August 28, 2005 ... Sixteen riders went out into the Flint Hills of Butler, Elk, and Cowley counties. Our rendezvous point was at the hotel in Beaumont, KS ... where we shared parking space with light aircraft, a vintage car club, and a helicopter. Making this ride: KLR650 riders ... Cody Adams - Udall, Jeff Gilliland - Wichita, Troy Wolf - Kansas City, Kyle Wolf - Wichita, Brady Allensworth - Wichita, Kris Coleman - Wichita, Larry Ostrom - Concordia, and Roger Baugh - Wichita. The rest of the group included: Shawn Johnson - Shawnee - DRZ400, Kenneth Meyer - Goddard - DRZ400, Douglas Bump - Wichita - DR650, Stu Nowlin - Lawrence - KTM 450 EXC, Barry Hoofer - Wichita - DRZ400, Richard Sobba - Towanda - DR650, Randall Eggert - Sand Springs, OK - BMW R1150 GS, and Tony Adams - Udall - Triumph Tiger. Upon starting out, we immediately noticed a new feature on the skyline south of town. A large windmill farm is being constructed to meet future energy needs. The size of the structures and field is breathtaking. Running south towards Latham, we turned east to view the upland valley formed by Grouse Creek. The vista provided is impressive. We then rode south to Grenola and the backroads found to the southeast of town. After a couple of ventures to locate a crossing for the Caney River, we eventually found one that was passable ... allowing us to continue our travels back to Grouse Creek, and several stone arched bridges. As the ride was reaching its' conclusion, we split into smaller groups so riders could get started on their return trips home. All in all .... another excellent ride. Despite the large group, we were able to take in a lot of scenery, enjoy a good bit of camaraderie, and encountered no mechanical problems or mishaps. Click on a thumbnail to view a larger image. Use your browser's "back" button, or the "left" arrow in the navigation bar to return to this page.

To see a Quicktime streaming video of the Caney River crossing ... click here To download an MPEG video ( 9 MB ) ... Click here

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