Our Group: Burt Sherriff, Rick & Debbie O'Connell, Vince Cangelosi, Michael Brogan, Pauline Costas & Dale Tangler, Jay Borstein and Lori Stedman, and Jeff David.

We began Thursday morning the 18th preparing for the motorcycle trip of a lifetime, an adventure of beauty and driving versatility. It was going to be a jammed packed 3 1/2 days of riding the highways and seeing some of the most unbelievable scenery on the face of the earth. It was the GRAND CANYON/ZION ADVENTURE and now all the planning was done and the bikes were prepared for the asphalt and conditions which lied ahead. Every one of us was ready to hit the road.

The plan was to meet at Rick and Debbie's house in Murrietta by 1:00 PM in an attempt to reach Mesquite, Nevada by 10:00 PM. As with any planned trip, delays happen and it wasn't until 3:30 PM that Rick and Debbie gave everyone the two minute warning. It felt so good to be on the road feeling the wind and hearing the engines roar as we accelerated down the highway. Vince had his MP3 player in both ears and was using his left hand to keep time.

We connected with CA 79 heading north until we reached I-10 East at Indio. The ride went very smooth and we made the exit on CA 62E, 29 PALMS/YUCCA VALLEY. The afternoon was still quite hot and we made a stop to fuel and drink plenty of water for the ride through the most grueling part of Day 1. The road was fifty miles long with nothing but vast desert and rough paved roads. Some of the grooves were so deep you could feel your bike move side to side wondering if the tires could withstand the uneven payment. The tires held up and we all made it safely to Amboy which is a deserted town on Historic Route 66.

At this point the camera's came out and everyone started taking pictures. And of course, Pauline saw an opportunity for a great picture inside the abandon bus. She called over Debbie and Lori, it was all over, they were laughing, hanging out windows and just acting crazy. (See our Amboy pictures).

The sun was going down and Rick turned to me and said "Jeff, we may be better off going to Laughlin tonight versus making the ride all the way to Mesquite". We all discussed our options and agreed to head down Route 66 to make Laughlin by 9:00 PM. We pulled out and headed down route 66 with the sun setting to our backs. As we were riding I kept seeing Vince looking back towards me. It became apparent that he had spotted something and I look in my mirror and saw one of the most beautiful sunsets these eyes have ever seen.

We arrived in Laughlin and checked into the Ramada Inn. The rooms were very reasonable at just 25.00 a night. We ate at a restaurant which had the worst service I have ever experienced. After dinner we all headed our separate ways, some to gamble, some to visit the Kareoke lounge, and others to go to bed. It was a long day, we had ridden 240 miles and we were to meet for breakfast at 8:00 AM.

Friday, September 19th

Laughlin to Zion National Park

Everyone met for Breakfast on time, we checked out, and starting on our second leg of this fantastic trip around 9:15 AM. Next stop Zion National Park then on to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We first headed up Route 95 North through Searchlight, Nevada which took us directly to I-15 in Las Vegas. We had over 400 miles to cover today so our speed often hit triple digits. We continued Northeast on I-15, entered Utah, and took the UT-9 exit towards Hurricane/Zion National Park. We stopped in Springdale for fuel and food before we entered the park. Right in front of us was the most beautiful mountain I have ever seen. Picture perfect!!!!

Since we were in Utah, we all decided to take the ride through the park without any helmets. It was the first opportunity for many of us in a long time to ride feeling the wind blowing through our hair. Even I, with my small stubs, felt the sensation of the hair moving and as Pauline so eloquently informed me later, "your ears were flapping in the wind like Dumpy".

The cost was 10.00 per person to ride though the park. Not bad considering the sights we were about to see. As we were riding through the park the rock formations were unique with each turn and colors would change off the formations. It was best described by Dale: "this is the most spectacular sight I have every seen". As we climbed up the mountain we came to a very long tunnel. This was one of the highlights of the trip......because as we entered the tunnel you could hear the roar of the Harley's engines and the flashing lights of Dale and Pauline's Goldwing. It was very surreal and worth doing over and over again.

We reached the end of the park and regretted that we didn't have more time to explore. We made another stop to use the restroom and continued on our journey towards the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

As we entered into Arizona, we continued to climb through the Kabab National Forest. It was getting later in the day and the temperature started to drop and the oxygen became thin. Everyone was beginning to get excited about the view we were about to see.

Rick instructed Jay, Lori, Burt, Vince, Michael and I to take the next right for our lodging. We had logged over 390 miles for the day. We decided to take just one Cabin for six of us to save money. Little did we know that the location was 18 miles from the North Rim. The "cabin" turned out to be a trailer and had only two queen size beds. No other cabins were available. Michael grabbed his air mattress put it toward the kitchen, Vince took the floor to the right, I snagged the recliner, Burt got one of the queen beds, and Jay and Lori got the Master Bedroom with there own private entrance to the bathroom. It was going to be an interesting night.

Rick, Debbie, Dale, and Pauline had wisely reserved lodges at the North Rim and had ridden ahead to check in. The weather was getting chillier by the minute the temperature was already down to 45 degrees. We decided to fit all six of us in Michael's Jeep with Lori sitting in the tire storage compartment. It would have been a very cold ride on bikes.

We arrived at the North Rim and met up with everyone. We noticed that it was very difficult to breath, it seemed like each step you took would be our last. That is how thin the air is on the North Rim with an altitude around 8000 feet. It was now dark so we would have to wait until tomorrow to see the Grand Canyon.

We had dinner at the only restaurant and the food was very good, but rather expensive 25-30 dollars a plate. The atmosphere was wonderful and the company we shared was great. We rode back to our "cabin" and it wasn't very long until everyone was "sawing logs".

It was 9 A.M. when we rode back to the North Rim in Michael's Jeep for breakfast and pictures. The sun was evaporating the dew in the air and you could see a slight mist over the Grand Canyon. What a wondrous sight the first thing in the morning. Breakfast was no longer a priority but a distraction. The Grand Canyon is one of the seven wonders of the world and we were there to see it. It was a morning which will not soon be forgotten by anyone in our group.

We headed back to the lodge so we could make the checkout time of 10:00 AM. Everyone packed up and we all met at the gas station and began the longest day of our trip -- 430 miles. I took off my helmet and greased my head with number 50 sunscreen. Others joined in with the helmet free ride and we were off. As usual for the trip, Rick was wearing shorts.

We took Alt 89 and headed west along a beautiful stretch of road which lead us up to Marble Canyon. As we made a sweeping left, the sky opened up and before our eyes was the most astonishing sight. It was a view of the entire valley and the Vermilion Cliffs, just miles of open range and these bright red cliffs at the end. I was so excited I started to jump up and down on my bike. It is what riders call the "DREAM TURN". Later I asked everyone in the group what was the most beautiful thing they saw and most said it was this turn that gave them the biggest rush.

We stopped on the scenic area pull off and everyone started to take some fantastic pictures. It was such a perfect day, in the low 70's great riding weather. We resumed riding and entered the valley. It was a fairly straight road and we had fun just cruising in formation. The ride to Lees Ferry was so smooth and we made excellent time. Just before we arrived at the Navajo Bridge we saw another wonderful location to take pictures. There was a little shop and several interesting red rock formations One looked like an ice cream cone.

The next stop was the Navajo Bridge across the Colorado River near Lees Ferry just a couple of miles down the road. We all got off and enjoyed looking at the beautiful canyon with the Colorado River down below. This bridge was constructed of very heavy medal and was in itself a marvel, but when you looked down you could see people in the distance rafting. The restroom facilities are quite unique and have a very cold, whirlwind effect as you sit down.

We were on the move again, heading for the Grand Canyon South Rim......and Vince's bike by now was really starting to act-up. It would sputter and had no performance, finally as we got to the entrance of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Vince's bike died. Dale is a professional mechanic and got the bike running again. We rode into the park and the traffic became heavy. We rode to the South Rim View Point but Parking was difficult. We had to circle around once until Rick finally found a great spot where we could all line up and get off our bikes.

The Grand Canyon South Rim view was so beautiful you could look down and barely see the bottom. A huge bolder extended out at the left side of the view point. It was a picture perfect setting in all directions. The vastness of the South Rim was overwhelming. We could have spent hours just taking pictures and enjoying the beauty, however, it was approaching 5:00 PM and we needed to get on the road to Laughlin.

Everyone got on there bikes and started to pull out when we discoverd that Vince's bike would not even turn over. Dale and I tried to push start him with no luck. Dale worked on the bike for about 30 minutes and it was determined that it was dead. Many solutions were presented from getting a battery, calling AAA, and but Vince decided to leave the bike at the South Rim and ride with Michael. They would return Sunday with a trailer to tow the bike back to San Diego. Michael had been our Guardian Angel during the entire trip. He carried extra gas, food, and water. He provided transportation when it was cold and shelter when it was hot. The trip would have ended in disaster without his help.

Since the sun was setting quickly, we took the quickest route back to Lauglin. We headed down Route 180 which turned into Route 64 and merged onto US 40 in Williams. Rick decided to pull in for gas and just as Burt's tank ran empty. He ended up coasting to the pumps. A pit-crew with Nascar could not have calculated Burt's fuel closer.

While refueling, Debbie called to confirm our reservations at Laughlin and but was told "We have no rooms for tonight". We later found out, that Rick's last name presents a problem for computers, some look at it without an apostrophe (Oconnell). He cleared everything up with the desk at the Ramanda and we were able to finish this exceptional day with a nice Italian dinner. Burt treated for dinner and we all thanked him.

The next morning we met for breakfast at 9:00 AM. It was announced that both Dale, playing video poker, and Vince, playing blackjack, were winners the night before. I think both of them paid for much of their trip with their winnings. Vince was on the phone most of the morning and found a trailer to get his motorcycle back to San Diego for a mere 24 dollars. What a deal!!! We knew both Michael and Vince were going to have a long day. Their plan was to go to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, pick-up the bike, drive back to Laughlin, spend the night, and drive back to San Diego on Monday.

Rich and Debbie, Jay and Lori, Dale and Pauline, Burt, and I visited the town of Oatman, Arizona which is located just East of Laughlin. Oatman is an old minning town that now serves as a tourist attraction. When the mining halted, the miners released their mules and the mules now roam the streets accepting handouts from the tourists. The town has a gun fight in the streets twice each day and we were able to see one of the shows. It was quite a sight watching a reenactment of an Old West Gun Fight.

The town has many shops for buying souvenirs and motorcycle apparel. Dale and Pauline got a great deal on motorcycle jackets, but did not have room to fit them in their Goldwind. I had some room and ended up strapping there new jackets to by bike. We hit the road and headed for San Diego.

The temperature was climbing by the minute as we entered the Mohave Valley. It must have been somewhere around 100 degrees going down Route 95 south into Needles AZ. We knew we would miss having Michael's jeep following us. We took US 40 west until Rick decided to take Route 66 back through Amboy and then on to Yucca Valley. We made our last pit-stop and got ready for the trip across the desert with no facilities for the next 100 miles.

Each gust of hot air felt like a blast furnace. We finally reached Amboy and Rick pulled off under an abandoned carport. As each of us got off our bikes we could hardly breath. Dale said, "my thermometer is reading 108 degrees in the shade". Jay and Burt were both near heat exhaustion and the rest of us were not far behind. We really missed Michael and his jeep.

Pauline helped Burt and Jay cool down with ice. The rest of us went towards the water pump and put 50 cents in the machine to squirt out a few drops of water on our heads and shirts. It was really brutal and we were going to face the heat one more time before we arrived at the Oasis at 29 Palms. After a couple of miles my bike started to overheat, and I knew there was only one solution, "Drive Fast" and hope you make it. Finally, I arrived at 29 palms and went to the first gas station I found. I filled up, drink two bottle of water and sat out front waiting for the group to catch up. They eventually pulled into the station and I learned that they had stopped for food and drinks at an establishment where the servers had only a mouthful of teeth among them. We were in the home stretch, Joshua Tree, Morongo Valley, Palm Springs area, and West on US 10 to the Moreno Valley, then to Hemet.

In all, the group had driven over 1350 miles in just 3 1/2 days and in my case from door to door was 1500 miles exactly. What a trip and experience we had. We grew very close by sharing the sights and challenges. I believe we could have spent more time at each of the stops and expect in the future our club will be doing specialized trips in the Zion/Grand Canyon area. Many thanks to Rick and Debbie for putting together such a memorable trip. They gave everyone Grand Canyon National Park Ride Pins to everyone. They are truly a class act. And thanks to Michael for being our Guardian Angel.