Camp Hope Riders

We made it to Ft. Rucker last night where we were meeting my wife Diana, who was joining us for a strech through Florida, and my son Joel.  It was a quick stop, but an opportunity to spend some time with my son and get another home-cooked meal.

The plan for today was a meeting with Mike Lozon, members of AMVETS Post 2298 and riders from some other organizations/clubs in the area.  We weren’t exactly sure what to expect, all we knew was that we were going to be met by “some” riders at the Florida Welcome Center just south of Dothan, Alabama on US Highway 231. 

When we arrived at the Welcome Center there was no mistaking the welcoming party—48 bikes were there waiting for our arrival.  It was incredible!  After spending some time there waiting for one of our riders who got lost in Dothan, we took a group photo at the welcome center, and were escorted down to Panama City, Florida and Post 2298.  This included being met on the road by a sheriff’s escort which was stopping traffic for us the entire way.

Meeting the riders

Getting ready to head out

Leaving the Florida Welcom Center

On the road

If you haven’t yet seen some of the videos Chris has been making, go to our links section, follow the Video clips of our Ride link and check out the two clips posted by Chris on October 31^st. 

We had a great time at the Post.  I got to do some public speaking—I know, I know, don’t give up the day job—had lunch and an opportunity to meet a lot of great people.  God bless Post 2298 and everyone that came out to support us!

At AMVETS Post 2298

Receiving donations for Camp Hope

It wasn’t over yet though.  After lunch, some of the riders escorted us out of Panama City and all the way to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Apalachicola, Florida.  It was a great way to end our day with our new friends from Florida, and a great way to start our ride into this wonderful state.

For additional information on this Florida landmark—the Veterans Memorial Plaza—check out the following link:  http://www.threeservicemenstatuesouth.org

Next stop… Tampa.

From New Orleans we headed north on the Causeway across Lake Pontchartrain—the longest bridge in the US at 24 miles.  This was our last stretch with AJ who’s heading straight up the Mississippi and back home to Wisconsin.

We had hoped to meet with another rider in San Antonio who was going to ride with us through New Orleans.  Unfortunately he had been unable to meet with us due to a situation outside of his control, but he’s been checking on us throughout the entire ride.  He had insisted on participating in some way, and when we got to New Orleans he had planned to buy us breakfast in the French Quarter at the famous Café du Monde.  As is the case with many establishments in New Orleans, “…sorry, cash only.”   And we’re glad that was the case, because we ate at the very nice “Country French Café” on the other side of the Causeway in Mandeville, Louisiana called La Madeleine.  Yes, you guessed, if you’re in area do yourself a favor and stop in.  Or perhaps you might want to check them out and order something online:  http://www.lamadeleine.com/

If you make it in to the Mandeville café, do us a favor and say hi to Zide… and don’t forget to mention Camp Hope.

After leaving La Madeleine, we said our goodbyes to AJ, and we started making our way to Ft. Rucker, Alabama.  During a fuel stop, outside of Andalusia, Alabama we met a gentleman and shared with him the story of Camp Hope and our ride.  He was so interested with our mission, he called a local newspaper, the Andalusia Star News, and escorted us over to their offices in order to have them take some photos and interview us for a story for the paper.

The word is getting out.

Enjoying breakfast at La Madeleine

With some of the La Madeleine staff.

Chris, Derek, and Kristen rode in from Houston and met us in Beaumont.  Then it was I-10 and a beeline to New Orleans.

There was little stopping along the way, and once we got to New Orleans, it was a quick check-in at a hotel off of Causeway Blvd and a ride into the French Quarter for a well deserved night of a revelry… no worries though, Ron joined us to keep it sane… ahem!… yeah, that’s the ticket.

Hmmm…  I wonder why there aren’t any photos.  

Well, Chris, Derek, and Kristen hit some nasty weather and rather than head up the coast, they made their way to Houston to meet up with Faith and hopefully avoid some of the rain and storms.

Ron, Wayne, Sergio, AJ and I made it as far as Edna, Texas the night before and were basically stuck between two fronts.  One heading east-northeast and right behind us with lots of yellow and red showing up on Doppler radar, with the other sitting on the coast and just ahead of us dumping plenty of rain as well.  We choose the lesser of two evils, put on our rain gear between showers, and hit the road making our way to Galveston, Texas.  The ride was miserable, and rain followed us throughout the entire ride until we got to Galveston and it cleared up.

Once in Galveston, we jumped on highway 87 and took the ferry across from Galveston to Port Bolivar on our way up the Gulf Coast and New Orleans.  We made it as far as Beaumont, Texas before calling it a night.

We were wet, cold and tired, but never so much so to keep us from plugging for Camp Hope.

Almost forgot… we met a veteran on the ferry, we shared with him our mission for Camp Hope, and handed us a flag to fly over the farm.  Check it out flag below, and if you’ve never seen this and/or want to know the significance, follow this link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_flag

On the Ferry crossing Texas Highway 87 from Galveston

The Gadsden flag

After an evening in Boerne, Texas with Ken and Lisa we were on our way to the Gulf Coast.  Three of our riders—Chris, Derek and Kristen— headed for Corpus Christi , while the rest of us headed for San Antonio for some much needed service.

Once the service was complete, the rest of us headed out towards the coast hoping to meet up with the Chris, Derek and Kristen in Galveston tomorrow.  The weather may have other plans though.  We’re headed towards some unstable fronts with rain and thunderstorms.

We’ll see…

Ken and the Camp Hope Riders with our new addition, Sergio, in Boerne, TX

After leaving Big Bend National Park, we made a beeline to San Antonio with most of the ride occurring down I-10.  We were being hosted for the evening in Boerne, Texas by our good friend Ken and his lovely wife, Lisa. 

It’s always good to get a good home-cooked meal, and Ken and Lisa did it up Texas style— Barbeque meat, chicken, and corn on the cob, with lots of sides and desserts—and we did our best to put a dent on the spread.

Besides meeting with Ken and Lisa, we were also meeting with a new rider, Sergio, who had ridden in from Florida in order to ride back down with us into Florida.  We’re back to six riders… the more the merrier.

First thing this morning we drove into Carlsbad Caverns National Park, and yes… it’s another must.  I know I’ll be back to spend some more time there.  While the photos below don’t do the caverns justice, check them out for an idea of what to expect.

From there we were headed south into Texas towards Big Bend National Park.  We made it as far as Alpine, Texas where we stopped for the evening.

The Descent Too... gulp!

Scenes from Carlsbad Caverns

From Gila National Forest to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, our ride in New Mexico took us through Las Cruces and El Paso where we met some great people.  Every state we visit, every stop we make there are people that are hearing about Camp Hope and the work being accomplished for our wounded warriors.

The ride is amazing—a once in a lifetime experience—the places we’re visiting absolutely spectacular in so many ways.  Yet the best part of this mission isn’t the ride, but the people we’re meeting along the way.  The fact that we’ve been able to reach out to so many people across our beautiful country is the real blessing.

On our way from Sierra Vista, Arizona to Gila National Forest in New Mexico we made a stop in Tombstone, Arizona… where we took a ride back in time.  Check out the Camp Hope Riders circa 1881. 

From Phoenix we made our way south into southern Arizona.  On our way down we were met by Cesar in Tucson.  He rode in from and escorted us back down to Sierra Vista where we were spending the evening and meeting up again with some of our riders.  Chris and Derek had ridden in from Las Vegas, and Kristen who had decided to join us again and continue the ride out east was staying with a friend in the area and waiting for our arrival.  Besides hooking-up with some of our riders, we also met with and spent time with several other friends—among them Mary, Gale and Diane.

The high desert in Southern Arizona is always strikingly beautiful and there are some great places to visit in the area.  Tomorrow on our way out we’ll hit one of them… Tombstone.

See you then.

Eating out with friends in Sierra Vista