May 18, 2018 - Day 3 to DC - Gallup, NM to Eagle Nest,NM

We had another absolutely BEAUTIFUL day. A little chilly  - 46 degrees.

Larry and I help with the 50-50, raffle..... and normally there are ticket that need to  be taken apart.  This morning, Luke was there helping. Come to find out he is Bounce's son.  How cool is that.  Luke said he wanted to take off 2 weeks to ride cross country.  His boss said he was crazy.  But if he wanted to go, he needed a letter from RFTW.  Within 30 minutes the guy had it.  So I guess the answer was yes.

 Kirk Olson is one of our road guards AND the son of our RC, Harland, and Janelle.

 Every day ,the RC asks how may FNGs we have.  Look at the hands!!!  Then of course they all get hugs.

 Jackie ( Gallup mayor) can to say a few word and told us to "keep the rubber down and the shiny side up".

 Sea of bikes. Still love to see this. 

One of the things that makes this easy for the staggers is the front of the bikes.  They have sticker as to the platoon or group they belong to.  Here are a few examples.

 This gentleman is a Vietnam vet and  has ridden on the other 2 routes.  He wanted to do the Central route before he stops ridding.  If you think about it, our Vietnam vets are in the 70s.  These rides are getting tough for them, but then continue the mission.  We are all glad to see some of the next generations joining.

Dan "Boilermaker" and Larry talk about Cleaning solvents for the bike.

If you look close, you can actually see the line....soo not such a mess as you think

 These next pics were taken within the first 15 minutes after we left.  AMAZING!!  what support

Checkout this background.  Almost looks fake.... but it is not.

 So sorry , you just have to put up with my pics of this beautiful country.  Look at it and be thankful everyday we are free because of our men and women that keep us safe.

 Heading into Sante Fe for a gas stop.  This one like many others is paid for... YEAH!!!

 This is Lee.  He is on the fuel team.  Just wanted to show you how close the bikes are from when we are sitting.  Got to make sure the hose will stretch to the far tank.

 The lot here was huge.  we have no problem putting the platoons there with lots of room to spare.

 Our escort for the day.  Remember we have a full escort across all of New Mexico.  How we would love to have this in every state. 😏😏

 On this leg , we are riding in the Mentor spot.  I looked at EZ's helmet and see this sticker:

"The Price of Freedom is written on the wall"

 LEOs hold all the exits. 

We now head up to Angel Fire.  

 I had to take a pic of  this..... This is crazy if you think about if... and it works.

Hope you can see this.  This is a nice pic of the Police officers way out front. Not sure how that car got there but I am sure it was not there long..

  This is a great story:

Great story from Jenny:

The 2 buses are for the kids of Cochiti.  Several years ago the school was trying to get the kids more energized about learning.  So there was an incentive idea.  If you have perfect attendance, get good grades and have good behavior, you could ride the bus to stand on the bridge to see RFTW go thru.  The first year there was 20 kids.  Now check out the bridge.  Soon they will have to make a bigger bridge.  They also have to rent the bus at $35 to get there.  To do that, the kids would have bake sales and other events to raise the money.  Great lessons.  This year they have 2 buses and check out how many kids are there. Again a very poor part of the country.  If you have earned the honor to go on the bus in May, around Labor Day, Jenny, Ken and a few other RFTW member go back to the school and the kids get RFTW pins.  They love it.  Last year, the school struggled to get enough money for school supplies.  RFTW was able to take money to help the school out.  The people there were so greatful.  Zoom in on this one, amazing how many kids are there.

 Here is our view from the front. Tom , the head road guard, is on the red bike in front of us. The RC and Missing Man is in front of him.  I explain this better on another day. In front of him you see a blue dot.  That is Scooter, like the bird dog.

 This is a pretty good shot if I do say so myself.  Going up hill, I was able to get a pic of the back of the pack. Check out all the lights. I will not tell you how many shots it took, but I am getting better.

 Check this out!!!!!  Our service men supporting RFTW by coming out.  

 The roads heading to Angel fire go thru canyons and beautiful mountains.  The last 3 years we have gone it seemed to be cloudy , cold , rainy.  Today was just the opposite. Hope you enjoy the pics.  They cannot even come close the vastness of what we see.  It is absolutely gorgeous.

  People thru  the little town , no matter how small.  Great respect and appreciation for what RFTW represents.

 You know the saying "riding off into the sunset"  this is like "riding off into the mountain".

Hope you enjoy the pics.

We arrive at Angel Fire

The memorial was begun by Victor and Jeanne Westphall, the grief-stricken parents of Marine First Lieutenant David Westphall, who was among sixteen young men in his unit killed in an ambush on May 22, 1968 in Vietnam.

 The memorial maintains a UH-1D model Huey helicopter known originally as "Viking Surprise," one of the first smokeships used in Vietnam. On March 26, 1967, the helicopter, while rescuing service personnel, was so badly damaged – 135 bullet holes – that it was returned to the United States for repairs. The copter returned to Vietnam and was later sent to the New Mexico National Guard, which donated it to the Angel Fire memorial.

 

I can hold 6 wounded , 3 per side stacked and a Medic.

 Larry's brother rode in one of these in Vietnam and sat just like we did.  Scary thought what our men and women did for us.  Please remember to say thanks any time that you see one.

The town Eagle Nest has a population  of 290. We more than double it. They welcome us with open arms every year and feed us dinner and breakfast.  Soooo much homemade food and so good.

 Here is the town.

 He is main street. Neat place. AND no snow this year.

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This is the Mayor of Eagle Nest  and Eamon

 Everything is homemade and so much to choose from

 Every year they make a cake the size of a table.  This year was not exception.  Thanks to all that made this possible.  Not only looked good but tasted good too.

"The Price of Freedom is written on the wall"

Total Miles: 289
Temps: 46-80
Elevation: 8500 ft.
Route : I 40E , I 25N, back road to Angel Fire