Arizona in june?

[OB-1]

Below is my wife's description of our ride to AZ and back last month.

 

 

ARIZONA IN JUNE?

 

 

It was June 14th, early afternoon, when we left for our big motorcycle trip south to Phoenix. We had planned this trip for weeks; even a few months. The forecast was for a few sprinkles, the temperature was in the mid 60’s and Mike took the dog to the neighbors for her stay. He had mapped the routes going and coming, reviewed them, re-routed them, changed them and finally I printed ‘em! I had made the remark that he couldn’t get us down there and back without a map…(There are few destinations where he needs a map). Then I regretted it, and printed out the maps, anyway.

 

The trunk on the bike was full, side bags were stuffed and I had tied an additional nylon bag above the right side saddle bag. I had rain gear on, since it was in the low 60’s and had drizzled. On top of that, I strapped on my fannie bag and another bag went over my head across my chest holding maps, binoculars, mp3 player and a camera. Behind the windshield, my tour guide and husband wore his NRA leather jacket. Off we went to Arizona!

 

In no time at all we were in Wheatland, where we bunked for the night with dear friends Connie and Clyde. We always have a great visit with them and talked until late-thirty. After coffee the next morning, we made our way to Laramie and then into Colorado.

 

The Black Canyon was an unbelievable sight, looking down thousands of feet from the edge of the highway! It is in the Curecanti National Recreational Area in SW Colorado. The rocky slopes are really black and give this canyon an eerie look. Fortunately there was little traffic and we were almost alone looking over the edge at the viewing area.

 

We stayed in Montrose, CO. in a nice hotel for under $100. The lady at the desk gave Mike directions to a great Mexican restaurant and we called it a night!

 

On Wednesday morning, we headed south on #550 toward Ouray, CO. Some sign said to beware of bicyclists… As we drove through Ouray, we didn’t seem to be drawn to anything resembling a breakfast place, so continued on over Red Mountain Pass. Above Ouray looking down, this little town resembled a European village tucked into a mountain crevasse.

 

And then there were bicycles….! For over seventy miles, on very steep, twisty black-top, there were literally thousands of Kool-Aid drinkin’ bicyclists!! They wanted the whole highway, too! There were cops on motorcycles trying to ride herd on ‘em; trying to keep ‘em in single file to the right of the traffic. It wasn’t workin’!!! It was bicycle day for thousands of these plastic headgear-wearin’, bike shop fashion-wearin;, one track minds sitting on a little bit of a butt seat; paying no attention to the string of campers, pickups pullin’ trailers, and mad tourists behind them on a 10% grade downhill!!! They’ve got to be some brave cuss’s because they’d be a tangled up mess of plastic and shiny spokes, if one of them brake-burnin’ motor homes would have lost their grip comin’ off the mountain!! We were wishin’ we had a cattle prod… We’d have given ‘em a thrill they weren’t expecting on bike day over Red Mt. Pass!

 

After playin’ Mario Brothers with bicyclers, we finally made it to Silverton, CO. and they had breakfast, too! This little town is rich in mining history and old architecture on Main Street still reflects the old west Spanish influence. A little café with a sign that said “home-style cooking” caught our eye and we had a really good late breakfast, while we relaxed the nerves a bit, as well as our butts!

 

When we finished breakfast and visiting with folks from Iowa sitting near our table, we suited up and rode through the San Juan National Forest toward Durango. We got off the highway before Cortez and into Mesa Verde. Cliff dwellers lived in the sides of these sandstone cliffs less than a hundred years A.D. and their homes were still intact for a glimpse into the lives of these natives who lived in a cruel, hot desert.

 

From there, we drove through Cortez and south into the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation. Then, as we drove into the Navajo Indian Reservation, a sand storm blew in with 40-50 mph. winds blowing sand across the highway. The sand accumulated on the side of the highway like a snow drift! At times it was hard to see the vehicles ahead of us. Gallup, New Mexico was a welcome sight and we found a really nice hotel with a Cracker Barrel restaurant within walking distance!

 

With the temperatures rising every day, we made our way south to Phoenix on Thursday. We entered Arizona and took a detour into the Petrified Forest National Park. It was just that; a detour. We both agreed it was a bit overrated, since we saw nothing but petrified logs lying here and there as we drove through the park. We’ve got petrified wood laying in our yard in WY! If we were rock-lickers (geologists), I’m sure the experience would have been worth the boring, hot drive.

 

From Holbrook to Payson, AZ., the temps were still tolerable in the low 90’s, but after we stopped for gas in Payson, we kissed our 90’s goodbye! As we expected, it heated up and by the time we made the winding road, going down in elevation, it got hot! By the time we saw the Phoenix city limits about 2 and a half hours later, our thermometer said 104 and 107! As we hurried through busy four lane traffic, I made it a point to look around and noticed no other motorcycle riders were riding. We hadn’t seen any for a couple of hours! Guess it IS hot, if the locals aren’t riding! Bet there were a few comments about this bike with Wyoming plates driving in Phoenix traffic at 107 degrees!

 

With a phone call, we found Mike’s son’s house. Pat and Jen were a welcome sight and their air conditioner felt good, too! It was moving time the last we saw them; we had helped them move from Colorado to their home in Phoenix. They were getting ready for a graduation supper that night and we hopped on once more for Mike’s cousin’s house. Julia and Randy were waiting for us and they made us feel at home in their large, comfortable Arizona house.

 

Friday was graduation for Mike’s daughter-in-law. She graduated from Midwestern University’s Pharmacy school and the ceremony for these 150 doctors was impressive with the ceremony of robes and colors. After the ceremony, we joined Pat and Jen at their home for a reception with two other friends of Jennifer’s, who also graduated with her class.

 

Saturday morning, Julia and I met Jen and her family at a “Farmers Market” in the park. Now, I’ve been to a “Farmers Market” before, but this one was top shelf! There wasn’t a vegetable there that wasn’t raised organic! Free range chicken and duck eggs, grass fed beef, organic fruit and vegetables galore and even some goat cheese! THIS goat cheese was really good and as my mind remembered how much room we DIDN’T have on the bike, I had to pass on buying goat cheese and other yummy temptations to take home, but I did get some to eat at Julia and Randy’s.

 

Sunday morning Pat and Jen joined us for breakfast and Julia fixed up a great breakfast, including duck eggs from the Farmers Market, for all before we had to pack up the black beast on two wheels. It was over a hundred degrees, again, and we hurried the bike north after a great visit with family.

 

Through Congress, Prescott and Jerome, AZ we rode and our plans were to avoid traffic and not go through the Grand Canyon. We were fueling in Flagstaff and as we watched the forest fire burn east of town, we asked various other travelers if they knew whether our highway north was closed. We sipped on bottled water and watched a couple of boys. They were working as a team at this gas station taking turns approaching customers. They showed those who cooperated the contents of their box of bargains. We saw potential buyers shake their heads, “No”… The boys didn’t get anything sold while we were there… One of them looked a lot like the Karate Kid in the movie.

 

Nobody seemed to know about the closure of the highway, but as we left Flagstaff going east, we were stopped. The highway northeast was closed due to the forest fire and the fighters trying to get it under control.

 

We had to backtrack and drove right through the Grand Canyon National Park! Mike had been there in the early 80’s, but I had never seen it. It’s depth and immensity is amazing!! We were there for the last few hours before sunset and the views were gorgeous!

 

We ran out of daylight and had to drive through the Navajo Reservation to get to Page, AZ, where we found a room. It is near Glen Canyon National Recreational Area and a beautiful contrast of blue water and red rock cliffs make for an awesome view the next morning. On we went to Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument and the “Hoodoos” in Bryce Canyon National Park. Hoodoos are tall needles of rock formations. From Boulder to Torrey, Utah in the Dixie National Forest the scene was out of an elk hunting magazine!! I took pictures trying to capture the white bark on aspen trees in the foreground while catching the pines and canyons in the background. The temperature dropped to the low 60’s and the elevation rose to over 9000 feet for one of the most scenic highways we’ve ever seen!! There were barely any vehicles on this stretch of road and the twisty curves had “Mike” written all over them! Breathless views of aspen valleys and timbered peaks were sure to be home of big bull elk!

 

More than once during our trip I thought of how difficult it would be for anyone to find us, if we went off one of the many curves on those mountain tops. Mike also made mention of it many times and I told him, “You watch the road and I’ll take the pictures!!”. I remembered the copy of our route I intentionally left on my computer desk at home…

 

We pulled in at a Days Inn in Torrey right behind two other groups of bikes. Friendly riders exchanged conversation with us and invited us to join them for supper at the only eatin’ place open after 9:00 pm in town. We enjoyed visiting with these three couples from South Carolina. One was a retired banker, another; a retired HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) business and the other; current operator of the HVAC business. Since we ate outside, a game of horseshoes provided entertainment over and above the southern drawl of our new friends.

 

Then it was of Glen Canyon, Natural Bridges and to Blanding, Canyonlands National Park and Moab, Utah. Since we had spent a little more time than planned being a tourist, we had to make Rifle, Colorado by bed time, and we did! Another nice, reasonably priced hotel; this time with a rib place within walking distance and we, with our tired butts, were happy!

 

We stopped in Craig, CO the next day after a grueling, rough ride north of Rifle, although the scenery was gorgeous. It seems the rear shock on the bike was failing and with each bump, we had little or no shock absorbing function. I returned a couple of calls to find out a storm had gone through our area that left trees uprooted, roofs blown off and dumped 2-3” of rain. I called a neighbor to hear nothing extreme was noticed where we live. Mike made some phone calls to find out we had no other options, but to keep riding (he wanted to send me home in a car and was worried about my back). I folded my air cushion in half and thanking God, I had a much more comfortable ride as we pointed north.

 

Before we cleared the Colorado border on highway 13 going into Wyoming, we met three semi trucks. The third one in line tried to pass the two trucks ahead of him and we were almost stopped and were driving slowly on the white line, before he cleared to get back in his lane… That was too close! Granted; motorcycles are hard to see, but he nearly made the mistake of his life; and ours…

 

From Rawlins, we headed north through Muddy Gap, Casper and arrived at home in Wyoming by 7 PM! The storm had done little damage to our buildings, rain had been gone long enough for us to get the bike home on our gravel-less gravel road and we thanked God and were grateful for our very awesome and safe trip on the bike.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Wow...read it all...great ride report! It's not often we get a write-up from the passengers point of view. Tell her thanks!

 

:happy34:

 

Thats a "Siskel and Ebert" 2 thumbs up!

[Aussie Annie]

Thanks for the read

[fordpol]

Been through Cameron AR in a sand storm in a cage and saw a couple bikes and can not imagine how harsh that would be!

[mraf]

Nice read. If all works out right we're headed to Utah in a week or so. Can't wait after reading your wifes trip log.

[Dave77459]

I really enjoyed the read. Sent it to my wife, since we too are heading out to UT this summer. She thinks she needs to start keeping notes!

[eagleeye]

Wow, what a great story. Tell her thanks from me.

 

Steve

[GigaWhiskey]

I am jealous, lol. I enjoyed the read. Well written.

[OB-1]

Thanks for all the kind comments. They have been passed along to my wife.

 

We should get the back back from the dealer tomorrow with a brand new rear shock replaced under warrenty .

[Motorpig]

great story...my wife are taking a week long trip in november and i am hoping she keeps a log as well.

 

your wife did a great job painting the picture for us...i felt like i was with you on the trip!