Feel Good Stuff – Page 4 – The ExhaustNotes Blog

The Yanke Motor Museum

By Joe Berk

Talk about a hidden gem and a great destination: The Yanke Motor Museum in Boise, Idaho is about as good as it gets. There’s precious little information on the Internet about it, but trust me, it’s worth seeing. It’s not widely publicized and you can’t just roll up and visit its treasures; admission is by appointment only. My advice is to make the run to Boise and make the effort to get an appointment. The Yanke Motor Museum contains a world class automobile, motorcycle, tractor, and musical instrument collection.

A 1924 Packard convertible is one of the first vintage cars you encounter upon entering the Yanke Motor Museum.

As you know from reading this blog, I’m a big fan of car and motorcycle museums, and I never heard of the Yanke Motor Museum. It’s the only automotive museum in Idaho, and it never appeared on my radar before. I only came across it because I Googled “motorcycle museums in Boise.” Some of the Internet services won’t tell you that it’s by appointment only, but that’s the deal. Further complicating things, some of the GPS programs get the directions wrong. We used Waze to find the address and it worked.

There is a lot to see at the Yanke Motor Museum. We were lucky: Sue and I had the place to ourselves. We made an appointment and new good buddy Tyler (one of the curators) pulled up just as we entered the parking lot. Tyler was in a silver Subaru WRX, so I liked him right away. He opened the place just for us, and then he had to walk around turning all the lights on (and he flipped a lot of switches to do that). The place is huge.

A 1957 Cadillac. This is a beautiful car. I was 6 years old when it rolled off the assembly line.

I didn’t quite know what to expect because when we entered the main display area (after walking through a collection of musical instruments), I at first saw mostly automobiles. They were impressive and they were plentiful (see the Packard and drop-dead-gorgeous pink Cadillac above), with the odd motorcycle parked here and there. There was a Ural and a couple of Harley dressers, so I asked Tyler if there were more motorcycles. He smiled and pointed me toward another hall. Wow, were there ever! In fact, my back started bothering me lugging my boat-anchor Nikon D810 and 24-120 lens around to get the photos you see here, but it was worth it.

A Ural with a sidecar. Good buddy Dan owns one of these.

Before we got to the main motorcycle hall, we saw several more interesting motorcycles and the odd trike or two. There was a ’37 SS Jag replicar. It was flanked by a stunning cherry red Harley Servi-Car and a custom flathead Ford trike with Offenhauser heads.

A flathead Ford trike. Check out the front brake.

A custom in every sense of the word. The workmanship is stunning.

Offenhauser heads. Offy also made complete 4-cylinder engines. Think decades of Indy 500 dominance.

One last view of the flattie trike. Even the tires are beautiful.

Susie and I were blown away by the classic cars and the multiple motorcycles we encountered at the Yanke Motor Museum, and we hadn’t even made it to the motorcycle room yet. In the main hall, classic motocross and other bikes were scattered among the cars and other vehicles.

I once had a friend who thought a Bultaco was a Mexican food item. No kidding.

There was a flatbed truck with a Harley XLCR Cafe Racer, a vintage Indian Chief, and a vintage Harley.

I could have bought a new ’77 XLCR just like this one for $3,000, but I couldn’t justify spending $3,000 for a motorcycle back then. I don’t know who I thought I had to justify it to.

When we entered the motorcycle room, it was like being a kid in a candy shop. No, wait, I take that back. I used to be a kid in a candy shop six or seven decades ago. This was better. Just about everything imaginable was there if you are looking for cool motorcycles. Desert racers, WW II military Harley 45s, modern bikes, custom bikes, vintage Harleys, vintage Indians, scooters, Whizzers, vintage flat track and flathead Harley race bikes, and more. The Nikon was giving me fits weighing heavily on my lower back, and leaning over to get macro engine shots was getting downright painful, but I didn’t care. Susie had an Advil, I swallowed it, and the photo safari continued. I was on a mission. Anything and everything for our ExNotes readers…that’s our mantra.

In the motorcycle room…check out the Army 45s.

A 1934 74-cubic-inch Harley VLD flathead, another stunning motorcycle.

Harley-Davidson flathead flat track racing motorcycles.

Ah, the patina! Check out the steel shoe!

An Army 45 in decidedly non-Army colors.

The Yanke Motor Museum also contained some cool military stuff, including Jeeps and a few cannons. Cannons!

The same action as a Ruger No. 1. A classic falling block concept.

A custom scope mount for direct fire. This thing must be a hoot to shoot. Folks at the Museum reload for it.

I thought it couldn’t possibly get any better, but when I peeked into an adjoining room I spotted several 37mm and 25mm projectiles in various stages of the reloading process. Imagine that: Reloading for your own cannons! There’s no doubt about it: The folks who own and run the Yanke Motor Museum are our kind people.

Ron and Linda Yanke started the Museum. An extremely successful entrepreneur, Ron is unfortunately no longer with us. The Yanke family started the business empire with a machine shop. Ron Yanke expanded the business holdings to sawmills, an air charter service, a firefighting equipment manufacturer, extensive timberland holdings, several real estate companies, a mechanical contracting firm, a manufactured housing company, and a couple of banks. He was one of three original investors in Micron Technology, the world’s second-largest memory chip manufacturer.

The Yanke Motor Museum is located at 1090 Boeing Street in Boise, Idaho. If you want to get in, here’s the web address that will get you started.

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Old Idaho State Penitentiary

By Joe Berk

I don’t know what it is about prisons that fascinates us. Susie and I have been on three prison tours (the Old Idaho State Penitentiary, the topic of this blog, is our third; the earlier two were Alcatraz and the West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville). It’s not just us; abandoned prison tours are a hot ticket and Hollywood loves to do prison movies. The Shawshank Redemption was a hugely successful film (I watch it every time it’s on the tube), and Netflix is currently running Orange is the New Black (don’t waste your time on that one). Google the topic “Why we love prison shows” and the Internet will light up with underlying psychological reasons: The ultimate loss of control, the inherent brutality of man, surviving after losing everything, etc. But that’s enough armchair psychology…let’s get on to the topic of this blog: The Old Idaho State Penitentiary.

The entrance to the Old Idaho State Prison. The warden’s office was immediately on the left as you entered.

Idaho (actually, Idaho convicts) built the Old Idaho State Penitentiary in 1870. The construction was sandstone mined from the hills surrounding Boise. It held prisoners for 101 years, and during that time, this old prison had its share of escapes, executions, and experiences that make for an interesting tour. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the Old Idaho State Penitentiary is that the grounds are so beautiful. It’s more like a botanical garden than a prison.

The landscaping is magnificent. Wandering the grounds, it almost feels like a college campus (with, of course, solitary confinement and Death Row).

Another scene from inside the prison grounds.

One of our fellow tourists asked our guide, Eric Overzet, if the grounds were as nice when prisoners were housed there as they are today. Eric told us they were.

The first structure we entered was the prison’s multi-purpose building. It served a number of functions, including being a shirt factory, a shoe shop and then a shoe factory, a bakery, a license plate shop, the laundry, a hobby room, and a loafing room. It also housed the prison showers.

Inside the prison’s multi-purpose building. The prison showed movies here, too.

The prison’s shoe and bakery outputs were particularly successful after they started selling to the public, and to hear Eric tell it, they made a hell of a product for a very low price. The Idaho State Penitentiary manufactured shoes that cost a fraction of what store-bought shoes cost, and they lasted much longer. The shoes were so good the prison worked itself out of the market. They saturated the Boise shoe market and the business folded. Other ventures were more successful. When the prison bakery started selling donuts to the public, word quickly spread that they were the best donuts in town. The prison produced 4,000 donuts a day. People lined up outside the prison to buy them. A lot of donut sales were to police officers (some of whom probably put the guys who made the donuts in prison).

Next we toured the cell blocks. Things looked bleak. You wouldn’t want to live in a place like this.

Eric Overzet sharing stories of prison operation and famous prisoners.

The different halls had different kinds of cells. This cell housed four people.

We saw the levers that opened and closed the cell doors. Seeing them was like seeing a scene out of a movie. As a retired mechanical engineer and all-around gearhead, I enjoyed seeing the mechanism. Everything operated mechanically; there was no software or any of the other intangible things we would use today.

The locking devices were patented in 1897. The Pauly Jail Building Company is still in business today.

Levers for opening selected cell doors or all cell doors at the same time.

There are five prison halls in the Idaho State Penitentiary, and several different forms of “special housing” (i.e., solitary confinement). I couldn’t remember all the ones Eric described, but one stuck in my mind: A set of underground 4 ft by 4 ft by 4 ft cubes for solitary confinement. There were hatches at ground level through which a prisoner entered. It was hot when we were there. I can’t imagine what it must have been like in those little boxes in Idaho in the summer, nor can I imagine what it must have been like in the freezing winter months. In 1909, inspectors from the State of Idaho decided these 4 ft cubes were too cruel for human confinement and directed the prison to stop using them. The prison told the inspectors they agreed, and then they continued to use the little punishment boxes until well into the 1950s.

Another set of solitary confinement cells were known as “Siberia.”

No shoes, no shirt, no service, and most definitely, no loafing.

As one might expect, the execution chamber and Death Row are areas that get the most attention. When the Old Idaho State Prison was in operation, hanging was the only execution method. Idaho uses lethal injection today, but when good old-fashioned hanging was in vogue the execution chamber was designed around it. The noose hung from a mount in the ceiling, with the trap directly below it. I shot these photos from the witness gallery window.

Idaho uses lethal injection today; there are currently 8 men and 1 woman on Idaho’s Death Row. The modern Idaho State Penitentiary is just south of Boise; the women’s prison is in Pocatello, Idaho. When the Old Idaho State Penitentiary was in business, both men and women were imprisoned there (separately, of course).

The trap that dropped the condemned to their death.

You may want to go back up to the featured photo at the top of this blog. Old Tony Grooms (featured in that picture) was a real bad boy. There were several placards explaining the crimes of occupants in different cells and what they did while in prison. Old Tony had acid splashed in his eyes and convinced the prison guards he was blind. The guards figured it out when nurses were in the prison for a medical emergency and they saw Tony following them with his eyes. I can’t tell that story as well as our guide Eric can; that’s a good reason for you to visit the Old Idaho State Penitentiary.

We enjoyed the Old Idaho State Prison tour. You can also do a self-guided tour, but we were lucky. We arrived just as Eric’s tour was about to start. My advice is to go for the guided tour. Eric was a magnificent guide and entertaining storyteller, and he knows a lot about the place. We would not have gotten as much out of the tour just wandering around by ourselves.

The Old Idaho State Penitentiary is in Boise’s Historical District at 2445 Old Penitentiary Road. Admission is only $8. The guided tour is another $2, and that’s a hell of a deal.

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Laguna Seca 4: AHRMA Wrap Up

By Joe Gresh

Foggy and cold in the morning. I broke down and bought a burrito from the Flag and Wicket down in the paddock. Everything was soaking wet and I didn’t feel like making food. The Rag and Basket has good burritos and they are nearly the same price as a Quart-o-Grease from McDingies.

The Rag and Moose down in the paddock has good eats for not too much money.

I don’t think they can run in the wet fog but the rider’s meeting is on. We will see if they wait a bit.

The trials sections were mostly tight corners in uneven terrain

This never happened historically but I’m letting it go.

When you’re at the track you’ll need to be somewhat self sufficient as the only place nearby is the Toro restaurant and they close early. There a little food store towards Salinas but before the Toro where you can get stuff. Forget going west to Monterey, it’s sort of touristy and unless you’re going to the Aquarium or cannery row it’s a food desert. It could be that I don’t know where to look.

I think it will be a short day today. The fog is still thick, if a bike went off the course you’d never know it.

Foggy conditions delayed the racing for a bit. AHRMA still managed to run a full slate

I wandered over to the trials sections and they were ok, the fog doesn’t bother trials riders as they only need to see a few feet ahead. There was a triple log obstacle that I saw only one guy on a TY175 clear. Everyone else dabbed. The trials was held down in a little valley and the sections led a short way up the sides. Very tight turns and soft sand caught out many competitors.

Two old codgers on two old bikes. Still flogging. Fulton and Roper.

Back on the track the fog cleared and AHRMA ran 14 more multi-class races. You get your money’s worth for sure.

I’ve decided to let the whole historic thing go. What AHRMA really does is provide sanctioned races for orphan motorcycles, both new and old. Even 160-175 Honda twins.

Sunday the campground empties out and the squirrels take over. You’ll need to keep that tent closed or they’ll rob you blind. I like the Sunday night, it’s quiet and you get to be alone for a few hours.

The wind never let up the entire day and I got sort of tired watching so many races. It was dry and around race 12 I decided to load Godzilla in the truck before the plastic bed liner got slippery with dew.

All in, I’ve been here four days and it’s time to break camp and get back home. I highly recommend attending the AHRMA either as a spectator or a competitor. Just bring plenty of water and any food you might like to eat.

I’ll be back next year. Maybe bring the RD350 to see how it runs at sea level.

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Laguna 2: More Hasty Conclusions From Laguna Seca

By Joe Gresh

Man I slept good last night. The combination of the new cot, air mattress and mummy bag worked to perfection. Add in the cool moist Monterey weather and the loudspeaker’s 8:15 call for a rider’s meeting was the first thing I heard. I’ve really got this camping thing down. With the added capacity of the Toyota truck I was able to bring along a few luxury items. Like a chair and an ice chest.

Can Ams also had a somewhat unusual disc valve with a long intake runner leading to a carb in the back of the engine next to your left foot.

A bike I never knew about, the AMMEX motocross bike.

A 1930s Husqvarna. Not much different than my 2008 version.

Unlike last year, there are no food trucks in the paddock, only the Bear and Shank which has some pretty good food at reasonable (for California) prices. The ice chest frees me of food anxiety, I’ve got plenty for the weekend.

My enduro riding buddy, Gilroy Larry, stopped by with his clean TY250 Yamaha trials bike. We rode over to the trials area but it was more secure than last year. There’s also a sweet, old-style motocross track where a guy can race his old bike without spending 95% of his time in the air. (Note to Supercross: less hang time and more racing!)

I still have one of these in boxes. It’s a C110 Honda 50. 4-speed with hand clutch and a pushrod engine. When mine ran it did around 45 miles per hour.

Unusual rear wheel on a Mule flat track style bike.

I had one of these also. This is a one-owner, dad’s old bike.

Since we are apolitical here on ExNotes I know Berk will love this Suzuki 100.

A beautiful 500 Tiger for not much money.

It’s a good thing I don’t have $4500 laying around or i’d buy the Triumph.

There are entirely too damn many four-strokes out here. My era of motorcycle racing was dominated by two strokes both on the pavement and in the dirt. Flat track was the only place four-strokes were competitive and that was by favorable rules. To me, a buzzing stroker is the sound of speed.

Bikes are warming up on Laguna’s interior roads. You’ll see a full on road racer cruise by the camp if you wake up early.

The same dense air that’s makes it so easy to sleep has Godzilla running fabulously. The grunt is amazing and the smooth, steady beat makes me want to move here rather than tune for my 6000-foot elevation.

Yesterday we had no fog and the picnic table was soaking wet in the morning. This morning diaphanous clots of fog are blowing past like smoke from a fire and the picnic table is bone dry. Listen, I don’t like using diaphanous any more than you like reading it. I guess should have paid more attention in meteorology class.

There was a vintage bike show at the track. The show had a pretty decent turnout. Maybe 50 bikes showed up. I owned several of the models represented.

The evolution of Maico crankcases Part 1: 1970s.

The evolution of Maico crankcases Part 2: The 1980s.

It’s hard to beat looking at old CanAm motorcycles while out on the track vintage bikes are racing by at full song.

Sent from my iPhone

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ExNotes Hasty Conclusions: The 2024 AHRMA at Laguna Seca

By Joe Gresh

Rookie mistake: leaving your chair outside at night. The dew is heavy at Laguna Seca and my campsite is shaded from the early morning sun.

I love the pipes on this Turnip. Not likely to drag in corners!

I’ll walk around the pits instead. No food trucks yet and the Bear + Flag doesn’t open very early. Luckily I brought along some Cafe Bustello instant.

Tech inspection. The lines were long which is a good thing for AHRMA (America Historic Racing Motorcycle Association).

Triple tracker wandered into pavement world.

175 Bridgestone twin. The terror of the track back in the day. Hondas didn’t even try.

VP race fuel on site. Only a few bucks more that the 86/corn squeezed crap you buy on the street.

Mono framed side car. Very thin aluminum. I’m shocked it doesn’t crack.

Heavy side car contingent at this year’s races.

The crowd in the pit area seems to be as large as it was last year with even more Honda 160-175 twins. These things are like cockroaches while the actual bikes that raced in the 1960’s/1970’s are thin on the ground. I guess those Hondas survived because no one raced them.

Even if you don’t care for motorcycles Laguna Seca is a great place to camp. I have Site 110. The trees have grown a bit and I’m worried about ground squirrels breaking into my tent and stealing my food.

There are lots on fairly modern bikes, too. At least they are modern to me; they are probably 25 years old.

I made the mistake riding into Monterey. Lots of traffic. The only restaurant open was a McDonald’s. An older lady was buying a single cigarette from a guy who was out by the parking lot. I could see the bay from McDonald’s. Inside, there was no one to take your order. Electronic kiosks were set up and you entered your order then paid at the kiosk. There were about 5 people waiting, glancing down at the bits of paper the kiosk spit out. No one was getting food. McDonald’s food is not good enough to go through the hassle, so I left.

Heading back towards the track on Highway 68 the traffic came to a halt. It took me about an hour to go 4 miles. My old Yamaha 360 did not care for this kind of treatment. Forget going anywhere from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. In the evening I sat and watched the long line of motor homes making their way to the paddock. It was fun…to me.

Today is race school and practice. Tomorrow (Saturday) the racing starts in earnest.

Sent from my iPhone

That BSA at the top of this blog was not racing. I included it for Hack.

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Boise’s Birds of Prey

By Joe Berk

When Sue and I moved into our home some 40+ years ago, I was setting up my office when I heard a thump. It sounded like a bird flew into the window, so I looked out and sure enough, there was a rather large red-tailed hawk on my front yard with its wings spread out. The thing was huge, and I knew that if it had flown into the window, it would have broken glass, but the window was intact. I’d never seen a red-tailed hawk close up (the thing was only about 10 feet away). The way its wings were spread out led me to believe it had maybe hit the roof and was now lying there, wounded, in front of me.

I was pondering my next step when the hawk lifted one wing and peered down. It wasn’t wounded at all. It held another bird in its talons, which were tightly clenched around its neck. The hawk shook the other bird and it twitched a bit, so it put its wing down again and waited (as did I). After maybe another minute, the hawk did an instant replay, except this time the bird in its claws was motionless. The hawk released it and then, with its beak, proceeded to tear into the smaller bird’s body, taking its time and eating the internal organs. When it finished, it flew off, leaving the dead bird and a scattering of its feathers. I’ve been fascinated by birds of prey ever since, and I live in a good spot for one so afflicted. We have a family of red-tailed hawks and another family of great horned owls that nest nearby. When I ride into Baja, we get great photos of osprey eating sushi in the protected areas near Guerrero Negro. These birds are amazing, so when I was in Boise and I saw they the World Center for Birds of Prey, I was in. It’s only $10 for a senior citizen ticket. I would have paid more. The photo ops were…well, read on. You’ll see.

A Peregrine Falcon taking a sip of water.

Not bad for shooting through chicken coop wiring.

The first raptor we saw was a peregrine falcon. It was the first one I’d ever seen, although I’d heard about them being in our area when I was growing up in New Jersey. They live in many regions, but I’d never encountered one before. I’m pleased with the photo; I photographed the bird through its wire cage and the wires blurred and disappeared in the image.

Next up was my old buddy, the red-tailed hawk. The lighting was much more of a challenge here, as this one was in an indoor cage with bars instead of woven wire. I had to angle myself to get the camera lens pointed between the bars.

We walked a little further and saw a sign for the California condor exhibit.

California Condors are huge birds, as these tracks in the sidewalk indicate. That’s my Buster Brown in the photo for a size comparison.

I had never seen one of these, other than the super cool video Mike Huber posted in one of his blogs. Mike had a surreal experience. Boise’s Birds of Prey Center breeds the California condor; they are then released in California’s Pinnacles National Park. Coming back from near extinction, they now range all over the American Southwest and down into Baja. When Mike hiked into Pinnacles National park and stopped to eat his lunch, a California condor landed just a few feet away. Lucky guy, Mike is.

Two California Condors hanging out in Boise, Idaho.

Wow. These birds have a 9 1/2-foot wingspan.

The Harpy eagle is an unusually photogenic raptor. They range from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. Like some of our ExNotes commenters, it started squawking up a storm when I mentioned I watch Fox News.

The Ornate hawk-eagle is another large raptor. It’s from the tropical regions of Central and South America. I had never heard of this bird, nor had I ever seen one. It is beautiful. It’s another one I photographed through the bars of its cage.

An Ornate Hawk-Eagle, an appropriately named bird if ever there was one. Because the Birds of Prey Center also takes in injured birds, I thought this one was missing a leg until I processed the photo below.

The Birds of Prey Center had a gyrfalcon (also known as the Arctic Falcon) that I think was the most interesting bird there. While I was photographing it, I tilted my head, and the falcon tilted his head. I then tilted my head the other way, and the falcon mimicked that, too. I started doing so repeatedly, and so did the bird. The only thing missing was the music. It was really cool.

The gyrfalcon lives in the Arctic. It’s the largest falcon in the world, and it’s perfectly okay living in temperatures that dip below -40 degrees.

Here’s a photo I particularly like. It’s a great horned owl. We’ve had a family of these owls nest behind our house in the past, and it was great seeing the baby owl chicks emerge from the nest for a few weeks and then finally fly away. They are large birds. One still comes around on patrol, looking for mice and other tasty treats. It wakes us up sometimes hooting away in the dark. I’ve seen these fly by and they are impressive. Their flight is absolutely silent.

These birds are amazing. They always make me hungry for potato chips.

While we were in the Birds of Prey center, a handler was there with a barred owl. It was most impressive. I asked if I could use my flash and she said the owl wouldn’t mind.

A very cooperative and photogenic Barred Owl.

So there you have it. If you ever find yourself in Boise, the World Center for Birds of Prey needs to be on your list of places to visit.

A bit more on Boise…if you are spending some time there, I’ve got a good restaurant recommendation. We were chatting up a couple of young ladies near the Lucky Peak State Park and I asked them: What’s the best Italian restaurant in Boise? Their answer was instantaneous: Luciano’s. You know what? They were right.

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Idaho: Check!

By Joe Berk

Susie and I were talking a few days ago about the states we haven’t visited. I’ve hit all but North Dakota, partly due to a sense of wanderlust and partly due to the jobs I’ve had over the last 50 years. Susie has about a dozen states on her “yet to see” list, and one was Idaho. That became our latest destination, and boy oh boy, do I have tales to tell about the Gem State. We flew into Boise with my trusty D810 Nikon and its 24-120 lens and rented a Jeep. Talk about fun! Here’s a brief look at upcoming posts.

Lucky Peak State Park

This was a great ride out of Boise: A super road and an awesome watersports destination.

World Center for Birds of Prey

Fun beyond description with an up close and personal look at raptors and scavengers. This place is fantastic. It was one of the best stops on our Idaho adventure. But they all were great. We had a blast.

Idaho State Capitol

Beautiful, laid back, and fun: Idaho’s government has its head screwed on straight, and they do it all with a part-time legislature.

Idaho State Penitentiary

A fascinating old territorial prison with fantastic stories. We loved this place.

Yanke Motor Museum

I’ve got to wait for permission from the Yanke family to share this story and all the photos with you. It was a very impressive automobile, motorcycle, tractor, and musical instrument collection.

Idaho Military Museum

Small but cool, that’s how I’d describe the Idaho Military Museum. Guns, armored vehicles, aircraft, and more. You’ll enjoy this one.

Basque Museum

The Basque Museum is a small museum in downtown Boise. It covers the history of the Basque people in Idaho as well as other parts of the United States. There were a lot of interesting things to see there and we enjoyed the stop.

Warhawk Air Museum

This is an awesome place with great exhibits, exciting photo ops, and fun docents. We chatted with a guy who moved to Idaho from Alaska, and he knew I guy I went to school with who moved to Alaska. We live in a small world, my friends.

The Hemingway Idaho Connection

Ernest Hemingway had a strong connection to Idaho. We stopped in a restaurant and general store in Picabo on our way to Craters of the Moon National Monument, and we saw three guns that Ernest Hemingway used when hunting in Idaho. Hemingway gave them to a friend, and we got a few photos.

Craters of the Moon National Monument

I blew through this area 8 years ago leading a group of Chinese motorcyclists across the American West, and I didn’t really get to see Craters of the Moon National Monument on that trip. That’s a character flaw I fixed this time around!

Shoshone Falls

Ever wonder how Twin Falls, Idaho, got its name? Well, wonder no more. We’ll tell you the story!

Evel Knievel’s Snake River Canyon Jump

Do you remember when Evel Knievel jumped the Snake River Canyon 50 years ago? We found our way there on this trip, and we climbed the ramp that Evel used for his wild and crazy Snake River Canyon jump. You’ll get the full story in a near term ExNotes blog!

Hagerman National Fish Hatchery

We tried, mostly because we’ve eaten a whole bunch of steelhead trout over the years. Alas, the fish had all left town by the time we visited, but that’s okay. There were plenty of other photo ops!

Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument

Commanding views of Idaho’s Snake River, prehistoric fossils, the Oregon Trail, and more were all a part of our ride out to the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument.

We covered a lot of ground, we checked the box next to Idaho for Susie, and we did all the above in just 5 days. I snapped something north of a thousand photos, and I selected the best ones to share with you here. Stay tuned, buckle up, and get ready for Idaho!

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Adventure Toward Ayers Rock Part II: The Great Ocean Road

By Mike Huber

I will start this story with the disclaimer that my lack of planning and just going with the flow of Australia allowed for this adventure to even happen. I originally thought that I would easily be able to circumcise (I think that’s the right word) the Australian continent in a month. Not a big deal. Yeah, some long days, but doable. Well, if you go back to Part I of this story, you will realize I got hit by a brick daily on that theory. Either way I had a rental car for a month and would see what adventures I could experience using a list two close friends had provided as a high-level blueprint.

After a couple days exploring Sydney, it was time to pick up my rental car, hit the open road, and embrace what would come while in Australia.

One of the first locations where I was able to slow down and take some time to embrace my surroundings was The Great Ocean Road. Having ridden some pretty incredible roads throughout the planet, for me to say much about any road is a rarity. Well, this is one that I was kicking myself for being in a rental car (and not on a motorcycle). I encountered a group of Japanese tourists, and one was a student at Boston University. I was wearing my Boston University shirt, so we posed for a photo.

The Great Ocean Road begins just west of Melbourne and extends to Port Fairy. It is 146 miles long. The road is paradise for anyone who has ever ridden a motorcycle. The entire length skirts the coast of the Southern Ocean from cliffs high above. “Breathtaking” doesn’t begin to touch how this feels, as every corner provides a new panoramic view of rock formations and ocean as bright green as you can imagine.

Occasionally the road cuts inland through thick rain forest. There are plenty of short hikes gushing waterfall views along these parts. If you look closely you will likely find a koala bear lazily eating eucalyptus leaves in a tree high above. Wallabies dance around your car, curiously peering in to see if anything is worth a closer inspection for something to fill their bellies.

Another beautiful feature of this paved paradise is the lack of people along the way. Several campsites I visited had no one in them. I am certain it helped that it was offseason (that and my ability to find off-the-beaten-path locations). It wasn’t odd for me to have miles of beach to myself while enjoying a cold VB Bitter beer. I could stare along the endless coastline while listening to the waves crashing, with my surroundings devoid of any other creature (with the occasional exception of a kangaroo hopping by).

Upon driving along the Great Ocean Road my mind was in the right place. I was filled with peace through the solitude I enjoyed from star-filled nights. I felt as though my mental clarity was honed, and I was prepared for the next part of my journey (that being the vastness of the Outback of Australia). On many levels, this would prove to be more challenging than I had imagined as I continued the long journey to my destination of Uluru, Ayer’s Rock.

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Coming Up: A Soprano Safari

Yep, that’s what I’m planning now. Susie and I are flying to New Jersey for a class reunion, and I’m going to be the ultimate tourist. What I have in mind is a series of visits to key spots that were featured in the HBO television series, The Sopranos. If there’s something you think I’ve missed, let me know and it may just show up on the list.

Holsten’s Restaurant

Holsten’s is the restaurant where Tony was whacked. It’s still open. Never been there; I’ve been wanting to ever since The Sopranos hit the airwaves.

Bahr’s and the Sandy Hook Marina

Bahr’s is the outstanding seafood restaurant Tony and others mention frequently in the series, and the Sandy Hook Marina where Tony kept his boat (The Stugots) is just below it. I’ve been to both places many times, and I’m looking forward to going again.

Pizza Land

Pizza Land is the pizza place you see Tony drive by in the opening scene of every episode. It was a low revenue pizza joint before it made it into the Sopranos. It has since become a sensation. Today, they ship frozen pizzas all over the world, and it all came about because of that brief glimpse in the opening scene.

Wilson’s Carpet Store

The giant carpet guy statue is another feature seen in the opening scene of every Soprano’s episode. It’s in Jersey City, the same place that xxx gun store is located (there the guys that handle the FFL transfer for the MacManus Award 1911 every year). I’ll got a shot of the carpet guy and the gun shop.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

This is one of two churches used in the series. It’s the one Tony shows to AJ when he explains what things were like for the Italian immigrants who came to America. Like Wilson’s Carpet Store, it’s in Jersey City. My Mom grew up in Jersey City and my grandparents lived there for a while. I want to see it again; I haven’t been there in more than 60 years.

Cleveland Auto Body

This is a body shop that was run by Big Pussy Bompensiero and was taken over by his wife, Angie Bompansiero, after Big Pussy was whacked for being a rat. I understand it’s a real body shop. I want to get a photo.

Tony and Carmela’s Mansion

Yep, it’s an actual house that a couple actually lived in when The Sopranos producers spotted. They asked if they could rent the house and the rest is history.

The Rutgers Campus

Rutgers is mentioned many times in The Sopranos. In the story, Tony attended a semester and a half at Seton Hall, but in real life, James Gandolfini attended and graduated from Rutgers. So did I. I want to visit the campus again, stop in to say hi to the ROTC detachment, and shoot a few pictures.

The Paterson Falls

There are a couple of scenes filmed at the falls in Paterson, New Jersey. In one, Mikey Palmici throws a guy off a bridge. In another, Hesh threatens to do the same. I’ve never been there. I’ll fix that on this trip.

The Skyway Diner

This diner appears in several scenes, most notably with Janice Melfi (Tony’s psychiatrist) and Christopher Multisanti. We have a lot of diners in New Jersey. I’ve never been in a bad one. If it’s still in business, I’ll stop there for a cup of coffee.

Joe’s Bake Shop

This is bakery where Christopher Multisanti shoots a counter guy in the foot for slow service. I don’t now if it’s real, but if it is, I want to stop and get a pastry. I know it will be good; it’s where I grew up there are no bad bakeries in New Jersey.

Father Phil’s Church

Father Phil was a kind of a mealy-mouthed priest that Tony saw through right away. There were a few scenes filmed in that church. I’m going to stop in.

Satriale’s

Satriale’s was a fictional pork store used by Tony and his crew. It’s since been demolished and today it’s a parking lot. That’s the pork store used in the series. What you may not know is one quarter of a mile away on the same street is a real pork store that was used by the DeCavalcante crime family, the real organized crime group. If I can get a photo without getting in trouble, I’m going to.

The Bada Bing

There never was a real Bada Bing topless joint, and topless dancing is illegal in New Jersey. But The Satin Dolls in Lodi (a similar bar with a similar theme, but again, not topless) that was used for the show was real and I will stop there. I read somewhere that it had closed too, but you never know. Anything for the ExNotes blog, guys.

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The Wayback Machine: The Springfield Mile

By Joe Berk

That photo above? It’s the Springfield mile, with riders exiting Turn 4 at over 100 mph on their way up to 140 or so. These boys are really flying. It is an incredible thing to see.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Two blogs back I wrote about the East Windsor half-mile dirt track, which has gone the way of the dodo bird. The Springfield Mile is bigger and better and last I checked it’s still with us. A dozen years ago I made the trek out to Illinois to watch the big boys (and a lady or two) mix it up and it was awesome. I don’t know if this is accurate or if it’s more biker bullshit, but the guys claim the bikes hit 140 mph in the straights and maintain a cool 100 in the turns. And “straights” is a relative term. The track is basically a big oval, with the straights being less of a curve. What’s nice about oval track racing, though, is you usually can see all the action all the time. When you go to a grand prix type event, you get to see the bikes or the cars for just an instant when they scream past wherever you are. Oval tracks are a better deal, I think.

We planned to ride to Springfield from So Cal, but just before it was wheels-in-the-wells time my good buddy Larry passed and I stayed for his funeral. We flew instead and because that gave us a little bit more of our most precious commodity (time), we bopped around Springfield a bit more. We visited Springfield’s Lincoln Museum and had a lot of fun getting there. I drove our rental car and we promptly got lost (it was in the pre-GPS era). We pulled alongside a police officer and he gave us directions. As soon as I pulled away, I asked my buds which way to go. “I don’t know,” they answered, “we weren’t listening…” Neither was I. We all had a good laugh over that one.

An interesting Norton in the fairgrounds parking lot.

The Illinois State Fairgrounds has two tracks, one is a quarter-mile dirt oval and the other is the big mile track. The quarter-mile races were awesome. This racing, all by itself, would have been worth the trip out there. I love watching the flat trackers.

These boys are kicking up some dirt coming out of Turn 4 on the Illinois State Fairgrounds quarter-mile track.

One of the riders lost it coming our of Turn 4 and he crashed hard directly in front of us.

I didn’t think he was going to get up, but he did. The next day, this guy won a heat on the 1-mile track. The announcer said he was “tougher than a $2 steak.” I believe it.

The next day, we went to the 1-mile track on the other side of the State Fairgrounds.

The field entering Turn 2 at over 100 mph on the Springfield 1-mile track. The noise is incredible and there’s nothing like it. These guys are drifting sideways at 100 mph, just a few inches apart!

The same shot as above, but with the two fastest riders at the Springfield Mile identified. The arrows point to Chris Carr (National No. 4 in the white and orange leathers) and Kenny Coolbeth (National No. 1 in the black leathers). Coolbeth won on Sunday and Carr won on Monday. This photo was just after the start.

One lap later: Coolbeth and Carr are riding as a closely-matched pair well ahead of the group.

I was really happy with these shots. I had my old Nikon D200 and a cheap lens (a 10-year old, mostly plastic, $139 Sigma 70-300). I zoomed out to 300 mm, set the ISO to 1000 for a very high shutter speed (even though it was a bright day), and the lens at f5.6 (the fastest the inexpensive Sigma would go at 300mm). The camera’s autofocus wouldn’t keep up with the motorcycles at this speed, so I manually focused on Turn 2 and waited (but not for long) for the motorcycles to enter the viewfinder. It was close enough for government work, freezing the 100-mph action for the photos you see above.

Kenny Coolbeth, after winning the Springfield Mile.

Nicole Cheza, a very fast rider. She won the “Dash for Cash” and the crowd loved it.

As you might expect, there were quite a few things happening off the track, too. Johnsonville Brats had a huge tractor trailer onsite equipped with grills, and they were serving free grilled brat sandwiches. It was a first for me, and it worked…I’ve been buying Johnsonville brats ever since. There were hundreds of interesting motorcycles on display and a vintage World War II bomber orbiting the area.

An old B-17 flying above the track…it made several appearances that weekend.

An old Ariel Square Four. The owner started it and it sounded like two Triumph 650s.

An old two-stroke Bridgestone, a marque that never quite made it in the US. Imagine the marketing discussions in Japan: “Let’s logo it the BS…that will work!”

So there you have it, along with a bit of advice from yours truly: If you ever have an opportunity to see the Springfield Mile, go for it. I had a great time and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

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