Kane PA | The Beauty Around Us

A Field of Sunflowers

This past Saturday we rode by a field of sunflowers. Neither Bob nor I had ever seen a field of sunflowers. We both remarked on the beauty of the sunflowers. We didn’t stop, as we were riding with two other couples. Our friends wouldn’t have minded if we would have stopped. We had been out and about for 11 hours, though, by the time we saw the field of sunflowers. All of us wanted to get back home.

This afternoon Bob and I drove to the field of sunflowers.

I picked this one sunflower out of the field of sunflowers to showcase.

Bob and I looked at Google Maps Street View and saw that this field of sunflowers was a field of corn in July 2011.

An Afternoon Spent with Tom and Heather

We have two families – the families that we were born into and our Vulcan Riders and Owners Club (VROC) family. We have strong ties to both families. We spent yesterday afternoon with Tom and Heather, two members of our VROC family, whom we met briefly at the Wolfman’s Wandering Rally in June 2009.

Tom and Heather at Wolfman’s Wandering Rally 2009

Tom was looking at me, as I took this picture. Heather is sitting beside Tom, behind her mother. Although we had not seen either Heather or Tom since June 2009, we kept in touch via blogging and Facebook.On June 18 I received a Facebook message from Tom. He and Heather were planning a short camping trip to Evangola State Park, which is located along the shores of Lake Erie in New York between the cities of Dunkirk and Buffalo. Tom expressed an interest in riding through the Allegheny National Forest on Saturday and asked if I had any tips as to what is a must-see while around that area. I replied to Tom’s message the next day, providing him a list of places to see while in the Allegheny National Forest. I told Tom that Bob and I would be happy to ride with Heather and him, if they wanted to meet up with us. Tom replied to my message that same day. He and Heather would definitely like to meet up with us.Tom and Heather arrived at our house around 11:15 AM this past Saturday. Soon after their arrival we departed for downtown Warren. After Tom and Heather had topped off their fuel at Kwik Fill and took a few photographs of downtown Warren, we were on our way to the Allegheny National Forest.We followed the Allegheny River to Kinzua Dam.

Our first stop was at Kinzua Dam.

Our second stop was at Rimrock Overlook, which provides a lofty view of the Allegheny Reservoir.

Bob, Tom and Heather at Rimrock Overlook

Heather, Bob and Tom on stone stairway that leads to the base of Rimrock Overlook

Stone Stairway

Leaving Rimrock Overlook we backtracked a little ways to Jakes Rocks Overlook. Here we enjoyed one last look at Kinzua Dam.

Tom and Heather at Jakes Rocks Kinzua Dam Overlook

Leaving Jakes Rocks we took Longhouse Scenic Drive (FR262) to SR321, where we turned right towards Kane. Before reaching Kane we stopped for lunch at Bob’s Trading Post.

After lunch we rode through Kane and Mt. Jewett to Kinzua Bridge State Park.

Tom and Heather at Kinzua Bridge State Park
In the background is what is left of Kinzua Bridge.

It has been 8 years since Kinzua Bridge was blown down by a tornado. Remnants of the bridge still lay on the forest floor. I wrote a blog post about the Kinzua Bridge in September 2009. If you are interested in reading that post about Kinzua Bridge and seeing a few more photographs, you may do so by clicking here.

From Kinzua Bridge State Park we made our way to Quaker Lake at Allegany State Park in New York, where we said our goodbyes. I’m so happy that Tom contacted me about his and Heather’s plan for riding through the Allegheny National Forest. Bob and I enjoyed Tom and Heather’s company and enjoyed riding with them. The chilly and wet weather couldn’t put a damper on the good times that we shared.

Tom uploaded a blog post about our ride through Allegheny National Forest as well. Please visit Tom and Heather’s blog, “Tales from the O.C.”, to read his description of the day’s ride as well as view additional pictures from the ride.

Click here for a map of Saturday’s ride.

First Ride of Season

Bob and I went on our first “two-up” motorcycle ride of the season. Our ride took us up Route 59, past Kinzua Dam, to Longhouse Road. At the end of Longhouse Road, we turned right and stopped at Bob’s Trading Post.

Our motorcycle parked in front of Bob’s Trading Post

Outdoor seating at Bob’s Trading Post

Welcome sign at Bob’s Trading Post

We treated ourselves to ice cream. I ordered two flavors of ice cream — Road Runner Raspberry (premium white chocolate ice cream with raspberry swirls and raspberry filled chocolate cups) and Peanut Butter Cup (premium chocolate ice cream swirled with peanut butter). Bob ordered a peanut butter sundae, made with vanilla ice cream and melted peanut butter. Both ice cream treats were delicious!

I noticed this wind chime, as we departed Bob’s Trading Post.

Red Neck Wind Chime

After our ice cream break, we continued our ride through Kane and Ludlow back into Warren. This ride was a short one, covering only 65 miles. I always need to work my way up to longer rides, when I haven’t ridden for a while.

This evening we enjoyed a couple hours relaxation in our back yard, sitting in front of a camp fire. I’m happy that we were able to enjoy this beautiful day. If the weather report is correct, this is the last nice day until Thursday. The weather report is calling for rain every day through Wednesday.