2025 Heart of Texas Rally – Comancheria

April 24, 2025
This year’s edition of the Heart of Texas Rally had a different beginning from previous events.  Rally master Paul Tong sent a message to us at 06:30 with coordinates of the 07:00 start meeting location.  We had already been told that the location would be within 5 miles of the NYLO Hotel rally headquarters.  Even though I live in the DFW area, I grabbed a hotel room in the area on Wednesday to serve as a convenient spot to plan my route.

I was at my bike and ready to ride once Paul’s message arrived.  The meeting location was at the Texas National Guard on the California Crossing near Las Colinas.  We had a small contingent of 7 riders doing the 48-hour class compared to the 65 riders that had left a couple of days earlier in the 96-hour class.  After receiving our rally flag and book, we gathered for the start meeting.  The theme of the rally was history of the Comanche Indian Nation.  There were 8 categories of bonuses and once a category was started, we could not move on until at minimum 2 bonuses were claimed.  This would complicate routing.  But, for a charity donation, we could use a reset bonus to start unfinished category collections again and retain previous bonuses.  There were mandatory rest bonuses and optional but valuable meal bonuses as in previous HoT rallies.

After recording our odometers, we were released to plan routes and start our ride as soon as desired.  I returned to my hotel room and went to work on plans.  I built a route based on one of the potentials, but did not work on details of the complete loop right away.  There were storms brewing all around me.  With the somewhat circular route I had chosen, I could head west or north out of the DFW area.  After studying the forecast for the next couple of days , It appeared the driest option would be to head north for a counterclockwise loop.  While I was working on the route, a rather large storm moved through.  The roads were wet, but the rain was done and I rode north in some nice weather.

My first stop was to get off of the hectic I-35E at Denton and document the ANTA20 bonus.  Bianca Bell was was only 9 years old when she and her brother were stolen by Comanches in 1865.  They lived as adopted Comanches for 2 years before their father negotiated a ransom for their return.  I rode past my second stop twice before I took more time to locate the marker for ANTA5,  a memorial for Lieutenant Van Roberts who was killed by Comanches following a horse theft.

Just as I rode into Nocona, TX, Paul had sent a message with details of the Thursday audio bonus.  Audio bonuses are new this year in the Heart of Texas Rally.  The instructions for collecting the bonus was simple; stating our name, rider number and odometer reading.  We were to take a selfie photo to be included in the app submission.  I saw an old Texaco sign in Nocona, and since I try to photograph these when I stumble across them, this would be the perfect stop for the bonus.

The BATT14 bonus was at the location of the Spanish Fort north of Nocona at a bend of the Red River.  After destroying a Spanish mission in San Saba, Wichita and Comanches joined forces to build a fort flying the French flag.  The Spanish attacked, but were not successful and retreated back to San Saba.  Heading into Oklahoma, the weather was perfect for riding.  Not far north of the border, I stopped at the CULT13 bonus which was the location of the Indian Territory Comanche Carnival.  The annual event began in 1903 and continued into the 1930’s.  Not far down the road to the west was my stop for CULT7 in Walters, the hometown to 8 of the original 17 WWII Code Talkers.

I was a bit hungry after rolling into Lawton to collect the CULT12 Chief Ten Bears bonus.  Chief Ten Bears was instrumental in negotiating harmony between the United States and his Comanche people.  The Medicine Lodge Treaty laid out a transition for the plains Indians to create a permanent settlement in southwest Oklahoma.  Finding a place to eat with a business dated receipt can be difficult in small towns.  Lawton was large enough to host chain restaurants where I could take a break for 45 minutes and claim my meal bonus.  Rest is the intent of rally master Paul to increase safety.

I rode west to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.  The sun was setting as I entered the refuge where buffalo freely roam the 60,000 acre wilderness.  The PARK5 bonus within the refuge was Lake Quanah Parker.  Nine-year-old Cynthia Ann Parker was captured by Comanches in 1836.  She assimilated into the tribe and eventually married Chief Peta Nocona.  Their son was Quanah Parker, who would eventually lead the Comanche Nation.  Quanah Parker ultimately surrendered in 1875, and became a negotiator for the Indian Nation by forming relationships with leaders such as Theodore Roosevelt.

I had to call Nancy while searching for the PARK3 bonus, a bronze bust of Quanah Parker.  I had walked the park a couple of times and could not find it in the waning light.  But just as Nancy was saying hello, I found it…  It was totally dark as I entered New Cordell to find the TERR24 bonus.  I rode completely around the courthouse looking for the granite monument.  I guess I was expecting a larger monument, but I finally saw it beside the courthouse stairs.  The Choctaws occupied this area in 1855, and the US worked a deal to lease land to settle the Plains Indians.

My route-planning earlier in the day took a bit longer than I expected, so I rolled into Elk City 30 minutes after the start of the rest bonus window.  I had an easy day of riding planned for Friday and did not need to leave early, so starting my overnight stop a bit late was inconsequential in claiming the mandatory rest.

April 25, 2025

Thunderstorms rattled the windows all night.  I woke up a couple of times and looked outside to see rain blowing sideways.  I was happy to be out of the elements.  I had simplified the route dramatically after doubting my interpretation of the category “thread” reset option.  The reset allowed us to start the thread over and still retain all bonuses that had been collected.  After the reset, the categories had to be completed again before moving to a new one.  But the score helper function in the spreadsheet had an issue depending on where in the list of bonuses it was exercised.  I should have taken the time to talk with Nancy to clarify the rules, but chose to claim the reset bonus Friday morning instead.  My bad, but it was just as well as I would now have an easy day of riding and also on Saturday.

The weather was great riding out of Elk City towards Cheyenne, OK.  My first stop was BATT17, the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site followed by a stop at BATT30, the Buffalo Wallow Battle Ground.  Since I had claimed the reset bonus, I had to finish collecting category bonuses before moving to another category.  My last battlefield bonus was BATT15, the Wagon Train Battle that lasted 5 days in 1874.  On the way to this stop, Paul sent instructions for an audio bonus for us to thank Nancy and Heather for all of their hard work.

With the battlefield bonuses collected (and my reset bonus already claimed…), I moved on to the forts category.  FORT4 was the Marcy Trail in Hemphill County where in 1849 Captain R. B. Marcy led an expedition across the Texas Panhandle establishing a wagon trail for emigrants heading for California.  FORT16 was the Fort Elliott bonus location in 1875 being one of the last forts established in Texas for the purpose of clearing the region of Indians.  FORT1 was the Bent’s Creek fort location, named for Charles and William Bent who traded with mountain men and Indians.  As early as 1835, they would travel from Colorado to trade with Kiowas and Comanches along the Canadian River.  Another rally rider arrived as I was documenting this stop and asked if I had noticed the BATT2 high-point bonus with the exact same coordinates hiding under the Bent’s Creek bonus.  We had a brief discussion about me pulling the trigger on my reset bonus earlier, so the battlefield bonus would do me no good at this point…

With my required forts collections complete, it was time to move on to arrows.  Arrows were an important part of Comanche life, both in the hunt and in battle.  I visited 8 of the 86 metal arrows that sculptor Charles A. Smith constructed and installed honoring the Comancheria.  James Stovall, the founder of the Heart of Texas Rally, has visited all of the Quanah Parker Trail Arrows.

While I was at Guthrie, I sent a note to my horseman son-in-law that I was at the 6666 Supply House and he responded back that the 6666 ranch is where he got his horse.  There was a large line of storms that formed to my northwest that was chasing me to my overnight stop in Aspermont.  I didn’t worry much since my rally route was dramatically simplified due to my misinterpretation of the reset bonus function.  But that was fine and allowed me to wander to my motor lodge well before storms might hit.  I still needed to claim a meal bonus, but the only “sit-down” restaurant in Aspermont was literally on the property and part of my motel.  Paul’s rules called out not allowing restaurant receipts from the premises of a hotel and must be business dated receipts.  This cafe where I had dinner used the old green paper ink receipts as well.  So I decided to not even try to claim the meal bonus and the lack of a Friday meal bonus alone cost me a 2nd place finish.  Finishing a rally is my primary goal, and even with my relatively short ride, all still looked OK for me to meet that goal.

April 26, 2025
I felt rested after my long overnight stay in Aspermont.  The weather forecast looked good for a dry return to the DFW area.  The route would take me directly east on Hwy 380 and my first stop would be in 100 miles.  So nothing to worry about rally-wise for a while other than enjoy the ride.

Paul’s message detailing the Saturday Audio Bonus arrived just west of Newcastle, TX.  The instructions were as follows; Audio: 1. State your name, 2. State your rider number, 3. Briefly tell us about your most harrowing experience of the rally  Picture: Take a picture of your rally flag which has been placed on your motorcycle.  I couldn’t remember any harrowing experiences other than not getting in the middle of a severe storm.  I pulled off the highway and claimed the audio bonus.

I bypassed several low-point bonuses on the way east, likely a bit frustrated by my previous day’s misunderstanding of the thread reset function.  These were inconsequential to my finish position anyway.  We have a brutal past in the history of our country.  It was difficult reading some of the historical markers that documented the struggle and loss of life for both the Native Americans and settlers.  But is is important to understand this history.  Britt Johnson was a slave, but had freedom to leave his owner’s ranch to run supplies.  In 1864, the ranch was raided by Comanches and his wife and children were kidnapped and his son killed.  He left the ranch to live with Comanches in order to find his wife and family, which he ultimately did in 1865.  He was killed 1861 by Kiowas.  I began a thread of tragedies north of Graham.  The Warren Wagon Train Massacre in 1871 had a nationally spotlighted trial where the attacking Indians were given death sentences that were later commuted by the Texas governor.

The TRAG33 bonus was at Cambren’s Creek, where in 1858 a group of Indians attacked Tom Mason and killed him and his family on their farm.  They are buried here and marked by a small stone.  Paul had sent a message with specific instructions regarding parking near this bonus after a nearby resident was not trusting all of us biker-type folks dropping by.  Anastasia Dudzinski rode up as I was documenting the bonus.

The TRAG35 bonus was the area related to the massacres of the Cambrens, the Warren Wagon Train and the Texas Rangers ambush.  In Weatherford, the TRAG42 bonus was the relocated J. J. Hamilton log cabin built around 1858 and moved to Doss Heritage Center in 2015.  Hamilton’s two sons were killed by Indians in 1863.  My wife Debbie’s great-great-grandfather John Flannagan was a settler in now Eastland County who’s son Golston was killed by Indians in 1860.  The TRAG8 bonus was in Weatherford where a marker documented Martha Sherman’s death by Indians in 1860.

Territory bonuses were my final quests as I rolled into the DFW area.  These last three stops of the rally were focused on the Comanche marker trees that were intentionally bent saplings use as navigational aids, boundary markers and guides to important locations.  I saw Matt Hube departing the TERR15 bonus in the outskirts of Fort Worth and again at TERR23 in downtown Fort Worth.  My last stop was TERR11 located at the National Guard Armory in Las Colinas where a couple of days earlier we had our rally start meeting.

Matt Wise documented my arrival at the NYLO Hotel well before the 14:00 2-day rally end time.  I approved my scoresheet with Tara, and went back outside to welcome my LD friends’ arrivals.

It was great meeting up with my friends that I have made from all over the country through long distance events.  We socialized at the cantina and had a tasty dinner afterwards.

Paul began the awards presentation with thanks to his rally staff and moved through some “Road Names” given to some riders.  Two that stood out to me were John Anderson (Smiles with Many Teeth) and Nichole Meuse (Runs from Tornados).  Then began the step through finishing positions.

The effort Paul puts into organizing his rallies is way over the top, and this one was no exception.  I always learn something through his events.  The theme this year was grim at times, but history is often so.

My Ride Photos
Finish Photos
Tracklog