Old Road Trip Write-Up from 2002, Arizona

[KTMrad 517]

Before the days of digital (for me, anyway)...............

First day leaving San Diego, headed up Wildcat Canyon, Old Julian Hwy. to 78, through Julian down Banner Grade. Then continued out 78 to the beautiful town of Brawley (makes me want to move there). Then all straight-aways until we got up towards Prescott, Arizona. Ahh, the welcome sign of 20mph corners mixed in with some high speed sweepers. As it got dark, we got into Sedona and wanted to get a room there, but they were all booked due to an Art Fest, Fest Fest, lots of tourists, etc. So since we had camp ing gear we figured there had to be an open campsite on the way north out of Sedona, but NOT! All campgrounds had FULL signs. We headed up the bitchin' twisty road from Sedona to Flagstaff in the dark, which made it all the more fun passing all those cars.

Next day, started out with a 45 minute 100mph ride down Lake Mary road to rte. 87. Had breakfast at a joint with a bunch of locals in camouflage outfits, who gave us strange looks in our full leathers. Then headed southeast across the state just to do the twistiest road on the map in Arizona, route 666 (we called it the Devil's Highway). We met a guy named Randy on a BMW K-Bike who was on a ride from Maryland. His map had a different route # for 666, it was 191. We scratched our heads wondering why they w ould change a state route number. Well we headed out rte. 70 east and sure enough when we got to the Devil's Highway, it's route # was 191. Again, we saw mountains and knew twisty roads were on the way. Rode north about a half hour and was getting dark out, so the first town we came to was Clifton, an Old 1800's mining town, which still has one of the largest strip mines in Arizona there. The little town is kind of creepy, with this narrow main street and a bunch of abandoned buildings along it. A local told us of an old Mortuary where they have rooms for real cheap (you can stay in rooms that were old viewing rooms for funerals), so we thought that would be pretty different, but when we rode by the place it looked tooooo creepy to stay in, so we just got a room at a regular motel.

Monday morning, headed north out of Clifton through the Strip Mine which was pretty impressive, but now I know why environmentalists are so against strip mining. Continued up the Devil's Highway, which got real narrow and tight, when we saw a sign - 10mph corners, next 11 miles - we were in heaven! After having fun hauling through the tight stuff, the road got real scenic and high in elevation, so we stopped to take a photo, got in scenic mode and rode without our helmets for awhile. After many miles of scenic mode, we started itching for a faster pace through the twisties, so back on went our helmets. For quite a ways now, the air was brisk and the trees had started turning their fall colors which was a real treat. We arrived at Hannington Meadows, whe re a cozy little lodge/restaurant/bar is nestled between the stands of Maples, Pines and Birch trees. We got a couple of beers and sat down to talk to a guy on a BMW R100, who was just out riding for an extended weekend. We asked about route 666 / 191, an d he confirmed the idea we had, that a bunch of churchgoing' folk got together and fought to change the number of the Devil's Highway, imagine that. I think that's pretty funny.

Anyway, we continued up north and as we were headed down 191 towards the end it was wide open and we were running around 85mph, my friend was in the lead. I suddenly saw a Ford Bronco with bubble gum machines on top and looked down at my radar detector as it went off. Too late, he turned on his signal and we saw his brake lights in the mirrors. We slowed down to 65 and waited for him to catch up. He asked where we were coming from and where heading, and he commented on how we just rode the best road in Ar izona. He ended up just giving my friend Tom a written warning and told us to slow it down a bit. We thanked him, I wish all officers were that cool. Then we headed through Petrified Forest National Park and had a beer as we watched the sunset from Newspa per Rock, where you can see old Indian hieroglyphics on the rocks.

On Tuesday, heading up towards Canyon De Chelly, the storm clouds were moving in as we stopped at Burger King on the Res (Navajo Indian Reservation). After we ate, the rain was coming down pretty good. We went outside to wrap our sleeping bags, cameras, etc. in plastic. Just as we put on our rain suits the wind picked up and we were almost blown over. We looked at each other laughing and ran back into Burger King. Tom and I decided it was too windy to be riding on wet roads, so we sat inside and got wired on coffee. 2.5 hours later the wind died down a bit so we decided to get back on the bikes after our little visit with the Injuns. It wasn't too bad so we were headed towards Monument Valley. After a few miles we were riding back into the black clouds, so decided to blow off going up into Monument Valley and Canyonlands Nat'l Park in Utah. We instead turned west into the storm and figured we'd ride it out. For about an hour the wind and rain was pretty strong but soon we rode through it and into Sunshine. We stopped for a photo, and a couple from Europe pulled up in a Bronco behind us to take a photo also. They offered us a Pepsi and the guy said he rode in Europe in rain like that quite often (we are spoiled here in So-Cal). Later we got to Page, Ariz ona (home of Glen Canyon Dam) and stayed the night.

Next day (whatever day it was, I love that about a road trip, you lose track of time and what day it is and don't even care) we went to the Grand Canyon North Rim. The North Rim is quite different than the South Rim. You ride towards the Canyon on the Kai bab Plateau at 8000 to 9000 feet on this gorgeous road through thick pine forests and rolling meadows. At the end, you just walk out of the trees and all of a sudden, right in front of you is the GRAND CANYON, very impressive. It was getting cold so we bu ndled up and went to Fredonia to spent the night at the "Crazy Jug Motel", the owner was so proud of the name he handed us a card and said "show it to your friends because they'll never believe the name". We laughed about that all night (hehehehehe).

Next morning Tom and I split up, I had to head back to Page that afternoon to pick up a new rear tire shipped in from Phoenix. I thought my current tire would make the trip but obviously it didn't. I went back to the North Rim to Cape Royal and Angel's Wi ndow, some pretty awesome views of the Canyon. The road in to these overlooks is even nicer than the main road going in. It was well worth going back that day. It was getting late and I realized I had to ride back about 100 miles to Page to get to the bi ke shop early enough to get my tire mounted. I rode at a blazing pace, lightly worried that my tire would wear all the way through, luckily it didn't. Stayed in Page again that night. I was sitting out front on my bike drinking a Foster's oil can and met a couple on a full dress Harley from El Paso. I asked him where they were headed, he said wherever they end up. I asked how long they're on the road for, he said however long it takes. Must be nice, that's the way to do a real road trip. Mel and I sa t and talked for about 2 hours before his wife asked him to go up to their room.

Next day, wanted to head east again to Monument Valley and Canyonlands but it looked like more storms were moving in, so I headed west and up into Utah. Was headed on a road with nice high speed sweepers up towards Bryce Canyon. As the elevation increased it got colder and windier and again the clouds were moving in, so decided to abandon my plans for a big loop north, turned south and went to Zion National Park. The valley in the park is similar to Yosemite valley (though not as grand). It was busy with tourists and busses, so I took a bunch of photos and got on the road towards Vegas. On route 15 from St. George to Vegas the winds were real strong, but I hooked up with a couple of cars doing about 100mph and at that speed the wind seemed to upset the bi ke less. Got to Vegas and went out and partied for the night.

Last day, Saturday, I wasn't sure which way to go home. So I headed down 15, took a turnoff which goes to Cima and Kelso through the Mojave Desert. The roads were still wet from rain. Storm clouds were hovering above me for about 100 miles but I rode thr ough them and didn't get wet. The roads through Mojave are fairly straight and deserted, so I was able to make really good time heading towards 29 Palms. Got held up for 40 minutes at a 5 railroad track crossing with 3 trains moving very slowly. Another b iker comes up to talk to me, he was coming back from a Cummins Diesel Truck Rally. He said he had just sold his BMW-K Bike after 16 years. He also said the route I was taking was the best way to avoid the Freeway and cut off some miles heading towards San Diego. In the little town of Amboy, on historic Route 66, I had lunch at Roy's Cafe, a cool little hole in the wall joint in the middle of nowhere. Then went through Palm Springs, up route 74 to 371, to 79 and Temecula. Down route 15 and home.

The last day was a very enjoyable ride and I was happy I avoided the freeway for most of the way. 2600 miles in 8 days with minimal freeways, was a great trip. We saw a lot of great scenery and met quite a few other riders on the road. This road trip was well needed and I came back with a clear mind. I know I've got to do at least one decent road trip a year. I realized again how good a bike my FJ1200 is and that it's worth putting some money into and keep for another 100,000 miles.