Northern Arizona pine country - Part 3

Checking my mirrors there isn't anyone behind me so off I go.

Damn who the hell are you? You are one hairy dude. Oh wait that's me LOL I do remember only a few month ago I shaved my head and had only a goatee. I'm looking pretty greasy.

Having fun with the phone while I am riding I decided to take some photos of some of the landscape. At this point I am on my way to back to the Beeline Highway. Once I turn onto it then I will hit Strawberry and Pine. Both quaint little towns. Even tho I do love the saloon in Pine, I'm not stopping this time. I stop every other time so no need. Plus I still have to meet Sandy and Lisa at my parents and much left to see.

Back on the Beeline Highway. Oh look a car! Oh and and another. First I've seen for a while. These guys keep me in check and keep me from going to fast. I love the twisties on this route so I tend to speed. This is where the heavy pine area is really standing out.

As I'm driving there is such beautiful scenery all around me. This never gets old for me and love every moment. Even tho I was on a mountain road I still manage to find a pull off to stop at. This area is coming down off the mountain a bit. The forest is lush and as beautiful. Amazing!

And how could I forget a road shot of where I was headed you ask?

Next stop, top of the Mogollon Rim (pronounced Mo-gee-on by locals). The highway is 4 lanes almost the entire way up. Its been years since I've been up this far and this is fantastic. No more getting stuck behind semi trucks hauling cattle. The road goes right up the side of the mountain. Lots of twisties with a very steep incline. Here you can almost close your eyes and feel the road. It was very well built that way and easy to ride on. By the time I get to the top I feel like I'm in the zone and do not want to stop. I come up to Forest Lakes Road to head up to Woods Canyon Lake. I get in the left turn lane, but for the first time ever I notice a rest area on the right (directly across from Forest Lakes Road). But not just a rest area, there is a forest ranger/tourist building. I look behind me for traffic and quickly turn into the lot. This place sits ont the rim as well, so I knew I'd get some great shots. Look at this drop down.

And a couple shots off the rim.

I know these were a bit of limited sight, but don't fear much more to come.

Northern Arizona pine country - Part 2

So back on the road once again. So far a wonderful trip and a fantastic ride with some amazing weather. Did I mention it was super cool? Well just in case, it the weather was awesome!

I'm heading southish down Lake Mary Road. The next area is going to be Mormon Lake. I've been to Mormon Lake many times. Never been to the Too Broke for Sturgis rally tho. It's at the end of July. Mormon Lake is a dry lake bed and I have yet to see any water on it. Maybe mud but no water. There are basically 2 ways into the area. Its basically a several mile loop that is connected to Lake Mary Road. I've never been on the north side of this road so decided I would try it. Its a nice little (slow speed limit) road with lots of curves and great scenery.

Just as I'm getting close to the main lodge I see this cool looking building. Although I passed it the first time and was thinking I needed to turn back. So I found a little turn off and turned back around.

There was a guy inside it and noticed I had pulled up. We greeted each other. I think he's a town worker, but didn't bother him.

I also saw this neat little historical marker. Arizona really does have quite a bit of history and much more than a native even knows about.

On the other side of these little finds, the dry lake bed was there. Its a wide open area, so I decided to take some nature shots.

Is that water I see in the distance?

Hey look mom, no hands. Ok ok, maybe I wasn't riding but I'll be damned if there wasn't a little water up close too. I know its only a puddle, but still! This is the most I've ever seen here.

My stop on the road was longer than expected, but I was enjoying myself. Taking in the fresh smelling air and scent of the pines. Even tho you don't really see any in these few pictures, they were all around. Just not on the lake bed. The weather still very good at this point and cloud formations were starting to appear. I decided I've stopped long enough its time to mosey along.

After a few minutes I saw another clearing on both sides of the road. There was a private gated road, so I used this as a pull off to take a few more photos but this time used my Blackberry so that I did not have to go thru all the trouble of pulling the camera out for only a couples shots. I was also posting to Facebook & Twitter. And although I did not have a data signal at this point, I knew I soon would at the lodge.

I saw this neat cloud formation.

So I decided to take a shot with my bike. This was the first photograph that I sent to Twitter & Facebook. Facebook seemed to send items much better then thru e-mail to TwitPic.

Starting the scoot back up as I am almost to the Mormon Lake area finally. It was still before 10am and I already had made such progress on my trip. I was in no hurry at all, but my time was going great. Besides I was getting hungry and had a craving for a salad. I knew I could eat the lodge restaurant and really couldn't wait to get there. The hostess sat me at my table but mentioned breakfast. Breakfast? Are you kidding me, I've been up since very early. I'm ready for lunch! I didn't ask anyone and just figured they were ONLY serving breakfast. This is a small small small town after all. Did I mention how small it was? Its a tiny, itty bitty, quaint little town. So breakfast it is! For $9 including my coffee I got a very large plate of food (2 eggs, some fruit, bacon and a HUGE pile of fried potatoes. I did get a good laugh from a sign they had hanging just above my head in the isle. Remember this is a dry lake bed =)

After breakfast while I was paying for my meal at the front, I was talking to the same hostess that sat me down about the Too Broke for Sturgis rally. She was very nice and said looked forward to seeing me there. Very nice woman, I should have had someone taken a picture of us. I need to step outside my boundaries more and get other to take pictures with me on my trips. It would get them involved with my ride and make for some great conversation. Shortly after I decided it was time to hit the road once more.

With the scoot facing the way it was, the trip back to Lake Mary Road is very short. Although I once drove by a cool old wagon they have right before you get into the town. I've taken many pictures of it before, so I did no such thing this time around. Once I turned back onto Lake Mary Road I was really enjoying the ride with no traffic. There was an occasional cage or 2 that passed going the opposite way as me but that was it. I came to this long straight away with a good size clearing on both sides of the road. Figured I really didn't need to take any more photos right now....however as I was almost half way thru it I see an elk on the left side of the road. I was still a little bit from it. This was on the road side of the fence. As I get closer I notice this was a mom elk and her baby. She really wasn't all that big. I've seen only a handful of elk in person and they are usually much larger animals. Even so she just stared at me and didn't move. There was nowhere to pull over. I just wanted a quick stop for some photos. The shoulder was very small so it was even difficult to pull to the side. Well what the hell. Not much traffic. I pull to the side right near the elk, the whole time the mom is really eyeing me. Could just tell she was not very happy at all, more so that I actually stopped. I had my Blackberry in my vest so I pulled it out turned my head and boom, she already jumped the fence. Her baby had was still trying to figure out how to get over it. This allowed me enough time to take a couple photographs of the mom while I was still seated on my bike. When I zoom with my Blackberry as I did, it makes the pic smaller. No vehicle came from behind me during this time.

Northern Arizona pine country - Part 1

Woke up early on Friday morning. Got packed all up. This time I used a checklist to make sure nothing was left or forgotten. I really would have enjoyed a little tunes on the trip. I have not yet gotten my new amp in the mail yet. Packed up the bike and left to gas up. I left just after 6am. No one had woken up yet, which I knew would happen. The ride up to Flagstaff straight up the I-17 is approximately 130 miles. I've seen this so many times that it is much like white noise while looking at the television screen to me. Most of the way is either flat, very little vegetation or unexciting. Even when reaching the pines I'm not very impressed. Oh don't get me wrong...I love the forests & pine trees. I see them all the time, not to mention Flagstaff isn't a stop I usually try to make. This was the quickest most direct route to get to where I was going. The route starts in Flagstaff, so its unavoidable.

The weather was beautiful. When I left Phoenix the temperature was in the mid to high 70's. It had to be in the low 60's. Its over 7k feet there. Figuring that it was still early I really thought nothing of it except the comfort of being away from the valley heat for the next 2 days. About 15 miles from Flag there was a sign that said rough road ahead. I can't remember exactly how many miles it said now. I was then thinking that this was no big deal. About 15 seconds later it was like a washboard. No this isn't dirt or sand or anything like that. This is an asphalt interstate highway. All I can say is WTF?! It was pretty bad for a few miles and let up. Then once again turned into a washboard, not nearly as bad this time. It did not continue the whole way. I finally turned off onto the Lake Mary Road exit. Before I hit the exit I did notice a sign showing there would be fuel. My low fuel light came on a few miles before this exit. Bought a new water, filled up, stretched and enjoyed myself for about 20 minutes. Its time to move on, lots more to see...

The speed limit was 35, which was ok but I knew at this rate it was going to be a very long day.. And although I had no intentions of rushing, I still had to meet my sister Sandy and her best friend Lisa at my parents to let them in. Still 35 couldn't be the speed limit for that long. I've been on this road, just not this far north. Reach a construction zone that had a stop sign that a worker was holding. I was to wait until the lead construction truck was to come back and lead us over. I sat there for about 10 minutes and finally shut my bike off. You ask, how would I know how long? Because I was eyeing the clock on my odometer like a hawk eyes it's prey. Up ahead I finally see the truck leading several vehicles out from the other side (where I was headed). Don't forget this was a constuction area, and no asphalt. I am not very fold of riding on dirt, rocks or gravel. The road was rock covered dirt. The truck came, turned around and started to roll the other direction. Thinking to myself, I have never ever ever seen a construction truck lead traffic from one side to the other. The workers always have a 2 way and talk to the person on the other side. Always timed of course to keep everything moving as smoothly as it possibly could be. I was first in line, however the worker let the 3 vehicles on my left turn and follow the truck first. No big deal, just interesting in many ways (I was there first in line, at least a dozen vehicle lined up behind me were there also before the 3 vehicles on the left). By this time I was running a bit longer then originally expected, and did not really care. I followed the vehicle train out being very careful on the road. I was weaving around the areas that appeared to be solid dirt with no rocks. Backing off from the truck in front of me. Kept thinking to myself that if they slammed on their brakes I wouldn't be able to stop in time. Finally thru all this and back on asphalt the construction went on for several more miles. I stayed at a steady 35-40 mph.

After a bit I see a sign for Lake Mary. YES! Finally! Some photo ops! I pull up and holy crap, there is really a lake. I was on the north side parking lot. There were several other cages, but no one could be seen anywhere near.

It was time to head to the down to the water and relax a bit. There I got several more shots.

Toward the road from the water:

And I see people, only they are in a boat and someone in a tube being dragged behind:

As I headed back up to the parking lot, I did see a couple of fishermen headed back to the truck. From what I've been told this is mainly a dry lake bed and this is the first time its had water for a long time. The road follows the entire lake south. I honestly had no idea that there was really a real Lake Mary. I know, I know! Lake Mary Road. Yes I get it, but no one I know has ever talked about it. Time to go!

Dreams

I'm the type of person who rarely remember his dreams. I used to think that I just don't dream at all. But someone once told me that everyone dreams, if we didn't we would die because we would be brain dead.

Last nite I had a very pleasant dream, only I had wished it hadn't happened or I hadn't remembered it. I only remember the end right before I woke up. Lori and I were on another (second) cruise together. We were heading back to our room and she had said something to me. Fact is I can't remember exactly what she said, but it wasn't really important. Then I had said "I'm not sure, I still remember what happened the last time." The dream went on a bit further, but all things not really of any importance. Shortly after I woke up from this very deep sleep because I was disturbed.

Now let me give you a little history, so that you might understand this a bit better. Lori is my ex girlfriend who had ended our relationship at the end of February. We dated very seriously for 9 months. I loved her very much, but never told her. Never felt it was the right time. I could also see her behavior changed in the week before the cruise. I knew something was wrong, but its not really up to me to ask her. I let her bring it up. Her reasons were very unclear and is still very unsettling. I still talk to her and we are still good friends. It still hurts, but I've learn to be much more accepting. If you've read the poem Lord of the Broken, you will see that this all had to do with her and maybe understand this a bit better. In case you don't know, I'm thankfully divorced. I was married to an evil woman. I really thought I had a future with Lori. Now I've given up the idea of anyone want to be with a greasy biker. Besides, I'm guessing I should be alone. It must not in my cards.

I'm not one to ever share my emotions. Hell barely just able to share my poetry as of late. Just as I wrote in I am....I build up walls, it shows the world I'm tough. It keeps ppl away. It keeps other's from know what I think or being able to get inside my head. I've been like this as long as I can remember.

This dream, although very pleasant, was very disturbing to me thoughout the entire day. I wanted to be left alone all day. I hybernated in my room and kept from talking to anyone. I really want to crawl under a rock and not talk to see anyone for a long time. Hopefully tomorrow will be a much better day.

Saturday

No ride for me up north like I had planned. Work has placed mandatory overtime.

I've been tagged

Well, it seems as tho I've been lucky enough to have been tagged by Sheila on her blog Back Seat Bikermomma. She's a really neat person whom I've been lucky enough to meet on Twitter. Go check out her blog, she's done a great job on it. In fact she was even featured about it. She writes about her adventures.

I must share six unknown fun facts about myself, here you go...

1. I pretty much a very private person and often keep myself disconnected and other ppl at a distance.

2. I have 11 tattoos with more to come, and to me they are my most valuable possession.

3. I went to radio broadcast school after high school, and did nothing with it.

4. I self taught myself everything I know about computers with no formal training.

5. I used to be a computer gaming freak, but found it was a waste of my time and I had much better things I could be doing.

6. My brain never shuts off. I am constantly thinking about things I could or should be doing, I ruminate and this makes it very difficult for me to ever sleep.



Now for the fun part! I get to tag four more people! Here goes...


Swag's Rant

Rippin’ Kitten

Two wheels and a fly rod

Visions from a stained mind


TAG! You're it!

Bike status

Well it so happens I need a new drive belt. Although important, $271 is a bit of a sting. Also said I need a new rear tire. I wonder how many miles a Metzler gets. Seems like it was way to fast to wear. That's another $200+. When will it end?

Last nite

Ok last nite was kick ass. Everything fell in place. Hot women everywhere at Toby Keith's I love this bar & grill. The Coors women were there, giving away raffle tickets if you were drinking a Coors product. So I quickly shifted from Jack & Coke to Coors Light. Funny, I always call it Cers (like cars) and the Coors girls understood. In fact, the really tall one (taller than me, with some long ass legs) said that someone she knows calls it that.

I started out tanking 3 tall Jack & Cokes, and had to lean back a bit and start the Coors Lights. Not to mention the raffle ticket =D Sis bought ended up buying me a shot of Jack and double shot of Single Barrel. Daaaaamn! You trying to get me drunk?

Some hot chicks were behind us and one of them didn't want her shot. She wasn't sure what it was and neither am I. It was strong, but had a slightly sweet taste to it. Not sicky sweet either. Was pretty damn cool of her. And then she found out it was my bday and was all the better.

Corey had already taken off and gave me his raffle ticket. One of the guys that was hanging out with the girls behind us gave me his 3 tickets as well. So I had 5 tickets for the drawing and it turned out pretty sweet. I wanted the snowboard since it had the Coors Light logo on it. Figured I could hang it on the wall since I don't snowboard. But I did win the Blue Moon mountain bike. Pretty damn cool and on my birthday no less.

Towards the end of the nite, there was this hot cougar who was talking to me. Her birthday was the same as mine. She had also mentioned that several of her friends had birthdays all next to each other (as well as the same day) and that they were going back to Toby's tonite and Saturday as well.

Tonite is fixing Corey's rig, then riding to Bretts to hang out a bit. Tomorrow is the party. Will be even more crazy then last nite. Everyone keeps talking about presents. Even Sandy and she picked up the tab last nite. I really don't want any presents, just want peeps to come help me celebrate. Hell I'm still trying to get used to celebrating my birthday since last year was the first year since I was much younger that I have.

The day is finally here

I am officially 35 today. Not sure how I feel about it yet....actually I don't. I don't feel any older. Maybe 40 I will, but right now I feel like I'm still a kid at heart. Going to Toby Keith's bar tonite with my sis. Trying to talk Corey into going as well. Friday bike to be serviced and more drinking. Saturday is my party and there will be plenty of drinking and acting like a fool! =D

On a sad note, David Carradine was found dead. He hung himself in a hotel room.

Blog settings

Since this blog is hosted at my own domain and not blogger.com, then I am unable to add the widgets like I have on my photo blog. It's pissing me off, however I have no idea how to do it and do not really feel like screwing with it.

It is time!

I think its about time to wipe the dust off of this and get back to what it was originally intended.

No rides planned right now. I am going to lean back this week. I have Friday off, in which I am going to get my bike serviced. Just in time for my Saddle Sore/Bun Burner ride coming up on June 19th. If you don't know what that is, you can read about it here. It is going to be one hell of a ride.

In the meantime, my birthday is tomorrow so I'm ready for that. Drink drink and more drink. Saturday is my party. Corey is talking about video taping it. I'm not so sure I'm thrilled about the idea. I heard something about a Saturday right but not sure. Sunday there is nothing planned, but I'm sure I will be in recovery.

That's it for now. Lets roll!