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.

And that makes ten roads done!

Only 5 more to go.

Thanks for Stopping in - come on back again soon!!

And finally........"Life is soooooooooo Good!"

2023 (5) US 15 Best

 We have a new grandson in Seaside Oregon so we motor over there to welcome him into the family.

And he is a cutie!

While Bev is doing the grandmother thing I jump on the bike to go out and get some more roads checked off.

I ride to Concrete Washington to check off the 20 to Okanagan Washington. First the paperwork

And then the stops along the way.

I overnight in Okanogan then leaving the next day I spy this strange statue and couldn't pass up taking a picture.

I end up following this road out which led me to (I think) it was Roosevelt Lake where I took a ferry across the lake and continued on an absolutely excellent ride through some of Washington's beautiful back roads!

The next morning my plan is to ride Lolo pass from Lolo Montana to Lewiston Idaho. When I stopped in Lolo to get gas and the receipt these three guys came in on their bikes.

(I hope I get these names right) from left to right is Willie he rides a Honda Shadow, then it is Morgan he rides a Victory Vegas 8 Ball, and last but not least is Glenn who rides a Yamaha Venture Royale. They are cousins and they're riding from the west coast (Wa) to attend a church meeting in Kalispell.

 

It was a very positive experience for me to talk to these three guys and feel not only their enthusiasm for life, but also their love for God. 

They are excellent representatives for their church and I was extremely happy to make their acquaintance.

Then sadly it was time to stop talking get to riding! So off I went to  the US 12 and begin my Lolo Pass ride to Lewiston. 

Lucky for me I had donned my rain gear because it soon started raining , and continued raining a significant amount along that 200 MI. Of Lolo to Lewiston. 

I arrived in Lewiston wet, a bit chilled, but happy and will stay there overnight and  tomorrow check off the road from Clarkston to Enterprise Oregon.

I start off early from Lewiston, cross the bridge to touch Clarkston then  ride Rattlesnake pass.

The necessary paperwork.

And two "mid ride" pictures.

So that is 13 roads...I just need 2 more to complete this year's US 15 Best roads.

The final two should happen in a couple of days.

We were heading to Cal aiming for the Feather River road. As we entered Susanville and stopped at a gas station I met this guy, Brian. Brian is a funny guy and I our visit was a hoot! He also has a spotless,  very good looking HD!

And back to the final two roads -  we were going to get them in the next couple of days but 

 Rock slides on the Feather River Scenic byway have closed the road and changed our plans. So I will publish this post and when we finish two more rides I'll simply add those to this post.

 

But first a final picture.

This mural was in Fernley Nevada at the fire station it was just too good to pass up.

So that's it for now when we finish the last two roads I'll add them in here and that'll be it for the 15 best roads in the US. Thanks for visiting!

Anand....adding the 14th road.

US50 the loneliest highway.

Paperwork;

The middle pics

Now I only need one more 15B 

Thanks again for dropping in!

LIFE is GOOD!!

And finally....road #15

The 70 was closed earlier this year due to rock slides. But now it is open, however they still have two places where traffic is controlled by a stoplight so they can continue working on clearing the road. But you can go end to end with very little delay.

The mid ride pics

GW maiden voyage day 3&4

 Most of the group stayed in this place the Exchange Club which has pretty good service and the rooms are clean and comfy.

Saturday morning the bulk of the Goldwingers went on a group ride into Death Valley.

I spent time looking for a paper map of Nevada but to no avail the Chamber of Commerce was closed all day... paper maps are getting harder and harder to find.

After looking around for a map I decided to take the short ride down to Rhyolite and look at the open Air Museum. 

Rhyolite came to be in 1904  when Prospectors Shorty Harris and E.L. Cross found gold in an area in Bullfrog Hills, which is about 120 miles north west of Las Vegas. Like a lot of boomtowns Rhyolite grew fast but was short-lived due to the bust of 1907 and was down to a few hundred residents by 1910

Back at the hotel in the early evening we're standing around talking when the guy on this Suzuki 109 pulls in, you can see he's done a lot of fabrication on the bike and did a very good job too! The man's name is Louis Carroll. Louis has done a lot of research on the human body and what causes aging and has written a book called "Athletic at 200". He also has a website - Lifekick.US

I found our conversation fascinating and I'm continuing to research his information. You can go to his website and see an 11 minute video of Louis speaking and explaining what he has discovered about the aging process. I should also mention that Lewis is 62 years old and is competing in MMA contests with men half his age and doing very well.

That night when I spoke with Beverly on the phone she informed me that there were winter storm warnings for our area on Tuesday the day I was planning to arrive at home. So I canceled one of my days At The Exchange Club and left a day early so that I could miss the storm.

On my way home I stopped at the "International Car Forest of the last Church" in Goldfield Nevada.

Then continued on my way through Tonopah and to Ely and then home. This was a very cold ride and I learned some things about the Goldwing that I need to change.

I was glad to get home in time to miss the storms!

Thanks for stopping in!

Life IS Grand!!

GW maiden voyage day 1&2

In anticipation of Beverly's retirement we have purchased a new to us Goldwing. It is a 2006 with a a little over 36,000 miles on it. Which means it's barely broken in, we hope to break it in completely over the next few years. 

I decide to take the GoldWing on a new owner's maiden voyage. Beverly hasn't retired quite yet so she has to work and I will be going by myself.

 Coincidentally a Goldwing forum that I have joined is having a get together in Beatty Nevada in the same time frame... Hmmmm...

I leave on a very cold Thursday. The temperatures are in the low thirties, if I remember right, but you got to do what you got to do to get a ride in!

I overnight in St George where it's a little bit warmer and then leave the next morning for Beatty.

An interesting site I've wanted to see for the last while is the Ryanhenge a Stonehenge replica. Since I'm on a motorcycle the Ryanhenge replica is right on my way, which means it only adds about 50 - 75 miles to my days ride.

The Ryanhenge was completed in 2017 and is very  interesting to visit. There are a number of other things to see including a tiny Church. The owners of the trucking company where the Stonehenge is at are very welcoming to visitors.

Two alien life forms live at the hinge replica this is a gray one there's also a green one.

 

The owners of a nearby mine kept some minerals and use them to make these stained glass windows, and they are beautiful!

If you are ever on Highway 93 near Coyote Springs I highly recommend a stop at the RyanHenge  Stonehenge replica - it is very calming and very peaceful there. I'm glad I stopped.

Tomorrow is a group ride, but I'm not really a group rider so I'll most likely ride off by myself somewhere or with possibly one other guy.

Stay toont for days 3 and 4

:)