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

Hot Springs Day 2

Hi Again from Hot Springs:

Early this morning about 10:00AM (early for Chriss) we headed out to breakfast to a place near our hotel which was highly recommended to us. We found a little restaurant called The Pancake Shop. We were steered correctly, it was an adorable place but crowded. We waited about 20 minutes for service,. We sat out front seated on a park bench and watched all of the tourist passing by.

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We were not disappointed or sorry that we waited. We ordered buckwheat pancakes with ham and eggs, good hot coffee and tea along with what tasted like fresh squeezed orange juice. But our most enjoyable experience was the two lovely southern ladies that sat next to us at the counter. Peggy and Leenetta could have been characters straight out of a Southern book. One owned a flower shop and the other already retired worked there as an assistant. Younger than us, perfectly done hair crisp blouses, rings, bracelets, earrings, necklaces. They both had thick southern accents and carried large flowered bags. They were very friendly and made pleasant conversation with us inquiring about our trip. We parted after breakfast but not before posing for the picture and taking our blog address. We hope to keep in touch. Chriss and I just seem to attract such interesting people into conversation.


Next on our agenda was our trip to the "Baths". Neither one of us knew what to expect so we went early to the desk of our hotel to find out the details. We made an appointment, lucky for us they were able to take us early. So we off we went, I was sent to the ladies side Chirss for the men's. I was ushered into a changing room and given a terry wrap to put on after disrobing. I only had sneakers with me so picture me in my wrap with my sneakers on. Oh life on a motorcycle doesn't provide for extras. Then I met Glenda who ushered me back to a large bathtub full of water with a whirlpool pump on the side and swirling water. She took my wrap and helped me in, gave me a cup of mineral water and left me to soak and swirl for 20 minutes at which time she came back, held up my wrap discreetly looked away as I got out of the tub and rewrapped myself.
Then she asked if I wanted the steam room or sauna. I declined both as I was too hot already. So she led me to a padded table. I lied down and she wrapped my arms and legs in warm towels and put a cold towel around my head. Heavenly!! Again left me for 15 minutes to relax. Then she came back helped me up and took me to GiGi who was to give me my massage. That is exactly what she did from head to toe.
MMMM good. Then she puts my sneakers back on indicating that our time together was done. Too Bad. Now I know all about the hot baths etc.
Not bad, not bad at all.

We also planned to take the Duck Tour. Not a ride on a little duck but on an amphibious vehicle. However they did capitalize on the duck word in their advertisements. We were with about 20 people in one of these open air amphibious vehicles riding through the streets of Hot Springs, listening to our humorous driver telling us details of the city. Our driver continued to Lake Hamilton ( a large lake just outside of the city) and without warning plunged into the water, we went. SPLAT. It is fun to suddenly go from land to sea. We sailed around the lake looking at beautiful houses with great histories that he recounted for us in his humorous way. Then back to the place where we started and our ride was over. Very enjoyable afternoon.



Now we were starting to get hungry, during our ride the Duck driver recommended "The Bistro" for dinner. After leaving our "Duck" parked at the side of the road we walked the short distance to the restaurant recommended. After looking the restaurant over we elected to eat outside on the upstairs patio. Once again we met some more interesting couples who were seated around us. Rhonda our waitress joined in, we all had an interesting conversation especially where they were from and our motorcycle trip and future destinations that we might try. Chriss and I seem to always meet such interesting people. I love to travel with him. We had fun for all and a good meal to boot.

It was now early evening so we took a walk over to the hot springs across the street. After a walk around the spring and meeting again a lady and her daughter who we had met the day before in the same spot, we walked back to our hotel and so ended our second day in Hot Springs. The weather was beautiful today temp probably in the low 80's this is quite a treat for us since in the past weeks it has been significantly higher. Tomorrow will be a test of courage and stamina, a "scramble to the top."

Carol and Chriss

Hot Springs, AR.

Hello again from the road.

We left Russellville, Ar about 12:30 (Chriss's usual departure time) after a nice free breakfast at the Holiday Inn. Our waitress was talking with us as she also was a motorcyclist. Seems her husband is a musician and will be playing in a blue's band in Hot Springs Saturday evening. She invited us to go meet her there and listen to him play. We just may do that. So we exchanged phone #’s and who knows.

After packing up the bike in very cloudy weather we headed down Route 7 towards Hot Springs, Ar. The road is listed on the map as scenic highway, and that turned out to be true, it is very scenic. It was a nice road through a national forest.Occasionally we had a few drops of rain on our windshields but didn't stop to put on our rain gear. So far we haven't had the need to use our rain gear during the whole trip...... lucky us. Did I just jinks us? We made it most of the way and got out of the State Park before the heavens opened up. We got doused with a mighty rain storm. Where did our luck go? Chriss picked up some speed and the Kawasaki"s windshield and faring gave us some protection.

Luck would come back our way. After a little while there was a church on that road in the town of Jessieville with a large overhanging roof over the main front entrance. It was a drive through overhang that provided a wonderful escape from the rain. We parked the bike underneath and sat on the doorstep. We waited about ½ hour until the rain ended. Chriss called his son Christon who is an airline pilot. He asked him if he had time to check the weather radar and give us a briefing and escape route. He said sure, hold on as he was very busy running checklists just before departure. Soon he called back and told us to get out of there ASAP and head south. He said the radar was showing a big hole over us and he thought we might just stay dry going south. We said thanks, looked at the map and saw Hot Springs AR to the south and immediately knew where we were going to go. On we went into Hot Springs about 8 miles up the road. We rode through town and found the Arlington Hotel that our waitress had recommended to us. Now we are in our room and Chriss has set up his own private Chinese Laundry clothes line to dry our clothes. Won’t the maid be proud of us….

Soon it is time to go out exploring the area. Across the street just waiting for us was a nice Hot Springs National Park with a water fall flowing from a hot spring into a shallow pool. People were sitting around the small pool on a stone edge. The water temp was almost too hot to put your hand into. Some people were actually putting arms and hands into pool to rid themselves of aches and pains. They said you will get used to it. We found it to be just too hot. When we left there we went strolling up the street looking for an "out of the way" place to eat. We found a little place on the second floor of an old maim street building. It was called the Exchange Cafe. They were advertizing a special catfish dinner, after that it was off to an ice cream Internet store for dessert. Then back to the hotel Arlington for hopefully a good nights sleep. Since it is supposed to rain tomorrow we plan to be here Saturday night also. We plan to leave on Sunday for parts unknown but definitely in a westerly direction.

We paid to park our bike in the covered parking area attached to the hotel. This helped as we have so much baggage. The hotel is very interesting, we have so many things to do without leaving the property. We will explore again tomorrow on foot.

From Beautiful Hot Springs Arkansas,
Carol & Chriss

Russellville, AR.

Hello again:

Once again we are on the road traveling west. The scenery is very pretty. It is is very flat at first but then it turns into hills like we have in New Jersey. Later the scenery will once again turn back into curvy hilly roads and I mean curvy. The temp drops 10 degrees as we go into the mountains.

Our interesting event today was lunch. While traveling through the town of Yellville, Ar on Rt 62 we passed, then turned around and came back to an interesting roadside restaurant. It is called the Front Porch. This nice eatery is owned and operated by a lady who was a biker herself when her husband was alive. She was into her 70's and very fit. She is operating this restaurant by herself. We spend some time chatting with her, a very interesting person. The food was very good and cost only $7.00 each for a hot buffet dinner with dessert and salad bar.




We are now at a Holiday Inn tonight in Russellville, Ar. We are too tired to go out for dinner so we had a large salad with grilled chicken here in our room. The hotel had to make it up special for us. Chriss made a comment about how nice the desk clerks were while he was checking in. Old men and young women I tell him. It's true, everyone treated us so well.

Now we are ready to go to sleep. I will write more tomorrow. Our plan is to go to Hot Springs, Ar. in the morning.That is if it doesn't rain. However rain is predicted, so we will see. We have been chased by the rain during all of our trip. So far we have been lucky and stayed dry. Tomorrow we may be held up here for a while. In the morning we will tape up our knees again as our armor pads in our motorcycle riding pants are rubbing blisters on our knees. We are traveling so well on the bike. Chriss always ask me if "I am ok, and do I want to continue with our trip?" I tell him "of course I want to continue, I am having fun." He say he is too!!
Good night for now,
Carol & Chriss