Another cool, bright morning, the whole world appeared truly incredible, and we were about to embark upon yet another ride towards adventure and the unexpected… For this veteran traveler, today, like so much of this trip, would be spent retracing steps taken several times before over the past three decades. However, for my companion it would all be new wonders to behold, sights to view, and thoughts to entertain. A good deal for both of us, actually, as I never tire of wandering around this vast land of ours!
About that vastness… There is so much to see and experience, that I don’t see how anyone could ever weary of retracing steps, especially one who deliberately avoids frequent repetition. Returning to the same places with a couple of years or more in between visits allows much of the freshness to continue being there, faded memories allow for more ah-ha sensations as things are rediscovered, and… Invariably things are found that had been missed or overlooked altogether on previous rides through. I never tire of that, as I said earlier… As for Jerry, he’s like a kid with a new toy!!!
We scooted on up to Holbrook, AZ, for a peek at the teepees, and perhaps a bite to eat. A day or two before, I’d begun to notice a strange… feeling… while riding our girl. Oh crap, now what? I worried that it could be the very beginning of a drivetrain issue again! It felt more like a slight rough-road vibration, even on smooth roads… Nothing particularly bad or even obviously noticeable, but it was definitely out of the ordinary and not the usual smooth glide I’ve grown accustomed to… was I being hyper-sensitive?
Something ain’t right here, I’d figured, so I consulted my partner again, who happens to be a pretty good wrench in his own right… Of course, nearly anybody is a better wrench than this techno, mechanically challenged dude, who has to stretch to change the oil & filter or light bulbs on his own scoot… Man, I don’t know what makes them work, I just like to ride the dickens out of them! I’ve never really had any interest in that sort of techy stuff, so I’ve never bothered to try to learn much about it… Preferring instead to spend my time engaged in other things that did interest me…
After departing Safford and just before we arrived in Morenci ahead of our assent up ‘The Devil's Highway’, I thought it best to seek a second opinion before venturing into such remote, isolated territory, and risking a breakdown under terrible circumstances. I pulled over and swapped bikes with Jerry. He agreed ‘something’ was going on, but it could be any number of things… and, that it was so slight, it was difficult to figure what or even where it might be. It did not appear serious right now. I’ve spent more time on the side of the road waiting on a tow truck than I care to recall, so anything ‘not right’ concerns the poop out of me! Ignorance is not always bliss!
We’d made it the rest of that day, and now here we were again, and I was getting nervous. Was I imagining things, or was this the start of... We pulled into the parking lot of the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, and I did the most sensible thing I could think of… I whipped out my handy, dandy smartphone and called super wrench, Troutdude! Nobody knows our girl better than he does, and nobody has ever gone to such lengths to keep her running, and that's saying a lot, too, because so many have done so much!
After I described what was going on to him, he asked if it felt squirrelly at all in curves. Yeah, I’d told him, a little, but there had been a lot of tar-snakes, so I’d attributed the squirminess to that. He asked me how long I'd had those shock bushings... Never been changed since you installed those shocks, I replied, a couple of years back. Then, how do the shock bushings look…
While Jerry busily checked out all the antique cars, teepees, and other local nostalgic enhancements to the aura of the fifties, I began removing bags and the one-piece Russell Daylong saddle. Yep, both those items were toast! TD informed me that he could send me a new set or he could install a new set at IZ. He assured me ALI and I would likely be fine, and that nothing major or damaging would occur… provided that was indeed the problem. No guarantees, but that was his best guess. Good enough for me! TD has amazed me so many times before with his skill, tenacity, and resolve to look out for our girl, that whatever he says is golden with this believer! I chose 'Door number two'.
Funny about that! That was over a week ago, and the ‘vibration’ seems to have gotten much better! Now, mechanical things don’t heal, as we all know, so… I figure it is me gaining confidence, comfort, and peace of mind that has put that out of mind, and therefore rendered it entirely insignificant. It’s been several days since I’ve even noticed anything other than a little teensy squiggliness in sharp curves… just like TD described…
I've stayed in this motel a couple of times... but not this time. This trip through, Troutdude did some 'remote' diagnostics for us...
The motel 'rooms'... masonry structures complete with bathrooms and every normal room feature... just in a peculiar shape!
OK, pics of the teepees and old cars taken, ‘vibration’ concern put to rest, ALI reloaded with seat, bags, rider… and to heck with a meal, time now to go stand on the corner! Yep, what member of the ‘Eagles Era’ could knowingly wander near Winslow AZ, and NOT go stand on that famous corner? Not us, for sure…
Anybody who’s been there already knows there is a statue of a guy with a guitar 'standing' on the corner, and another statue nearby of a ‘babe’ near a flat-bed-Ford truck. (Anybody reading this NOT singing that song to themselves right now, as they follow along?)
On the corner...
There she is...
Do you really have to ask if we then went across the street to the souvenir shop? A rhetorical question requiring no response… deserving none either! OK, those items checked off our tourista to-do list, time now to head for Payson and our ‘home for the night’.
A comment about Payson, and every tourist-oriented place we’ve visited… Traffic and people everywhere! Long lines, sitting through traffic signal changes, ‘No Vacancy’ signs lit-up. Didn’t they get the memo or don’t they watch CNN? According to MSM the economy is in shambles and on the verge of collapse! Where are these folks getting the money and optimism to afford all of this travel, campers and motorhomes, motels? Speaking of motels, prices continue to escalate in high demand areas… gasoline, too, everything actually!!!
Maybe they’re just all rich folks disguised as ordinary people… Sure are a lot more of them than I knew… Anyway, it is obvious America is on the move again, and it’s been busier everywhere we’ve been than I’ve seen it in long time…
DDT
