Hoover Dam/ Las Vegas

Monday, Oct 5th

I left Sedona and headed up to Flagstaff. The weather was pretty nice, but it was a bit cool. The closer I got to Flagstaff, the cooler it got. I made my way up to I-40 then west bound to Williams where I stopped to put on a sweatshirt and get something to eat. I had to switch out my gloves for the winter ones. The ones I had been wearing let the wind through them. They Are great when it’s hot, but not when it’s cold. I had come over a pass that was 7,300 ft high. Once again those heated grips felt pretty good.

I-40, just east of Williams there was a wild fire. The fire was just about where I had turned off yesterday to go to the Grand Canyon. There were warning signs up regarding smoke over the roadway, but I didn’t run though any of the smoke. I am betting with the wind we had here yesterday, most of that smoke is somewhere in Texas by now. It’s still windy here but not like it was yesterday.

I continued on to Kingman, AZ. If you look on a map, there isn’t much between Williams and Kingman except two or three very small towns. I figured it best to fill up the gas tank. Leaving I-40, I turned north onto US 93. 93 ran me right over the top of Hoover Dam. I stopped to take a few pictures of the dam. The thing is overwhelmingly (is that a word?) huge. Some of my relatives worked on that thing in the 30’s. I paid $7 to park then another $11 for the tour. I wanted the $30 tour where they show you more, but they said it was full for the day. It was only 3:00 in the afternoon. I stopped in at the café but the prices were too high. I figured I would get something in Vegas. Anyway, here is the dam:


They told us the dam used so much concrete, and it was so thick that it would have taken 100 years to cure because of the heat it would generate in hardening.
The round towers are the intake pipes for the generators.
-----

One inch pipes were added throughout the structure. Refrigerant was pumped through those pipes to cool the concrete as it cured. At the base of the structure, the concrete is a think as the dam is high, about 660 ft. Lake Mead (named after Elwood Mead, who was the Reclamation Commissioner at the time) is the largest man made reservoir in the world. It holds 9.2 trillion gallons. More than enough for a good hot shower.

Tens of thousands of unemployed workers were put to work on this project during the depression. The power that has been sold has paid for the project, the wages and the maintenance, making it (now) free to taxpayers.

That got me to thinking… if we take all the illegal immigrants and the chronically unemployed give them shovels and some cement….

After crossing into Nevada, I rode US 93 to I-515 which took me right into Vegas. The last time I was there, my brother found the Harley store after I left. This time I would go and see it for myself. I passed by it on the way to my hotel, the Sahara (the internet service sucks here).

I checked into my room and put my things away. I got back on the bike and went down to the Harley Café. Here are a couple shots of the place.

This flag is made from chains that are painted. The links are HUGE. It must be very heavy. There are motorcycles hanging from the ceiling inside that travel around on a conveyer belt.

After that I just went back to my room and started working on this. I am not much of a gambler.

Seeing the Grand Canyon the Hard Way

Oct 4th 2009

Today I got up early and checked the weather on NOAA.com. The news I got there was not good. High winds 20 - 30 mph sustained all day with 40-60 mph gusts and rain in the morning. I put on my rain suit and got after it.

You can see the rain in the background of this shot. That is where I am going. My rain suit and I are becoming good friends.

I took I-17 north. By the time I got to Flagstaff, about 40 miles, I had run through several showers. The wind demanded respect. The wind was from the west. I would be travelling north or south most of the day.

---

There are signs like this between Sedona and flagstaff:

Todd Kitselman would like it here.

I drove west from Flagstaff to Bellmont on I-40 and stopped at the Harley dealer. They were closed for another hour. There was someone there so they let me in anyway. I bought some stuff to make my windshield "slippery" so the rain would run off. I continued on and turned off at Williams onto 64, which took me to the park. The rain had stopped by then.

Just past the sign a little ways was an opportinity to give up $14 to get in. I hadn't been here since I was about 13 or 14 years old.

There were lots of people here for the weather being crappy. I suppose most of them were in the same boat as I was: having travelled a long way to get here.

After driving a short way (about 5 miles from the gate) I got my first look at the Canyon:

This picture is not even close to what I saw. The size of the place is hard to comprehend, even while looking right at it.

I knew this would be hard to get a handle on, so I took this video for you to see:

Go ahead, watch it again (you know you want to).

I stopped in to eat lunch and some of the overlooks to have a "look-see." The views were great, but the wind was blowing people around, hats flew here and there, dirt was blowing people got dust in their eyes. No one stayed too long out side of their cars. It was just crappy out there.

At one point I was following a car that just missed hitting a cow elk. I saw the elk running toward the road, but the driver was looking at something else, I guess. I hit the binders, but the car did not. When the driver saw the elk he freeked out and drove into oncoming traffic. It was like watching a movie. I was far enough back that I was in no danger. It was awsome to see that elk.

If you have not seen an elk up close, take a deer and multiply it by about 6. Thats an elk.

My dad told me years ago the the Grand canyon was not make by the Colorado River like all of the experts want you to believe. He said what actually happened was that a Scottsman had dropped a quarter down a gopher hole and tried to dig it out.

This tower was built in the 1930's as a vantage point and to house the first souvenir shop in the park. It's at the "Desert Overlook." I have no idea why they call it that. There is no desert that it overlooks. Below is the view from the place:

But, one does get a hellofa view from up there.

After looking a half a dozen spots like this one, I had to get the heck out of there. The wind was making me crazy. I had about 3 hours to go to get back to Sedona. I knew it would be a chore. It was. My GPS quit working today while I was up in the park. The screen just went dark. The last couple of days it was doing wierd things (possessed, I think). I will have to send it in for repair when I get home. I still have a book FULL of maps, but I have grown used to the "Find fuel" or Find Food" features. It's really a handy little deal.

When I got back to my brother's place I was beat. My arms and shoulders were tired from trying to keep the bike between the lines. My once nice clean bike needed yet another bath. Maybe tomorrow. I was too tired tonight to knock it out.

I fiddled around with all of my gas receipts this evening. So far I have:

Driven 4754.5 miles on this trip.

Used 117.90 gallons of gas (premium)

Spent $344.21 for fuel.

I have been on the road for 16 days.

I have spend 2 nights in motels, the rest with family and friends.

Tomorrow I will go to Hoover Dam, then Vegas. After that, the Great Salt Lake.

Right now, this boy needs a shower and a nap.

Perfect Riding Weather

Oct 3rd, 2009

This morning I decided to go south and see Cottonwood and some of the local area. I know I said I was going to go to The Grand Canyon, but I saved that for another day. I dug out my trusty note book and dug out Ric Emm’s phone number. I gave him a call and rode down to see him.

Here is a shot of Cottonwood from the highway. It’s nestled at the foot of the hills (look hard).

Ric has a very nice house. Here is the proof.

“Skellator” is just the same as ever… and contrary to popular rumor, still alive and kicking.

Ric gave me “the fifty cent tour” then we sat around and talked about various things including work. He retired 8 years ago. Eight years! That didn’t seem possible. His wife was working today so he was just sitting at home drinking beer. What a lifestyle! Actually he was working on his back yard. He didn't begin digging in the refrigerator until I got there.

Here is his back yard.He said it doesn’t take long to mow.

He is the president of his homeowners association. He was telling me a little about how much he enjoys those duties…

After leaving Ric’s place I rode over to Walgreens, where my brother works. I had heard roomers that he did in fact work, but I had to see it for myself.

This is Paul. He sells drugs (I am so ashamed).

Here he is making a drug deal on the phone now!!!

After leaving the Cartel, I rode south to some ruins called “Tuzigoot.” (Yes, I spelled it right)

They told me the ruins were from about 900 to 1200 years old. The walls are made of mud and rocks. They even used beam construction.
I think the ancient Indians were able to pull this off because they didn't have to stand in line trying to get building permits. If we ever have another "ancient period", we will just have to use stuff from Walmart.

Apparently they were adept at building steel stairways.

I think the civilization was VERY advanced because they used “cubes” much like modern office buildings of today. I wonder if they fought over the windows?I am not sure if they had sticky notes. There was no mention of it in the literature they handed me after In paid my $5 to be here.

Joe Kirby would have loved “the high ground” part of this place.

After looking this place over, I rode over to Montezuma Castle. It was about 15 miles down Hwy 260.

This is where Joe Kirby would have put HIS house. Joe would have had gun turrets and enough supplies to last 10 years.

For those of you who don’t know Joe, he is a guy I work with. Its sort of an inside joke (sorry).

I passed by this house today:


Not something you see every day.

I also saw the perfect place for Jim Bass (work- retired) to live:

I saw so much scenery today I had to soak my eye balls in a glass of water while I was working on this blog. I am starting to understand WHY so many people retire here. Speaking of that, it was over 80 degrees here today, but it did not feel like it. I was actually surprised to learn the temperature.

I wanted to hook up with my wife’s cousin Mike Erkenbrack. I called him, but he was not home. He said he was at his son’s place in Surprise, AZ for the weekend. Mike could not believe that I have over 4400 miles on my ride so far with a couple thousand left to go.

Tomorrow (I promise) I will go to the Grand Canyon and post some pictures of it here. I have discovered that pictures of this scenery just doesn’t come close to the real deal. I wish I knew the answer so I could post some really good ones for you guys. The hills are SO colorful and huge. When I look at the pictures, the hills look 100 miles away and the colors are flat and drab.

I just heard the weather for tomorrow. Rain and some wind in the morning. Oh well. Today was just a perfect day for riding.

Here is a clip of the weather (sorry for the picture quality. I was riding with one hand while holding the camera.








Tonight we are going out to dinner (I will wear my cleanest dirty shirt).
My brother took me to a casino in Camp Verde called the Cliff Castle. WE ate at the Storyteller Restaurant. They had menus that light up when you open them. The place is pretty dark and each table is in its own cave like setting.
Here is a shot of my brother Paul and his wife Peggy

They have a little dog named "Carson.." He is a good little buddy.


You can just make out his black nose in this shot. He is sleeping on Peggy's foot stool.

Here is a shot of his house:
I drove around Sedona a bitg and looked as stuff. The dirt is red here and so are some of the sidewalks.



A view of the hills near Sedona (above and below).



I was glad I didn't have to stay at this place (below). It just sounded expensive.

That's all for today.

Painted Desert and on to Sedona AZ

Oct 2nd, 2009

Today I left Albuquerque with a good early start. I had programmed my GPS the night before, but something didn’t go right. It had me on Hwy 25 heading to Santa Fe (north) when I should have been going west. Sometimes one has to go a bit to catch the correct highway, so I wasn’t sure at first. After about 14 miles, I pulled off and checked my GPS. I found it was taking me to Salt Lake City. How that happened is anyone's guess. I deleted all the routes stored in my GPS so I could start over. I had to haul out all of my computer stuff and hook it up in a gas station parking lot. After I got going on the right Hwy, I lost at least an hour. So much for my nice early start.

I saw these balloons while I was going along the highway. There is a balloon festival there this weekend. I guess it's a big deal down here.

There were lots of them.

I checked my map and found I wasn't far from Los Alamos. Now I wished I had that extra hour. Someday I will come back and go to see it.

Eventually I made it to I-40 and headed west. I stopped at Gallup for a bite to eat at just about 11:00. I also dug all of the stuff out of my saddle bags that I had accumulated and took them to a UPS store. I shipped them home to myself. I called my wife from there and she wondered what New Mexico looked like. Here are a couple shots of it:

Soon I came to the Arizona border.

Just a short way into Arizona, I came to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert.

They had a piece of petrified wood right at the entrance.

It was a pretty cool thing to see.

The pictures look washed out compared to the real thing. Here are some things I thought looked good.


This creek is called: "Dry Wash Creek.” I think they nailed it.

There is a bridge made from a petrified log. They supported it with some cement so it will last.

Here is a place where there are many pieces of petrified wood. Looks like some one logged the rest and left the stumps lying around. I wonder if those guys on the Geico Commercials cut the trees down???

After leaving the Petrified Forest, I continued on toward Flagstaff. I was getting into the mountains. The Grand Canyon is up there somewhere. I will go and see them tomorrow. Today it's getting too late.

Between Flagstaff and Sedona I took Hwy 89A. It’s an awesome ride. If you get down here, put it on your list.

After I got to my brother’s place in Sedona, I washed my very dirty bike. Today was a nice relaxed ride.