SilverHound
Well-known member
Last weekend provided an opportunity for my wife and I to spend some welcome time away from work, the house, the kids and the dogs. I cannot describe how eager we were to escape for a few a days. The weather was mostly cooperative, still a bit on the chilly side for her but ideal in my opinion in the high 50's and mostly sunny. We headed out at around 11 am. Destination about 175 miles away by my planned route which was about half highway and half secondary roads. I'm trying to get her acclimated for longer rides in anticipation of our Trip to Maine in June. All went well except about halfway to our destination her Sena SMH10 headset crapped out and we no longer had bike to bike communication. Oh well, we had to communicate old-school by hand signals. She's used hand signals in the past albeit limited to expressing her displeasure with someone (usually me) but that's another topic.
Our ride there took us through Centralia PA which is infamous for being a once-town that is now abandoned due to an underground coal fire started accidentally over 40 years ago which still burns today. Lots of info on the internet about it. Here's some Centralia PA Mine Fire - Photos History Visiting
We arrived at our destination which would be our accommodations for two nights at the Nature Inn at Bald Eagle State Park. It's a lovely and unique facility run by the PA State Park System (DCNR) and I had made our reservations four months earlier because the place is hard to get into once the weather warms up. Lot's of info about it here: Home | Nature Inn
It is a very nice facility and very reasonably priced. Here's a view from our balcony:
As you can see, the trees have not yet "greened up" for the spring as our weather has been unseasonably cold this year but still it was a nice view of the lake and hills.
On day two we started off late (enjoyed sleeping in without dogs waking us up) and headed into State College PA to have lunch with our middle daughter who is a freshman at Penn State. It was nice to see her and here she is with my wife happy to see us.
After that it was time for some scenic rides. We spent the next several hours following the Elk Scenic Drive which is a 127 mile route in what is considered the PA Wilds Region. There were some outstanding motorcycle roads especially Route 144 which had its share of curves and twisties as well as mountains and scenic vistas. Sorry I didn't take more pictures but we were focused on riding, not stopping. Here's one though at a scenic overlook that is a short hike into the woods so this pic is just of the bikes and my wife.
Back to the Inn after that and the next morning we reluctantly packed up and left although we did consider taking the rest of the week off until reality intervened. This is an overview of the route which was about 480 miles total:
No issues with either bike and the FJR and her NC700X are a great pair because we need to re-fuel at about the same intervals since her's gets better gas mileage but my tank is bigger. I'm finally starting to get in the groove using the "mode" switch and toggling between the heated grips, windshield adjustment and other settings without practically riding off the road. Love the cruise control.
Hit just a little rain for a brief period on the ride home which was also good for her to experience as up until now she's only ridden in fair weather.
Got home safely and found the problem with the Sena was with my unit not hers. A broken pin was jumping two contacts together which didn't effect my unit (still could hear my GPS prompts and MP3 music) but caused her's to only be able to hear her own voice through the helmet speakers. All in all though a very minor incident in an overall great trip. Next report from Acadia Park in Maine in June if all goes as planned. Will try to take more pictures/video then...maybe.
Our ride there took us through Centralia PA which is infamous for being a once-town that is now abandoned due to an underground coal fire started accidentally over 40 years ago which still burns today. Lots of info on the internet about it. Here's some Centralia PA Mine Fire - Photos History Visiting
We arrived at our destination which would be our accommodations for two nights at the Nature Inn at Bald Eagle State Park. It's a lovely and unique facility run by the PA State Park System (DCNR) and I had made our reservations four months earlier because the place is hard to get into once the weather warms up. Lot's of info about it here: Home | Nature Inn
It is a very nice facility and very reasonably priced. Here's a view from our balcony:
As you can see, the trees have not yet "greened up" for the spring as our weather has been unseasonably cold this year but still it was a nice view of the lake and hills.
On day two we started off late (enjoyed sleeping in without dogs waking us up) and headed into State College PA to have lunch with our middle daughter who is a freshman at Penn State. It was nice to see her and here she is with my wife happy to see us.
After that it was time for some scenic rides. We spent the next several hours following the Elk Scenic Drive which is a 127 mile route in what is considered the PA Wilds Region. There were some outstanding motorcycle roads especially Route 144 which had its share of curves and twisties as well as mountains and scenic vistas. Sorry I didn't take more pictures but we were focused on riding, not stopping. Here's one though at a scenic overlook that is a short hike into the woods so this pic is just of the bikes and my wife.
Back to the Inn after that and the next morning we reluctantly packed up and left although we did consider taking the rest of the week off until reality intervened. This is an overview of the route which was about 480 miles total:
No issues with either bike and the FJR and her NC700X are a great pair because we need to re-fuel at about the same intervals since her's gets better gas mileage but my tank is bigger. I'm finally starting to get in the groove using the "mode" switch and toggling between the heated grips, windshield adjustment and other settings without practically riding off the road. Love the cruise control.
Hit just a little rain for a brief period on the ride home which was also good for her to experience as up until now she's only ridden in fair weather.
Got home safely and found the problem with the Sena was with my unit not hers. A broken pin was jumping two contacts together which didn't effect my unit (still could hear my GPS prompts and MP3 music) but caused her's to only be able to hear her own voice through the helmet speakers. All in all though a very minor incident in an overall great trip. Next report from Acadia Park in Maine in June if all goes as planned. Will try to take more pictures/video then...maybe.
