Oak Creek Canyon, A Train On Its Side and The Painted Desert....

On day 112, I returned to Oak Creek Canyon on Highway 89A from Sedona to Flagstaff. This is a twisty road that hugs the side and bottom of a canyon and is an exciting twisty road to ride. Jackie and I had ridden through it a few days earlier, but I had to go back for a reason that will become clear later.

There are some great curves and terrific views on this road....

And some hairpin bends as well....

Right on a sweeping bend I reached the 16,000 mile point of my tour. I stopped as usual to take the thousand mile picture....

About 10 miles west of Flagstaff, there is a Harley-Davidson dealer in a town called Bellemont. I needed a new cargo net and I called in there to buy a new one. As left I spotted these railroad cars which had been blown off the tracks by last weeks tornado. A new road was being built alongside the tracks to allow access for the huge cranes needed tolift the blown over wagons....

I started to walk over to the train tracks but was soon stopped by the police who said “I suppose you don’t know you are walking in an area declared as a national disaster zone”. Well no, I didn’t, so that ended any chance I had of getting better pictures!

I was now heading north towards Monument Valley and I went to check out a canyon formed by the Little Colorado River. It is about half a mile from Highway 64 just west of Cameron in Arizona. It has 1,000 foot sheer cliffs, so anyone with children needs to take a lot of care! I have learnt with deep canyons that is is often difficult to take good pictures in bright sunlight as the contrast between the brightly lit areas and those in shadow is too great to capture both well. Here are some pictures that try to show what is there, but consider this – you can nearly fit the Empire State building in this canyon! The pictures do not really convey just how deep it is....

I didn’t have much time, so I just had a very quick look at the ruins in Wupatki National Monument. This is one of the ruins as I approached it....

This is the Wukoki ruin which is perched on a rock and it must have been a very splendid house for an important person when it was occupied....

As I rode across the Painted Desert, it became clear why is has this name. The colours are incredible....

As I continued north, I passed these rocks, stopped, looked back and took a picture without even getting off the bike. These are the Elephant Feet rocks and in my mind, these announced the beginning of Monument Valley, an area I was to stay at for a day and a half. What a place that was, but you will need to wait for my next post for that....

It had been a long day. I rode 323 miles on this day.

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Sunset Crater Volcano - Can It Really Be That Old?

I had heard there was a volcano near to Flagstaff that had erupted sometime in the past. I have never seen a volcano before, so I was interested in going and taking a look.

We were on our way back to Flagstaff from the Grand Canyon and we found the entrance road to Sunset Crater National Park, so we turned left and just a few miles from Flagstaff found an incredible place.

This is the view as we crossed the flatlands leading up to the crater....

As we approached, it became obvious that the hill we were looking at wasn’t a hill at all. It was a 340 metre (1,120 ft) tall high cone that was made of and ash....

Trees and vegetation have begun to grow once more on the crater. On one side they are well established, not so on the other.

Soon we found where the lava had flowed. This was surreal, with strange shapes having been formed in the lava....

There is one point where you can walk right next to the lava. This is where Jackie got silly in posing for a picture!....

Even on this lava, trees and beginning to grow....

We got back on the bike and reached where the road runs alongside the cone itself. The ash has an amazing consistency and forms an almost perfect slope....

I loved the shape of this dead tree.....

We didn’t stay long as it doesn’t need much time to see the crater. The view looking back towards the mountains just north of Flagstaff was pretty good! Here is Humphreys Peak, with its top covered in snow....

When writing this post, I wondered how long ago the last eruption happened. It seemed to me this must have happened relatively recently as the ash slope is so perfect and very little vegetation has grown on the ash and lava. I was amazed to discover the last eruption was over 900 years ago. Wow, it obviously takes a lot longer than I thought for plants and trees to establish themselves on lava and ash.

With so much to see in Arizona that is well known and busy, it was refreshing to find something that we had never heard of, where there was very few people and still interesting and stunning to see.

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It’s Better Than Grand!

Grand isn’t a good enough world to describe the Grand Canyon. It understates the magnificence of what nature can produce. I don’t use the word awesome much, but I will this time – the Grand Canyon truly is awesome.

When you first look over the rim, it takes your breath away. You simply stand there trying to take in all that lies before you. It is so big, it is difficult to comprehend the size of the place, as your eyes dart about trying to make sense of the cliffs, canyons and slopes.

We arrived late afternoon which was just about the perfect time as the canyon is much better seen either at sunrise or sunset, when the light is so much better than higher in the sky. These first few pictures were taken as the sun was setting....

We were lucky that we were staying right at the south rim, inside the park at one of the centrally located hotels in Grand Canyon Village. This meant we could walk back to the hotel in the dark and we were in for a wonderful surprise. Right next to the hotel were two bull Elk, eating the beautifully manicured grass! They were play rutting and it make for a spectacular sight. They soon lay down on the grass right next to some parked cars which I used as something to hide behind as I took a photo....

The next morning I was up very early in order to be ready to catch the sunrise in the canyon. There was quite a lot of wildlife about, especially deer. I managed to get a few photos of them in the dim light before too many people appeared and frightened them away. I followed them into the trees....

This squirrel wanted in on the act as well....

Getting up early paid dividends as the light was fantastic, with long shadows being cast....

Turning around and looking into the sun was worthwhile as well....

That all sounds perfect, doesn’t it? Well, it was near to perfection despite, not because of, the people that run the park, the National Park Service. I have now visited quite a few National Parks all of which have been superbly well run. This one isn’t. The signage is terrible, meaning you get lost a lot, the bus service that they promote you to use doesn’t run often enough, certain areas you can only get to by bus and not in a private vehicle which would be okay but the bus service to some parts was suspended, major parts of the canyon rim were closed due to construction works and the recently resurfaced car parks are treacherous for anyone on a motorbike.

Any one of these points on their own are relatively minor, but added up, seeing the canyon properly is a real challenge. It was disappointing that we could see so much of the canyon we decided to splash out and see it from the air! We went on a helicopter tour and this was our transport.....

Jackie in the helicopter just before we took off....

Seeing the Canyon from the air is, well, FANTASTIC! You get to see so much more....

We thoroughly enjoyed the flight and would recommend this to anyone. It isn’t cheap, but well worth saving your pennies for.

The next day we left the park by riding east along the canyon all the way to Desert View which is the most easterly point that the road runs next to the canyon....

Going to see the Grand Canyon has to be one of the highlights of the tour so far, so I have added it to my favourites list!

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Way Behind and a Lost Hour.

Two days ago I took Jackie to Phoenix so she could get a flight home.

We had a great 2 weeks travelling on the bike together. Despite the cold, rain, near tornadoes and hail, she did brilliantly on the bike and didn’t complain about the discomforts at all. Of course, now she has gone, the weather has improved dramatically and has today become nice and hot again.

Being away for 5 months means I have quite a lot of gear that I carry with me, but I had to give up a lot of the available space on the bike for Jackie’s things. I left a lot of my stuff in a hotel and I have now been re-united with it. This morning was quite strange as I packed the bike once again with just my stuff. I do miss Jackie, but I don’t miss her stuff - women need more space than men and it was nice to get the space back for my gear!

I didn’t do as many blog posts as usual when Jackie was here. It was good to just spend time together, but that has meant I am now way behind on my posts. I need to find time to catch up somehow but I have a busy 2 weeks ahead with many great places to see, so I am not sure how I am going to get up to date. I need to do it quickly though as the more I delay, the more I forget to write about. I have about 4 or 5 posts that I need to do including starting with sorting out which pictures of the Grand Canyon to include out of the 700+ I took. I rode 323 miles today and I just don’t have the energy to sort through them tonight, so it will have to wait. That means I will be another day behind.....!

I just spoke with Jackie and she made it back to Seattle ok before she flies on to London tomorrow. Poor thing, she will be worn out by the time she gets back!

I go to Monument Valley tomorrow. I rode past it on my way down to Arizona, but I have allocated a full day to see it properly, including getting there early to take some sunrise shots. I was planning to get to bed early tonight, but I seem to have lost an hour when I crossed back into Utah today....

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Yabba Dabba-Doo

Day 107 saw us heading off to what was surely going to be one of the highlights of the tour – The Grand Canyon. It was a chilly day as we headed north and went to have a look at the Arizona Snowbowl which is just north of Flagstaff. We rode up the road that climbs the side of Humphreys Peak and we felt the temperature plummet as the bike took us upwards. We were pleased to turn around at the highest point of the road and start heading down to a slightly warmer level. This is the view from about half way down....

Our journey took us along US 180 and looking backwards, the good view of Humphreys Peak was no longer eluding us....

We did see a large amount of trees that were severely damaged, with some having had their trunks snapped in two. These were not small weak trees, but large specimens in their prime. It didn’t take us long to realise these trees must have been right in the path of the tornados that hit the Flagstaff area a few days ago.

We pressed on to the junction with Highway 64 where Valle Airport sits, including an air museum. We didn’t have time to look at the museum, but did capture a few images of the planes sitting outside. I have no idea what planes these are....

Also at Valle there is Flintstones Bedrock City – a family run park honouring the cartoon character. Despite Jackie wanting to visit, we didn’t have time, but I did get a picture of her in the parking lot, being stared at by Fred.....

.... or was he looking at the bike?

We arrived at the Grand Canyon and what a treat it was! More on that tomorrow, when I have sorted through the hundreds of pictures I took!

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20,000 Miles?

When I planned my tour, I calculated I would do about 15,000 miles in total.

As I have already done that amount, I guess I have taken a few too many detours, side trips and back roads! It is all too tempting to just turn off and go and explore!

I have looked again at what the mileage might be when I finish and I now think it will be close to 20,000 miles in 5 months.  I think I will have to stop then....

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