc...

This morning, my best friend in the world was curled up in this bed. He awoke with me like he has done every day for many years. He was awaiting the new day. He had no expectations, desires or demands. He simply wanted to be with me without condition! He expected it to be like every other day we have shared for so many years.

This evening, I have an empty bed next to mine and a gaping hole in my heart!

Tim

Ready to Roll!

Sorry for the delay in a new post! It has been a very hectic few weeks. I hope to launch either the 1st or 2ND of June. Today was my last official day of work, I still have a small consultation in the morning, I just can't say no to my customers.

I feel so very fortunate to work in an industry, where my clients become my friends. Many of my Realtor friends are just like family. Many of them, I have known since they first started in the industry, I have seen their families grow and have seen them prosper. While it will be nice to get away from the stress and strain of the work world, I know that as in the past, I will miss by labor, and feel guilty for being away.

Details; for those of you thinking of taking at trip of this magnitude, be forewarned about the number of little details that seem to take for ever. I learned from my Appalachian trail trip, that it can be very difficult to handle things from a great distance. More importantly, it is important to have most things buttoned up, so that loose ends will not distract from the adventure at hand.
Advances in technology do make things easier. Most of my financial obligations can be handled via the Internet, as well as communication. But the most crucial element is the human element.

I would never be able to take a trip like this without the support of my family and friends. A special thanks goes out to my Mother, I cannot list all of the things that she is doing for me. Also to my father, not only is he my direct advocate and legal figurehead, he is the one who insists that I follow my dreams, and tells me not to worry, as he will handle what ever will arise. I am sure that as the "Pangs" of homesickness hit from time to time I will expound upon the love for my support system.

My to-do list for today seemed pretty short, but it is amazing how much time such simple thinks can take. Let it be known that I am a great multi-tasker, but even the best of plans can go haywire at times.

My day started out pretty simple, I had an appointment for over a week to get a new tire installed on my motorcycle. I was there at the appointed time, even early, but as luck would have it one of the techs' did not show up for work, so I was delayed at the dealership for an extra hour to get my new tire. In all actuality the delay was okay, as I spent 2 hours on my cell phone in contact with 2-credit card companies and 2-banks, informing them that I would be traveling extensively for the summer and not to put a hold on my accounts for charges out of the area. It is amazing to me that it took almost 30 Min's with each account to get changes made. I believe in the redundancy, as I have on more than one occasion have had a hold put on a card because I was just a few hundred miles away from home. It is a hassle, but I appreciate the steps taken to protect my accounts. Called my insurance agent and made some coverage changes, a few legal changes, so that if my ass gets killed on the road, my meager finances will go were intended.

I took my dog to the local dog wash and cleaned him up, that was easy, and he enjoyed it. We even cleaned his special areas! I hate to say it, but I will probably miss him more than anything. I had to chase down a couple of Realtors to pick up Radon tests, and the next thing I know it is 5:00pm.

The last big event of the day was writing a check for a speeding ticket I got Monday in Paola, KS. I was and still am completely pissed off! Last Monday I rode down to the farm for the day to do a little mechanical work, and on my way back, I took a little tour of the country side, and visited a few of my favorite places and haunts from when I was a teenager. Just a little trip down memory lane! On the way back to KC I made my way back through Paola, KS, took KC road out the back side of town on a road I have driven thousands of times. I had left town, and kicked back on the seat, put my feet on the high way pegs and was cruising along at a leisurely speed of 45mph. I said to myself, this is exactly what I am looking forward to, seeing the country side, going through small towns and cruising along slow and easy. As I was lost in a feeling of euphoria, I was awakened by a screeching siren in my ear, I looked in my mirror and there was one of Paola's finest behind me.

To make a long story short, I was speeding 46 in a 35 and got a ticket for $170.00. If it were not for the fact that I was leaving shortly, I would raise a little hell and go to court, but such is life!

That is pretty much for now. For a little taste of things to come, on our first day on the road, I plan to ride to Pratt Kansas, (Why Pratt) it is a few miles outside of "Greensburg" I am going to ride around, take a few pics, make a little donation, then head to Mount Sunflower, the highest point in Kansas, if allowed, and weather permitting I will camp on top of mount sunflower, I hope I can handle the altitude. The next day I plan to ride to Cripple Creek, Co, spend the night in town, do a little gambling and the next day ride to the top of "Pikes Peak".

That is all for now.

Vienna

The "Buffet" of Life!

Over the years, I have become an observer of human nature, just a fancy name for a "People" watcher. We are all guilty of it, just some more than others, and some of use tend to look deeper.

Almost everyone I talk to who has ever been to Las Vegas, expresses the enjoyment they get from watching people! Whether it be the foreign tourists snapping pictures in rapid succession, to the Bermuda Short clad, black sock and sandal wearing farmer from the Midwest, with a "fanny pack" that would tire a Clydesdale. To watch people both in and out of their element is a common past time for many of us.

The most interesting people watching comes when people are out of their natural element, or under pressure. That short foreigner snapping pictures like there is no tomorrow, could very well be a very successful, businessman working in a high pressure job in a high rise tower in downtown Tokyo Japan. The Bermuda short wearing farmer, may own thousands of acres of land, and thousands of head of cattle, that feed the worlds population.

If your car is broken down on the busy highway in Las Vegas, that farmer is probably not going to pull over and help you change your tire. But I promise you that if you are on a country lane in Iowa, and he finds you in need of help, he will pull over, help you with your tire, and give you the shirt of his back if he can!

The other day, I was at the "Old Country Buffet", you know the place, or one similar too it. For less than $10.00 you can "Strap on the Feed Bag" and eat to your hearts content. Looking at my waist line, it is quite obvious that I have done that on more than one occasion! Of the hundreds of times, I have been to establishments such as this, I have never seen them run out of food, or even get low on food, granted a certain item may be depleted for a short period of time, but just like magic a few minutes later a new pan of "fried chicken" magically appears!

What amazes me, is with the unending bounty of food at hand, people go berserk. I was there on a Sunday, the post "Church" crowd, the worst time to be there. Little old ladies dressed in their Sunday finest, where watching the line to get in like "Hawks" to make sure know one cut ahead in line! Heaven forbid, the cashier would make a mistake in regards to giving the proper discount, and they were also trying to slip other people onto their "Senior Citizen" discount card!

I stand 6 feet tall, tipping the scales at almost 300lbs. I have had professional athletes step out of my way. In any other situation, these little old ladies would cower away from me like I was the harbinger of Death! Not on this day. Those aluminum canes with 4 little feet on the bottom, wielded by a hunched over 85 year old can be deadly! I am also convinced that those tennis balls on the bottom of walkers contain some type of deadly gas, than can be hurled towards me and render me unconscious, while I lay on the ground, I would then be stomped in my private areas, by "Sensible" leather shoes, that are missing a small hole for the big toe to protrude from!

My last vision of this world, would be me looking up at Knee high stockings, varicose veins and real life "Granny" panties, before I died!

A few days later, these same crazed seniors, would be bringing, Fried Chicken to my funeral, as well as pie, and encouraging everyone to eat as much as they could.

He was such nice young man!

I know this post may seem, odd, but I will expound upon it from time to time.

A taste of things to come!

For those of you whom have read my previous posts, you know that I have not listed, our exact destination, becuase there is not an exact destination. The end of each day will be our destination! In all reality the destination will be returning back home. However the path to that end is where the excitement and adventure lies. In my mind, I have a list of places that I want us to visit on the way to our end destination.

Some of these places will be grand and breathtaking, places that would be in the top 50 places I want to see or do in my lifetime. Some of the others while not as exciting will be part of the fun of getting there.

So in the spirit of things to come, I am going to outline the first 2-3 days of our grand adventure and our "First" destination, of significance, or should I say interest. Not quite in the top 50, but some place I have always wanted to go, and I will bet most of you have never been too!

On a date not yet decide upon, I plan to travel west across Kansas, across the flint hills, and always on the road less traveled. Just 1 mile before leaving the state of Kansas I plan to "Summit" Mount Sunflower, the highest point in the state!!!

Vienna

Getting closer everyday.

Each sunset brings us closer to a new adventure. The myriad of details can be overwhelming at times. Every box that is packed, every change of address, almost brings tears to my eyes. Every email of support tugs at the heart strings, which, say "don't go"!
But without change there is not growth. "Change" in itself defines doing something different, without change, there would not be advancement, or failure. Let us fight the Status Quo!
The start of our journey is very close at hand . Hold on, we are going on a "Grand Adventure"!

Tim

Weather or not!

From time to time, I will take the privilege as being the creator of this blog, to take a completely different tangent from the story at hand to give a personal opinion or insight on a subject that may or may not be apropos to the main direction of this blog.

This entry is about "Weather"! Whether you want to read it or not is up to you, (lol) just had to throw out that "pun" it was just too obvious!

During the course of the journey we will be taking, weather will play a very big part of the atmosphere of our trip. (Sorry, about the secondary pun!)

I would venture to say that with most certainty the condition of our weather is the number, one topic of conversation that we deal with on a day to day basis. Whether it be with our closest confidants, or complete strangers. Weather impacts all of us. On a subliminal level it can also control us!

It is not my intent to make this blog entry political in nature, but I do want to point out what I think is an interesting point of view. Most of us have heard the sage advice about how we must know our history, or we will be doomed to repeat it, or something of that nature! So too, is our need to know about "Weather". However weather is much easier to understand, from a simplistic point of view, most know basic history, but few know the basics of weather.

Many years ago, I had a great interest in weather and thought that I would like to have a career as a weather forecaster, like many things in my life, it was a passing fancy and I moved onto other things. But during that time in my life, I was able to distill a broad picture into a small picture.

In layman's terms, or my point of view:

Weather is nothing more than the earths attempt to maintain a constant temperature of 58 degrees fH. This average temperature has been proven by modern records, as well as by other means of determining weather readings before modern recorded times. That is it in a basic nutshell. For those of you that would question my simplistic explanation, let me put it to you in formal terms.

The earth maintains a relative constant temperature by being in a radiative balance between the incoming short wave solar radiation and the outgoing long wave infrared radiation. Each of these, short wave and long wave, are modulated by clouds, the atmosphere, and the earth's surface such that a balance is achieved. We as humans have no real impact on these basic principles.

Or do we??? Just my opinion!

How will we get there?

My previous trips of significant length have been achieved on bicycle or on foot. This time things will be different, not because of lack of effort, but due to the fact that this trip will take us to some of the most remote areas of the country. As on previous trips I will be totally self contained, as in many cases services and supplies will be difficult to obtain.

My mode of transportation for this adventure will be a motorcycle, a Kawasaki KLR 650. This type of motorcycle is called a dual purpose bike, as it is designed for both travel on the road as well as for travel off the road. I have made a number of special modifications to this motorcycle to accommodate all of the additional gear that I will need as well as the adverse conditions I will encounter.

Go to where?

Many times through out my adult life, I have been given suggestions as to "Where to Go". In my current situation and with the modes of travel at my disposal, I find it difficult to travel to the "Hot" center of the earth, or universe!

So in lieu of that, and the realistic options that I have at hand I plan to travel in a different direction. (A cooler one) As previously stated, my itinerary or time frame is non-existent. I do however have a few goals in mind, whether or not they are achieved is yet to be seen, but I do plan to attempt them. In reference to a recent movie, I do have a "Bucket List".

I think that a swim in an ocean that's temperature does not exceed 34 degrees would be exciting.

While the time of year may not be conducive to observing the phenomenon of solar gasses acting in harmony (or should I say opposition) with the magnetic field of the earth, maybe I will be lucky enough to see what few have seen!

Who knows what may happen!,

Just come along for the ride!

A.K.A "Vienna" What does it mean?

For those of you not in the know, Vienna is a moniker that I used while hiking the Appalachian Trail. I.E. my trail name. Monikers of this type have been used for many years, primarily in the underground world of travel. Hobo's of old used monikers, like "Box Car", "Flat Track" etc. Most Notably in the book and movie, "Into the Wild", Christopher McCandless used the moniker "Alexander Super Tramp".

These monikers are either self proclaimed, earned or given, by others. During adventure travel, most will go by their moniker. Being immersed in an environment on the fringes of society many people want to remain anonymous or simply use a new identity of escape from the world. It also is a point of interest that can be used for striking up conversation with other travellers or non-travelers, what ever the situation may dictate.

Some of my best friends in the world, address me by "Vienna" because they know the story behind the name. I accept that as a compliment as they are aware of the history of the name.

Those who address me by my moniker because they know me by no other name are very special!

How did I get the moniker "Vienna"? Well it has nothing to do with extensive world travel, it simply is due to the fact that while on the trail, or on the road, I love to eat "Vienna" Sausages, they are cheap, full of fat and you can buy a can of "Vienna" Sausages, a package of "Ramen" noodles, and for around a "Dollar" you have a very full filling meal!

How anti clamactical is this post?

Past adventures!

Many of you know of my past escapes and dabbles in long distance adventure travel. My first trip of significance was a 500 mile 10 day bicycle ride from Las Vegas to Phoenix in 1997, to promote "The Elks Drug awareness program", that is when the travel bug bit me and a seed was planted for bigger and better things.

In the year 2000, I set off on a bigger adventure, that started with a 3000 mile bicycle ride from San Diego California to Savannah Georgia. After that it was a 2000 mile Hike up the Appalachian trail!

Since my return I have taken a number of smaller adventures, Hiking the Ozark Highland trail, the Ouachita trail and other smaller venues here in the Midwest. The highlight of which was facing down an irate Black bear in the back country of Oklahoma.

This adventure will take me to even more remote areas of the country and I am sure that my encounter with a protective "Mother" bear will be exclipsed more than once!

The time has come!

The time has come for another adventure! Unlike previous trips, this one is not for a special cause or special reason. The reasons will become apparent as the travel and posts unravel. I, also look forward to discover the exact reasons.

I have a tentative itinerary in mind, however I am keeping the big picture to myself, as it may change at anytime and I do not want to feel obligated to be at a certain place at a certain time. During previous trips there were times that I was rushed, or expectations made that detracted from the adventure at hand.

Set back and find out, WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE!