Talk about good timing. We debated whether to have this ride on April 21st or 28th and picked the 28th. The 21st saw the area blanketed with heavy snow, the 28th saw sunny skies and warm temperatures. Ride the Prairie! was planned by Phil Tarman, with the starting point in his Colorado prairie town of Ft. Morgan, boyhood home of big band leader Glen Miller. As I approached the meeting point I thought it would be funny if only Phil and I showed up, in this nice little town 90 miles northeast of Denver. I wasn't surprised to see only one Concours in the McDonald's parking lot, but was surprised to see that it belonged to Roger Z who had ridden all the way over from Utah to join us! Then folks really started to roll in, both from the Denver and Cheyenne WY areas. About 20 in all. That's more than we usually have for our summer rides up into the Rockies.

Phil laidd out a good route that took us through the irrigated farm lands along the South Platte River, then turned to the north over the dry prairies and to the Nebraska state border where we stopped for the obligatory photo and tire kicking. After mounting up we went on north to Sidney NE to visit the famous Cabela's, "World's Foremost Outfitter". The huge parking lot was packed, as was the store. But it was all worth it to see the 500 trophy mounts around the store; deer, elk, bear, pheasant, duck, ... More than a few of us also took advantage of the bargains in hunting, fishing, and outdoor gear. If you haven't been to Cabela's, you should visit, or at least check out their web site.

After Cabela's everyone divided into smaller groups for lunch and return trips to Ft Morgan, Denver, and Cheyenne. Seven of us (three with Iron Butt Association license plate frames) decided to take the long way home and went north to Bridgeport, NE where we ate at Runza Hut, a Nebraska tradition. From there we headed west along the route of the Oregon Trail, with our first stop at Chimney Rock National Historic Site. We got our National Parks Passport cancellations, toured the museum, watched a movie, and then continued on west to Scott's Bluff National Monument and another passport cancellation. Roger Z then started his trip back to Utah, a couple of the guys turned north to camp near Agate Fossil Beds Nat'l Mon, and the rest of us went on west to Wyoming and another state border photo. We took a side trip to Ft Laramie Nat'l Historic Site, arriving there just before closing, but in time to get our passports cancelled again. For those of you counting, that's 2 Historic Sites and 1 Monument,.. but wait, there's more. We also got cancellations for four National Historic Trails; Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and Pony Express. (We all owe a debt of gratitude to Webmaster Rick "I caught up with you guys again" Hall for getting us hooked on this passport cancellation business.:)

After Ft Laramie we enjoyed the views of the Laramie Mountains, the storm clouds rolling around the area, and beautiful vistas as far as we could see. Wyoming is a great state. At Wheatland we saw the dozens of '56 and '57 Chevies parked together, and at Chugwater wished we could stop for some of their famous chili. After passing through Cheyenne and reentering Colorado we had some of the best views of the Front Range I've ever seen. With the evening sun filtering through the scattered storm clouds, the lighting on the mountains made all the details stand out perfectly. It sure is tough living in Colorado!

By the time us'ins got to our various homes we had clocked over 500 miles, been to three states, got outfitted, stamped our passports a bunch of times, seen lots of beautiful Western scenery, and just had a great time together. Our thanks to Phil Tarman for planning the ride!

- Randy Bishop, Littleton Colorado