The day started off beautifully with hardly a cloud in the sky. I took photos from our sixteenth floor window in the Circus Circus hotel, To start off our day, Garry, Jim and I found a Starbucks to get our morning caffeine fix. As we found seats we me three guys from Eatonville, WA, near the foot of Mount Rainier. One of the men was somewhat older than our group and he had two guys that looked to be in their late thirties or early forties. They were on a trip to California and Yosemite Park. It turned out that the older guy was the father, and the fourth rider was one of his grandsons.
View from our hotel window
The group are riding Harleys and they have ten of them in their family. The older guy and his wife both ride three wheelers, his sons ride Road Kings and the grandson rides a CVO Breakout. There's a lot on money in bikes in that family.
When one of the guys saw Jim's t-shirt with the AMF logo on it, he commented, "So you're a bowler." referring to AMF's business in making bowling equipment. He offered to show Jim where they were having a bowling tournament. The ragging continued for some time, and in this vein the comment, "It gives new meaning to the expression, 'Rolling down the road.'" It was all in good fun though. The crew mentioned that they would be riding up to Virginia City and area and that they hoped they would run into us there.
Jim's Poster.
The plan today was to ride to Chester's H-D in Reno, then carry on to Virginia City and Carson City. My motorcycle has been leaking oil so I had the service people at Chester's look at it. The took it in for a diagnostic check up and discovered that it needed a serious repair. I encouraged the guys to go ahead and do the ride. As it was I spent almost five hours waiting to see if the work could be done.
While I was there I met Ben, a twenty-two year veteran of the US Army with two tours in Afghanistan. We talked about riding because I have no common experience with his service. He had been on the road for a month and has a wide knowledge of the highways around Reno. He now lives in Lebanon, OR, a small town that Garry and I rode through on our return from Sturgis last year.
Ben & his motorcycle
Detail of Ben's air cleaner.
The dealership finally received approval from the Extended Service Plan people to do the necessary work so I returned to the Circus Circus at almost four o'clock after having ridden a grand total of less than four kilometres today. Justin at the dealership called me to let me know that my motorcycle should be ready to go early tomorrow, so we should be able to make it to Klamath Falls, OR, tomorrow.
The guys returned from their ride around 5:30 and we decided to go to the Eldorado Hotel for their dinner buffet. After dinner I played the slots for a while. I was down to my last seven dollars of money that I was going to play when I hit a jackpot of five hundred and eleven dollars. Along with the seven dollars I had in the machine, the total came to $518.13. That is the most money I have ever won. I was quite pleased. I didn't even play another spin but cashed out and walked quickly back to my room with my gains. I didn't run because the only two things I run for are beer, and to save my life.
My winnings - $518!
The lucky machine (without the winning screen)
This afternoon I received some one dollar bills and when I looked at one of them it was quite extraordinay. It was dated 1935, and under the ONE DOLLAR note there was a further one which stated 'IN SILVER PAYABLE TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND'. I wonder if I took this bill in if I could get one dollar's worth of silver at 1935 prices. The bill isn't in great shape after eighty-one years, but it is still a keeper.
1935 one dollar bill
ONE DOLLAR IN SILVER PAYABLE TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND
Although the guys had a good day, mine was sort of wasted although the win made it worthwhile. Tomorrow we start heading home. I hope the weather improves both here and at home because I certainly hope that we don't have to finish this trip with terrible weather.
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