Blustery day at the Canyon (Ride report)

Tim, Steve, Sean, Chuck and I met up at 7:00 at the Days Inn. We had breakfast at Chino Skillet, then had a nice ride up through Ashfork. We had a short rest stop in Williams and then went on up to the Grand Canyon. We checked out the views from Mather Point. What a view! I expected it to be a bit hazy from the California fires, but it was pretty clear. It was breezy so maybe the wind blew the smoke out. We took 64 east and made a few more stops along the canyon edge. The crowds were light so no problems parking anywhere. The views were incredible. Traveling along the road with fall colors and leaves blowing all over was so nice. Traffic was really light. Temps were cool and the wind, blustery, but a great day for riding. It has been a long time since I have ridden with other Valkyries so that was pretty cool too.
The road was closed at the East end of the park so be backtracked to Tusayan. We filled our tanks and then our bellies at Plaza Bonita. A little pricey but the food was great. We got out of there about 3pm after more story telling. We picked up 180 and turned east through Flagstaff, so we could go down thru Oak Creek Canyon. We got a little rain going through Flagstaff, but not enough to put on rain gear.
Oak Creek Canyon, fresh, with a shower from the rain and lit up with the late afternoon sun was spectacular. The fall colors were glowing. The green leaves were so green and the red sandstone, still damp just stood out. The sun was just about to go down as we started up over Mingus Mountain, passing thru Jerome. Mingus Mountain is always a good ride with all the mountain curves. A fitting end to a terrific day.