Nationwide - Two-year Anniversary~

 In the beginning~

10-31-2023

Butch's first Nationwide Semi, Maverick~

10-31-2024 - McMahon Truck Center, Indianapolis, IN

Maverick's only trip to the shop, with a loose sensor wire.

10-28-2025 Maverick II - Home

Home for Halloween - 

Odometer ~

With a new engine, the miles have continued to accumulate.  Total mileage driving for Nationwide - 251,415.  

10-27-2025 In the Caves~

Butch is getting very close to the half-million-mile mark.  He hopes to reach that milestone at the completion of his fourth year OTR coming up February 1, 2022.

The first year~

Back on the Trail~

 Sunday & a beautiful day.  I hadn't ridden the limestone since my wreck, so I decided to leave from the park, go south & see if I could find the hedge apple tree. (I didn't find it, or someone had already picked them all up.)  It's one of my favorite sections of the trail to ride in the fall.

Ready to leave~

There were several families having a picnic near the playground swings.  With this weather, everyone who's been hoping for nice fall days are out enjoying them!

From the woods to the open~

To say I was more careful on the limestone is an understatement.  I've ridden through some sketchy areas many times, but now I'm aware of the consequences of one wrong move.  I'm considering removing my metal pedals & changing them out to the originals.  Those metal grips didn't feel good at all when they hit my leg.

White Cloud Trestle~

I miss my old route to the Silver Creek Trestle, but I'm determined to avoid it all I can, since the installation of the game cameras.  I just pray they leave this bridge alone.  It doesn't get the traffic, since it's a longer ride from the Mineola area, the origination place of some of the organized rides.

Stunning October day~

The leaves seem late to turn this year, maybe because we had some decent rain over the summer months.  In the next couple weeks, the colors should be at their peak.

My break & turnaround spot~

I'd ridden 7.41 miles to this point, according to my Garmin.  I took a short break & called Butch before starting back.  The trucks were roaring along the gravel roads with loads coming from the harvest.  I stopped short of the crossings.  I dismounted to let the drivers know I was waiting & wouldn't be trying to dart across in front of them.  That would be insane.

Very dry corn~

The fields that are still up, look dry & ready for the harvesters.  Beautiful gold in the afternoon sunshine.

Looking north at the White Cloud Trestle~

Back at the trestle, the trees are still green, just starting to show some gold.  It's always a fun ride back, mostly downhill.  I did moderate my speed though, lesson learned.

Back to Malvern~

Things were quiet in town, just a few cars going by on main street.  

Return to the park & Bronco~

Returning to the park, I was sorry the ride was over, but I'd left Finn home & try to limit his alone time to four hours or less.  He's always so good while I'm gone & meets me excitedly at the door when I return!  I'm hoping to get out for a few more rides this month, but the month seems to be flying by.  I'm still mowing & of course the Walnut had the most bumper crop of our years here!  For the last two weeks I've picked up at least 1-2 five-gallon buckets of walnuts a day!  (I counted & a full bucket holds over 250 walnuts!  I wish I was close to one of the collection sites!

Spirit Lake to Silver Lake~

It was a beautiful Friday morning, warm with high clouds.  The only detraction was a good stiff wind.  We went out for lunch before driving to the trailhead.  The mileage was anywhere from 11 to 14 miles, depending on what trail map we used.

Ready to leave from the Tatanka Ska Trace Trailhead, Spirit Lake, IA~

As I mentioned, the colors this year weren't nearly as bright as last year.  The red/orange of the Virginia Creeper lit up the trees as we left town.

Color from Virginia Creeper~

In another mile or so, I caught a glimpse of white through the bushes as we approached a bridge.  I called to Butch & stopped.  Swans!  What a beautiful sight!  The first one's I've ever seen so close & in a natural setting.

I was so excited to see this swan family!

When I looked at Google Earth later, this wetland area is the Jemmersion Slough Wildlife Preserve.  It's totally stunning & covers a huge area.  The most beautiful marsh/wetland I've seen so far in the state.  The swan family was totally unconcerned by our presence.

Beautiful countryside~

The trail put us out in what I like to call the great wide-open.  Out in the countryside this time of year, is one of my favorite places to be.  Up ahead of us I could see a clay-colored structure.

The old grain elevator, now for sale~

As we rode nearer, the old grain elevator dominated the landscape.  There was a "For Sale" sign posted nearby.

Shadow turns over 1,000!

Not too much farther, my bike's odometer turned over 1,000 miles!   My first ride on this bike was the end of March 2024.  I haven't ridden as many miles the last few years as I had before my injury, but even so this has been a great bike & given me the ability to continue riding the trails.

Shadow & me, 1,000 miles~

Butch's bike is new in comparison, but we manage a few rides every year.  Finding these trails near one of our favorite spots has been great.  Soon, we could see dust flying ahead & knew we were nearing Silver Lake.

A busy place!

These grain elevators dwarfed the old one's we'd passed!  The semis were coming & going non-stop.  The piles of corn were impressive!

Mountains of corn!

The trail came to an end at South Market Street.  We decided to turn south; I knew the park & lake had to be nearby.  We rode through a neighborhood & found our way to Silver Lake City Park. 

Silver Lake from the park~

It was such a nice area, an old-fashioned park with a playground that reminded us of our childhood.  

Informational signage~

That the area is interested in preserving the shoreline with native plants was great to see.  

The Knox Cabin~

The Cabin was amazing - with signage explaining the historical significance of the structure.

History of the log cabin~

The Cabin was off to one side of the playground area.  A camping area was there too, along with rest rooms, showers etc.  Probably busy in the summer months, we had it to ourselves.

It's a race!

Some of these playground spring riding toys are well over 50-years old.  This is the first time we've seen any similar to ours.  One was an exact replica of our red horse, only made from a plastic material rather than cast aluminum.  

Silver Lake Park~

Yes!  We played on the merry-go-round & swung on the swings!  You can go pretty high!  It was already late afternoon by the time we started back.

Stunning fall evening~

The wind had picked up & was gusting out of the south.  We both used our highest PAS gear to make any headway.  The high cloud cover gave the landscape an eerie cast.

Our way back east~

Butch set the pace & I could tell he was getting hungry!  I did stop to recover my sun bill.  A gust of wind had taken it right off my head!

Trail Signage, rolling hills~

The photo above gives you an idea of the undulating nature of the landscape.  The road crossings were covered with concrete.  Really a nice feature of the trail, mitigating the usual heavy gravel of road crossings.

The swan family at Jemmerson Slough Wildlife Management Area~

On the way back, I had to stop again & sure enough, the swans were still there.  By the time we'd returned to the Bronco in Spirit Lake, we'd ridden a round-trip of 24 miles.  

Our favorite restaurant~

We always have to plan at least one meal at the Okoboji Store.  With the Iowa Hawkeyes playing, we were lucky to get the last empty table on the deck.  Drinks in front of us, dinner ordered!  The perfect way to end the day!

Our Anniversary Trip~

 By 11 a.m. on our 43rd anniversary, Butch was backing Maverick into the Cabin's driveway!  I'd made reservations at Okoboji for the following night & we planned to leave Friday morning.  His dispatcher didn't seem to know the difference between one day & the next, having scheduled him to make a delivery before midnight, the 9th.  He would have had a wait to be unloaded, then have a three-hour drive to Omaha. After an intense phone conversation, his dispatch changed & he dropped the loaded trailer at Nationwide for another driver to deliver.  This is the one time he expects to get home when he's scheduled home time weeks in advance.  It's been an on-going issue & it's difficult to make reservations.

Butch is Home!

I didn't know for sure when he'd be home & was mowing when he arrived.  Butch got out of the truck, after hours of driving & finished the job for me!  I finished packing & made lunch.  Later, we enjoyed a rare evening sitting out on the deck, before dinner.

Friday morning, we dropped Finn off with Doris. He was a little unsure when he met Doris's daughter & niece - who were visiting too! (Celebrating Doris's 94th Birthday!) Doris said later, it didn't take Finn long to make new friends. 

 It was a perfect fall day & I was looking forward to the drive. We stopped in Spencer for lunch before arriving at our hotel to drop off our things.  We drove to East Lake Park on the shore of East Okoboji Lake.  We unloaded our bikes & left on the Great Lakes Spine Trail.  I realized I'd forgotten my Garmin...  (I took a photo of my bikes odometer mileage & used that to log our rides.)  Our first goal was the Tatanka Trail head.

At the Tatanka Ska Trailhead~

Admiring the views, we noticed things appeared dryer here than at home.  The colors we'd enjoyed last year weren't in evidence.  The leaves were dry & littered the trail.  It was just before 6 p.m. when we reached the Dickinson County covered trailhead in Spirit Lake.  Taking the same trail we had last year, we didn't have too far to go.  We were out about five miles when we came to the barrier in the photo below.

Trail Closed...

We'd seen pipe going in several places along the trail, but there was no notice of a closed trail posted.  We turned back, disappointed.  It was just before 7 p.m. by the time we'd returned to the Bronco.

Back at the shore of East Lake Okoboji~

Our plan for Saturday, was to leave from the Tatanka Trailhead & take the newest trail due east to Silver Lake.  According to the map, 14-miles one way.  We'd ridden out a few miles last year & hoped to complete the route this time!