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Holland Ranch was unlike any other place I have ever stayed. In talking with the owners, Hans & Bianca, they told me they wanted to make the place “a little European and a little American” and I think they have succeeded. Hans and Bianca are from Holland and moved to Texas last December, although the ranch has only been open for business since April. They stopped by to visit as I was packing up to head out and they told me that in Europe, it is common to have a separate facility with running water where you shower, wash dishes, etc. Frankly, I thought the experience was kinda refreshing. As I walked to get water to make coffee, it occurred to me the simplicity of the place. No frills, but with no frills often comes less stress. The lack of frills is exactly what gives the place its charm! It was a peaceful balance of “roughing it” camping style, but with the amenity of just enough civilization to make you feel at home. In its own unique way, Holland Ranch offers the proverbial serenity seeker an opportunity for peace by surrendering a few material niceties in exchange for a little bonding with nature.

Definitely a must-stay to add to your list of cool places or even purposely plan in your route! They are pet-friendly and motorcycle-friendly, which scores some points with me, since I love both. Staying here inspired me to seek “off-the-beaten-path” lodging, usually at a fraction of the cost and with a lot more character. I think by nature, we motorcyclists have a sort-of free spirited, nomadic element about us that predisposes us to like places like this. Our innate urge to be free of constraints most certainly gets satisfied here.

It’s very easy to find located between Dallas and Austin. You can link to their site by clicking here.

I hope you enjoy it! Comments are welcome!

I am heading out today to start making my trek back home.  Of course, it is not a trip I can make all in one day, so I decided to stretch things out a little and take a slight detour to Holland Ranch.  It is a campground that has AirStream trailers for lodging.  It puts me on a different track than I would normally take and offers the smell of adventure.

Check out the Holland Ranch website here.  I will be staying in the Route 66.   They are motorcycle friendly!

Today is my birthday! It’s been a long time since I have been able to celebrate my birthday with family as opposed to them mailing me a package. I awoke this morning to a door length poster outside my door wishing me Happy Birthday, balloons covering the floor or my personal bathroom and all sorts of gifts in a goodie bag. Just like when I was a little girl! It is fun sometimes to emotionally time-travel, as long as I don’t stay there too long!

Things have been reasonably good since I have been here. I have been staining a fence for my parents and it has been a good exercise in breaking things into bite size manageable pieces. It is WAY too hot here to work on it all day, so out of necessity I have to strategize to work on it in the morning and early evening. Slowly, but surely I am making progress. And I can see the progress! It makes me think about all the things I make progress on in life that I can’t physically see, so I assume no progress is being made. Progress is always being made, even if the only progress I make in a day is to NOT do something to my or someone’s else’s detriment. Being plagued with the disease of over-achievement sometimes keeps me on a merry-go-round that I would rather not be on. But hey, I am making progress! I just have to remember to not use “making progress” as an excuse to rest on my laurels.

Speaking of progress, I have read almost two books since I have been here. The one I have finished is The Journey of Socrates, the prequel to Dan Millman’s The Way of the Peaceful Warrior and the Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior. I highly recommend all three books, but read the last two first and then read The Journey of Socrates. Dan Millman’s style of writing is soul-provoking. He weaves a true story together with vivid story-telling to make a book that is almost impossible to put down and will without doubt leave you with some newfound discoveries about yourself. For sure a 5-star!

I have also been listening to The Alchemist on audio-tape while staining the fence. The Alchemist, by Paulo Cohelo, is a classic by anyone’s standards and has made the fence-painting (staining) into somewhat a spiritual experience. Whoever knew that you could find the sacred in such ordinary things! Interesting observation though—listening to the book on audio has made me want to go buy the book to read. It is so good that I am frequently tempted to rewind just to catch the magnitude of what was said, but I finally surrendered that strategy and am just trying to listen in the present now, because I know I can go buy it in print to supplement my understanding of the story.

Be well. Be happy. Be present.

~Lisa

I have been here almost a week and find myself very frustrated that I have worked way more than I intended. Sure, I knew I would need to do some work remotely and I had prepared for that, but I didn’t really plan to stay holed up churning out work just like I do at home. But that is exactly what I have done all week and needless to say, I really don’t have much to write about as a result.

However, in my desperation to course-correct, I sought some solace this morning in journaling and as clarity started to encroach upon me, out came a poem I titled Gleaning Soul.

Life Wonderments, my personal musings blog, is where I post my poetry now, so you can click here to read it, if your heart desires.

I am tempted to apologize that I don’t have something more adventurous to post, but in the vain of acceptance, it is what it is.

I finally arrived, made it safe & sound, but not without battling traffic in Houston. Last year when I made this trip, I avoided going thru Houston like the plague, but it was still to no avail. I cut across north of Houston thru Conroe and that was constant start and stop traffic due to lights, which is miserable on a motorcycle in the middle of summer. Sitting still on a motorcycle is like the air-con being broken in your car, but worse because you’re sitting in the middle of an exhaust cloud on top of sweltering. So this year, I thought, “What the heck, it’s a Saturday, let’s just book it thru Houston on I-10.” My plan would have worked flawlessly, except that they had a 15 mile stretch of I-10 closed right smack in the middle of Houston. Attempting to get 4 lanes of traffic to all merge into 1 to detour around the construction is nothing short of a nightmare.

For the first hour, I tolerated the exercise to my clutch hand and the sopping heat, keeping a positive attitude that my hand was getting stronger and the sauna I was sitting in was a good unexpected detox. But after an hour, that attitude started to seem futile. So I abandoned any worries of what others might think and just started cruising past them—Ahhhh….air-con…FINALLY!!! I am sure they all thought I was being greedy and impatient, but I had long since paid my dues being nice, while they all sat in their air-conned cars. I don’t think I have ever been so grateful in my whole life to have hot air blowing on me! Whew, what a relief! Finally, I could start to think rationally again!

So in the final analysis, I have decided there is just really no good way to get thru Houston (as if that isn’t obvious, but you gotta give a girl credit for trying, eh?). The only good way to get thru Houston is to bypass it all together which sacrifices a whole lot of time going way out of the way (which isn’t a bad idea on a motorcycle), but if you just need to get there, you have to choose between two bad choices and accept their inherent circumstances. The only consolation might be paying the tolls and trying
Beltway 8, which I will probably do next time, since construction projects apparently don’t make much progress in Houston. I am trying to look at the bright side…after I do this a few years, I will know all the things NOT to do!

So now you know why it took me two days to make this post—it took me two days to recuperate!!! Not really, but it sounds good!

On a more serious note, though, and not wanting to just whine, here’s a resource that might actually help in the ride planning stages anywhere in Texas. I would presume other states have something similar. Check out www.dot.state.tx.us. Under the “Travel” section, click on “Road Conditions”. You can check any road in Texas for construction, closures, damage, flood, etc. Really, it is well done, because they offer you several different search criteria to narrow your results to exactly what you need. You can look up a road condition in a specific area or you can look up a specific road. Like any good search criteria, the less you tell it the broader your search results and vice versa. They also offer a toll-free number you can call if you don’t have a PDA phone on the road with you.

Back with more tales, soon….

Yesterday was my first day of riding and Mother Nature could not have served me a better day to start my pilgrimage.    For the most part the ride was uneventful, which is good.  An eventful ride usually means something breaks or weather presents itself as an irritant.

Since I was coming to camp out with the Dim Lit DayLight guys at their pad in Austin, I opted not to go thru Fredericksburg, Luckenbach and Bandera, which offers better riding roads, but didn’t fit into my route.  Instead I traded good riding roads for good quality time with some very talented musicians.  A great trade if you agree that the fruit of life is in relationships!

I would have to say probably the highlight of the riding yesterday, though, was Grape Creek road outside San Angelo.  Its long waning curves and very little traffic offer an exhilarating ride.  I cranked up the iTunes with some rock-n-roll and let ‘er rip.  Great fun if you’re a motorcycle enthusiast!

Tomorrow I start out to make the rest of my journey to Beaumont.  I am not sure yet how I am going to route the trip, but look for a post on Sunday to read more about my adventures….

This morning I set off on my annual motorcycle trek across Texas to go see my parents in Beaumont.  I like to think of it as my attitude adjustment journey, because I experience so much self-actualization on the open road.  I suppose it’s because the open road requires me to be in the present moment and sometimes the only way I can be present is if it’s required.  Hmmm…go figure.  I still haven’t learned how to quiet the chatter in my head in and among a normal day as frequently as I would like, but motorcycling seems to have its way of doing that for me.  Motorcycling adjusts my attitude.

So stay tuned…I shall be writing about all my adventures  here.

A few weeks ago, we had occasion to ride thru Big Bend National Park. WOW! This is one ride you have to do on 2-wheels before you really get it. You think it’s beautiful riding thru in a car, but coasting thru on 2-wheels just takes the experience to a whole new level that cannot be done justice in words.

As we approached the Panther Junction Visitor Center at the base of the Chisos Mountains, we were eye-gazed at the rain-storm passing over the mountaintops. Our timing couldn’t have been better if we had been deliberate. We arrived at the base of the Mountains right after the storm passed over—literally within minutes! We just could not resist the temptation to escapade into the freshly wet mountains where they revealed secrets that can only be appreciated in the aftermath of Nature’s glory. We were greeted by breathtaking waterfalls that only happen when it rains and the most peculiar trees and plant life we have see nowhere else.

The ascent into the Mountains felt like a slow subside into a cave of peaceful monstrosity, where switchbacks on narrow roads left our only option to be intensely present in the moment and savor all She had to offer. The return to civilization felt like being awakened from a coma, seeing familiar things for the first time and in the creep of the moment remembering how precious they are to you.

Now the truth—we had never intended to ride up into the Chisos Mountains, only to take the long way around to the River Road via Big Bend. That’s an easy temptation on a motorcycle—to take the long way around. Well, we certainly got more than we bargained for, like one of those gifts that unexpectantly rewards you for practicing peace of mind.

As we turned back onto the highway and headed west, the attitude adjusting feelings we experienced remained on high for the River Road. This is the road that follows the Rio Grande between Lajitas and Presidio and it is famed for its hairpin turns, stomach dropping elevation changes and its breathtaking backdrop of a river dividing two countries. We were not disappointed, so don’t let my lack of commentary trip you up. It’s just that everybody writes about this road and everything they say is true. You just have to ride it for yourself.

We could sum this up as a day of adventure, but the word ‘Adventure’ really does this day a disservice. Perhaps, ‘spiritual experience’ might be a little more fitting.

I am long overdue for my follow-up to Adventures of Our Motorcycling Escapades…The Rest of the Story. I promised a write-up on the Experienced Rider Course (ERC) that we took in May out at Legacy H-D in Midland, TX, so here it is.

Really, to be truthful…I could make this brief and just say “We LOVED it! You gotta do it!” and enough would be said, but since brevity really isn’t my style, I will take the liberty of elaborating.

First, you have to have successfully completed the Basic Rider Course (BRC) to be eligible to take the ERC. You can learn more about the BRC by linking into the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) site here. Regardless of where you take the course, the content is exactly the same because they are all put on by the MSF. The variables are things like price of class, class size, types of motorcycles you ride for training and bells and whistles like whether they feed you for lunch or you are on your own.

The BRC is a 2-day class and a combination of classroom studies and range riding. You ride motorcycles furnished by the location hosting the class and you must pass a written test as well as a riding skills test. Upon successful completion of both, you are given a certificate that you can take to the DMV to get a motorcycle endorsement on your license. The certificate only waives the riding portion of the test, NOT the written portion. You must still pass the written test (20 questions) to receive your endorsement. I think that sure beats the heck out of trying to take a nerve-wracking riding test in front of a DPS officer, plus you have to have someone in a car accompany you so the officer can ride with them! Yuk!

Once you have the BRC under your belt, you are then eligible to take the ERC. You take this course on your own motorcycle, whatever that may be. The course is one-day and there is no classroom activity–it’s all range work. The range riding is the funnest part of both courses and they don’t just do wimpy stuff. They really test your motorcycles skills. Even in the BRC, you get to learn to do nerve-wracking stuff like stopping quickly after a swerve or coming out of a turn, making tight u-turns, doing cone weaves, etc. It’s sort-of like an obstacle course on a motorcycle. You definitely get your money’s worth!

And speaking from experience, when Ronn first took the BRC after he bought a motorcycle, I didn’t think I needed to take it because I thought “I already know how to ride a motorcycle. I don’t need that!” But, with his persistence, I took it and was humbled by how much I really didn’t know and how much I was doing wrong! I have since talked to people that have been riding 10+ years, took the course and were just as humbled. In the case of motorcycling, what you don’t know really can hurt you!

It’s funny because now we can tell who has riding skills and who doesn’t when we are out and about. Things we never paid attention to before and used to do as ignorant riders, we now notice. And we particularly notice other riders that have training because it is such a graceful style of riding to watch, it really grabs your attention.

And who would have ever “thunk” it that, as a result, I would be chomping at the bit to voluntarily take an Experienced Rider Course??? Certainly, not me! So if that tells you anything, go check it out! You can look for the course nearest you here.

The May 2007 issue of Good Times magazine is out. And with it, our Rubber Side Down column.

For this month, we visited with local motorcycle shop owner, Gary Rees; rode choppers and toured the American IronHorse factory in Fort Worth.

You can read the entire article below. Or, if you are in the Midland/Odessa area, you can pick up a copy while you are out and about.

You never know… Someday, it may be a collectors item!

Rubber Side Down May 2007 [PDF, 520KB]

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