Woolaroc, Loss of Power, Lots of Smoke

Sunday morning and no rain, no sun either but at least we are dry. We have about 150 miles to ride to get to Woolaroc. This is an animal preserve and museum started by Frank Phillips of Phillips Petroleum fame. https://woolaroc.org/ I was here in 2009 and always wanted to bring Linda here. Most of the animals roam free through the park but today they seem to be in hiding. Linda is trying to get pictures while the bike bounces up and down on the undulating pavement and I lean left and right to make the curves on the narrow road. Back into the park is a museum building that appears small from the outside but is very large inside. Much of it must be underground. We spend couple of hours there and then head north towards Bartlesville. There is a state park nearby and it seems warm and dry enough to sleep in the tent. Naturally we are riding into a headwind and I notice the bike slowing down. BAD NEWS I downshift one gear but the bike still does not seem to have any power. In the right mirror I notice clouds of smoke so I pull in the clutch and turn off the ignition noticing that the temperature of the engine is normal. We stop on the side of the road while all sorts of expensive engine failure thoughts are going through my head. We get off of the bike and notice the unmistakable odor of hot rubber. But my tires look fine. So does the left trailer tire. The right trailer tire looks OK except that the wheel is cocked sideways in the fender well. Closer investigation shows that the axle mount has partially broke loose from the suspension system. About then a BMW GS rider stops. He decides to stay with us while I call a BMW owner in Bartlesville that is listed in my book of US BMW owners. The person says he will be right there and in 30 minutes he is there with a trailer. We load the trailer and follow him to his house. After removing the wheel I can put the axle back into position with some help from a hammer but it still needs to be welded. I will have to call a mobile welder in the morning. He says that we can pitch our tent in his yard which backs up to a small lake. We decide to ride into town for a Subway sandwich before setting up the tent. We finish our sandwich and are preparing to leave when Linda notices something. GOOD NEWS A man and his wife have stopped here to eat and they are driving, wait for it!!, a mobile welding truck!!!! A quick conversation, they eat their sandwich and we all return to the scene of the broken down trailer. 15 minutes and $60 later I am putting the wheel back on and we are in motion to the state park. Total delay time was less than 3 hours. Oklahoma has many very nice state parks where you can pitch a tent for $10. We have the whole tent camping area to ourselves as it is still a little cool for tent camping. Well, not quite to ourselves, it seems that the local raccoon is here for dinner and the trash bin is his restaurant of choice. He is not the slightest bit disturbed by our presence and goes on about his business. We set up our tent and somebody comes by and says to look at the northern sky. BAD NEWS It is dark black and coming our way. It looks like we might get a classic Oklahoma thunderstorm which is often accompanied by very strong winds. The decision is made to stay and if the winds get too bad we will go into the brick bathroom and shower building. GOOD NEWS The black clouds pass right over us leaving no rain or wind. But it was a cold night. We are thinking that our 5 year old $25 sleeping bags may have lost a lot of their loft and insulating ability. It might be time for new ones.