Cowboy & Indian Tour: 2015

Here is the final map of the completed tour:  2,513 miles

Cowboy & Indian Tour: Day 8

I-15 South>CA-58>Ca-14 South>126>101North

Days mileage= 246

Total Trip mileage= 2,513

As planned today’s trip began by going to Calico Ghost Town.  I had been there in the 80’s and since Tombstone let me down I was hoping Calico would not.  Fortunately, it has remained unchanged.  A lovely step back in time and there were not too many people there either-so you weren’t jammed in like at Tombstone.

Here are some of the pictures from the day:

Going into the mine (I can not imagine what that must have been like every day)

Views of the town:

The rest of the day was spent riding back home.  Once home I stopped in to see Jeff (this is a trip ritual) where we discuss the trip and any issues with the bike/s.  This time the only thing to discuss was the chain.  Jeff showed me how to adjust it so the next time I can do this without waiting for a mechanic.

Overall, a cold, windy, rainy, but much needed motorcycle vacation.

Things I would do differently:

1) Not go in March

2) Bring my wool T-shirt (which I have done on every other ride, with exception of the one ride where I needed it)

3) Bring a paper map so I could have made adjustments easier to my 3/4 planned route

4) Buy battery powered gloves

5) Plan a route where there was more twisties.  I will have to practice that-clearly it is an art I have not mastered.

 

Cowboy & Indian Tour: Day 7

40 west> AZ66> 40 W
Days mileage= 330
Total trip mileage= 2,267

The day was a bit chilly-again. There was frost covering my bike cover completely. I decided to leave around 8:30am as I knew I was riding toward warmth. A quick check of the bike yielded a chain that was ridiculously stretched. I had put on a new chain prior to the ride. Adjusted it after 500 miles and now it was insanely loose. Luckily, less than a mile up the rode was an independent motorcycle shop that opened at 10am. So I left at 9 figuring they would be there around 9:30.

The nice man from Alabama fixed it and said it would stretch again (I knew that and he was not kidding. When I get to Carp I will have Jeff adjust again). But off I went headed toward Route 66

Can you tell who is real?

Yes those are motorcycles hanging from the entrance way of a gas station off the 66. Too funny. Also, when I asked where the restroom was he pointed to the port-a-potty. I still think he was messing with me but I didn’t argue.

The ride got thankfully warmer and warmer and was uneventful. Route 66 is interesting. Long stretches of empty land, abandoned roadside cafés, and once inhabited homes. Then –boom–American Kitsch for about 1700 yards. Then empty land…

As the miles wore on I had promised Dash that we would go to Calico Ghost Town. We had tried to get there 2.5 years ago but Dash was instead towed right by the exit. So this time we were going to make it. However we got in too late so we are in Daggett and will be going tomorrow. Though we did stop to take a picture of a seriously tall miner

I was going to go through Death Valley (a suggestion from Rick who is a better road planner than I am! Haha). But all the hotels were booked. Who knew.

While riding today I think I should rename this tour the “Chasing After Mines Tour” or “The Too Cold to Ride Tour”.

Cowboys & Indians Tour: day 6

160 west> 89south>AZ64>180east>I-40
Miles for the day= 342 miles

The day began cold. Very cold. So I dressed myself in everything I owned and my core stayed super warm. Though I looked like Charlie Brown. Now my fingers on the other hand were a bit uncomfortable. I am Going to look into electric gloves since Dash cannot handle the heated gear
The 160 is called the Trail of the Ancients. And that was the road that I spent the majority if time on…the first picture is a sampling of what I saw it my right – the other directly in front.

It was rather soothing. Surprisingly it was not cold either. Now this tour should be called the “Dodging the Rain at every Turn” tour. And this day was not much different. About 3 moments of serious sprinkles and one of a pretty good downpour. But otherwise nothing. By the time I got to the Grand Canyon I could smell that the rain had made its appearance but it was prior to mine. So, the clouds were low hanging but a lovely fluffy white. Like cotton balls suspended in air. It is always surprising to me that I am being pelted with rain as I always think it is a pod? Gaggle? Group? of bugs. It gets me every time.

Here is a picture off of the 160

Further along I pulled off at a scenic area called Little Colorado.

I met a lovely couple from Canada who were taking 4 months to travel around the US while trailering their Harley’s. Also a family from Australia traveling around for 4 weeks. It is amazing who you meet on a Honda!

The next stop was the Grand Canyon.

First stop was the Winchester Tower

Then off to look at the view. I couldn’t get the movie “The Guilt Trip” out of my mind ha ha

These pictures do not do it justice. Simply amazing.

This last photo is one I just really liked off of the 89 I think.

Tomorrow is unknown. I’m on VACATION!

Cowboys & Indian Tour: Day 5

285 north 84 north> 84 north 64 north> 84 north> 160 west
Total miles today= 271 miles.
Trip miles thus far= 1,595 miles

I left early today in order to beat the rain. And I am glad to report I succeeded. However it was crazy cold. I mean CRAZY cold. Luckily I had my heated vest. I wore it on for about 3 hours and it kept me super toasty. But more on that later…

The roads were fantastic. The towns were quaint and more than interesting. I had been on the 160 with Bernadette and Rick and Laura in August 2014 (it was much warmer). This time I traveled with the snow. Yes, there was snow all around. It refused to melt. And I was complaining about the rain- it can always be worse.

Here are the pics from the ride with snow and all (which made its appearance in Chama NM)

This pick is from Pagosa CO. What a lovely town.

Roughly one hour from Cortez CO Dash began to slow on yet another uphill. I knew it wasn’t gas and couldn’t think of why (other than he really dislikes this elevation). A moment later I decided I better turn off my heated vest and the minute I did he came back to life. That darned vest was draining the battery. Just too much for a 37 year old bike to take (amperage). So the last hour I ran it without the heated vest (and it was cold). Luckily I stopped at a place that had a motorcycle shop and I asked to use their multimeter. The battery had rebounded and was fully charged again.
It is supposed to be very cold at the Grand Canyon tomorrow. Guess I will use the vest judiciously. Fingers crossed.

Cowboys & Indian Tour- day 4

15>35>152>I-25north
Day miles= 375

The 15/35/152 is called the Trail of Mountain Spirits
I knew the rain was coming but was hopeful I could outrun it…I was wrong. But the first three roads were spectacular. The 15 was a road that Rocky, Rick, and Rocky would have loved. Lots of tight turns. The 35 was a rode that Laura and I love. Amazing sweeping  turns and a few hairpins for good measure. And last the 152 was a mish mash of both. It was fantastic. Unfortunately, half way through that road the rain appeared. I could smell it and the road was soaked. So I was not caught in a downpour (at that point) but the roads were too slick for my likings. I would very much like to ride that road one more time.

Wildlife was all around as well. On the 35 was a gaggle? Pod? Grouping? Bunch o’? deer. They were of all different sizes and one of course was directly in the road. They tend to be unpredictable but she bounded to the left and joined her “group” as they all scampered away. On the 152 a cow decided to stand in the middle if my lane. It wasn’t moving. So I did. Darnedest thing.

The following photos are all taken on the Trail of Mountain Spirit Scenic Biway. You can see the weather closing in on me

In Mimbres NM we stopped for a photo opportunity

Then through Hillsbourgh NM this caught my eye!

The next three hours were spent dodging rain on our way to Santa Fe NM.

Tomorrow Cortez CO and some great roads I took with Laura and Rick. Time for dash to experience them.

Cowboy & Indian Tour-Day 3

90east>80west>New Mexico 80east>I-10east>70>90
Days miles=200

Dash, PZ and I made it safely into New Mexico. But before doing that we visited Bisbee and took the Queen Mine Tour. I was putting a lot of hope into this mine visit since I was rather disappointed with my Tombstone visit. So I got there 1 hour before the tour began to buy my ticket. Happily I strolled to the ticket booth and saw that all ALLLLLLL the tours for the day were booked. What!? Well, undaunted I strolled about, got myself on the standby list (the lady at the counter seemed to take a certain glee in telling me I was the 7th on this coveted list). As others suited up and boarded I returned to the counter to cajole, charm, and generally bother the women until some kind man asked if I wanted to go (Yes!) and he told me to hurry up and pay (or maybe he said shut up?) at any rate I paid while he secured me a locker for my tank bag….and so it was spectacular!

I love going down into mines. This was a copper mine and it stays about 50 degrees and the guide said most miners only lived to be 46. They also mined gold, turquoise, silver and lead from these mines.

Here is PZ waiting to toil in the subterranean tunnels:

This was actually used in the tunnels for supervisors to get around. Notice that sissy bar seat. I think this was a 1960s creation but it truly was used.

I wanted one!

This is where the miners relieved themselves – the first port-a-potty

And this is how they communicated-miners Morse Code with a bell

The light of day!

What a great tour but an awful job.
The next 175 miles I headed toward New Mexico. It was a wonderful set of sweeping turns. The only glitch is I was certain there would be a gas station. There wasn’t so for a bunch of miles I fretted. But my lovely Dash made it to the gas stations after 152 miles of not filling up. Rick seems to think he could have gone 30 more. I don’t think so. Dash took 3.17 gallons and he holds 3.7 so he had half a gallon. I got 48 mpg (pretty impressive given the never ending head wind) so I could have gone 24 miles further before being empty. Good to know. Rickina was very close. Go figure.

Here is New Mexico

Tomorrow off to Santa Fe and through the Gila Cliff Dwellings. What a great day!

Cowboy & Indian Tour: day 2

8 east>10east>83>82>80>charleston road>80>90
Day 2 –365 miles

The day began with me deciding to clean my fairing and finding out I had lost a bolt. Off we rode to Auto Zone to gather some bolts, nuts, spacers. Of course I had to buy 50 of them but now I will never need to purchase another bolt or screw. Then the 3 of us went to the Yuma Territorial Prison. What a place. I would prefer Alcatraz over that place. It must have been nearly unbearable to have to stay there. Alcatraz has an ambiance (unless of course you lived there ha ha) this place was simply desolate and dirty and hot.
Here is the outside. Pretty enough of a view:

Here I am inside the walkway of cells.

And here is Rick getting his mug shot taken. He was feeling a bit vexed so was less than willing!

After this we took our leave. They to ride some back roads home and me to just rejoin the long road of beige. It was a pleasant enough ride. Windy but not too bad (except for a few doozies), sun but not too hot, cars but nothing dangerous. I need to add that the bugs on the 8 and 10 are huge and sticky. It is unbelievable. They are like glue bombs. I literally couldn’t see out of my right eye until I could spray down my helmet visor. Once I left the 10 east I was thankfully able to get in a few blue roads

Finally tombstone emerges and we all take an opportunity for a photo opportunity:

And then a nice couple asked if me and all my leather wanted to be in the picture. That’s a lot of leather.

I had been in Tombstone in the late 80’s and I guess I wanted it to be the town that never changed. But unfortunately it has changed. It was swarming with tourists (like me) and you can’t park on the streets any longer and you have to pay to see the inside of the coolest places. Maybe it was being beaten by wind all day or the lack of curves on the roads but I was not in any mood to pander to this so I left (after buying souvenirs of course–ha ha)

Off to Bisbee and the Queen’s Mine. Let’s see if this will be fantastic…

Cowboy & Indian Tour: Day 1

101>126>118>210>86south>78east>111south>8east
Total miles 383

The worlds most boring ride! Met up with Rick and Laura in Yucaipa. Stopped at our usual place for gas and lunch off the 86 and Laura lost her keys. So off I went alone–again–or so I thought.
Here we are parting ways. Notice Laura’s bad ass head band thingy!

Roughly 45 minutes later I get a call saying they found the keys (she had thrown them away with lunch trash and actually found them in the trash can) and they were on there way to meet me in Yuma Az. Funny thing is I was getting ready to text her and tell her that she was clearly the smart one as this was a hellacious ride surrounded by infinite boredom! But undaunted they found me.
Here are some pictures of Pimpzilla in Felicity Ca at the Center of the World and the reason I chose this route…

Let the tour begin: Cowboy & Indian Tour 2015

Okay so it isn’t going to really start until 8am on 3/14/15 but I always forget to take the speedo pic so I have begun posting it once I begin packing.

20,301 miles on Dash thus far (not counting the original 24,000+ miles Dash came to me with)….PZ will accompany me the entire way (unless someone steps up from the SOHC to take him further east).