Tombstone's Travels: 2023 (4) US 15 Best

On the first Monday of June once again I'm on my way to check-off more of the 15 best.

The first one...Riding down to Mexican hat then South to Kayenta Arizona to finish the paperwork. A couple mid ride pictures and one more Road is down.

Bluff (a few miles before the 15B road starts)

from Kayenta I make a very blustery ride to south to Pinetop Arizona.

As I continued on the US191 south through the reservation, between Chinle and Ganado a serious accident had happened. The Arizona DOT were on the scene and had the road blocked off several hundred yards before and after the accident.

They were diverting the traffic into the tiny town, or maybe more correctly, a small cluster of houses, that were near by. None of this 'town's' roads were paved, they were more like unorganized dirt trails.

But the flag man assured me if I stayed on the "main road" I would soon be back out on the 191 and could continue on my way.

As I dubiously eyed the dirt road that he had indicated I should turn on I asked "How can I tell if it's the main road?" He replied with this irrefutable logic; 'you can tell it's the main road because it's the one that goes all the way through town'. Being thusly reassured my trusty Tenere and I ventured onto the meandering dusty trail.

As the road wandered haphazardly back and forth intersecting numerous times with other dirt trails for the life of me I could not tell which of the roads was the main street and which were not main street. It wasn't long before several cars were following me around and then as even more cars joined our parade it became very obvious that we were all lost. Finally I could see the highway and headed towards the pavement but as the now sizable convoy were exiting I soon recognized the same flag man that I talked to when I left US191 and realized that we had just come out the same place we went in.

So I quickly did a u-turn and re-entered the Main Road without all the other cars, which allowed me to be in less dust and also whenever I had to make a decision at an intersection I would take the time to stand on the pegs and look in the distance for the red flashing lights of the emergency vehicles that were attending to the crash, reasoning that if I just kept those lights on my right hand side I would be able to navigate my way back to the highway.

It worked! Soon I was back on two lanes of blessed blacktop and riding Southward.

A restful night in Pinetop Arizona and the next morning I'm off to ride the Devil's Highway AKA The Coronado Trail AKA US191 from Springerville down to Three-way Arizona.

The paperwork

Along the way...

I wonder if these mustangs knew Senor Coronado...?

The Morenci copper mine - the biggest one in the US

Historic Chase Creek Street in Clifton

And an historic Church Chase Creek Street

And the end of the line...as far as this road is concerned is Three way, AZ.

These three strapping guys were working at the tiny somewhat threadbare gas station at Three way.

They were working hard in the Sun upgrading the property on a HOT DAY in Arizona.

You can see the three roads that intersect here, hence the name "Three way".

( admit it... you were thinking something entirely different....)

So Road's checked that I had planned on bagging this trip now it's time to go down to the Cache Gathering and see some old friends.

Held in Silver City New Mexico this year it was again a week-long event and I arrived on Wednesday.

Regrettably some of the people had already left that I was looking forward to seeing. But I still had a good time. I went on a nice ride and enjoyed the camaraderie.

On Saturday I will point my

horse towards the barn and try to get home in two days

****

So it is now Saturday and I'm trying to put a lot of miles in but I'm still riding and enjoying the road. I stopped in Winslow Arizona and saw a whole group of fellow riders from England who were here enjoying the Route 66 from Chicago to the West Coast. I talked for a while with this guy Andy Blue and found out he is a hobbyist motorcycle restorer and has some really cool bikes back home in Oxfordshire England.

If only I could remember what they were......

I told Andy he's doing something that I haven't done yet and that's ride 66 from end to end, I've ridden about 95% of it but never in one ride.

And of course I too had to get my wings

(Thanks Andy for the photo)

Those HDs ( and some more not in the picture) are the group from England....they seemed to be having a very good time!

Andy tells me the tour company, Orange and Black Tours has been very good! Specifically Bear and Jeff have done an outstanding job of leading this group on the Rt 66

Because of a few changes in my plan I now have time to check off one more road on the way home and I point my bike toward Bryce Canyon NP in Utah

The paper work

At the viewpoint about 15 miles after Escalante...you can see the road in the distance and alllllmost see the corner my family and friends call:

"Whetstone Corner" as my oldest son low-sided here several years ago, he was VERY LUCKY and/or AMAZINGLY BLESSED to walk away with very minor scrapes and bruises. We definitely counted our blessings that day!

(ok, I had to wait until I wasn't steaming mad at him for riding over his head ..THEN I counted my blessings!)

The Burr Trail Grill....one of my favorite places to eat.

If you are in the mood for a nice hike, from here to the Lower Calf Creek Falls is a good one. On nearly any calender that has Utah scenic pictures you will see the Lower Calf Creek Falls.