Camp Hope Riders

Day 7

September 22nd, 2009 Duke No comments

After our first night of camping some of us had a difficult time crawling out of sleeping bag and tent, but much had to be done. Break camp, wash, pack-up and eat. We rode into River Falls for breakfast and later had some service performed at St. Croix Harley-Davidson. As always, there’s always someone wanting to know who we are and what were about. And of course, we’re always more than willing to oblige them.

Once all our “important” tasks were complete, which included a secret stop at DQ for a Blizzard, we headed out with our new rider, AJ, for South Dakota and points beyond. The weather had other plans for us though, and we ended up stopping short of our destination; Sioux Falls, South Dakota. No complaints though… we’re having a great time… and there will be much more to come.

What? Me snoring?

Chilling with a Blizzard

Heading out

Categories: Minnesota, Wisconsin Tags:

Day 6

September 22nd, 2009 Duke 1 comment

We picked up a new rider in Milwaukee, Kristen, and started making our way into Western Wisconsin and Minnesota. What a beautiful drive through scenic Wisconsin. In Tomah, Wisconsin we met a lovely lady–the Self-Proclaimed Motorcycle Goddess–Paulette Jochumsen. She spotted us while on the road, and then actually caught up with us during a stop. She saw our T-shirts–gotta love those T-shirts–and just had to talk to us and get the scoop. We were all glad she did. Thanks Paulette! We then made a quick stop in Sparta, Wisconsin for a photo-op… check out below.

We crossed into Minnesota, and rode up the Mississippi on Hwy 14, Hwy 61. What a beautiful ride! Anyone riding up in the area… I strongly recommend it.

Then it was back into Wisconsin to meet up with AJ, our next victim, and his family who hosted us for the evening in their home in the beautiful River Falls community. Thank you Pete, Lana, Nick, Max and Molly for the welcome and a great evening of fun and camaraderie. Also have to thank Pete Meulemans, AJ’s father, for the case of MGD!

Last but certainly not least, Goose joined us for the evening and we had the distinct pleasure of meeting his beautiful fiancé, Sammi. Goose, we’re going to miss you on the trip.

Our photo-op with the Spartan

Late arrival... warm welcome at Pete and Lana's

A warm welcome at Pete and Lana's

Categories: Minnesota, Wisconsin Tags:

Day 5

September 20th, 2009 Duke 2 comments

Today was a long day… after leaving Missouri yesterday we drove into Illinois and spent the night in Altamont in South Central Illinois. We headed out today from Altamonte and our first stop was in Effingham, Illinois, at Legacy Harley-Davidson. They were having a special event at Legacy with live music, and promised they would put in a plug for Camp Hope from their stage during the performances. They mentioned a Camp New Hope that works in the area with handicapped children, and asked if we could also put in a plug for that organization. So here it is. Anyone out there in the South Central Illinois area and wanting to work with and help needy children, this sounds like a worthy organization. Check it out. We met some additional people in Effingham, all warm, sincere individuals and receptive to the Camp Hope message and the need to reach out to and help our wounded Veterans.

From there we headed to a small town outside of Kokomo, Indiana called Greentown, the home of the Howard County Vietnam Veterans Organization and the 28^th Annual Vietnam Veterans Reunion. There we met with Roger “Bull” Durham, 1^st VP of the National AMVETS Riders. Bull had asked us to stop in if we had an opportunity, and after all AMVETS and AMVETS Riders has done and has been doing for Camp Hope… well it was a no-brainer… and we were glad we did! Check out the photos from our stop. It was amazing… There was 28,000 people attending the three day event, held every third week of September. All those we met seemed to be wonderful people. At the gate they welcomed us with free admission (for all active duty Service Members) and a hug for our service. We even got 10’s from the “judges” (wink) as we rode our bikes through the grounds. It’s a wonderful gathering, one we need to visit next year when we can stay a couple of days. You can check out their site at: www.hcvvo.org.

After leaving Bull and HCVVO, we finally made our way up to Milwaukee… like I said, it was a long day.