Another Ribfest in the Books...

As the summer of 2009 continues to fly by, this past weekend marked the 5th anniversary of the Kuamoo Ribfest. This years invitation highlighted some of the many people who have attended past events. This years family vacation (see blog entry AN-TIS-A-PA-TION - Headed West), pushed the date of the Ribfest back a few week further than usual. Unfortunately this resulted in quite a few regulars not be able to attend. We also missed our party pals, Chris and Wendy, who moved to Phoenix earlier in the year. Although our crowd was smaller it was still a fun event and a beautiful evening to sit by a fire.

When preparing for the party there are always a lot of detail to take care of. Aside from a couple of days of cleaning, Misty and I work hard to make sure that everything is in order.

There's the entertainment, which revolved around the photo album containing my blog entries for my Motorcycle Trip to Utah. I also displayed many of my photos on our TV which was a great media for a picture book. It also gave me a chance to use the built-in USB feature on the TV. Displaying the pictures in using this feature was a snap.

Next, although it's technically a BYOB party, we are fortunate to have quite a few friends that are excellent brew masters and are willing to share their craft at our party. This years brew was provided by our friend Paul, who served an excellent IPA. Paul came over earlier in the day to setup so that everything would be in order for the party. A cooler, some ice, a little CO2 and we were ready for the test. Aaaah, Pauls IPA was an excellent addition for the party and was enjoyed by many throughout the evening (as well as the next day in my case).

Then there's the fire, an ever so important part of any of our outdoor parties. I like to start the fire before the crowd arrives so that the smoke is minimal by the time we're ready to sit down and relax. Normally, in July, our evening temperature would be in the mid to upper 70's, however this year it's been much cooler and will likely be in the low 60s by nightfall. More wood and beverages was the easy answer to the unseasonably cool temperatures. It was a perfect night...

Last but not least, there is the food. As the parties namesake indicates, ribs were the main fare. The ribs were supplied by my favorite local BBQ place, Smackies, in the Columbus Square Shopping Center. I like Smackies rib quality and you can't beat their "buck a bone" Saturday deal.

Accompanying the ribs were many tasty dishes supplied by our guests. No one walked away hungry that night...

We had lots of great guests this year. Unfortunately I wasn't able to photograph everyone. Many were families that Misty and I had the pleasure to get to know while coaching past youth hockey teams. Hockey parents often form a tight nit group over the years as we continually see each other in some rink somewhere. This particular group we've known for more than my two years of coaching (inside joke). Misty and I cherish the bonds that we have formed as hockey parents but most of all we've enjoyed the opportunity to coach their boys.

We were happy that Shelly, a good friend and last years team manager, could join us so that we could celebrate her birthday. We attempted to surprise her, although it's hard to sneak 20+ people into the kitchen without her noticing. But we sang her Happy Birthday then Shelly blew out the candle on her cupcake from Pink Moon, a favorite local cupcake shop.

The party continued with lots of stories and laughter. Mike and Sandy posed for a picture but Mike was caught here holding an empty beer glass. I think that's a major party foul.

It also looks as if Misty and Mike are having an entertaining conversation that Tom and Mark are enjoying. Perhaps Christine and Sandy are also finding it humorous.

A party at the Kuamoo's wouldn't be right without Misty's famous Cosmos. Her use of pineapple infused vodka with PAMA liqueur has always been a crowd pleaser, but this year she added a little twist by placing a bourbon soaked cherry in the bottom of the glass. The cherry subtly complemented the normal sweetness of the drink, making an already great drink, even better. For those brave enough to eat the cherry, the cool night got a little warmer. After a few of these crimson concoctions it looks like my camera got a little out of focus.

As the night wound down Mark did an excellent job tending the fire, just perfect for an "adult s'more"(the secret is the dark chocolate) and the perfect way to end a great night of food, beverage and friendship. Thanks to all who were able to make it this year.

Next year we'll do it all again. For all you brew masters, this is your first notice to prepare your best brew as we will be featuring our first brew-off. But before you get too focused on next year don't forget to stop by before the Dublin IrishFest in two weeks. That always a party to remember.

See you next time!

July 4th in Dublin

The Fourth of July is a holiday that most Americans celebrate for various reasons. The festivity may involve family, friends or public gatherings. Popular culture would have you believe that the gala is a birthday party for the country. Flags wave, bands march and bystanders cheer. The parades are pageants, visible spectacles for all to applaud and enjoy. Although the original intent of the day was to celebrate our countries Declaration of Independence, I think it's now widely accepted as a great excuse to PARTY!

The day started early with the neighborhood parade. It was a wonderful time to get away from the everyday stresses that life can bring and enjoy the entertainment of clowns, floats and neighborhood bands.

Whether painted on smiles, reluctant smiles, or uncontrollable smiles, there were certainly lots of smiles and that's one thing that makes this day so very special. Although this day is full of magic and enchantment, let us not forget to thank our veterans who have served our country in the armed forces, our active duty soldiers that continue to serve, and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may enjoy the many freedoms that we have today. One such soldier is L. CPL Wesley Davis, the son of a local business associate of my wife's. Wesley lost his life in Iraq while in combat with the Lima Company; part of the U.S. Marines. My family and I are forever indebted to Wesley and the many others who have fought and died for our country.

God bless you all!

As the parade dispersed, the next event on the agenda is the annual Frisbee Dog Competition. There were many fans watching this fun event, including other dogs. Perhaps these were dogs in training, spying on the competition for next years event, or maybe they just enjoy watching the other dogs at work.

The competition was made up of many breeds with just as many attitudes. This playful pooch, a black Border Collie would taunt the crowd each time he made a catch. As you can see he also loved the camera as he would make sure to stare right into the lens with each pass.

The German Shepard breed was well represented this year. Their hang time was impressive as they leaped high into the air to snag each disk. Also impressive was their ability to travel long distances in pursuit of their prize.

There were many more dog breeds that rallied a cheer from the crowd. Although these dogs were running lap after lap, chasing a plastic disc, it was obvious that the dogs were having the time of their lives showing off for their masters as well as the crowd.

It was no surprise that the winner of this years competition was an Australian Shepard. This breed of natural herders is built for running and certainly has endless energy, but there was no doubt that the crowd favorite was a dog named Rockets Red Glare (Hmmm, sounds like a stage name to me). Rocket is a Boston Terrier; you heard right, a Boston Terrier! Who would have thought that a Boston Terrier could compete with the "big dogs" in a Frisbee competition. However this dog was amazing, running as far as the German Shepards, short legs but a blur and eyes a bulging. This small dog with a big heart stood with the best of them and raised many a cheer from the crowd. GO ROCKET!!!

As the day was coming to an end, my wife and I headed over to Coffman High School to watch the fireworks. We strategically picked a great vantage point, unfolded our chairs, cracked open a bottle of vino and listened to the music of Boyz II Men and The Four Tops while we waited for nightfall. A drizzle continued to fall which concerned me from the photographic perspective, but as luck would have it, as soon as the fireworks started, the rain ended. A slight wind, moving away from our position made it a perfect night for photographing fireworks. For you photo-techies, the following pictures were shot with a Nikon D 300 at an exposure of F16 for 6 to 8 seconds.

These setting worked well to show a

moderate amount of spread without too much over exposure.

All in all it was a great day for family and friends. I hope your July 4th was as enjoyable as ours. If you've had a July 4th experience that you would like to share, shoot me a comment.

Happy 4th and see you next time for The Kuamoo RibFest.

Rider In The Storm - Inside the Helmet

Remember that great Doors classic, Riders On The Storm? Well today I was the rider IN the storm. Into the storm I was thrown. OK, it was a concisous choice...

Riding in the rain is no big deal to me. In fact, one of my favorite rides was during an evening thunderstorm; lightning all around. It was like the most amazing July 4th celebration I could imagine. I was in awe of beauty of the night and in some odd way I felt secure even though I was fully exposed to the elements on a two wheel journey.

This morning, however, was a bit tricky. Certainly exhilarating, still enjoyable, but definitely tricky. If you don't mind let me take you on a brief journey through the mind of a rider, I hope you enjoy it.

It's Friday morning on another muggy Ohio morning. I wake up to a weather report that included a severe thunderstorm watch, in our area, until noon today. As I'm making breakfast it's getting darker outside. It's 7:00am but you would think it was midnight. As I'm wondering if someone had played a dirty trick on me and changed the time on the clock I'm suddenly startled by a series of lightning strikes near our house. By this time, the thunderstorm watch has been changed to a warning and Madie, our nervous dog has already run to the closet in the master bedroom as she's afraid of thunder and most any sharp noise. Caleb feeds the dogs (part of his morning routine) and Madie, of course, comes out for a quick meal as eating IS her passion. Then its back to the closet.

Caleb comments that the thunder is "weird". It's loud, yet short and crisp; not echoing as it usually does.

Lemon water and a fruit shake, that's the typical weekday breakfast for Misty and I. We eat and continue our normal morning routine, all along catching the light show out of the corner of our eyes as the rain pounds on the kitchen skylight.

Misty and Caleb have dentist appointments this morning so they hit the road first. I finish some cleanup, start a load of laundry and start dressing for the ride. Rain suits are a must on a motorcycle and they do work most of the time. So I suit up attempting to cover any gaps in my clothing where rain could enter. The full faced helmet is in order today, I'd better pick the on without the tinted visor as it's still very dark outside. I open the garage door and Macie and Teagan, our brave dogs, follow me into the garage as the usually do. This time, however, they stop at the open garage door. They're not about to head out in the rain. I think I heard Macie ask "are you stupid?"

All bundled up in rain gear I roll the bike into the driveway and head to the office. I think, this isn't bad. As I weave through the neighborhood and make the final turn to I-270, I'm happy that I only had to stop once. I'm always leary of putting my foot down during a lightning storm. I guess it's that grounding thing, like that's really going to matter.

Entering the freeway is like hitting curtains of rain as the drops hit harder and the cars kick up a mist from the standing water on the road. The speedometer reads 45 the 50, 55. Looking through the windshield is futile as the water sticks to it like a clear gelatin. I sit up higher so I can see over it. Visibility is fair at best, but I trudge on. I slowly make my way over to the next lane to the left making sure as I look into my convex mirrors that no one is sneeking up in my blind spots. I look down, then up, then down, then up. You can concentrate on the mirror too long for fear that traffic ahead has stopped. Normally I'd ride in the far left lane, but today second from the left will do for if there is pooled water, it's deepest in the left lane. Last year a hit a pool of peg deep water going 60 mph. That's a thrill I care not to repeat.

As I approach the 315 interchange, traffic slows to 40mph. This area is tough to navigate in the best of weather. Too many drivers doing too many things, while trying to merge. I welcome the slowed speeds and make it through fine, but now it's uphill into an area with a 4 lane shift for construction. Traffic speeds up. With the faster traffic the spray gets thicker. There's an idiot ahead without his taillights on so I can barely see his him. I try to give myself a little room but when I do another car inserts itself into the space I created. Thankfully the cars behind me are being respectful and staying back. Ouch, what's that, hail? I guess not, apparently just another large rain drop at 55mph.

The weather's getting worse. Between the dark the wind and the rain I think, CRAP! Just hang in there, 5 miles to go. The lanes shift back to their normal position. I need to make my way over one lane to the right. Take your time, look up, look, down. I think it's ok, I'm going anyway. Just go slow and if you made a mistake hopefully someone will honk or at least let me in. I made it, good guess, I guess. The water thickens on the road surface. I can barely see the white lines. Cars ahead repeatedly hit their brakes like a red marquis on the theater sign. I can't tell if their really stopping or not. I tap my brakes from time to time just to light my taillights. I figure it's a good idea in case someone didn't see me ahead of them. Oh yeah, and that rainsuit you spent all of that money on, well it just sprang a leak, but that's the least of my worries at the moment. Temperature changes have now fogged up my visor. I open it up a little to let in some air, whoa that's too much - the rains pelting my face. By now I visibility is almost zero, no kidding. I'm guessing as to where the lane boundaries are but I've traveled this road many times so I think I'm ok. At least no one has complained yet. Finally I'm approaching my exit. One final curve and then a nasty merge to negotiate. As the speedlimit slows my merge is easier than I expected so I take the options of the 3 lane crossover and hit my first option to turn. Piece of cake... Yeah right!

A couple more turns and I'm in the parking garage, rain dripping from my gear like I just drove through the carwash. Looking like a sewer rat that just stepped out of the sewer I enter the elevator and head to my office, all along trying to decide if what I did was cool or just plain crazy.

Those who ride motorcycles certainly subject themselves to a greater level of risks than the 4 wheelers we share the roads with. Many think of riders as having a death wish. I prefer to see it as a life wish. A desire to experience the most out of life at all times. So the next time you see a biker, hopefully you know a little more about what's going on Inside the Helmet.

See you next time!

The Road Home

Last night I stayed in Salina Kansas, so it was a short 50mi ride to Junction City to have one more breakfast at Stacys Restaurant (see day 2). I arrived at the restaurant around 9:00a. At that time it was apparent that this was the Saturday breakfast spot as the place was packed. Today the front of the restaurant was full of farmers talking about the day ahead. Since there were no seats available in the front, I went to the back room which was mostly families. I'm sure that the lone biker dude was a topic of conversation that morning. After a quick breakfast of biscuits and gravy, bacon, two eggs and hash browns, I was ready to say goodby to this cute little town.

So I hop on the bike and fire up the GPS, programmed for the final leg of my journey. Arrival time shows 8:43p, although I know that's a generous estimate as that didn't include any stops for gas, food or rest. Today ride would take me through 4 states; Kansas, Illinois, Indiana an Ohio. The weather was starting out cool and cloudy, but fine for riding. Little did I know that just one state behind me they would be expecting severe thunderstorms that even included a tornado in Denver. Other than some cold weather here and there, I've been very fortunate with the riding conditions.

For those who have made the long drive (approx. 9 hrs) across Kansas, the scenery is basically hills, wheat & cows. Perhaps in an odd way this feels very confortable to me as I lived in Wichita from age 3 to 12. I have lots of fond childhood memories from here. Regardless there was no time to stop and remenisce as my mission was to get home as soon as was safely possible.

One treat that I did take time for was to stop at a barbeque place called Bandannas for ribs. With the Kuamoo's Ribfest coming up July 18th (yes this your first notice) I needed to get a tast of midwest barbeque. It was well worth the stop.

The rest of the day was pretty much 'hammer down'. Good weather & good traffic, much better than expected. I only had a few moments of tiredness, but I found that a mouthful of sunflower seeds kept me alert quite nicely. I rolled into the driveway at 10:40p and by that time I was ready for some sleep. It's great to be home!

So let me summarize my trip:

The final tally, as shown below, is 4556 miles. With each rotation of the tires taking me 7 feet, that's 3,436,525 tire rotations. I'll never doubt the significance of a good tire.

So now that my journey has ended, let me share a few things that I have learned:

• I like riding more than I thought I did (I wouldn't hesitate to go on another ride of this distance.
• Plan for all weather conditions (it was much colder than expected)
• Flexibility is good (it's about the journey, not the destination)
• There's a lot of beautiful country out west (lots of it)
• People drive real fast out west (gotta love the 80mph speed limits - you know what that means)

I was able to visit 4 national parks while in Utah. Here's a quick summary of each in order of my preference:

1) Bryce - Awe inspiring sandstone structures. Take one of the hikes to see the scenery from within the canyon. The view changes continuously with the light of day. Perhaps the most picturesque of the parks.

2) Escalante (Lower Calf Creek) - A challenging drive through some very rugged country. The hike itself is a great combination of red cliffs and wildlife, culminating in a view of a very nice falls. This park had it all.

3) Zion (The Narrows) - A challenging hike through the river bed that is carved deeply into the canyon. Impressive surrounding rock structures. Initially a bit crowded, but the further I hiked into the canyon the more the crowd thinned out.

4) Arches (Moab) - Picturesque and ever changing. Certainly a must see as what you see today may not be there tomorrow.

In closing, I'd like to thank the readers of this blog for the many nice comments. I hope you enjoyed reading the blog as much as I enjoyed talking about my trip. Over the upcoming weeks I'll be putting enlargement quality pictures on my website (jkuamoophotography.com), should you like to see more.

For you bikers, if you've been thinking about taking a road trip like this, but aren't sure if you can do it, I think you would find that it's easier and more rewarding than you think. My reason for taking this trip was more of a personal 'bucket list' thing. But I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

Last but certainly not least, I'd like to thank my wife who put aside her personal fears and anxieties and supported me in my quest even though her mother was constantly trying to convice her to talk me out of it. Thanks goodness Misty shares my belief that if you gotta go, go doing something you love. Misty, I know this was hard for you, even though you didn't show it (much). I'm a very lucky man!

This journey has come to an end but there's plenty more coming this year. Until then, happy trails!

Day 9 - Colorado to Kansas

After 4 hours of sleep it was back on the road. Today my journey took me from Frutia, CO to Salina, KS.; a little over 900 miles all in all. That leaves me with just over 800 miles for tomorrow's final leg. My original plan was to go all the way to Junction City so that I could eat breakfast at Stacey's, the place I spoke about on day 2, but I decided to stop a little short of Jct. City so that I could catch the final period of the Stanley Cup from my hotel room. Perhaps I'll still hit Stacey's tomorrow. It's that good!

The weather was good today although the Colorado Rockys got a lot of snow last night which made it quite cold passing through the Arapaho Basin. Although the scenery was exceptional (sorry no pictures) needless to say I couldn't wait to get to lower elevations so that I could finally warm up. I also made a few more gasoline stops so that I didn't repeat yesterdays incident, although I am now carrying a small gas can, just in case. I was also a bit tired today, so I needed to stretch more often.

Unfortunately, the timing of when I passed through central Kansas was such that I was not able to stop in Wichita for a Nu Way burger (maybe next time).

Due to the pace that I was trying to keep, I didn't take many pictures. Tomorrow I'll wrap things up with my final post for this trip. I'll provide some general trip statistics, travel trips, and general comments.

Off to bed now so I'm ready for an early start tomorrow.

Day 8 - Escalante Then Home

It's 1:15a and it's been a very active day so I'll be keeping this post short so that I can hit the road early tomorrow and cover some freeway. The morning ride started with rain and temperatures in the 50s, so needless to say, it was a bit chilly. My goal was to ride to Escalante, Utah and take the Lower Calf Creek Falls hike. The trail head to the falls was about 7 hrs. from Ogden, not so much because of the distance, but primarily because the last 40 miles to Escalante was full of twisties that reduced my average pace over that stretch to about 30mph. The trail followed the Calf Creek, a small tributary that meandered through a valley surrounded by tall rock structures, equally impressive as those in other parks in Utah.

The path to the falls was 5.5 miles in length. And of course, the falls was touted as the highlight of the trail. I would have to agree that the falls was very impressive and nice to photograph, however, to me the falls was only one of

many highlights that this trail had to offer.

Calf Creek Falls Trail was a peaceful place where wildlife and vegetation were abundant. After hiking about 2 miles in, I couldn't help but stop and listen to the many birds singing all around me. I've captured a few shots of these birds in the following shots at the end of this post.

Another beautiful aspect of the park was the wonderful blooming cactus and other flowers. If you stood still long enough you would see the hummingbirds drink nectar from the cactus flowers. It was a really cool site.

After the half day hike, I was back on the road and headed for home. The route out of Southern Utah that I took was 12 North to 24 East. This took me through the remainder of Escalante, where the road was a winding two lane road with a 3 foot of shoulder on each side, and a thousand foot drop either direction. Exhilarating to say the least. Next I weaved in and out of the Dixie Forest where deer lined the road as if they were watching a parade. Finally I entered a park called The Capitol Reef. This was a impressive area of large rock structures of most every color. Once again, the road twisted in and out of the canyons and made for one of the most scenic and challenging rides that I've ever been on. I definitely put this on my must ride list if scenery and twisties are your thing.

After leaving the park area, it was a 40 mile straight shot back to I -70. While taking this final road to 70, I noticed that the star were filling the sky so I couldn't resist but to pull over and turn off the lights for a few minutes. What a humbling experience, total darkness around me and a sky full of stars. I kept thinking that this is where the UFO would come in, however, no UFO but I did see a shooting star.

Other than running out of gas on my way back to Grand Junction, it was a great day. Even that experience wasn't all bad as a very nice gentleman saw that I was stranded and took me to the gas station.

Now I'm beat so I'd better catch some shut-eye.

See you tomorrow!