The Grand Canyon

The weather should be perfect. They say a high of 52 on top and usually the bottom is about the same as Phoenix, 76. Supposedly there is a 20% chance for rain. We'll see.

Everything is packed and the car is gassed. Up at 3:30, on the road by 4:00 and on the South Kiabab Trail by 7:00. I love these trips!

As many times as I have hiked the Canyon it never ceases to awe me. I never get the feeling that I master it, instead it puts me in my place, clears my mind and lets me know that one day I won't be able to meet it's challenge. But until that day .....

Like baseball in the speech by the character James Earl Jones played in The Field of Dreams it has been the one thing that has been constant. In my life everything else has been measured by hiking the Canyon. "Success requires gutting it out like climbing out of the Canyon." "Don't look at the top, it will only depress you, look back to see how far you've come." "You think the pain will never end, but it does and you will want to do it again." "Don't sit down, it will make it harder to get moving again." This one place has taught me more about life than anything or anybody.

Castle Hot Springs

Years ago (early 70's) some of my dirt riding buddies and I took a road behind Lake Pleasant to a wreck of place called Castle Hot Springs. It was a resort built in a remote canyon for those who used the springs for therapy. There was not much left.

What I saw today shocked me. The buildings had been rebuilt, the lawns replanted and fences repaired. There could not have been a more stark contrast, not just with what I remembered but with the desert in all directions.The road up to the resort (some riders I met said it was now a private residence) was primative and inhabited by what can only be described as survivalist camps (though they may not have been). There were more "Keep Out" and "No Trespassing" signs per mile than I have ever seen. There was even one with a picture of an M16 on it that read "If You Can Read This .... You're in Range". I didn't see any mailboxes, street signs or even a kid pickin a banjo.

The road was easily passable with a two-wheel drive truck but there were a lot of blind turns and it was quite narrow for autos, especially in places where there was no where to go but down.The dirt road ended back at the Carefree Highway and the whole trip was just a little over 100 miles round trip from Phoenix. Another great ride!

Out With the Guys

Bob gave me a call the other day asking if I wanted to take a ride Sunday morning. The conversation went like this:

"Well yeah! So where are we going?"
"Let's meet at the Chevron station at 43rd Avenue and Union Hills at 9:00."
"But where are we going?"
"I don't know, we'll figure that out when we get there.

Bob had his ST1100, me the Nomad, Jim (Jimbo?) another Nomad, and Mike and his ST1300. The conversation continued at the station:

"Where're we going?
"I'm hungry, let's get something to eat."
"Ok, how about that Country Kitchen in Wickenburg?"
"Sounds good."

After breakfast (about noon):

"Let's go up Yarnell hill and over to Prescott."
"OK."

Sitting at a gas station in Peeples Valley (just past Yarnell about 1:30).

"Hey how long we going to sit here jawing? I told Vicki I would be back by 3:00."
"Well I don't think you'll make it."
"Maybe if you go back the way we came ... if you really fly..."
"See you guys, got to go!!"

I pulled in the driveway at 2:58. Vicki asked if I went over the speed limit. No way!

Why in the world did I say I'd be back at 3:00 and let her plan a barbeque?

By the way, you have got to see the movie Wild Hogs. Very funny! Cycle Rides put on a ride to see it opening day and over 600 riders showed up.