Well, once again, if you believe Garmin...
Garmin details said: 526 mi; 58mph/moving avg; 44.7 overall avg; 9 hrs 04 moving time; 93.9 max speed;
Bruce & I made arrangements to meet up for breakfast @ 0630; seems the first two places we tried weren't expecting us (or anyone else), so we hit it off to get our breakfast at hobo joes. Delicious, as usual! So, with bellies full, eyes open wide & spirits high, off we rolled.
From Cottonwood, we headed to Jerome & over Mingus Mountain to Prescott. Then on to Kirkland Junction, where we stopped for some directions; seems the maps aren't just real detailed for this part of the country (however, please don't tell our wives we stopped for directions, it's a "guy thing" as most of you all know….)
Sorry, no picture (yet), but, the first "cool" thing we saw near Prescott was the lone coyote having a stare down with a lone antelope. Maybe a baby was being hidden in the tall brown grasses? Pretty cool site…
Traffic so far was excellent; couldn't have hoped for this good on a big weekend.
The barmaid at Kirkland Jct said "there's only one way in to Bagdad from here, just go up the road 50 yards & turn right; but careful of all the curves in the road!" . . . . . . OK Then, Let's go to it!!
The road was in absolutely wonderful condition; we'd been hearing from a few folks it was "boring" and "lots of holes," but, we were very pleasantly surprised. Some of the corners could certainly creep up on you if you weren't paying close attention! But, it was all good; just don't try to overdo that throttle.
Bagdad is a pretty puny little town; we didn't have the time or inclination to explore, but, suffice it to say, it's an old mining town, a company town, one of several in AZ; pretty much owned by "Phelps Dodge" the big one in this state.
ON down the road to Hwy 93 (between Congress & Kingman) we found some very gently winding road, some nice rollercoaster ups n downs, made it a way nice little ride!.
Traffic seemed to start picking up a little here, but was sure moving fast! We pretty much stayed about 75-80 the whole way to Kingman; even better on the interstate! Still no accidents seen, traffic was definitely polite & smooth.
Now, Kingman is where we "started" on the old "Route 66." The stretch from here to Hackberry was just straight & smooth; very pleasant; seemed a lot like Arizona! Dry, & Getting' Warmer all the time! Finally decided to stop for a pic opportunity.
Not too much beyond Hackberry, the road (to me) became pretty boring; very reminiscent of my travel through the basin/range of Nevada; Seemed like an endless stretch of "long, straight road with nary a curve" for far too many miles.
But, as they say, "the worst day of ridin' is better than, well, better than almost anything you can think of!"
So, we're in Seligman, the "end" of our Rte 66 ride! (Pronounced "Slig-mun") it's a quaint little AZ town, with lots of Rte 66 stuff on display (read photo-ops).
Perfect timing for a cold drink (water is the first choice in AZ for me!) & a chance to visit with the local "dummies." (Sorry, might be a bad joke; look at all the mannequins!)
I've got 98 miles on the clock since last gas; Bruce with his very conservative 55 mpg BMW, says "wanna go on to Williams for next gas?" Now, BabaYaga, as a '96 Shadow ACE is not a "tourer" but I think my mileage is somewhat similar. Seems lately, I'm only getting 36-38 mpg (need new plugs? & a clean air filter?) Williams is "only" another 40 miles on, & after careful consideration I go "ok."
Long n Short of it, after I hit reserve at 126, we roll into the western end of Williams, at 142 miles (the most I've ever clocked on a tank) & guess what Shell WELCOMES US with?!! The most pricey gas I've ever seen! Not sure what the rest of you folks are seein' but this was a shocker. I was GREATFUL I was riding something that gets more than 12, or even 20 miles to a gallon!! (& then, that I could only use about 4 gallons!).
(Seems to me we're paying on average around $ 3.05 - this price tag was a shocker!)
The country here is great! Lots of pine trees, "usually" great weather, & wide open spaces! You're just south of the Grand Canyon by several scenic miles, & the traffic for the most part is pretty good.
Well, today, due to the holiday, the traffic was pretty heavy; we watched a state cop pull a car off ahead of us, & just beyond was a sheriff "visiting" with another. We saw 3 more "bulls" just between Williams & Valle. They were having pretty good business today! & again, no accidents so far . . .
At Valle, we stopped for a drink n snack, & made the decision Not to go thru the Grand Canyon; that was my "desired route" for the day, but the traffic was just getting too heavy, & the day was wearing on; ever notice how folks seem to drive just a little cRaZiEr as the day rolls on?
So, rolling on down one of my favorite relaxing rides, Hwy 180 down to Flagstaff; this scenic route takes you thru some beautiful pine filled countryside, skirting the San Francisco Peaks (home of Flag's "Snow Bowl" ski area). It really struck me here today how homesick I am sometimes for Colorado; (guess where I need to make a ride, Soon!).
We made it through Flag, got on the Lake Mary Road, & continued on our "green & cool" travels. Lower Lake Mary was pathetic, as (seemingly) usual, but Upper was looking good! Nothing like what I grew up with, but, green & somewhat wet, nonetheless.
This road is a very very popular way to go for those of us living in central & northern Arizona; traffic levels are usually decent, weather is cooler than many other areas, there's always chance to see game, & just the relaxing ride thru the pines.
We decided to go around Mormon Lake just for a few additional miles, & again, it was worth it. It was not a surprise to see all the campers in the vicinity of the lodge; looked like a rodeo, or some sort of equine-centered event was taking place.
From here, we made it to the popular camping area of Happy Jack where we stopped for a few minutes just to drag out the time up here in the "woods." Bruce mentioned it would be cool to rent a cabin up here for a weekend; come up & cool off, & enjoy some outdoors activities. It's a plan in the works!
Not much else to say about our trip; unfortunately, we had to head on down into the warmer climes, although it wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated. I just couldn't get over how great it felt to be in the higher country with the coolness of the pines all around. It was however a really good feeling to arrive home safe n sound, no incidents or accidents to report today!
Ride Safe
Jeffyjak
