| California Trip Page 2 |
| 4-30-01 An awesome riding day! We left Socorro, N.M. at 9:30...taking 60 West to 260 West in Arizona. The scenery in N.M. and Arizona was beautiful, and the hwy�s were perfect. Weather was sunny�a bit chilly, but gorgeous, as was the case for most of the trip. We went through many national forests, and crossed the continental divide�elevation 7796 ft. Saw lots of watch for elk signs, but no elk. We could feel we were really heading west, by the scenery and the constant climbing elevation. Those roads were great and would recommend them to anyone. Super riding! N.M. has gas stations pretty well strung out, though, at least on hwy 60. We learned to top off the tanks whenever we got the chance. Sometimes towns that were on the map and posted on the hwy were ghost towns, nobody home! We took hwy 117 off of 260 to Sedona, home of the bell rock, which supposedly has powers to rejuvenate. I know one power it has, to cause the town around it to be pretty expensive. Had a nice view from the room, though, and walked to the neighboring Mexican Restaurant for dinner. We�d stopped at a �N.Y� style caf� first, but the loud music blasted us off of the patio before the waiter could get to our table. Jen was definitely along for the ride...her presence was very strong that day. A beautiful ride, ending in a beautiful spot for the night. |
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| 5-01-01 Left Sedona at 7:30 a.m. We rode through Flagstaff on our way to the Grand Canyon. We toured the Canyon, stopping for photo ops pretty often. We climbed the old viewing tower and had a stale turkey sandwich at the lunch counter. $3.65 for a slice of turkey on stale white bread. Next time, I�ll brown-bag the Grand Canyon. Met some French couples who�d flown to Vegas and rented Harleys to tour out west. They left a bag behind and Steve looked all over for them to return it. His persistence finally paid off and he found them to return it. We then rode towards Vegas, across the Hoover Dam. We called my sister, Cathy from the Dairy Queen in Boulder City, after downing a well-deserved malt. The ride from the Canyon was a long, dry one. Lots of dessert. We had temps still in the eighties, though, and the cactus blooming was beautiful. But that malt was one of the best I�ve ever had. Cathy was very shocked to hear from me, and gave us directions to her house. This time it was my turn to screw up, and we rode all the way to the strip till I realized I needed to get directions. A bike cop set us straight, and we arrived at Cathy�s condo shortly. She was waiting outside for us. Friends(Mary and Matthew) were sitting by the pool and we visited a while. Matthew took us to the Paris Hotel. We had a great dinner of beef and crab claws for 13.95. It got more expensive, though, as I lost a few hundred on the slots. But I must have had a dozen white russians, and took a cab back to Cathy�s at 6a.m. where she graciously let me crash in her bed. What a night!! |
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| 5-02-01 Woke at 11 and went to the Harley shop for an oil change, and 4 hours later, got back to Cathy�s. Steve changed his own oil there, and Cathy gave him a big container to dispose of the old oil. She cooked a great ham dinner for us, and we enjoyed our first home-cooked meal in a while. She even did all our laundry for us. What a sweetie! 5-03-01 Left at 9:30, after helping some ladies at Cathy�s condo move a big�HEAVY�table to their 2nd floor condo. We stopped outside Vegas for a Mickey-D sausage biscuit and returned to the bike to see my leather jacket stolen. Bummer! We rode to Scotty�s junction at the Northern end of Death Valley...as we wanted to ride the whole length of it. Great ride, with unique scenery and decent temps...high was only about 85. Stopped and enjoyed a neat walk through Mosaic Canyon, but the gravel road leading to it played heck on the bike...loosened up the oil tank mount so much that the tank was rattling under the seat. After getting that sorted out, we rode on to Baker, Cal. The home of the world�s tallest thermometer! It was neat, coming into town well after dark, and seeing what seemed to be a big, neon Casino sign in the distance. Turned out to be the thermometer. We ate a late dinner and pie at the �world famous� Bun Boy restaurant. |
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