The Saturday afternoon after Loretta Lynn’s finished we travelled two hours north to stay a few days at Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky (http://www.lbl.org/Home.html). We had booked to stay at the Energy Lake campground and to catch up with some fellow Kiwis (the MacLeans) who are touring around the US in a RV like us.
It was great to catch up with Don and Rose MacLean and their five kids. We got to talk about our RV experiences and New Zealand. We also got to hang out at the lake the next day, do some canoeing and go to the elk and bison prairie in the evening.
On Monday we travelled north again for three hours to St Louis, Missouri. In the evening we went and ate out beside the Mississippi river and then just before dark we travelled up the Arch to see the views. The Arch represents the gateway to the West. It stands 630 feet high and the five of us sat in a small tram to get to the top. It isn’t as tall as the Sky Tower in Auckland which is 1,076 feet but the views are just as good. Facts and figures about the Arch can be found at http://www.gatewayarch.com/Arch/info/arch.aspx or on wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_arch. When we got back down to the bottom of the Arch we toured the museum on the Westward expansion and then watched a movie on Lewis & Clark who first made the transcontinental crossing of North America in the early 1800s.
The next day Janine and the kids went to the zoo and city museum in St Louis (http://www.stlzoo.org/ & http://www.citymuseum.org/home.asp). We then headed north to the Hempens in the south eastern corner of Iowa. We were happy to see them after talking about visiting them since Lake Whitney in March. Over the next few days the kids played together, rode and swam in the pool.
After staying with the Hempens for a week we all headed north to go to the pro national motocross race at Milville, Minnesota (http://www.springcreekmx.com/). Spring Creek MX Park is about a six hour drive north from the Hempens. There was not a lot to see on the way other than corn fields. Spring Creek MX Park is such an awesome track. We have not seen anything like it in NZ. It has huge elevation changes with step ups and step downs, ruts and a sand section with large whoops. The boys (amateurs) got to ride and race on Wednesday to Friday before the pros rode on the weekend. The boys thought it was the best track. Also, the girls (Janine and Sarah, Tracy and Jennifer) got to do have some time to themselves by going shopping at the Mall of America in St Paul, the biggest retail and entertainment complex in the USA.
On the way back to the Hempens from Milville MN, we stopped off at the John Deere factory in Moline Illinois for a tour.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Loretta Lynn’s Dude Ranch, Tennessee
This week was for the AMA National motorcross championship. The best riders in the nation are at this event, plus some aliens (foreigners) from five other countries including NZ.
On Sunday morning Josiah Hempen knocked on the door of our RV. We had met the Hempens at Lake Whitney Texas back in March and we have been in contact ever since. It was great to catch up with the Hempens and also to meet Kenny senior’s dad, Roger. They had travelled from Iowa and were a support to us. Kenny and Tracy also had their wedding anniversary during the week. A big congratulations.
Monday was practice day and Tuesday to Saturday was racing.
The track at Loretta Lynn’s is technical. It has lots of variation from jumps (doubles, triples, tabletops) to whoops and rollers, ruts (with bumps), sand and a long straight. There are also large braking bumps and acceleration bumps.
On Tuesday we watched the racing (Josiah’s first race was on Wednesday). When walking through vendor row we spotted Cody Cooper and got our photo with him and the kids. We briefly got to see Ben Townley at his autograph signing. Janine got to meet Chad Reed and James Stewart who were both very pleasant. On Tuesday night we caught up with an old friend of Janine’s (Aldon Baker) who she worked with in London around 16 years ago. He is the personal trainer for James Stewart and it was a real pleasure to reconnect with him.
Tuesday was an interesting day at Loretta Lynn’s. First, there was monumental rain and lightning in the afternoon. It was an absolute mud bath for those that got caught racing in it. Second, a rider in the vet class died in a race after crashing. He got up on his bike, rode a short distance before stopping, walking a few paces and then collapsing on the ground. We understand he died from chest trauma. Very sad news.
Also on Tuesday the Fullwoods (Kyle, Michelle, Meadow and Sydney) arrived from Myrtle Beach, SC. It was great to have them as support at Loretta Lynn’s and also for Sarah to spend some time with Meadow and Sydney away from the track back at a clean camping ground.
Josiah’s first race on Wednesday was in the afternoon. It was hot and humid. Sweat was pouring down Chris’ face whilst waiting on Josiah in the pits. In his first race Josiah got the holeshot (first rider around the first corner) before crashing about a third of the way around. He was in 13th position as he came past the scoring tower. On the second lap Josiah crashed again and was 31st as he came past the scoring tower. Josiah eventually clawed his way back to 16th. Josiah was exhausted at the end of the race. Each moto is 20 minutes whereas every other race he has done has been 10 minutes.
Josiah’s second race was on Thursday late afternoon. Josiah got second to the first corner. Josiah ended up finishing 16th and believes he didn’t ride to his full potential. However, Josiah was able to put this race behind him and learn from the experience.
Josiah’s last race was on Saturday afternoon. Josiah just missed out on the holeshot we think by the smallest of margins. He ended 7th which was fantastic. Josiah worked hard in this race and says he “found out where I belong”, if you know what that means as a rider. Mum and dad think Josiah learnt a lot from this race too. Overall Josiah finished 11th. Mum and dad think this is a great result considering the level of riding he does and what he has learnt at what is considered the world’s best amateur motocross racing event.
On the Saturday morning before the race Janine and Sarah went up to Loretta Lynn’s place. They toured the replica house she grew up in (Butcher Holler) which was a shack. They also toured the house she lived in with her husband (Doo) which was built in the 1800s and occupied during the civil war.
After the race we left Loretta Lynn’s and travelled north into Kentucky to stay at the Energy Lake campground which is in the Land Between the Lakes (www.lbl.org). We were going to catch up with some people from NZ who are traveling around parts of the USA in a RV like ours. We then plan to travel up to St Louis (Missouri), then go north to stay with the Hempens in Iowa and then next week go to a pro national motocross track (Spring Creek) at Milville, Minnesota.
On Sunday morning Josiah Hempen knocked on the door of our RV. We had met the Hempens at Lake Whitney Texas back in March and we have been in contact ever since. It was great to catch up with the Hempens and also to meet Kenny senior’s dad, Roger. They had travelled from Iowa and were a support to us. Kenny and Tracy also had their wedding anniversary during the week. A big congratulations.
Monday was practice day and Tuesday to Saturday was racing.
The track at Loretta Lynn’s is technical. It has lots of variation from jumps (doubles, triples, tabletops) to whoops and rollers, ruts (with bumps), sand and a long straight. There are also large braking bumps and acceleration bumps.
On Tuesday we watched the racing (Josiah’s first race was on Wednesday). When walking through vendor row we spotted Cody Cooper and got our photo with him and the kids. We briefly got to see Ben Townley at his autograph signing. Janine got to meet Chad Reed and James Stewart who were both very pleasant. On Tuesday night we caught up with an old friend of Janine’s (Aldon Baker) who she worked with in London around 16 years ago. He is the personal trainer for James Stewart and it was a real pleasure to reconnect with him.
Tuesday was an interesting day at Loretta Lynn’s. First, there was monumental rain and lightning in the afternoon. It was an absolute mud bath for those that got caught racing in it. Second, a rider in the vet class died in a race after crashing. He got up on his bike, rode a short distance before stopping, walking a few paces and then collapsing on the ground. We understand he died from chest trauma. Very sad news.
Also on Tuesday the Fullwoods (Kyle, Michelle, Meadow and Sydney) arrived from Myrtle Beach, SC. It was great to have them as support at Loretta Lynn’s and also for Sarah to spend some time with Meadow and Sydney away from the track back at a clean camping ground.
Josiah’s first race on Wednesday was in the afternoon. It was hot and humid. Sweat was pouring down Chris’ face whilst waiting on Josiah in the pits. In his first race Josiah got the holeshot (first rider around the first corner) before crashing about a third of the way around. He was in 13th position as he came past the scoring tower. On the second lap Josiah crashed again and was 31st as he came past the scoring tower. Josiah eventually clawed his way back to 16th. Josiah was exhausted at the end of the race. Each moto is 20 minutes whereas every other race he has done has been 10 minutes.
Josiah’s second race was on Thursday late afternoon. Josiah got second to the first corner. Josiah ended up finishing 16th and believes he didn’t ride to his full potential. However, Josiah was able to put this race behind him and learn from the experience.
Josiah’s last race was on Saturday afternoon. Josiah just missed out on the holeshot we think by the smallest of margins. He ended 7th which was fantastic. Josiah worked hard in this race and says he “found out where I belong”, if you know what that means as a rider. Mum and dad think Josiah learnt a lot from this race too. Overall Josiah finished 11th. Mum and dad think this is a great result considering the level of riding he does and what he has learnt at what is considered the world’s best amateur motocross racing event.
On the Saturday morning before the race Janine and Sarah went up to Loretta Lynn’s place. They toured the replica house she grew up in (Butcher Holler) which was a shack. They also toured the house she lived in with her husband (Doo) which was built in the 1800s and occupied during the civil war.
After the race we left Loretta Lynn’s and travelled north into Kentucky to stay at the Energy Lake campground which is in the Land Between the Lakes (www.lbl.org). We were going to catch up with some people from NZ who are traveling around parts of the USA in a RV like ours. We then plan to travel up to St Louis (Missouri), then go north to stay with the Hempens in Iowa and then next week go to a pro national motocross track (Spring Creek) at Milville, Minnesota.
Ponca City, Oklahoma
We arrived Saturday afternoon in Ponca City, OK for the NMA Grand National Championship. We parked in the pre parking area and were directed into the racetrack on Sunday afternoon. We parked right beside the track but with no hook up. We parked beside some friends from Mississippi and Pennsylvania, the Jenkins and Yoests. On Monday there was practice. On Tuesday we were awakened to the sound of motorbikes roaring around the track at 7am. Racing started every day at 7am and finished at 6pm.
On Monday evening we celebrated Janine’s birthday with the Jenkins and Yoests. We cannot publish Janine’s age but she was born in 1969.
On Tuesday Benjamin Jenkins broke his femur down the back straight in the last race of the day. Four other riders broke their femurs that day. Carnage. There were large braking bumps at the end of the straight where Benjamin crashed. We wish a speedy recovery for Ben.
Josiah raced in two classes at Ponca City, the 9-11 age 65cc stock and 9-11 age 65cc modified bike. Josiah rode Joel’s stock bike in both classes. Josiah did not make the 30 gate final in the modified class. It was difficult to compete with the modified 65cc bikes down the long start straight and back straight. In the stock class Josiah got 10th which was pleasing.
During the week Sarah got to spend quite a bit of time with her friend Erin Yoest. Joel made a friend at the track called Jackson. They did a lot of playing and swimming.
On Saturday morning after racing we left for Loretta Lynn’s Dude Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. This was a 650 mile trip that took us 12 hours to travel. After consuming about 60-70 gallons of diesel, six cokes, McDonalds and pizza we finally arrived at Loretta Lynn’s 10 o’clock Saturday night. It was nice to have left Ponca City as it was extremely hot (over 100 F, 40 C) but Tennessee would prove to be just as bad.
On Monday evening we celebrated Janine’s birthday with the Jenkins and Yoests. We cannot publish Janine’s age but she was born in 1969.
On Tuesday Benjamin Jenkins broke his femur down the back straight in the last race of the day. Four other riders broke their femurs that day. Carnage. There were large braking bumps at the end of the straight where Benjamin crashed. We wish a speedy recovery for Ben.
Josiah raced in two classes at Ponca City, the 9-11 age 65cc stock and 9-11 age 65cc modified bike. Josiah rode Joel’s stock bike in both classes. Josiah did not make the 30 gate final in the modified class. It was difficult to compete with the modified 65cc bikes down the long start straight and back straight. In the stock class Josiah got 10th which was pleasing.
During the week Sarah got to spend quite a bit of time with her friend Erin Yoest. Joel made a friend at the track called Jackson. They did a lot of playing and swimming.
On Saturday morning after racing we left for Loretta Lynn’s Dude Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. This was a 650 mile trip that took us 12 hours to travel. After consuming about 60-70 gallons of diesel, six cokes, McDonalds and pizza we finally arrived at Loretta Lynn’s 10 o’clock Saturday night. It was nice to have left Ponca City as it was extremely hot (over 100 F, 40 C) but Tennessee would prove to be just as bad.
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