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Southwest Spring Desert Tour
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Arizona, California and Nevada
March 18 - 27, 2005It was already mid March and there was no hint of spring here in the Midwest. It was still in the 30’s and 40’s and snowing at least once or twice a week. I’ve had it. Drastic times call for drastic measures. I couldn’t wait for spring any longer so I decided to go somewhere where spring was already in full swing, flowers and all.
We threw the bikes in the back of the trailer and took off right after work on Friday, hitting the road just before 6PM, taking turns driving and sleeping in the car, so we could get there ASAP. Even our meals were eaten while in motion, my McDonald’s Sausage McMuffin was consumed in Oklahoma while I drove. Brian drove through lunch, We, we picked up some scrumptious tacos next to a gas station at the Tacos del Sol near Santa Rosa, NM. We had diner after our arrival in Arizona at the local Taco Bell. The next morning we paid dearly for our food choices, trust me.
After 1330 miles and 27 hours of towing our bikes, we found ourselves in the magnificent Southwest. Our tour would start in the town of Holbrook, AZ located in eastern Arizona along the banks of the Little Colorado River near Interstate 40. The seat of Navajo County, Holbrook is located on the high desert at 5,080 feet in elevation and serves as the gateway to Petrified Forest National Park.
Sunday, March 20 Holbrook, AZ to Queen Creek, AZ 230 miles
Day 1: From the green forest to the colorful desert
After a good nights rest at the Holiday Inn Express, we were ready to start our tour. The sky was gray and the weather channel was predicting rain for the area. With unusual heavy and frequent rain in the Southwest, this spring has presented an extraordinary opportunity to see the desert in bloom.
As soon as we strapped our luggage on to our sportbikes, the rain started falling accompanied by a gusty cold wind. It was 9AM and the temperatures were in the low 40’s, the high for the day in the mountains was supposed to be only 48 degrees. Towards the end of the day we would arrive in the Phoenix area where it would be near the 70’s, but until then we would be riding in the higher elevations and unfortunately have to deal with the cooler temperatures. Our heated grips, my heated Widder vest and Brian’s heated Gerbing liner were turned on right away as we started the first leg of the trip. Traveling southwest on 377, the rain at times was just drizzle and at times coming down hard. But the rain was just one of the unpleasant aspects of today’s ride. The freezing, gusting wind that was attempting to blow me off the road was far worst in my book than the rain. As a tumble weed blew across the road and I swerved to go around it, it hit me. We’re not in the Midwest anymore. The desert shrubs and red clay earth stretched as far as the eye could see, but where was the warmth and the sun? The road started out pretty straight with a few nice sweepers but got curvier as we headed up in elevation. When one thinks of Arizona, vast reaches of flat desert come to mind. This could not be farther from the truth. The majority of the state is covered with mountains and canyons.
Near the town of Heber, reaching 6500 feet in elevation through the White Mountains the scenery was already changing. Soon we were entering the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests with its 2 million acres of land and elevations that range from 3,500 feet in the upper Sonoran desert where you can find prickly pear and yucca to nearly 11,500 feet where you can see beautiful stands of fir and spruce interwoven with lush green meadows. Ponderosa pines lined the road now. We noticed the elk crossing signs, but there were no elk to be seen anywhere. The temperatures kept getting cooler and the winds getting stronger. As we passed the bison ranch I took notice of neat western looking storefronts on the right. It was too early to take a break but I pulled in to the parking lot and headed straight for the coffee shop anyway. With a hot cafe latte in my hand, I closed my eyes and wished that the day was already over and we were in Queen Creek, but no such luck. Many more miles lay ahead of us. I was definitely not going to take the long route there in this weather. After a nice warm break we continued southwest on 260 to the town of Show Low, named for the turn of a card. Sitting a bit lower in elevation at 6331 feet it was not any warmer here. There were a few small towns between Heber and Show Low on 260, we pulled off somewhere at a gas station again to wait for some big rain to pass. I was pretty cold and miserable. At this point even if the weather improved in the afternoon, we had already wasted too much time and would be unable to take the original, longer route I had planned, which was 60 to 188 North past Globe and then turning on 87 South before Payson.
As I stood at the gas station rubbing my hands together for warmth, I could already see some blue skies between the big gray heavy rain clouds which were moving very fast and very low in the sky. We reached Show Low and turned Southwest on 60. Even though the rain was starting to stop now, the road was still wet and the winds were still persistent. Occasionally the sun would come out, it felt so warm, but then it would go hide behind the clouds, making the temperatures drop instantly by 10 degrees. On 60 we went though some neat canyons with grades anywhere from 6%-7% and many tight turns posted at 25MPH. The road curved and twisted for miles, we now picked up our pace a bit and started to have some fun. None of the turns were too technical or too tight (yes, there is such a thing, just read on and you’ll see) just great curves, great pavement, a wide road and awesome scenery at every turn. I was really starting to enjoy myself, the rain almost forgotten now. The only downside of riding this road today was that it was a Sunday and I’m suspecting that is why there was so much traffic here. At one point you could see the road continue on the other side of the mountain, it twisted a few times before it disappeared around the other side. There were not too many opportunities to pull over on this road once the curves got tight. I took a break where the Salt River crosses underneath the road. As I got off the bike to take some pictures, I was being pushed around by the wind so hard, I had a tough time standing in one place without stumbling back and losing my balance. As I got on my bike the wind whipped at it and threatened to push it to the ground with me on it, I was using all my strength to hold it up. I waited until the gust of wind subsided; with only a 30 second window before the next gust of wind started blowing, I took off fast up the mountain.
As I started climbing again and twisting though the canyons the wind started whipping at me again. It was gustier here though the canyons. Some of the tight turns started to get scary as I would proceed though a turn with no wind and get clobbered a second later while leaned over, suddenly loosing my balance. I hate windy days but Brian usually has no problem with wind, today on 60 he even had a few scary moments when the wind started pushing him around or blew so hard that he though the wind was going to pull the wheels from under his bike. I’m just going to guess that the gusting wind today was anywhere from 30-40MPH. Since at the end the wind and traffic prevented me from tearing up this road, I really got to sit back and enjoy its scenery. I must admit that this is one of my favorite roads and I can’t wait to come back to ride it again.
We took a small break in Globe, the wind was no longer an issue here. We continued on 60 to Florence Junction, the temperatures getting warmer with every miles. Globe is located in the heart of Arizona's magnificent Tonto National Forest at 3,517 feet and is surrounded by some of the most spectacular mountain vistas in the Southwest. South of Globe the curves continued but not as tight and steep as the previous section. We continued to go though more canyons. The traffic was moving pretty fast, well above speed limit. Soon I started noticing the magnificent Saguaro Cactus, the state flower of Arizona. The large saguaro cactus with more than 5 arms, are estimated to be close to 200 years old.
There was a bit more traffic on this section of 60, we were heading in to civilization and I’m assuming that the blooming desert flowers had some people out here enjoying the scenery. The ground flattened out but there were still many curves along the way. As I went through the sweepers I was amazed by all the colors of wild flowers growing by the side of the road, purple, yellow and orange were the predominant colors. The air smelled of flowers too, as if someone had opened a bathroom air freshener. So this is what “spring fresh” smells like and I though that was just clever marketing.
We jumped on 79 south for a bit, and a couple more roads later, we promptly arrived in Queen Creek at 6PM. Since we didn’t stop for lunch today, we were starved. Brian’s thermometer was showing low 70’s. Tonight we were staying with an old friend of mine. Dinner was at Serrano’s Mexican Restaurant in Queen Creek. It was weird going out to dinner only wearing a long sleeve shirt after freezing most of the day.
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7