Category Archives: Museum

Route 66 Connections: No Expectations, No Focus

Posted on August 5, 2016 by smspangler

When traveling without expectations, a journey is at first a series of disconnected experiences because it occurs organically, not in a series of marketing meetings that plan it from start to finish. That’s where I’ve been for the past two … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Food, Main Street, Motorcycle, Museum | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Route 66: There Will be Serendiculous Wrong Turns

Posted on August 3, 2016 by smspangler

With a multitude of cutoff towns and rerouted roads, there is not one true path for Route 66. You pick an era and hope for the best. For the most part, Ed and I have been following the 1926-30 route … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Food, Main Street, Motorcycle, Museum, National Historic Register | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Route 66: Pink Lines & Roads Previously Traveled

Posted on August 2, 2016 by smspangler

Morning dawned gray and wet in Pacific, Missouri. Waiting it out seemed the best option because riding in the moist contrails of the semis barreling down the road unabated by the weather, seemed the best course of action. The Quality … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Main Street, Motorcycle, Museum, Travel | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Unrealistic Expectations and Geographic Surprises in Washington, DC

Posted on June 2, 2016 by smspangler

As all of my past half dozen or so trips to Washington, DC, have been for business, I’ve never had the time—no, I’ve never felt comfortable taking time from my appointed business mission—to visit the headquarters of the magazine that … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Museum, Travel | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

One on One with a Windmill

Posted on June 12, 2015 by smspangler

On my way from Burlington Junction, Missouri, where my great grandpa Spangler died with five others when a tornado in 1903 flattened the Masonic Lodge they’d taken refuge in, and Palmyra, Nebraska, where my grandpa Spangler was born in 1897 … Continue reading →

Posted in Main Street, Motorcycle, Museum | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Weathering the Storm, Literally and Metaphorically

Posted on June 26, 2014 by smspangler

GERING, NEBRASKA—While forking a ham and cheese omelet with hash browns into my face for dinner tonight, the grating National Weather Service klaxon that announces severe weather echoed in the kitchen of Sheryl’s Log Cabin. I couldn’t hear what the … Continue reading →

Posted in Lodging, Main Street, Motorcycle, Museum, Travel | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Heading East for Home but Waylaid by Lindbergh’s VW Beetle

Posted on August 16, 2013 by smspangler

LITTLE FALLS, MINNESOTA—Heading home after two weeks on the road, crossing into my home time zone yesterday at the border of North Dakota and Minnesota infected me with get-home-itis. Starting every day by riding into the rising sun as it … Continue reading →

Posted in Craft Beer, Food, Lodging, Motorcycle, Museum, Travel | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Tonka Trucks Discover the Spirit in North Dakota

Posted on August 15, 2013 by smspangler

DEVILS LAKE, NORTH DAKOTA—North Dakota’s license plate is a colorful image of the plains, and in the sky it says “Discover the Spirit.” In the lower left corner stands a bison on two stems of wheat, opposite of the ready-to-harvest … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Lodging, Motorcycle, Museum, Service, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Making All the Right Turns, Counter to the Traffic’s Flow

Posted on August 13, 2013 by smspangler

HAVRE, MONTANA—Thunderstorms awakened me in Kalispell around 0245 this morning, and when I reawakened at 0730, I was afraid to look beyond the curtain. Partly cloudy and sunshine. With no free breakfast or coffee at the Blue & White, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Motorcycle, Museum, National Parks, Service, Travel | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment