Sitreps from the Runs for the Wall: Southern Route 2002

day 1
Greetings for Ontario, ca from the southern route. we have a beautiful clear blue sky, the breeze is blowing. we are all getting ready to depart to Washington D.C. tomorrow morning. many riders are coming in. everyone is filled with excitement. old friendships are being made with hugs in the parking lot. stories are being exchanged, alot of smiles ,slaps on the back, policing of motorcycles, double checking of equipment, getting ready to go. right now over 75 riders for the southern route and over 120 for the central route. We are all anxiously waiting for departure. there will probably very little sleep as we will continue visiting deep into the night. Keep watching this site for our daily sitreps. keep us in your prayers.

day 2
This is day 1 of the rftw southern route. we left Ontario, ca shortly after 8:00 am under cloudy skies and about 55 degrees. very cool. the California highway patrol blocked the entire interstate entrance ramp so we could get right o the interstate and head east with about 73 motorcycles and 4 chase vehicles. about 40 miles east we got into sunshine and out of the clouds, it got warmer. had a very nice ride with people honking their horns and giving us the "thumbs up signal" as we went by. we stopped for gas at cochella, ca and had a short riders meeting to orient and introduce new riders on the run. we had some riders turn back , they were day riders and proceeded with about 58 motorcycles. we stopped at aaronberg,az for lunch, it got very hot, temperature was about 102 and later got around 110 degrees. the Arizona police greeted us at tonapah, az and gave us a escort into phoniex, az. a rider had a accident going about 50 mph, he was hospitalized! with road rash and finger and hand injury. probably be relaesed tomorrow. we had a very nice ceremony at westly bowen plaza where we laid a wreath at the Vietnam memorial with 3 color guards in attendance with various patriotic hymns and military anthems. we then proceeded to the u.s.s. arizona memorial where we laid a wreath for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice on Dec 7. the ceremony was closed with a prayer from buddy haskel. we then proceed to the VA medical center, while in route a taxi cab knocked down a phoenix motorcycle policeman that was escorting us, severely injuring him. proceed to the VA center to greet patients and have supper that was provided by the church of the son. various accident caused us to arrive late to the VA center and our time was short considerably, causing us to arrive at the motel late looking for a good night sleep after a long hot and beautiful ride. looking forward to tomorrow . thank you for following us on this website and your prayers as we continue our mission.

day 3
We leave deming, new mexico under beautiful n.m. blue skies, cool weather everyone is in long sleeve sweaters and jackets this morning. first gas stop is at anthony, texas where the manager of the fas station cleared all the pumps so that we would have total access to the station for refueling, we were greated by local vistor and tv station. water was passed out and local veterians come out to greet us to learn more about rftw. we thanked the station, williams brothers truck stop. a very good facility and will be used again.lunch was in sierra blanca, tx were a barbuque buffet was served and we all got to rest after along haul across west texas. west texas is a very very long day and ride, stopped at pecos, tx for gas the manager of the gas station paid for our gas to show his support for the rftw. we were escorted from pecos to midland but our escort didnt do such a good job because we lost before we found our way to the midessa oil patch rv park. a barbque dinner was prepared which was delicious. a gentlemen by the name hayden fry, former helicopter pilot in vietnam was the organizer for this local event and he did a outstanding job. this was a long days ride without incendent and glad to put west tx behind us.

day 4
Odessa, tx. the run departed from the RV park with police escort to the Vietnam memorial where we laid 3 wreaths at the memorial. this beautiful memorial contains more casulties from the Permain Basin area. we spent an additional 45 min visiting the commemorative air force museum and everyone seemed to enjoy it. we had probably the most beautiful day for riding in TX one could ever imagine with temperatures in the 70's sun no clouds, no wind just a awesome day. stopped in Colorado city, TX for lunch to find children prepare to wash motorcyles. met the principal of the school who invited us to be involved in their program when we come through Colorado city, TX. the program is real history, real heroes where the children are doing various projects. we spent extra time with him and the press to discuss next years activities and they are very excited about our return. this put everyone on a real high. we exited in beret for gas and proceeded on to wetherford, TX where we all got a good nights rest. we had a number of riders join us and its good to local support.

day 5
Began with a riders meeting in the parking lot at the super 8 motel for the new riders. we left wetherford, tx with 65 riders thru dallas-fort worth, once again clear skies, no wind and temperatures in the 70's. both days temperature were so cool that the riders stayed in their jackets all day. we stopped today in longveiw, tx at american legion post 131 where we were feed a incredible meal. the table was probably 30 feet long, totally filled with good east texas home cooking. we did a very nice thank you ceremony with the people of east texas, their chaplain closed with prayer. we then headed for mendon, la and arrived around 3:40 p.m. we then proceeded to the american legion hall in mendon for a another wonderful home cooked meal beginning at 5:00. red beans, rice, Louisiana gumbo, was the order of the day. there was a RFTW cake, decorated with motorcycle memorabilia that we all enjoyed very much. Cat, one our merchandise ladies showed the film "tribute to the toughest" which everyone really enjoyed watching video of the central and southern routes in 2001. we returned to the motel around 7:00 p.m. where everyone stood around outside and discuss the events that had happen for the past 2 days with great enjoyment. again we say thank you to all our supporters and thank you for your prayers, not for just a great ride but for time for healing as different veterans have shared different stories. End

day 6
We left mendon, la at 8:05 a.m. in very cool temperatures, clear sky once again, heading east our first fuel stop was in delhi, la we meet up with papa bear and stringer our Mississippi coordinator and numerous riders. we proceeded to a beautiful cool ride into jackson mississippi with various police and highway patrol escorts. as we approached jackson, motorcycle policeman intercepted us and escorted us the local Harley Davidson dealership in jackson. we where suppose to have alligator stew this year but no alligator were killed so instead we had some of the greatest barbecue chicken you would ever want to eat along with beans and potato salad and all the trimmings. the Harley dealer really turned out for us this year with many items on sale for the riders to buy. before we left the dealership we had the opportunity to fire a 3" canon to celebrate freedom. it was quite a HONOR for papa smurf to be the one to pull the lanyard to fire this canon. the riders were very impressed with the ceremony, food, and with the southern hospitality. we then paraded through jackson mississippi past the capital building and then back onto the interstate heading east with police escort to merridian, mississippi 87 miles away. arriving in merridian we missed our police escort as we arrived early so we proceeded to the ag pavillion. at the ag pavillion we were greeted from city officials. they had made arraignment for all the riders to do their laundry. a barber and beautician were brought in for anyone needing a haircut or ladies needing to have their hair done. we were treated to fresh cooked mississippi catfish supper with hush puppies, coleslaw and all the trimmings. it was a nice cool evening where the riders could sit and visit while they waited for the laundry to finish. the laundry came back all folded and in bags. arriving back at the motel we realized that it had be a high emotional day and everyone was ready for a good nights rest. again we say thank you to all of our supporter and those of you following our daily progress as we make this important pilgrimage to Washington dc.