Where I wuz!
05:00 Saturday morning found me riding cross town to Florence Junction to meet up with Kendall and Des for a trip thru Salt River Canyon, Az. to Show Low Az. Temps in the 3 digit range on the valley floor so it's up up, up the mountains to find cooler weather!
Waiting for Kendall and Des at the junction!
We traveled, uh, E.? N.? How about UP! Yeah we went UP hwy 60 to those cooler temps and on the way passed thru the mining towns of Superior, Miami, Claypool and Globe, Az.
Always like nifty little tunnels. Get to beep my horn!
Good place for Mexican food in Superior, Az
Even BETTER place in Miami, Az. if you're a fan of GREEN CHILI!!
Where "COPPER IS (was) KING!!
Continuing UP, K and D took me thru a place that Des says it's where she wants to be planted when the lights go out.(told her, ("not this trip, if ya don't mind!")
The SALT RIVER CANYON! Very nice, had never been before. I'll be coming back!
It's a little like the Grand Canyon but more up front and personal with fewer peeps!
I believe WHOO - HOO! would be appropriate.
Salt River Canyon has a few switchback twisties and a whole bunch of great peg grindin sweepers! Did I mention that I'll be back here soon??
Below is a chance to see actual WATER in a riverbed in summertime Arizona. Always good to see!
"Bridge over bubbled waters" (sorry)
When we reached Show Low, I bid Kendall and Des a fond adieu as they had a room and plans to visit biker events that were scheduled to start at around 9 A.M. Me?, Had. To. Ride!!
So I hitched up my big boy pants and traversed W. across the Mogollon Rim in Arizona's high country, seeing the sights and enjoying the cool weather!
Very teeny pic of the Rim! (See me right there onna top? No, not there! There!!)
Most folks don't realize that there's terrain like this in Az.
On the way to Payson, Az. I seemed to have run into a forest fire! (hack, cough)
Pretty dry over the winter so we're getting a lot of fires.
That's not a low lying cloud! Poco fire near Young,Az.
After I came down off the Rim and into Payson for a fill up, I hit hwy 87 back up to the Rim for some chrome scrapin on the twisties to eventually end up in Camp Verde, Az. for the long, hot drop back to the Valley of the Sun (no kiddin!)
Sadly, not to be as I got to play follow the leader instead!
Some scenic countryside photo ops were available tho, complete with picturesque hamlets.
I call them hamlets as they've gone from blue collar high country ranch towns to weekend tourist magnets. Hey, ya gotta make a buck!
Pine, Arizona
Strawberry, Arizona
From 05:00 to 1:30 I put a rockin 400+ miles on the Red+White!
Time to go! Had a fine ride and now I have to decide where to go next!
From here on, it became HOT and I had no desire to shoot any more pics. Well, except for this one. Some Choppers that I saw!
No! Not THOSE kind! THESE kind!!
See ya!
