Featured Touring Our Annual Tour Of The American Southwest: V.2024

Markus · Jul 15, 2024

@Sandi T: As always. I love to follow your stories!

Sandi T · Jul 15, 2024

Markus said: ↑

@Sandi T: As always. I live to follow your stories!
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Thanks, @Markus! I’m really glad you enjoy my reports. I really enjoy yours, too. I do have to say, though, that I hope you meant to type love and not live. That’s way too much pressure.

Wessa · Jul 15, 2024

Wow @Sandi T I’m late to this thread. As ever your story board and photos take the reader to the places you have visited.
I have enjoyed the ride from afar

Sandi T · Jul 15, 2024

Wessa said: ↑

Wow @Sandi T I’m late to this thread. As ever your story board and photos take the reader to the places you have visited.
I have enjoyed the ride from afar
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@Wessa
Thanks for joining us vicariously, Steve!

Markus · Jul 17, 2024

Sandi T said: ↑

Thanks, @Markus! I’m really glad you enjoy my reports. I really enjoy yours, too. I do have to say, though, that I hope you meant to type love and not live. That’s way too much pressure.
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You are right Sandi! I had a typo mistake

joe mc donald · Jul 19, 2024

Sandi T said: ↑

@joe mc donald

Hi, Joe, and thanks! I'm so glad you're enjoying the write up and photos of our trip. I just love doing motorcycle trips for so many reasons. The interesting sights and wonderful people we meet provide as much of the fun and great memories as the riding itself. As you and many on this forum know full well, seeing the world from the seat of a motorcycle is WAY different than by any other avenue. And it has become my favorite way to travel and explore. At some point today I'll post about our Day # 6 Durango day ride from Durango to Ouray and back again on the Million Dollar Highway. So stay tuned, my friend!
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Mustang is not to far behind a bike.

joe mc donald · Jul 19, 2024

Sandi T said: ↑

Day #6: Durango, Colorado to Ouray, Colorado and back to Durango. Miles: 144
An out-and-back on "The Million Dollar Highway"

Ok, I'm completely frustrated. I just spent over an hour on today's post and the site dumped me out. Aaaaarggh!!! So I'm just going share photos and you can make up your own commentary. Sorry, I'm just done for the day. Not to mention the fact that Tucson is in the middle of a raging monsoon and my husband's new grill that I just bought him for his birthday blew off the porch and is upside down on the ground. And he's fishing up in the White Mountains five hours away. Probably TMI but whatever......l give up for the day.

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Sandi T / Steve. What a way to live i am envious. I just sorted my self out with some fishing gear. The last time i fished was 1984 night fishing. When i got home Claire my wife then was ill and had to be rushed to hospital. She never recovered. In despair i threw all my fishing gear in the bin but i want to bring back this passion. And with mobiles i can fish and still be contactable. Tell Steve i may need some lessons.

joe mc donald · Jul 19, 2024

Sandi T said: ↑

Day #6: Durango, Colorado to Ouray, Colorado and back to Durango. Miles: 144
An out-and-back on "The Million Dollar Highway"

Ok, I'm done. I just spent well over an hour on today's post and I got dumped out of the site and ALL of my commentary just went "poof" and disappeared. So I'll just add the photos which still show up and you can just "read between the lines". This was the most fun I've had doing commentary, too, so I'll just have to be content with knowing what I wrote for myself. Sorry.......SHITE!!!!!!!!!

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And for those of you who checked out my photos from today, here's the other reason I'm a little cranky (UNDERSTATEMENT!) A major monsoon (including hail) just blew through Tucson and this is what happened to my husband's new Weber grill that I just bought for him for his birthday. And he's up in northern Arizona with Russell on a fishing trip. I think I need a martini........ Double AAARRRGH!!!

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I'll write about the rest of our day in Durango mañana...after that martini and a good night's sleep. Right now I'm going out to assess the grill damage.
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O'h poor old barbeque.

joe mc donald · Jul 19, 2024

Sandi T said: ↑

Day #8: Winslow, Arizona to Tucson, Arizona Miles: 268

Total miles for our annual June "Tour of the American Southwest" = 1,764

I always feel a little sad when I wake up on the last day of a motorcycle trip. This one was no different. Actually, I did NOT feel that way for our May trip that turned into a bike problem / snow storm / trailering the bike home from Utah trip. Those were definitely "feelings" but not ones of sadness.

This trip went beautifully in terms of our bikes running like absolute champs. Nary a hiccup from that vantage point the whole week. Thankfully!

Our route home... The last 200 miles of today's route from Show Low to Tucson is the same way our ride started a week ago. But on Day #1 we turned east in Show Low and did another 100 miles to Quemado. And this will be the same way that our upcoming trip starts, too. We're heading out on that trip -- 15 days worth! -- a week from today.

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Steve, Russell, and I met up with Lori and Brian for breakfast at Flatbed, a great little place just down the street from Standing on the Corner Park and the actual flatbed Ford parked by the park. We'd never eaten at Flatbed before so were eager to check it out. No food pics but it was delicious and we'd go there again.

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That's an actual fender and rim on the fence surrounding the outdoor seating area.

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After saying our goodbyes, we gassed up on the way out of town and made our way back onto I-40 for about half an hour before turning south through Holbrook. Only one stop along the way to gas up in the town of Globe. As we rode farther and farther south, the temperatures rose higher and higher. Yep, back in the desert again! This was the temperature when I pulled into our garage.

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And my final mileage reading. Check out my gas mileage! That's been the norm so far with this bike which makes me very happy.

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I hope those of you who followed this thread enjoyed my report. Ride safe, everyone!
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Sandi T / Steve. Can't you take the long way home and keep writing.

joe mc donald · Jul 19, 2024

Sandi T said: ↑

Day #7: Durango, Colorado to Winslow, Arizona Miles: 297

Follow today's post all the way through to see one of the largest Navajo weavings in the world! It was #1 for years and now stands at the 2nd largest.

A large portion of today's ride was through the Navajo Nation, probably about 2/3 of our total mileage when eyeballing the map. The Navajo Nation lies in portions of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah and covers approximately 17.5 million acres.

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Thanks, Wikipedia
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The landscape of the Navajo Nation on today's ride was somewhat bleak yet beautiful. As we rode south on 491 from the town of Shiprock, New Mexico to the town of Gallup, New Mexico, we could the large formation known as Shiprock off to our right. There are no real roads (especially paved ones) that lead directly to Shiprock. But it's a breathtaking sight to behold even from a distance. As we left the town of Shiprock, we were about 10-12 miles away from the Shiprock formation which is considered a "monadnock". I had to look that one up. A monadnock (pronounced meh-NAD-nok) is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. Motorcycle trips are both an adventures AND learning opportunities!

Thanks again, Wikipedia
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As we rode on through the reservation there were more formations off to our right (west) while the land stretched out as plains to our left (east). I recall thinking that it all looked rather prehistoric and timeless and it made me feel small and rather insignificant....but in a good way.

We gassed up the bikes in Gallup, New Mexico which is best known (to me anyway) for its Navajo rug auctions. My friend, Robyn, who I told you about earlier in this thread, purchased many a Navajo weaving with Mario when they lived on the reservation some decades ago. Mario was doing a psychiatric fellowship training program on the reservation and going to the auctions was one of their pastimes when they lived there.

From Gallup it's a trudge of about 130 miles on Interstate 40 all the way to Winslow.It was extremely windy all the way to Winslow and it seemed like about 3 out of every 4 vehicles was an 18-wheeler. And the drivers on this particular day weren't all that friendly or even considerate of us on our little motorcycles.

Steve, sans any type of GPS, led us directly from the freeway to the parking lot at La Posada. A couple of years ago a BMW friend of ours with not just one but four GPS's on his bike led us on what we now teasingly refer to as "the realtors residential tour of Winslow". Steve and I are still sort of dinosaurs, preferring paper maps or a big Google Maps view (ahead of the days ride) over an on-bike GPS system. Maybe some day.....

I've shared about La Posada in previous ride reports here on the forum so I'll leave all that out this time around. Mr. Google has great info about this historical and beautiful property if you're so inclined.

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I'd wound up booking us a room in the newer addition to the hotel which was--conveniently!--closer to the motorcycle parking area. The two rooms that we always try to book were already taken so I asked the staff person to just recommend a room and put us in that. Wow, this was DEFINITELY one of the nicest hotel rooms we've ever been in! And it's one we will always try to book for future Winslow trips. Most all the rooms are named for a famous person who has stayed at the hotel. Our room was the Ed Ruscha Room. Now Ed so famous that Steve and I had heard of him. But we learned that he's a quite famous artist that still (I think--he was born in 1937 so...) lives in Los Angles. We were told by a Winslow friend that this is her favorite room in the entire hotel but not many people know about it. I'm hoping it stays that way.

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One set of photos of famous folks who have stayed here, many of whom have rooms named after them. There was another set with just a many photos on the wall behind me.

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A couple of photos of our room to give you an idea. Sorry they're not great pics...

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Our room wasn't ready when we arrived and the woman at the front desk said they'd try to expedite it. When it still was taking a long time, she said she would comp our entrance into La Posada's museum. We didn't even know there WAS a museum! So we jumped on that opportunity. The entrance fee was only $5 each and by the time we left the museum we left four times that much in the donation box because we were so blown away by what an amazing museum it was. We'll definitely go back and spend more time there next time we're in Winslow!

"The World's Largest Navajo Rug" and other museum wonders -- continued in my next post
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joe mc donald · Jul 19, 2024

Watched a film not so long ago Were the American army used the Navajo native speaker as the Japanese could not break their code.

Sandi T · Jul 20, 2024

joe mc donald said: ↑

Watched a film not so long ago Were the American army used the Navajo native speaker as the Japanese could not break their code.
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@joe mc donald
I've heard about that film, Joe, but haven't seen it. Do you remember the name of it by any chance? I'd like to watch it! Hope you and your family are doing well.

joe mc donald · Jul 20, 2024

Sandi T / Steve.
Yes i believe it was called windtalkers with Nicolas Cage. But you haven't got time to watch movies you need to be planning another historical trip for us the patrons.

Sandi T · Jul 20, 2024

joe mc donald said: ↑

Sandi T / Steve.
Yes i believe it was called windtalkers with Nicolas Cage. But you haven't got time to watch movies you need to be planning another historical trip for us the patrons.
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@joe mc donald

Thanks for sharing the movie title, Joe. Steve and I will have to watch it when we get home from our next motorcycle adventure. But you're right about not having time to watch it just yet because our next trip is right around the corner! At this very moment, Steve, Russell, and I are sitting here in the kitchen looking at maps to finalize our routes for our upcoming trip. We leave at 6:30 AM tomorrow morning for a two week 3,500 (or so) mile trip across 11 states. The trip revolves around riding to southern Minnesota for my nephew's wedding which is a week from today on July 27th. I'll be sure to take some notes and lots of photos and will post a report sometime after our return. I start back to work two days after we get back so will be busy getting back into my school psychologist groove but I'll share some of our adventures!

joe mc donald · Jul 21, 2024

Sandi T / Steve. Ellie.
Now that is so much better. I can't wait to hear all about your new trip. You are my star.

learningtofly · Jul 21, 2024

Thanks for another epic thread, @Sandi T, and ride safe on your upcoming trip!

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