Vrooom Vrooom

I checked out the neighborhood today. I can’t go too far from the fax machine until I can get the property counter offer worked out and sent. The hotel has a fax but they are not likely to watch it so I have to check with them every few hours. I watched parts of the Italy vs. France Euro Cup match…Italy won and now goes to the quarterfinals. France is eliminated.

The motorcycle club guys are still here and I finally got some pictures. I didn’t know John Deere made motorcycles. There are also some BMWs and a Moto Guzzi and a number of side car bikes. There is one with two front wheels but they say it isn’t old. I saw a bunch of Indians and old Harleys. The Henderson was hard to find but I finally got a picture...it really looks different. I'm surprised at all the configurations of sidecars. Most of the club members are in their fifties or late forties with a few older. When I'm walking aroun d taking pictures people wander up and ask me "What does this lever do? Is that a double reduction?" (Huh?) More pictures below.

I drove up to the New Mexico Viet Nam Veterans Memorial, about three miles up the highway. It was the first Viet Nam memorial in the US and is really very moving. They have a small chapel and a small museum along with a few bronze statues and a helicopter. A doctor from this area lost his son in Viet Nam and started a foundation that now supports the memorial. You can buy a memorial brick for a walk way they are building. I will do that for a friend of mine that made it only a week over there. There were a number of people there even though it is sort of an unknown and out of the way place.

I’m looking for a place to fish if I can get a half day away from the hotel area and the fax machine. I drove up to Eagles Nest and got a fishing license and a bunch of advice. The Cimarron River is close by and is a state park with plenty of access. There is also a large lake at Eagles Nest that also is a state park. So, it looks like I might have a chance to fish before I get out of here.

Update -- June 27

I was filling out the paper work to buy a memorial brick for Rick Gudiswitz and checked to make sure I had the spelling and details correct. Rick died in Viet Nam on June 18, 1970, thirty-eight years ago, minus one day, from the day I visited the memorial. Things like this have been happening to me a lot. Rick was a member of a motorcycle club, OK, maybe a gang, but he was a good friend and he sure took care of his Harley. By now, he would have been a proud member of the antique motorcycle club.