Finally got Big Red back from the dealer after a month of them trying to fix the rattling noise in the rear wheel..so Pamela and I decided to take an overnighter and ride 4 hours up to Ogdensburg, NY along the Canadian border to visit the Frederick Remington Museum..yes boys and girls, a real genuine art museum..one of America's greatest artists..a super ride through the 'Deep Woods' of the Adirondacks mixed in with some of the best sculptures and paintings in our opinion ever rendered by anyone.. wanna come along on the trek for a few minutes?
Route 28 (2 lane state highway) up to Indian Lake..along the way we're climbing a steady two minute rise and I'm thinking about the fact that I go 280 lbs, with Pamela that's 400 plus clothes..say 410..easily another 50 pounds of panniers, luggage racks, travel bags and other clothes and "vitals" (e.g. bottle of vodka and Bloody Mary mix to boot) so say 460 to 470 plus the beast himself is all of 800 pounds..we're doing 75 mph up hill and I glance at the tach and it reads...2800 rpm..woof!!!..barely ticking over.. what an engine!
From there its up thru Tupper Lake, Colton and slwoly the harsh woods of the Adirondacks begin to peal away and here and there farm fields emerge..the land flattens out..more farms..corn fields..we pass Cornell University's 'Learning Farm'..very 'upper crust' dontcha know..( did I imagine the cows were wearing spectacles and have hygenic diapers on 'em?..nahhhh..must be dreaming)..ahh pay attention David.there's deer in these parts..ok,ok,ok..so now we're pulling into the Stonefence Motel along the St'Lawrence Seaway which divides Canada from the USA..very nice motel...12 acres on the property including lawns that lead down to..get this.. a gazebo perched over a wharf over the river.. very cool..nice dinner..nice booze..nice wife..ahem...
This morning we leave our gear at the motel and ride in shorts and sneakers over to the museum..folks, some day you gotta check this out.. Frederick Remibgton painted and sculpted between 1880 and 1910..his subjects were, for the most part, the wild west.. the mountain men and then the cavalry and indian froms the Indian Wars period...one sculpture in particular really stands out in my mind.. it's called 'The Rattlesnake".now picture a cowpoke ariding along minding his own business when all of a sudden a rattler rears up and hisses which a course leads him and his horse to instinctively shy away from the rattler..its a bronze statue about 18 inches high and the motion of the horse and cowboy is just incredible..the way Remington caught that visceral ass puckering moment when horse and rider explode away from the rattler..made me think of one or two curves I've taken a little too hot on the Rocket :-D :-D
Got back about an hour ago...great overnight trip..just thought I'd share it with you.. Remington himself was quite an entrepreneur..tried sheep ranching for awhile till he decided he didn't like ranching nor sheep,, then a failed hardware store and eventually followed the one thing he always had loved which was drawing and after many struggles became an illustrator and eventually famous sculptor...always one for being where the action is.. he went to Cuba during the brief Spanish American War and painted the famous painting of Teddy Roosevelt in his 'Charge up San Juan Hill" with the Rough Riders.. if you like horses, real cowboys (not the Hollywodd version) and a taste of the American West, you'll love his works..
he woulda bought a Rocket for sure if he lived today.. and being a man of good taste when it comes to color. no doubt it woulda been Red for sure!
David
