Yesterday we went on our favorite ride of the year, to honor and remember Dan Dolan, KIA 2006. All the money raised by this event go to select military and veteran charities, and we always have such an amazing time.
We were lucky enough to be able to stay Friday night with a dear friend in Roy, so it would be a very short trip Saturday morning to our staging location for the ride. She made us dinner and even cheesecake, and made us feel very welcome and at home! And I even got a good nights sleep!
Saturday started with a couple cups of coffee with our hosts, then off to Golden Spike HD for breakfast and registration. As we prepared to ride, I made sure we had other heros represented... I had a wrist band for Jared Day, I had a pin with Matthew Wagstaff, and of course I always have my bracelet and tattoo of Brandon. I also had dog tags for Aaron Kramer, Matt Wagstaff, and Brandon. All our heros are recognized and remembered at all of these events.
First person I seek out when we get there is always Fay. Fay Dolan, the Gold Star Mom who lost her son 8 years ago. She puts so much work and effort into putting this together every year, she is such an amazing woman!
Registration takes 2 hours not because it really takes that long to register, we actually pre-registered and it took about a minute, but to socialize and visit with people we rarely see thru the year.
This is Gordon Ewell, with his new wife Melanie. Gordon is one of the most inspiring men I have ever met! He is a true hero and survivor. This man has been blown up 6 times, he is deaf in one ear, and hard of hearing in the other, he has vision in only one eye... the other has been replaced with a Purple Heart glass eye. He walks with one- sometimes 2 canes. He has more injuries than I can even remember, but he keeps going! He comes to all of these events! Gordy has written 4 books. He goes bike riding (has a bike built especially for his needs), he went rock climbing recently, he just doesn't stop! I love this guy and think more people need to hear about him and be motivated by his courage and attitude. This is the kind of person who truly gets my respect!
We had a good showing this year, not nearly as many people as previous years, but there was a lot going on this year and the economy has really made it hard for people to get to all of these events. I didn't get the count on how many were there, but it was still a good showing.
The ride had an escort of about a dozen motorcycle LEO, plus a sheriff truck. They blocked traffic and made sure we were safe the entire ride. They are always so good to us on these rides. And we can never show enough how much we appreciate them.
We rode thru the mountains, such a beautiful day! Nothing beats having the wind in my face and seeing the beauty Mother Nature has for us.
Toward the end of the ride, we took a small detour to bring some smiles to well deserving people... we all rode into the parking lot of the George Wahlen Veteran Home, a care facility for vets, rode around the buildings and thru the drop off roundabout where they had a number of vets outside waiting for us. They waved to us and smiled... we all waved and honked. It was awesome!
This was just yards from where we ended our ride, so we just pulled out of the home and into the fair grounds. Where there was food and water and soda and shade! It was a hot sunny day! We relaxed and chatted with friends, we ate and laughed. Then they did an auction and the raffle. And then there was a balloon release. A balloon for each of our Utah fallen. Steve was there, we both released a balloon for Brandon.
It was truly an amazing day. I am so glad my health and our finances allowed us to join them this year. We missed last year, and I missed the year prior, due to health problems. So this was really special for me to be there again.
Bless our troops, bless our fallen and the families who suffer that loss every day for the rest of their lives. Bless the USA.
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