Phoenix - Parker - Las Vegas - Bryce Canyon
10/9/04
I had a
week of vacation scheduled from work from Oct 11 through Oct 15, so naturally I
decided to make it a week of touring on the bike. On Saturday morning, Oct 9, I
met the Fastour gang at Einstein's at 7ish, had a cuppa tea and some chow, and
then Kent (on his Honda 954) and I (on Bullet) headed out around 8:30. We took
I-17 to the Carefree Hwy (74) to Wickenburg, then took the 60 west. We stopped
for gas in Salome, AZ, where people were lining the streets to watch us on our
awesome bikes. OK, well maybe there was also a Founder's Day parade getting
ready to start. We got through just in time, because they closed the main
thoroughfare just after we left town.
The ride on to Parker, via SR95, was uneventful and starting to warm up as we closed in on 10:30. We cruised through Parker and arrived in Fox's parking lot at 11:00 on the nose. Talk about timing! There we met George and a trio of his buddies and chatted on the floating bar for a bit before deciding it was time to chow. We were all looking forward to some good ribs for lunch, but it turned out they were not serving ribs until later in the day. I settled for a bunless burger. Blah.
I had
reservations that night at Motel 6, and after checking into my room and taking a
shower, I took a ride up the road to Lake Havasu City to snapshot the London
Bridge and pick up a fridge magnet.
After a
dinner of shrimp and the ribs I didn't get at Fox's ;) I got back to my hotel
room and discovered to my very great pleasure that the tv received ESPN and
there I found the FSU vs. Syracuse game. FSU was down 3-10, just before
half-time, but the Noles came back in the 4th quarter to win 17-13. That made a
nice wrap-up to my day. Rah rah! Have I mentioned how much I love FSU football?
While I was
sitting in the restaurant (near a window so I could see Bullet), a couple
stopped at my bike and stood around, pointing at it, walking around it, and
standing with their arms crossed, nodding. I saw the woman smile and point at
the custom license plate frame. If you don't know what it says, you'll just have
to take a look. ;) After a few minutes, they were joined by three more people
who did the same thing: circled the bike, pointing and nodding, arms crossed. A
few minutes later, a few more people joined them. Literally, a crowd was forming
around my bike! I had the proximity alarm set, so they didn't get too close
(it'll chirp a warning if people get within 2 feet or so). They left before I
was finished, but when I went out to the bike after eating, a few more people
came over and asked about it. The woman in particular was very impressed with
Bullet's beauty, and she got a kick out of me riding around the southwest alone.
So I rode
on to Las Vegas under the expert guidance of my trusty GPS, and stopped right in
front of my aunt and uncle's house after a roughly 2.5 hour drive with a stop
for gas. Of course, Bullet was a hit with the family, and they all concluded
that I was nuts -- except for Aunt Marilyn with whom I share the "Motorcyclae
Lovicus" gene.
Tuesday morning I left my aunt and uncle's house around 9:00 and took 215 to the 15 north. The worst part was driving through Las Vegas traffic, but soon enough we got out of town and onto the open road. It was a dull, flat, boring ride (with some construction that had us down to one lane, having to follow behind a semi for a while) until we got to Mesquite, where we crossed into AZ for a short time. The mountains were suddenly "canyony" with sheer cliffs, high mesas and a deep ruddy-brown color. The freeway continued to lead directly toward the side of a mountain. As we approached, I thought we might be entering a tunnel ahead, since there were no switchbacks up the side. The highway twisted up and into the crevices they'd blasted into the mountain, and it was a nice trip up with wide, sweeping 80mph curves. It would have been better without the semis (they create wind gusts) but one can't have everything. I stopped in St. George, Utah for gas and lunch around 11:15. Bullet got 46mpg from Las Vegas to St. George, even with me blasting up the mountain.
I turned off I-15 onto Hwy 9 which led to Zion National Park. I stopped at Virgin, Utah and got a fridge magnet, and arrived at Zion national park at 2:10pm. Wow. What a gorgeous place. I snapped plenty of pictures, but they don't do it justice. Bullet and I got to ride through a 1.1 mile long tunnel all alone -- no other cars at all. It was so cool, but I forgot to honk the horn until I was all the way out, darn it.
Those who ride a motorcycle know that the rider is not protected from the stench of a run-over skunk, cow pasture or raw sewage near the road. What these photos can't convey is one of the best parts of riding through the wilds of southern Utah: the scent of clean air. Life in the big city makes me appreciate it so much more. I could not believe my nose or my eyes. Everywhere I looked, every breath I took was breathtaking beauty in every conceivable sensory way.
From there, I took Hwy 89 to the 12, and it was just a short trip through Dixie National Forest (one of my favorite forests -- lots of fond memories there) to Bryce. You wouldn't believe the depth of the gold color in the trees -- these pictures just don't capture it. I think I need a new camera.
I checked into my hotel room at 3:30 AZ time (UT is an hour later), took a shower and found some slow computers to check my email. (I was getting the shakes.) I desperately wanted to take a horseback ride into the canyon, but the earliest short ride they had in the morning was at 9:30am and I wouldn't get back to the hotel until 11:30. Bummer. After a dinner of yummy ribs, I shopped for my fridge magnet and returned to the room to kick back for the night. I lamented that my hotel room was not big enough to bring Bullet in for the night, as it was to get quite nippy during the night. In fact, I was getting chilly in a long-sleeved t-shirt as I returned from dinner at 6:45pm. The altitude at Bryce is over 8000 feet elevation and the temp dipped to 29.
Just as I
was about to start donning my gear, a man came up to me and asked how I liked my
FJR. Well THAT took me by surprise, since most people who talk to me about my
bike ask what it is. Turns out he was riding an 05 like Bullet, and had ridden
with some friends from Texas! We gave each other the tour of our "farkled"
bikes and talked about the various options available, the bike's performance,
etc. It sounded like he loves his bike as much as I love mine. He's also a
visitor to the FJR owner's forum, and recognized my "handle."
So, we parted company, and Bullet and I headed toward Kanab and Hwy 89 toward the Grand Canyon south rim. Just north of Kanab is Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, and I really wanted to stop and see it, but I knew I had a good five hour drive ahead of me and it was already after noon. I stopped in Kanab for a quick lunch, and continued on my way, pausing for a snapshot when we crossed the Colorado River.
Again, as it grew later, we climbed back to the 7000 foot elevation mark and it started getting c-c-c-c-c-cold. I did stop at some lookout to get a glimpse of the Grand Canyon before finding my hotel and checking in. After setting down my bags and stuff, I rode down the street for what turned out to be the lousiest prime rib ever served (I half-expected to see a plaque on the wall), then settled in for the night.
The next morning, I had a leisurely but lousy breakfast at what looked to be a former Denny's, and headed home. I wanted to run up to see the Grand Canyon one more time before I left, but I felt like I was coming down with a cold or flu, so I thought I'd better just get back home. After 3.5 hours of mostly superslab, I was greeted by Felony's happy, wagging stumpie. It's always good to come home.
Total trip miles: 1305