A Little About Us

A Little About Us
INTRODUCTION: First, allow me to introduce the members of this group...I'm Mike riding my 2003 Heritage Softail Springer...my wife Juju is on her 2015 Freewheeler...and Ed and Nancy are on their 2009 Heritage Softail. For the purposes of this trip we are referring to ourselves as H.A.R.P. HARP is a made-up name and it simply stands for Hogs And Retired People...and all that means is that we are members of HOG (Harley Owners Group) and we are...you guessed it...retired! The name came about when seven of us made a trip out west, but just the four of us this time. I've done blogs before, and this one will be for the same reason...to refresh our memories in our "Golden Years" (they say the memory is the second thing to go...and I can't remember what the first thing was). What is different this time is the blog is being shared by THUNDER ROADS PENNSYLVANIA MAGAZINE...Truly, an honor. This journey will be a round trip from, and to our home town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The plan is to travel to the Atlantic coast at Ocean City, Maryland for the "Official" start on U.S. Route 50. We will follow U.S. 50 west for over 3,000 miles to its terminus in Sacramento, California. From Sacramento, we will head a bit further west to the Pacific Ocean before we begin to travel south. California Highway 1 and U.S. Route 101, better known as the Pacific Coast Highway, will be the route for about 500 miles to Santa Monica. At the world famous Santa Monica Pier, we hop on Route 66...The "Mother Road". Travelling about 2,500 miles to the north east, we'll arrive at the end of 66 in Chicago, Illinois. The "Official" end of our journey. From Chicago, it's just another 450 miles and we're back in Pittsburgh. We've made very few lodging reservations, thus eliminating the pressure of trying to get somewhere by some deadline. The whole purpose of this ride to see this country and whatever piques our interest along the way...and we will be looking for that giant ball of yarn! So we invite you to ride along with us. We hope you will find it both entertaining and informative. Please feel free to leave your comments and share this with anyone you feel would have an interest.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Day 8 - August 1, 2015

What a difference a day makes!!!!!

Following last night's disappointment, today made it all worth it.

After the hotel breakfast, we saddled up and headed into town (Since we're in Dodge City, I figure it's time for us to start talking like cowboys).

We rode into the Boot Hill Museum to take in the sights.  Fortunately, we arrived during Dodge City Days.  An annual celebration that extends for 8 days every summer.  The museum itself housed Boot Hill Cemetery, a collection of early plains memorabilia and history of the area.

Today's event at the museum was the largest gunfight show of the year.  Over 50 actors portrayed the events surrounding the Dodge City War.  An actual event that pitted one saloon owner, who was also the Mayor, against Luke Short, owner of the Long Branch Saloon.

The actual war was "Bloodless", but the actors took some liberties and turned the event into a major gun battle for the viewing public.  The show was very entertaining and interactive with the audience.

Miss Kitty and Marshall Dillon
The Long Branch Saloon became popular via the radio and television show "Gunsmoke".  In that version, Miss Kitty was the owner of the saloon and Matt Dillon was the U.S. Marshall.  For all of us, this was a childhood favorite show and it was a real thrill to witness this event.

After the show, we enjoyed walking through the shops on Front Street, the old Main Street of Dodge City.  We stopped for a Sasparilla Float in the ice cream parlor, then strolled through the bank, general store, dry goods store, and barbershop.
Finally, we bellied up to the bar in the Long Branch. We got a beer, took a table and sat to listen to the piano player tickling the ivories for a spell.

Mike and Juju at the Long Branch Saloon

Ed and Nancy at the Long Branch Saloon


After a stop at Dodge City Harley Davidson and dinner at Montana Mike's, we returned to the hotel and took some time to lounge in the pool.  Later, it was time to do some much-needed laundry and pack for an early departure in the morning.

Time to "Git outta Dodge!"
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