Toby Keith and the Concerned Biker

One of the concerts I attended at The Chip was Toby Keith.  I've liked a lot of his music and really dig the fact that he's so All American!  He loves our military and I think that's awesome!  Well the last 2 songs he sang were American Soldier and Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue.  Well with my lack of sleep and not so lacking consumption of multiple cocktails I found myself crying when he sang American Soldier.  Out of the blue this nice old dirty biker walked over and asked if I was ok and if I had lost someone in a war?  I told him no, that I just don't take my freedom lightly and that this song always makes me cry.  He gave me a little squeeze and walked away.  I thought that was very cool that he cared enough to ask!  There are some super awesome bikers in this world and it was my honor to hang with them again this year at Sturgis!

God Bless Our Troops, Vets, Military Families, and Our Fallen Heros!  And God Bless Our Great Land!!  

Don't Tread on Me!

Don't Forget To Say a Prayer for Our Troops!!!

Thank Your Military!

Yesterday was Veteran's Day and I'm sure many of you thanked our Military if you got a chance. Please make sure you thank them everyday if you see them!! Thank you to all the branches of our Military for watching over our great land and making sure we are safe and free!

A Motorcycle Ride to "Remember"

Rain showers were hit and miss over the weekend but Sunday ended up being the perfect day for a motorcycle ride to "Remember". Dan and I took off and headed west on Interstate 80 to Exit 86 and then south toward Greenfield on Highway 25. You can't miss the site of the Freedom Rock. It is located right next to the Highway and the amazing painted rock catches your eye right away.

There were a few other motorcyclists and non riders viewing the Freedom Rock. This is the 11th year that Ray "Bubba" Sorensen II has painted a new tribute on the Freedom Rock. He began his tradition in 1999 after watching the movie "Saving Private Ryan". Ray wanted to find a way to thank the Veterans for our Freedom. This rock is at the entrance to an old rock quarry and the teenagers from the area used to use the rock as a place for their graffiti. Ray said he will continue his tradition for as long as he is physically able. The first pix below is Ray painting what looked like the final touches on the Freedom Rock. It's an amazing tribute and it warmed my heart that this 29 year old guy started this tradition and has stuck with it each year.







After reflecting for a while about why we were there, Dan and I got back on the bike and headed south to Greenfield and then west to Winterset where we ate lunch. After lunch we headed back to Interstate 80 so that we could go to the Iowa Veterans Cemetery. It's a beautiful place out in the country near Van Meter. The Tribute to the War on Terror really hit me hard because a couple of years ago I did an art piece in remembrance of the Iowa Soldiers that had lost their lives since the US invasion of Iraq after 9/11. I recognized the names engraved on the stone and it made it all the more real to me. God Bless Them All!








To find out more on the Freedom Rock you can visit http://www.thefreedomrock.com/ .

If you are interested in information on the Iowa Veterans Cemetery you can visit https://www.iowava.org/vetcemetery/index.html .

If you are a Veteran and you have read this post! Thank you!!!