Earache

This road made the whole ride down here worthwhile ...

It just never ends ...

The road snaked it's way north for about 170 miles with no stops along the way. Almost ran outta fuel but it was a fun ride....

Then we headed north again on a good twisty mountain road. The road surface was kinda fucked up due to the heat - had lots of tar strips and patches but the ADV bikes soaked up the imperfections without too much issue. Would have sucked on a crusier type bike...

Headed back north and stopped off to see Todd's grandfather in Safford, AZ . Nice place to spend eternity ....

A mile or two outta town and we've gone as far south as we can as we hit the wall at the border with Mexico ....

Saw this cool old steel entrance door. Almost looked like the top of an old stamped steel coffin. Very cool ...

Not a lot happening here but some nice older architecture. Most of the town is just kind of over run with hippie types, not doing much of anything . Pretty stark contrast to the last time I was here about 30 years ago. It was a vibrant little town then....

Next day and we head further south to the old border town of Bisbee, AZ ...

To soothe my pain, we're off to the hotel bar and then a fine dining experience at the restaurant. As usual, we got drunk at the bar and never made it to the restaurant. Maybe tomorrow night....

Had a bit of an injury on this trip. I'd like to say it was a result of staving off a tank slapper with my superior riding skills while doing 135 mph through a tight sweeper. But the truth is a bit more mundane - I slipped in the bath tub and biffed my arm on the way down. Fuckin' hurt!

Relief wasn't far off though as we made it to our hotel north of Tucson ...

Stopped by a reservoir for break and it was officially hot as fuck out -105F / 42C. Had us rethinking our decision to ride Arizona. Heat was hitting hard as I was still used to below freezing temperatures of home ...

Passed by an old schoolhouse in Strawberry . Not open so I shot through the windows ....

And then up into the hills of AZ ...

Blasted through Jerome, AZ - a hillside town full of shops and galleries ....

American Indian reservations are kinda odd. At every gas stop, you're swarmed by feral dogs looking for some handout to eat. Big groups of them are at each fuel stop waiting for food....

Quick ride through Navajo Nation and Monument Valley...

South of Monticello, we crossed into Arizona and into the desert again...

Tasted better than it looks . Green chile enchiladas ....

On to our oh so swanky hotel in Monticello, Utah. Town was a barren wasteland and we were lucky that they even had a hotel, so I should bitch too much. Even had an adjacent Mexican restaurant with decent food ...

Quick stop at the now defunct Bedrock Store ...

Headed west towards the La Sal Mountains of Utah ...

Railed the canyons of western Colorado ....

Grand Junction is in the western desert so there was no snow. Just a bit chilly but we were okay with that. Dropped the truck and trailer ....