Lathrop State Park, Co

Carol Hoff At The Top Of The Mountain

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Hello again with more notes from the road:

This morning stated out with more tire problems. Seems there were two nail holes in our trailer tire. Only one got patched at Walmart. We asked at the campground and was given a place in Trinidad that would fix our flat tire. Although it took a very long time we had friendly service at J&M Towing and Tire by Mark and Randy.

Now the tire is fixed and we can continue on with our journey. We decided to head north for now. We followed route 12. It is a loop off of Hwy 25 from Trinidad campground just outside of Walensburg CO, to Lahtrop State Park, CO. Route 12 is probably the most scenic road we have traveled in a long time. At the time we did not know that this scenic byway is famous. It is called "Highway Of Legends." The drive started out in the mountains and just kept going higher. The amazing part of it was the rocks at Stonewall located at milepost 37.8. The rocks weren't actually mountains, but rather 250' walls with places that you could see through. These walls were incredibly high. I have stood next to skyscrapers and didn't feel the incredible size that these rocks gave me. They just went straight up and up and up... Some of the walls looked like they were carefully stacked in place by man or machine, but nature put them there.

Our highest peak today was Cuchara Pass at 9,995 feet according to signs and our GPS. There were mostly fir trees on the mountains and what looked like white-barked birch trees, but were actually Aspens. We also passed a few pristine lakes. Blue and Bear Lake, Monument Lake and North Lake. All in places that made it look like an artist painted the scene. Do some research on this scenic route before you drive it. It has so much interesting history.

I will say one thing, the Colorado Rangers were not very friendly, especially at Trinidad. However the front-desk people in every place we have been were extremely nice and usually went out of their way to help.


Tonight we are safely tucked into a state-run campground called Lathrop. It is more expensive than the national parks, but clean and nice. As usual Chriss drove the entire park 3 times before settling on in his opinion "the very best site."

We met another RV camper as she walked past our camp site. We invite her over to say hello. We find she is traveling with another women in her RV along with another couple in their RV. Were told how difficult it was for her today as she is very active and soon got herself separated from the others during an "outback"hike. She had continued on during the hike while the others turned back. I think she was about to "jump ship". Carol decided to go for a walk with her??

We have a nice level cement pad for our RV which is also close to the showers and rest rooms. Carol finally returns, it's late and we are tired so to bed we go.
Good night.
Carol and Chriss

Trinidad Lake Campground, CO.

Carol, Migual, Chriss

Hello again:

Well today we finally started making progress again. We left the Corral Campground after a very nice stay with temperatures about 95*F. The best part was they even had WiFi for me. We got our tire fixed quickly at Dalhart Consumer Fuel by Migual. It was his brother George who helped us out yesterday and who told us to come back today. They both are very nice young men, friendly, and polite and prompt. When Chriss and I are together we seem to always meet such nice interesting people.

Then off we went westward still very warm sunny weather. We traveled some very interesting terrain from Texas to New Mexico. The terrian was flat but our GPS showed it to be very high. Awhile ago we wrote regarding Mt. Mitchell although in the mountains we said, "just wait" till you see the high flat "west." We saw mostly farm land planted in crop circles with watering equipment on wheels that circled within the field with the center attached to a well. These irrigation devises were Huge!

There were many grain silos for storing the crops and trains to transport the crops to sell. Those Texans are right, everything here is "BIG" the fields, crops, silos even the small towns had super wide main streets (five lanes in one town). See our pictures.

While were enjoying the scenery in New Mexico we weren't aware at how much we had climbed in altitude because the terrain appeared flat as far as we could see. No Blue Ridge Parkway or Smokie mountains to see, just flat land. To our amazement we were at 7030 ft (beat you NC, VA, TN). We laughed as we were higher in New Mexico at 7030 feet than we were in the mountains on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Mt. Mitchell which is 6800 feet.

While we were admiring the scenery the clouds began to gather and it started to rain part way though NM. These clouds were big and nasty looking but only rained with a little lightning. Those clouds sure did look threatening which reminded us of our weather delay starting this trip. Then we crossed into Colorado and the hills and scenery changed amazingly fast, high rocky mountains with mostly evergreens, very pretty. We looked to our left and partway up a mountain on a ledge were two very large black bears, I mean large.

We checked our Good Sam campground book and found Trinidad Lake Campground located in a State Park. In the park office it was Virginia, a very nice lady who checked us in to our campsite. She was so very helpful and pleasant to deal with. She was new and had to ask her superior questions over the radio while trying so hard to help us, even though she had to deal with a rough gruff ranger voice giving directions on the radio. We found at another park that not all Colorado Rangers are , well, mean.

We were assigned a great campsite (thanks Virginia). Chriss took my hand as he was showing me the sights. This is when we met our neighbors, the Andrews family, while holding hands. What a nice family, David and Karla and their children, Alyse, Kayla, Ethan, Seth, and Abby. A pleasure to be around. Chriss says this was his high point in our entire trip. The boys made a camp fire and they invited us over for their specialty “campfire cakes” which were absolutely yummy. They used special hamburger grilling pans to hold buttered bread (top and bottom) with a cherry pie filling, held over the fire until toasted and warm. Now that is a campfire treat! Later David showed Chriss his telescope and set it up to see Jupiter with its rings and 5 of its moons. The outside temperature at 12:00 midnight is 62 and we were wearing sweaters and sweat pants to keep warm. It is getting cool so it is time to call it a day. A nice warm bed sounds very tempting.

Good night to all,
Carol & Chriss

Delhart, Texas

Chriss Horstman and Carol Hoff

Hi To all, once more with more notes from the road:

After picking up our motorhome in Lawton, Ok, our trip has been quite adventure. To be honest today didn't exactly turn out as we expected.

After we got our first flat fixed we started off from Dumas, TX with the best of intentions as we headed for NM and then to Mesa Verde in Colorado. We got thirty miles down the road and stopped in Delhart, TX. Chriss discovered that a second rear tire on the motorcycle trailer had 2 nails in it. One nail was leaking air pretty quickly. We found tire repair stores on our GPS but none were open on Sunday. It was 105*F while we were parked on the street near a closed tire repair store. We talked to a man in his front yard who just happened to work at the closed store. He really wanted to help us but the repair center was closed and there was nothing he could do. He suggested we come back tomorrow (Monday) and said that he would personally repair our tire. He also recommended a RV campground near-by. After much searching we found it but didn't feel it was safe to stay.

After more random searching we finally stopped at the local police station, which also was the town jail. We tried to talk with A female jailer sitting in a protective bullet proof cage but found her to be not very cooperative. She was the jail matron and really tough looking and didn't care to answer any questions. She was mean to us even though Chriss told her he once was a Deputy Sheriff. A group of young people waiting to see an inmate took an interest in our problem and suggested a place. After more driving on a near flat trailer tire we found what turned out to be a local park and not an RV campground.

It was getting late and very hot. While further searching Chriss pulled our rig into a gravel parking lot of a large well drilling equipment garage. The doors were open and two young men were working inside. Chriss went in to talk to them and came out with more directions to another campground. They also put more air in our tires so we could get to the RV park that they had suggested to us. They were so helpful and friendly , it sure made up for the rude jail matron.

So now we are hooked up in a very nice clean campground with WiFi. We are waiting for the tire store to open in the AM, hoping that we have enough air in our tires to get there. The wife of the manager was so very nice to us during check in. Oh, yes, right after we checked in a train went by. She said it was just a 1/2 mile away but the whistle was loud and clear and I think we felt the ground shake. It is so very hot but at least it's dry. We walked through the park meeting some more interesting people. Life is good, we are having fun.

Corral RV Park is located on Highway 54 East in Dalhart Texas, one mile East of Highway 87. Dalhart is just about halfway between Dallas and Denver

The campsites here are level and gravelled. The pull-through site we got is big enough to park the largest rig out there, has full hook ups with cable TV, and cost us a whopping $19 per night. They don’t take credit cards, but will take a check if you don’t have cash. It is a very nice park to stay the night on the way to somewhere else.

So all in all we now have an all time record for distance traveled, 68 miles in two days. At this rate, please save our Christmas presents. Anyway we have better hope for tomorrow and will write again hopefully with good news.

Carol Hoff and Chriss Horstman

Notes From The RV Park - Dumas,TX.

Hello Again:

Well when it comes to progress westward, yesterday we made none! Our motorcycle trailer picked up a nail in one of its tires. After much searching and running around on Saturday evening we finally found someone to help us. Our GPS’s gave us many suggestions but being Saturday afternoon they were all closed. We stopped by a Holiday Inn parking lot and I was able to pirate their Internet to send out my blog and do a search of tire repair places. Please do not send the computer police after me, I'm sorry.

Since I needed to shop at Walmart just down the street, that was our next stop. Low and behold lucky for us, they had a tire and lube center. While Chriss got the tire fixed with help from Tom the automobile service manager from Walmart in Dumas Texas I went shopping and later Chriss met me in the store. It was getting late in the evening and we both felt at this time it was not a good idea to start out. So we decided to buy a nice steak and go back to our same camping area and have a good relaxing BBQ dinner and start out the next day. Our free RV park had a nice park picnic area with a grill and table, so that is what we did.

This was our 2nd day at the free Dumas Texas RV Park and it was now full of RV’s. Our next door neighbor was a gentleman cattle rancher from Texas. Jim Brown was a man with a great memory and a large travel history. We talked for a long time about great places he had been in Co. and Texas. Now I wish we either had a recorder or a good memory because he went on for over and hour. Such an interesting person. Chriss and I enjoy so much the people we meet. Soon it was getting dark so we crawled into our nest for the night.

Next morning

Today Sunday is a beautiful day. The outside temps are in the 90’s with (as usual) a breeze. It is warm but tolerable. Right now Chriss is engineering a way to install the XM Radio's indoor antenna in the front cab over bunk window of our motorhome. He is a good "fixer" and is usually successful as he never gives up. Hooray!!!!! Our motorcycles XM radio now works in the RV. We have more gadgets than we need. I wonder how the pioneers made it this far without an XM radio, a GPS, Cell Phones, laptop computer and blue rags. How did our forefathers do it? Anyway today’s news is more like notes from the parking lot than notes from the road, but it is all part of the ADVENTURE.. So be it.
More tomorrow.

Carol and Chriss

PS. Hurray the XM radio works, another Chriss Horstman engineering feat accomplished.

Heading West

Leaving Oklahoma Heading West

Friday, August 22, 2008

Had our rest... time to head west!

Hi all.
We are about to leave our friends the Nobis's in Ok after a wonderful visit, almost like home. Our route will be to Dumas, Texas or maybe north to Colorado. Ev and Mal told us of a free city RV Park in Dumas, TX. We hope to find it.

If we plan on going further west our route will be Hwy 115 to 62 to 83 to 256 to (Memphis) to 287 to Amarillo to 87/287 and north to Dumas,TX. We will be in a new time zone. I am quickly reading from our directions before we leave so I can be a good navigator for Chriss. This is quite a change from the motorcycle. No more black leather riding gear, no more knee blisters.

Today is true Oklahoma weather "Hot and Windy" with a nice blue ski. We will be enjoying the A/C in our motorhome.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Heading West!!!

We Are leaving Lawton at the stroke of 1:15 PM Again, Chriss's normal departure time. The motorcycle is packed away in the trailer. The RV is serviced and raring to go.

We have decided, we are now headed west. We had to stop to fill one of the trailer tires with some air. Then onward to Texas, taking pictures as we went. I missed taking a picture of the "Welcome To Texas" sign. Chriss without complaining turned our big rig around and went back to get a picture. Of course it was BIG Texas sign. Interesting scenery and landscapes. Very FLAT and then all of a sudden it became hilly. The rocks and dirt have an interesting shade of red. Outside temp when we stopped was 107.7 F and windy, just like opening an oven door.

While passing through Memphis TX. We passed a motel with a big sign out front stating that it was AMERICAN OWNED. Once again Chriss turned our rig around so that I could take a picture. We continued on the route laid out for us by Mal and Evelyn, our friends from Lawton. Their route was a good one, we really enjoyed the unique scenery along the way. For someone who has lived in NJ almost all of my life to see distant vistas of houses, and animals that appeared as tiny little toys in the distance was amazing. The terrain went from flat to hilly. Chriss told me that we at 3400 feet elevation and climbing, I didn't even realize we were gong up hill. It still remained HOT never going below 95* F.

We did find our way to Dumas,TX and eventually the free campground with electric hookups. The Dumas RV Park is an overnight campground good only for 24 hours. After the first 24 hours each camper must leave. Kind of like a motel for campers. We are all parked side by side with electric hook us between us. There are about 15 to 20 Campers here, a family from Dallas is next to us, and we will all leave in the AM and it's all for free. Note!!! As normal, Chriss's departure is slightly later by 5 hours.



We will be heading through the northeast corner of NM on Route 87 to 64 and then into Colorado up Rte 25 to 160 and west toward. My hope now is to find a WiFi and get this sent…

New info..... We have decided to go West to southern Utah to see Bryce and Zion, Moab, and Mesa Verde. We have seen mountains and roads and want to see some typical western flavor scenery. So heading west on Rte 87 Out of TX into New Mexico and pick up Rte 25 north into Colorado at Walsenburg we turn onto rte 160 go west to through Durango to Cortez and Mesa Verde Co. elevation 6200 ft. Do you Think we will make it today ???
Carol and Chriss

Lawton,Ok.

Hi Everyone:

We are snug and tight in our motorhome here in Lawton. I am sure you have figured out by now it was our plan to first do a partial motorcycle trip then follow it up with a combined motorcycle, trailer and motorhome trip. We are looking forward to our new adventure.

Although it has been raining on and off during Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the sun is shining brightly today. We have really been enjoying the company of our Oklahoma friends, Daryl and Jennifer, (Daryl bought our Triumph Rocket III) and their son Josh and Daryl's parents Mal and Evelyn. Daryl's parents are full time travelers and have been giving us numerous points to improve our future travels.

We celebrated Jennifer's birthday while we were here. We were invited to join Daryl's family for Jennifer's birthday dinner at the Lone Star. Happy Birthday Jennifer. Tuesday, Mal and Evelyn took us grocery shopping at a Super Center Walmart to stock up for our continued trip in our motorhome.

Daryl has kindly kept our RV for us since May when we brought the Rocket to him. Yesterday they took us sight seeing to Wichita Mountain Wildlife Preserve. We saw buffalo, long horn cattle, prairie dogs, a coyote in the distance and many interesting rock formations.

At the park we also saw the most beautiful mountains of reddish rock. I was fascinated because these mountains were so different than any I ever saw before. I asked in the Visitor Center and they said that these are the oldest mountains in both North and South America. These mountains are from eruptions and shifting plates of the earth. We saw a big dam at Lake Lawton. We also drove to the top of Mt.Sott and climbed on the huge rocks to see some fantastic vistas. The pictures just don't do the scenery justice but that is the best I can do.

We finished the day at Subway for a giant sub, mmm good. Back at Daryl & Jennifer's house we saw a slide show they made of their Rocket reunion trip to Lake Tahoe. Daryl rode the black Rocket that used to be ours. We saw pictures of our old friends from the Rocket Group of which Chriss and I were one of the original 4 members. There were many riders of Rockets that went to this gathering. It was really fun to see.

Today the sun is out and the air conditioning is on, temp returning to near or over 100 degrees. I am doing some laundry to prepare for our return to our road trip leaving tonight or tomorrow or ???. Retirement sure has it's benefits, Maybe today, Maybe tomorrow. Once we are on the road with our motorhome, it maybe difficult to find WI-FI. I am sure there won't be access in State or National Parks but we will try to find something. I will write daily but may not be able to send daily.

Love, to all Carol and Chriss

The Push To Lawton,Ok.

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Hello Family and Friends:

What a trip we had from Hot Springs Ar. To Lawton, Ok. After checking out of the Arlington Hotel and getting our bike packed we rode over to The Pancake Shop for one more good breakfast. We parked our bike right in front of the main window. We walked in dressed in our full black motorcycle riding gear, helmets and all. Everyone looked up, they had watched us park our bike out front and could see our New Jersey license plate. Soon they all wanted to ask questions about our long ride and adventures.

After eating we left Hot Spring at 12:30 PM. A late departure as usual (a Chriss thing.) We are planning to go as far as Ada, Ok before stopping for the night. Our trip started in high spirits with sunny skies. We had a scenic ride through the Quachita National Forest and it's mountains and curvy roads.

A good trip so far but as we got close to Ada, Ok the skies looked cloudy, with rain brewing for sure. We called home for help. Once again we asked for someone to go online with their PC and look at the weather sites. Between Chriss’s daughter Laura and my grandson Devin we were able to discover that there was a front with heavy rain coming from the west moving towards us and Lawton Oklahoma, our destination. The forecast for Sunday night and Monday morning said there was a 70% chance of rain. It was expected to rain for the entire next week. We had to push on, driving straight through or we would be forced to hold up somewhere for a week waiting for the rain to stop.

We decided to push on and drive straight through to Lawton, Ok. A 9 hour ride including stops we spent over 11 hours on the bike. We stopped only to get gas or take a short break to get a hamburger at a Sonic drive in. All the way we watched the weather in the distance as clouds sometimes in front of us and sometimes to our north side grew dark with rain. The rain was closing in fast on us from our right side. It was now dark, Chriss kept the speed up 85-90 MPH and we were able to skirt the storms closing edge. I don't know how he rides at night with a dark face shield. He say's he must keep his image, that is a rider all dressed in black. He does look good in black and is nicknamed "The NightRider." We just kept going and arrive in Lawton at 12:30 AM 12 hours on the bike, a record for us.

We pulled into Daryl’s drive and there was our motor home all hooked up and waiting for us. The rain started as sprinkles on our face shield as we pulled into the drive and then the heavens opened up as we were unlocking our RV's door.



Daryl's parents, Mal and Evelyn had also arrived earlier in their motorhome and parked right behind ours. Evelyn heard our motorcycle arrive and stuck her head out of the window and handed us two breakfast bars and a bottle of cold water. This was just what we needed. She then gave us a big welcome to Oklahoma. Such a nice welcome. We quickly stripped off our riding gear, took a shower and went to bed - Very Tired. See the picture with Carol holding up the clock showing our arrival time.

Oklahoma has some very flat straight roads but is very dark at night. It rained all night here and is still raining now. We can see a state road from where we are parked and the cars and pick up trucks that go by throw us a cascade of water as the road is flooded. They say it was been very dry here and that water is rationed, so I guess they need this rain.

We plan to stay here for a few days. Daryl and Jennifer have been so kind to us and hoped we would stay for a while. Mal and Evelyn (Daryl’s Parents) were here before when we sold and delivered our other bike, a Triumph Rocket lll 2300cc (2.3L) down to Daryl last May. This explains why our motorhome and motorcycle trailer is here waiting for us.



It is really nice to visit with Daryl's family. Jennifer’s birthday is tomorrow and they asked us to go out for dinner with them to celebrate. So those are our immediate plans. As long as we are here I have an Internet hook up but once we start traveling it may be difficult to write to our blog everyday. Love to all, Carol & Chriss

Chriss writes........... The last leg was a very long grueling ride. We had all kinds of terrain and road conditions. The weather and darkness made for a very difficult "scramble to the top." I write this to give myself the opportunity to say how proud I am of Carol. A real trooper she was, full of support and encouragement, never a complaint. This trip was for her and when I know she is happy and satisfied then it warms my heart. Happy I am. Carol is quite a companion.
Chriss