RIDE TO MEERS, OKLAHOMA 3-5-10

Friday, 3-5-10, Russ & Linda had ridden their Harley up to Lawton Oklahoma, to check out some furniture stores. Afterward, they would meet us at the Welcome Center on, OK 49 on the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. The riders on today's run are: Russ & Linda, Mike & Debi, Chris, Curtis & me (John). Scroll down & join us for this ride and REMEMBER: IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE PICTURE BIGGER, JUST CLICK ON THE PICTURE.


I open the garage door to get my Harley out. My leather jacket is draped over the back seat and
my vest is over the windshield. My Vulcan, Ms. Clone, sits there waiting for someone to buy her or ride her.

A short time later, Curtis arrives and is ready to go..

We ride over to Mike's. Here is Mike's Harley waiting to go

Mike & Curtis by Curtis's Harley

Debi arrives from work. We will leave as soon as she changes

Curtis and our Harley's at Mike's place.

Debi does the quickest change of clothes I have ever seen a woman do and she is ready to go. Here is Debi & Mike.

Curtis by his bike just prior to departure

Curtis & I talking just prior to us heading out

Curtis & me at Mikes.

Curtis, me & Mike. Photo taken by Debi..

Debi & Mike getting ready. Note the blue sky. The temp was about 52 degrees. That would change in about 20 minutes up in Oklahoma

We pull out of Mike's and head North up the road. Chris pulls in behind Curtis.

Mike & Debi as we roll North on I-44

Curtis as we roll North on I-44

Chris as we roll North on I-44

Mike & Debi as we start across the RED RIVER BRIDGE on I-44

Curtis & Chris behind me as we cross over the RED RIVER BRIDGE and into Oklahoma

The fabled RED RIVER that divides Oklahoma from Texas. Oklahoma is on the far shore.

We proceed up past the Kiowa Casino in Oklahoma. see: http://www.kiowacasino.com/

We close in on Commanche Casino.. see: http://www.ccrcasino.com/

Debi & Mike as we head North on OK 36

Don't ask me how this happened. I was going to delete it but was told to save it...So, this is me somewhere on OK 36, heading North

Curtis & Chris behind me on OK 36

We get to the Wildlife Refuge and noticed all the trees down due to the severe ice storm they had here this winter. It snapped all the trees.

On the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. Mike & Debi out front. see: www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/oklahoma/wichitamountains

Curtis & Chris behind me as we ride thru the Wildlife Refuge to the Welcome Center where we will meet Russ & Linda

We get to the Welcome Center and park the bikes. Here is Chris

The Harley's: Mike's (front left), Curtis's (behind Mike's), my bike and Chris's behind mine at the Welcome Center at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, OKLAHOMA

There was a stiff wind blowing out of the West, giving us a good crosswind, as these flags can attest to.

Inside the Welcome Center is a layout of the refuge

There are also some mounted buffalo inside the Welcome Center

Looking out the picture window to the East of the Welcome Center

Debi inside the Welcome Center

By the entrance to the Welcome Center, was a small herd of Texas Longhorns. The refuge is open range and Longhorns & Buffalo freely roam

The bikes in the parking lot of the Welcome Center

A short time later, Russ & Linda arrive on their Harley. Here are Russ & Linda by the door to the Welcome Center

Linda with her blast shield lifted..I guess this is a face shield not a blast shield. Getting my Motorcycle terminology mixed up with the military terms....

Russ & Linda as we get ready to pull out and head to Meers Oklahoma and the Meer's Restaurant.

Chris, Mike, Debi & Curtis head to the bikes to get ready to go

As we head out, I get a pic of the Longhorns by the entrance to the Welcome Center

A very large Longhorn on the other side of the entrance. Glad he was more interested in chowing down than in us.

Russ & Linda (left) and Mike & Debi (right) as we head East on OK 49

Curtis & Chris behind me on Eastbound OK 49

Russ & Linda up front with Mike & Debi behind them as we head to Meers Oklahoma

Russ & Linda up front & Mike & Debi behind them, as we near some Buffalo on the side of the road. I didn't get a chance to take a pic of the Buffalo, because some idiot was stopped on the road next to them and as we slowed, the guy spooked them and the buffalo ran West down the shoulder of the road, past us. I thought Russ was gonna have to dismount to have a personal one on one session with the SUV driver to get him to roll again.

We turn on the winding road thru the mountains to get to the Meers Restaurant. Here are Russ & Linda and Mike & Debi entering the first of many curves

A short straightaway that turns into an S curve.

We get to Meers Restasurant and park the bikes. the bikes are: Russ's, Mike's, mine, Curtis's and Chris's.

Russ entering the Meers restaurant

The bikes from the entrance to the restaurant

Our table inside. at the end is Curtis, then Russ, Linda (standing), Mike & Debi

Debi inside Meers Restaurant

Mike inside Meers Restaurant

This is Chelsea, our waitress. She did a great job waiting on us!

Chris inside Meers Restaurant

Curtis inside Meers Restaurant

The food arrives. This is a two meat sausage plate. The hamburgers are called Meersburgers
and are made out of Longhorn beef and served on pie tins.

A Meersburger with Cheese & fries. See this link for more on the Meers Store: http://www.meerstore.com/

I got this bowl of beans with onions...I really felt sorry for Janice later on tonight....LOL

Look Janice!!! I ate almost all of it...Just for you!! And I want you to know that I was thinking of you with every mouthful that I ate... LOL

Since Lawton and the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge sits on a faultline, they have a working seismograph inside the restaurant. see this link for more on the Meers store and seismograph. This is a pic of the seismograph www.meersstore.com/observatory.html

We finished eating and went outside. A bunch of cats had gathered and the two in the middle were facing off...

The bikes as seen from the cat battleground..

Curtis walks down the line of bikes and checks out Russ's 2010 Ultra Classic Limited Edition Harley

The gas tank & air breather on Curtis's Harley

The gas tank & air breather on Chris's Harley

The gas tank & air breather on my Harley

The gas tank & air breather on Mike's Harley

The gas tank & air breather on Russ's Harley. The paint job is called black ice. The top of the bike stays black and the bottom half turns purple or blue in the sunlight.

The riders: Mike & Debi, Linda & Russ, Curtis and Chris


Group shot, left to right: Mike, Debi, me, Russ, Curtis & Chris. Meers Restaurant parking lot, Meers Oklahoma

Linda fixin' to hop on their Harley. Mike & Debi are ready to go.

Curtis is ready to go as we head out to Chaps My Ass in Medicine Park, Oklahoma

The front of the Meers Restaurant, Meers Oklahoma

As we head to Chaps My Ass, we see more evidence of the ice storm. Tree limbs everywhere..

A view of Mt. Scott & Lawtonka Lake as we head South on the Highway

Getting close to our turn off.

Curtis & Chris, as we near our turnoff to Chaps My Ass in Medicine Park.

We head thru the housing area to Chaps My Ass. Piles of branches were everywhere

We get to Chaps My Ass and park our bikes. Chaps My Ass is located in Medicine Park Oklahoma and is very popular with biking folks as it is a Biker Accessory & Apparel Shop

Chaps My Ass, Medicine Oklahoma. see their link at: http://www.chapsmyass.com/

Chris, Curtis, Linda & Russ prepare to head into Chaps My Ass

May I introduce the "BUTT SISTERS II. The original Butt Sisters of North Texas Bikers can be seen on the post just after this one titled: "Blue Knights TX XX Chapter Ride to Lindsay Texas"

Linda & Debi head into Chaps My Ass to do some shopping

Mike & Debi at Chaps My Ass , Medicine Park, Oklahoma

Debi & Linda in amongst the leathers





I had been looking for some "Soldier Crosses" for my biker vests and the last couple times I was here at Chaps My Ass, they had been out. Today, they had some and I bought these two.. Chaps My Ass is owned and operated by bikers , for bikers. The owner is also a former Captain in the US Army.

Janelle & me. Janelle is my favorite person at Chaps My Ass. She works hard, knows her business and is friendly.. I had missed seeing her the last couple times up, so it was great to see her today!

Chris & Mike in Chaps My Ass , Medicine Park Oklahoma

Next time I am there, I am picking up two things. One of them is this "old couple on their Harley" to go on my motorcycle wall in the computer room at home..

Russ & Debi in Chaps My Ass

Me, Debi & Russ in Chaps My Ass

me & Russ in Chaps My Ass. Russ is one of my best friends on this planet. We've been to and thru Hell & back together..

Curtis trying on a vest. He picked a good one to put his colors on..(Blue Knight TX XX). Curtis is our Chaplain. His actual title is DR. Curtis, but he lets us call him by his first name. He was my Sergeant many, many years ago.

I love this motorcycle seats they have for you to sit on when trying on boots & stuff...Only at a cycle shop!!! Gotta luv it!!!

The second thing I am gonna get is the tour pak on the left (without studs). I am riding up to Michigan in July 2010 to do the rest of the Michigan tour with my brother, Bob and Rick and we are going around Lake Michigan and then down thru Wisconsin. I will be stopping at Harley Davidson HQ's in Milwakee for some pics and a t-shirt. Then, Janice is flying up to Detroit and riding back to Texas with me on the Harley. The tour pak is mostly for her clothes that I will take up there with me., so she won't have to mess with luggage on the plane.

Some of the caps & posters at Chap My Ass. The one of Dennis Hopper flipping off the camera from the movie "Easy Rider" is like the one I had in the barracks when I was in the military. That poster I had, was right after the original movie & I saw it when it first came out. Does that make me an old fart or what?

Curtis & Chris over at the Moose Crossing and abstract Moose, right across the street from Chaps My Ass

A view of Chaps My Ass & our bikes from the Moose Crossing.

The bikes in the parking lot of Chaps My Ass

Debi & Mike exit Chaps My Ass

We leave Chaps My Ass & Medicine Park enroute to get gas before heading back South to Texas. Our order going out is: Russ & Linda up front followed by Mike & Debi, Curtis, Chris and me at the back of the pack

We get to the gas station & gas up. Here is Chris paying for his fill up

Russ, Curtis & Mike wait, off to the West of the gas pumps, while Chris & I gas up.

Debi waits for Mike to return from inside the store...

Russ & Linda and Debi at the gas station

Curtis, waiting patiently for us to depart.

Chris arrives and we are ready to head out

Debi talks to Russ & Linda as Mike gets ready to leave

Just about ready to leave

We pull out of the gas station and get established on I-44. Here is Mike & Debi as we head South

Mike & Debi react to my camera.. Can't ya just feel the love?

Russ & Linda and Mike & Debi as we head South on I-44, That is Ft. Sill off to our right. see this link for more on Ft. Sill. I spent a lot of time there, a long time ago, calling fire when I was a Forward Artillery Observer.. http://sill-www.army.mil/

Curtis & Chris behind me on I-44. If you click on the picture, you can see part of the ORIGINAL fort there on their right. That was the original Ft. Sill back in the 1800's. It is now an Army Museum. See the above link for the Museum also

As we continue down I-44, we run into the everpresent road construction

Curtis & Chris manuever thru the construction area on I-44 in Lawton Oklahoma

Mike & Debi on I-44, South bound

Russ & Linda, our leaders on the ride home, as they head South on I-44

Another mirror shot of Curtis & Chris as we continue South on I-44 and near Texas

What was once a solid blue sky, is now filled with these dark clouds. I took this pic off to the West, as the sun tried to break thru.

I did this pic for Russ. He HATES it when I post pics of my speedometer taken when we are rolling. So, Russ, this ones for you, bro!!!

Here we are West bound on US 70, closing in on I-44 again. We got off of I-44 to avoid the toll gate. We are past it now and heading back to get on I-44

We stop and take a short break at this gas station on US 70, just short of I-44. From left to right: Curtis, Chris, Mike, Debi, Linda & Russ.

At the gas station on US70

Russ & Linda as we get ready to head out again.

Debi & Mike are ready to go

Back on I-44. Russ & Linda up front, then Mike & Debi, Chris, then me & Curtis bringing up the rear

Last mirror shot of Curtis, bringing up the rear.

We cross back over the RED RIVER and are welcomed by the Texas State line (forward & to our right). This is also the last pic from the ride Friday..


Saturday, 3-6-10, Russ & Linda brought me over a BUNCH of motorcycle mags to read during my recovery period following surgery. ( I have major surgery on my right foot Monday 3-8-10 and will be off the bike for about 3 months or so). I have a new Scooter from the Scooter Store to help me get around and I was showing it to Russ. He got on it and took it for a spin around the house. Here he is coming out of the kitchen, just before he almost rammed the living room wall behind me. This thing has six speeds and he dropped it into high gear and it took off. There is actually a little wheelie bar on the back. Notice the Harley Davidson sticker I put on it?

Here is Russ as he takes out the cats food & water bowl.. I did the same thing when I was practicing on it. I forgot to tell him about the bowls when he went around the island in the kitchen

Here is Linda, looking on as Russ rides around..

In the computer room next to the computer: the Harley calender, Rosco the dog, my original Gremlin bell off my Harley (Russ got me a new one), my Harley Fund Guy (now used as a gas fund jar), and a Harley Davidson Maisto model of a 2000 FXSTD Softail Deuce (still in the box)

I was gonna add some more pics, but I had been ignoring my cat, Tigger, and she jumped up and planted her butt right in front of the computer screen and started staring at me. I had to quit and go feed her.

This will conclude this post. I thorougly enjoyed today's ride and meeting Chris. This was a great ride to be my last ride until June. If ya'll would, pray that this surgery goes off without a hitch and there are no complications. I certainly would appreciate it.

Scroll WAY down for more rides, events & runs. Don't forget to click on the "OLDER POSTS" on the bottom of EACH page for more of the same. You can access NORTH TEXAS BIKERS AND NORTH TEXAS BIKERS II AT: http://www.jjskewlstuff.blogspot.com/ and http://www.jjskewlstuffii.blogspot.com/

Until next post, keep the rubber on the road, keep your head on a swivel and RIDE SAFE!! Please continue to pray for Patti (IN KOREA) and Steffanie, my niece,(IN THE IRAQI THEATRE).. THANKS!!!!............JOHN