TT250s, Panguitch, Burt and Roz, and more….

First things first…the next shipment of TT250s has arrived.  I’ll be posting photos of the new bikes in the near term.  I’ve been out of action getting my leg fixed up for the last few days, and today I had a steroid shot to take care of what seems to come naturally with getting old (aches and pains in places I didn’t even know I had).  Anyway, the 2018 TT250s are here, so watch for the photos in the next few days.

You guys and gals who follow the CSC blog will remember our second night’s stop in Panguitch, Utah, on the 5000-mile Western America Adventure Ride.  As you know, that story is chronicled in 5000 Miles At 8000 RPM, a book that has recently seen a spate of nice comments on both the Chinariders.net and ADVRider forums…thanks very much, guys!  It seems that a couple of folks who bought the book thought my waxing eloquent about the RX3 was a bit over the top, until they bought the bike themselves (and then they realized I was just telling it like it is).

Anway, back to Panguitch, Utah.   We had dinner that night in the Cowboy’s Smokehouse Café, with our RX3s parked outside, and both the town and the restaurant made a hell of an impression on me, Joe Gresh, John Welker, and a whole bunch of great new friends from China and Colombia…

I liked the place so much that last year Sue and did a trip up to Wyoming for the eclipse, and I knew I wanted to have dinner with my sweetheart at the Cowboy.   Like the year before, we had to wait for a table (the place is amazing, and there’s always a crowd waiting out front for a table).  Anyway, shortly after we were seated, another couple about our age came in.   The guy came over to our table, smiled, and pointed to my Nikon.

“Are you a photographer?” he asked.

“Well, I’ve got a guy named Steve and a bunch of folks who read the CSC blog fooled into thinking I am,” I said, and that, as they say, was the start of a beautiful relationship.   Burt and Roz joined us, we freed up a table, and we had a wonderful Cowboy’s Café dinner.  Like us, Burt and Roz were motoring around the US, and it just so happened that our paths crossed that night in beautiful downtown Panguitch.  We talked about the places we visited, cameras, lenses, and traveling the whole night.   Burt shoots with an Olympus camera, and he and Roz have been to some interesting places.  Sue and I have been, too, but Burt and Roz have one box checked we haven’t managed to hit yet:  India.  Someday, folks.  I can only imagine the photo ops.  And the riding…

Burt is a much better photographer than I am, and his winning entries in magazine photo contests prove it.  He sent some of his recent winning photos to me, and my first question to Burt was:  Can I share them on the CSC blog?   The answer was yes, and here they are…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

And this last one is a photo that Burt grabbed of a newly-married couple.   I can only hope these two young folks get to travel, see the places we have, and have as much fun as Burt and Roz (and Sue and I) have had.  It looks like they are getting a great start…