Wickenburg AZ - Trip Home

What a PERFECT day we had, riding from Las Vegas down to Wickenburg, AZ where we planned to spend one night. We took US 93 down and it was an absolutely amazing ride. The scenery was constantly changing from mountains to rocks to Lake Mead to Joshua Tree forests to cactus of every variety and size....never ending! Unfortunately, no photos were taken because we were on two bikes and trying to make time.

We pulled into the Best Western in Wickenburg before dark but tired. While looking at the map for routing, we realized our good friend Nick and Terry Russell were not too far up the road from us in Cottonwood, AZ. We hadn't seen them since last winter in Arizona and shot off an email to see if they were available for lunch the next day. They were and we started to figure out the logistics of visiting them.

Long story short, we ended up extending one night here in Wickenburg. It made the most sense - we didn't have to rush our visit with them, we could take one bike (and no trailer) and last but not least, we had a bed to sleep in. Upon checking we were unable to find any hotels rooms that would have kept us on our proposed route.

So we enjoyed a nice breakfast and headed north to Cottonwood around ten. The ride was about 2 1/2 hours long and gorgeous (thank you Nick for the routing help), a good portion of it up hwy 89. Lots of motorcycles out riding and we enjoyed the quick run through Prescott. Only photo snapped was this adorably painted rock. LOL!



When we arrived at their motorhome we sat and talked for almost three hours before we all realized we hadn't had lunch yet and headed out in their car to a cute little 50's burger spot. Great food! We spent almost two more hours there. Of course this was expected, happens every time we get together.

Nick took a couple of good shots of us and we snagged a couple of them. Then Stu said CHEESE!

Baby burro bites back and more fun in AZ - Rt 66

We left you as we checked in to our hotel in Kingman, AZ. I mentioned that I took my bike into the HD dealer for a clutch adjustment. I mentioned that we were having breakfast with friends the next day. But I neglected to mention that I almost dropped my bike in the dealer's parking lot. I did manage to keep it upright so I thought nothing of it. Breakfast was great and I really enjoyed seeing my good friends Bill & Marty.

We then rode up Route 66 to Oatman, me on the back of the trike, taking a day off my bike - a very twisty and rough road up, around and over the mountain. We stopped at the little store in Cool Springs to get water and buy a t-shirt for Stu. We continued on with breathtaking views, burro fun in Oatman, nice lunch and a steadily warmer ride down the mountain into Bullhead City (thanks to a road closure on Rt 66). We did get to see two gunfights as well as chatting with Mr. Hornfeathers (not his real name, but his biz name) and buying a nice handcrafted pendant from him. Anyway, by the time we got home, I was noticing pain in my right ribcage.

Come morning it was worse but I climbed on the bike for the relatively quick trip to Laughlin, NV where we had booked three nights at Harrah's (for under $20/nite). Stu had booked a timeshare for our Yosemite visit that gave us this leeway for some relaxation. Little did we know how badly I would need it. By the time we parked in the parking garage, I was in agony.

So for the last two days I have rested, applied ice and taken Aleve and not much else. Thus the late blog. Today is the best day yet but Stu is now out trying to find a wrap for my ribs to help with the ride tomorrow as we move into California. We have a room booked in Barstow tomorrow and then a one night stay at the Wigwam Motel in San Bernadino before we, hopefully, get into Santa Monica (photos only) and get outta dodge quickly.

So, here are some photos to enjoy [lots more in SmugMug].

Oh, the title? That came from this shot....

Blown Away and Freeze Dried in AZ - Rt 66

As we mentioned in the last post, high winds took over the area on Wednesday so we opted to stay an extra day in Holbrook, AZ. Great, right? Sure...until they extended the warning for another 24 hours. We had already booked our hotel in Williams, AZ for Thursday and two nights in Kingman, AZ.

We got up Thursday morning to winds much higher than Wednesday morning but the temps were still reasonable. We loaded up and headed out as early as we could. The wind was heavy with a lot of gusts. We ended up staying on I-40 most of the way, stopping in Flagstaff for gas before landing in Williams around one. We were both well beaten up by the winds. There were reports of gusts of almost 50 mph. Yipes! We did take time to stop in Winslow, AZ for some fun photos!

We checked into the hotel, dressed comfortably and headed out for lunch. I was ready for a good beer and knew exactly where I wanted to go - Cruiser's 66 Diner. I ordered a Starry Night Stout and Stu got a sampler. Oh yeah, we ordered sandwiches, too. ;) We took our time, relaxing and enjoying the beer and the meal before browsing the gift shop and then checking out a a few gift shops up and down the main street. Most were the same as the last time we were here but a few had changed. The whole downtown area was doing very well, storefronts freshly painted and busy. We ran into a lot of European tourists, leading us to suspect a tour bus had stopped in town.

A quiet evening in the hotel, a good night's sleep and we woke to temperatures in the 30's. Yipes! Knowing we didn't have a long ride into Kingman, we took our time at breakfast. The sun was shining warmly but once we did get rolling, the temps were brisk. Actually, they were COLD! My heated jacket liner wasn't working well so when we stopped in Ash Fork, I switched the plug to another outlet. We had a fun stop at Ash Fork, chatting with some folks who were local and out riding around in their classic cars. This is also the stop where back in 2005, I had a couple of Asian gentlemen admiring my "Harry Davidson" motorcycle.

Back on the road to Seligman, it got colder and even with a rain liner, the heated vest, a long-sleeved shirt over a short-sleeved shirt, topped off with my mesh jacket. I stayed chilled most of the day, not warming up until we dropped to a lower altitude. It was obvious the mesh was letting too much air flow through, negating the warmth from the heated liner.

Seligman was packed, one tour bus was pulling out, quickly followed by two more pulling in. Motorcycles lined the streets and cameras were everywhere. The town was like Williams in that fresh paint was everywhere and we saw several new businesses open as compared to our last visit there.

We drove through some beautiful country - snapped a few shots where it was safe to pull over and passed up many others because it wasn't. We also passed two men and a burro or donkey who were walking for Wounded Warriers (Stu saw the banner on the trailer up ahead of them).

We finally rolled into Kingman just before two, pulled into Flying J and grabbed some lunch at Denny's. The Travelodge was just across the street and The Mother Road Harley-Davidson dealer was just around the corner. While Stu checked into the hotel, I got my clutch adjusted at the dealer's. While there I lucked into a great jacket on sale, something to keep me warmer on these chilly days. Of course, now the weather will be back up in the 80's as we continue on to Santa Monica. LOL! Then again, there's still the ride home...

Tomorrow we meet up with some friends for breakfast and then we'll drive the Rt 66 trip up to Oatman where we'll visit the burros. That should be fun and good for photos!