DPeakMD
New member
All of us love surprises!
That's what was waiting for me when I check my email last Friday. Surprise! Tomorrow there's going to be a ride starting after our usual Club breakfast at Shapiro's Delicatessen in downtown Indy. Not only does it include a Club ride, but--surprise--there's an optional camp out, as well!
Getting the approval from my wife was necessary, but after that I was IN for both riding and camping. Hearing the forecast for 38 degree temps Saturday night, she unfortunately was NOT going. Too bad.
The troops assembled and enjoyed breakfast. Afterwards the riders and campers took off. Rick, John, Wayne, Peggy and myself were camping. Ralph went along on the ride but had to come back home.
The weather was perfect.
We wound our way down the backroads from Indianapolis, through scenic Brown County and on to Monroe Reservoir where we made camp at Paynetown State Rec Area. They allowed our four tents on two campsites which only cost $6.50 per tent. Good bargain!
The little green tent is my Nemo Morpho--fantastic fun little tent.
The size ranged from mine to Rick's huge Taj Mahal tent a Big Anges that sleeps six!
This is just the vestibule!
Setting up camp must have struck up more of an appetite and off we went in search of food. Ending up in downtown Bloomington (home of IU Hoosiers!) where we were very fortunate and found a parking spot right on Kirkwood Ave. There are so many really good restaurants in this town. It's hard to choose.
Right in front of a fabulous little Greek restaurant and Bar called the Trojan Horse.
We had a great meal and enjoyed some lively conversation intermixed with some college football action on the big screen.
After dinner we enjoyed some sights around downtown Bloomington. Including their beautiful courthouse and this statuesque war memorial.
On the ride back to the campground we stopped for libations to enjoy later by the campfire. This is John enjoying a vodka martini, of course, it's shaken, not stirred!
This reminds me of a touring tip...if traveling through Kentucky, as I did going to the Spartanburg Rides...remember they have "dry counties." I was surprised to learn they still existed! However here in Indiana, we don't have any, so no worries!
The Camp Store at Paynetown is relatively well stocked with munchies, NA beverages and, most importantly, firewood! So you can guess what the next activity involved! Fortunately I still have all ten fingers after helping to split the kindling!
Yet another surprise later on! A band was playing 50's and 60's rock&roll in an outdoor amphitheater by the lake. They were really pretty good! We could here them quite well from our campsite whilst enjoying tall tales of motorcycle travels and travails into the night.
Finally it was time to say our good-nights ala "The Waltons" as we crawled into some (fortunately) warm cozy sleeping bags. We awoke in the morning to find some frozen dew. This was my bike cover.
A view of the bikes and tents in the sunrise.
A view of the sun coming across Lake Monroe and mist coming off the water.
I attempted to make a pot of press-pot coffee with my JetBoil. They named that thing really well...when its boiling over and jetting hot coffee everywhere and you're trying to shut off the little knob, it CAN make you boil! Oh well. We hit the campstore for more coffee and breakfast snacks!
We had enough firewood left to re-stoke the fire and warm ourselves a little until the sun came up.
We broke up camp after the sun came up and warmed/dried things off a little. Rick figured out how to fit his BIG 'Big Agnes' tent and vestibule into the smaller of his two Mica-Tech cases. Those things have a lot of room!
It was off to breakfast at a nearby log cabin-style indie diner and then off to more riding and working our way home.
The not-so-surprising things I learned from this camp out:
That's what was waiting for me when I check my email last Friday. Surprise! Tomorrow there's going to be a ride starting after our usual Club breakfast at Shapiro's Delicatessen in downtown Indy. Not only does it include a Club ride, but--surprise--there's an optional camp out, as well!
Getting the approval from my wife was necessary, but after that I was IN for both riding and camping. Hearing the forecast for 38 degree temps Saturday night, she unfortunately was NOT going. Too bad.
The troops assembled and enjoyed breakfast. Afterwards the riders and campers took off. Rick, John, Wayne, Peggy and myself were camping. Ralph went along on the ride but had to come back home.
The weather was perfect.
We wound our way down the backroads from Indianapolis, through scenic Brown County and on to Monroe Reservoir where we made camp at Paynetown State Rec Area. They allowed our four tents on two campsites which only cost $6.50 per tent. Good bargain!
The little green tent is my Nemo Morpho--fantastic fun little tent.
The size ranged from mine to Rick's huge Taj Mahal tent a Big Anges that sleeps six!
This is just the vestibule!
Setting up camp must have struck up more of an appetite and off we went in search of food. Ending up in downtown Bloomington (home of IU Hoosiers!) where we were very fortunate and found a parking spot right on Kirkwood Ave. There are so many really good restaurants in this town. It's hard to choose.
Right in front of a fabulous little Greek restaurant and Bar called the Trojan Horse.
We had a great meal and enjoyed some lively conversation intermixed with some college football action on the big screen.
After dinner we enjoyed some sights around downtown Bloomington. Including their beautiful courthouse and this statuesque war memorial.
On the ride back to the campground we stopped for libations to enjoy later by the campfire. This is John enjoying a vodka martini, of course, it's shaken, not stirred!
This reminds me of a touring tip...if traveling through Kentucky, as I did going to the Spartanburg Rides...remember they have "dry counties." I was surprised to learn they still existed! However here in Indiana, we don't have any, so no worries!
The Camp Store at Paynetown is relatively well stocked with munchies, NA beverages and, most importantly, firewood! So you can guess what the next activity involved! Fortunately I still have all ten fingers after helping to split the kindling!
Yet another surprise later on! A band was playing 50's and 60's rock&roll in an outdoor amphitheater by the lake. They were really pretty good! We could here them quite well from our campsite whilst enjoying tall tales of motorcycle travels and travails into the night.
Finally it was time to say our good-nights ala "The Waltons" as we crawled into some (fortunately) warm cozy sleeping bags. We awoke in the morning to find some frozen dew. This was my bike cover.
A view of the bikes and tents in the sunrise.
A view of the sun coming across Lake Monroe and mist coming off the water.
I attempted to make a pot of press-pot coffee with my JetBoil. They named that thing really well...when its boiling over and jetting hot coffee everywhere and you're trying to shut off the little knob, it CAN make you boil! Oh well. We hit the campstore for more coffee and breakfast snacks!
We had enough firewood left to re-stoke the fire and warm ourselves a little until the sun came up.
We broke up camp after the sun came up and warmed/dried things off a little. Rick figured out how to fit his BIG 'Big Agnes' tent and vestibule into the smaller of his two Mica-Tech cases. Those things have a lot of room!
It was off to breakfast at a nearby log cabin-style indie diner and then off to more riding and working our way home.
The not-so-surprising things I learned from this camp out:
- Motorcycle camping is A LOT of fun!
- You don't need a lot of planning to have a good time!
- It's not how many miles you ride, but how many smiles you bring home with you.
- When using a JetBoil--forget the old addage that 'a watched pot never boils'!
