FJRiders.com

Redfish wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2017 6:45 pm It's so nice having friends that care about my feelings.

You wouldn't know anything about that now would you??

Now we all need to stop messing up this thread that started out as a great ride report.

Redfish and other clowns that do this are the exact reason why we can't have nice things

Day 5 Tuesday

My mother’s brother, and last of six siblings still with us, lives in Casa Grande Az. I haven’t seen him in person since 1999. This is a man I can relate to. He’s a mechanic that likes guns and motorcycles. I’m a mechanic that likes guns and motorcycles. He takes credit for my love of motorcycles, having given me my first ride. Mom’s got a picture of a fourish year old 1911 (50 now-you do the math) sitting on the tank of a Kawasaki 2 stroke triple that Uncle Tad has taken me for a spin around the block on. The pic was taken in Arkansas. He’s ridden the 2x3 from Arizona, sleeping under picnic tables with his feet between the tires, so he’ll know if anybody tries to mess with his bike. He must think us ATGATT, air mattress toting Iron Butt wannabe types are a bunch of pansies.

When I’m fairly confident this trip is going to happen I tell him that I’m going to come down to Casa Grande and harass him a little. He says it’s “supposed to be 107 in Casa Grande, let’s meet in Heber, it’s cooler”. And so off to visit Uncle Tad we go.

Coming down from Mesa Verde



And we can’t pass by this close to Four Corners without a picture.



Rolling up to the ticket booth at 4 corners is a little bit of a shock. I didn’t know that it was a reservation operation. The entrance isn’t much to look at. Like a pay booth to get into a flea market. Mrs1911 is leery of paying 10 bucks to get into this attraction. But I insist. Thankfully once inside things look better. Still, it’s hot and she’s not enjoying waiting in line “just to get some stupid picture taken”, but I insist some more. It’s not too crowded but we still have to wait a little for a gaggle of kids, from what appears to be about three families combined, to get their pics taken, in various poses and arrangements on the corner. Watching them makes think of what it would have been like to bring my kids and their 5 cousins on a trip like this. Waiting in line, the “more than one timezone away from home” effect kicks in. It has been in full force for a while now. You all know it. Somebody sees your tag from far away, or sees your helmet/gear and asks you where you’re from. And then you get the “you RODE all the way from….on that…..?” I don’t know the exact formula, but being a couple increases the effect. It’s to Mrs1911 that all the initial conversation seems to be directed, go figure. And pulling a trailer increases the effect again. That’s where all the interest in talking to me comes from, just the people curious about the trailer’s effect on handling, or speed, or mileage, or whatever. Mrs1911 seems to be enjoying the attention and making friends, whether it’s standing in line in UtNMAzCo, at the gas pump, rest area or wherever. We eventually get the picture I want and by this point in the trip we’ve eaten enough stuff out of the trailer that we might be able to squeeze in a few trinkets, so she goes to look around while I go out to get a few more pics around 4 corners.









When we met up again she’s on her second go around. I join her. This is our first substantial encounter with the Native American community and I can’t get over their friendliness and cheerfulness. Later in the day, and in the trip, we’d spend quite a bit of time riding through reservations that didn’t have a tourist draw. And it made the friendliness of these people even more appreciated. I wish I had spent a little money at every booth back Four Corners.

Back on the road we luck out big. All the way down we watch storms on both sides of us. Mrs1911 has me figured out now and can tell when I start looking for some place to get pics of Canyon de Chelly. She reminds me that I gave Uncle Tad an ETA and that tomorrow we’d be at the GRAND freakin canyon. We mosey on. We never hit a drop of rain but the crosswind between Burnside and Holbrook is brutal.









Canyon Point campground between Payson and Heber, at 7000 feet, turns out to be one of my favorite campgrounds. Spending Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning with Uncle Tad, Aunt Francis and three of their grandkids is one of the highest highpoints of trip for me. Long conversations don’t come natural to me but before we’re done Mrs1911 is fussing at me about getting to the Grand Canyon before dark and the camp rangers are passing by on their golf cart reminding us that checkout time is getting near.





UT has been doing this camping stuff for a while, the Coleman attests.

Sounds like a special day with an Uncle, long lost. Sweet for the soul. Also happy to hear Marilee took to the strangers asking her all the questions in the line. Hope her back wasn't too bad that day.

I'd enjoy a cold beer and chewing the fat with your Uncle. A lot. He seems like a great guy and there's something about an uncle. He's close but not too close. I have a "cool uncle" that I looked up to (and still do). My own nephew Jacob seems to enjoy hanging out with me from time to time (we ride together).

I can also relate to the curiosity the bike draws on the road. Truthfully, since I got the red bike, it's like a magnet. I love to put kids on the seat.

Enjoying this ride report very much. The suspense is killing me - by now, is Mrs. 1911's sciatica feeling better?

This RR is chock full of Duane's talent for understatement:
"...Asheville’s bumper-to-bumper but doesn’t seem so bad after we hit Knoxville at 5pm"...



If you read to quickly, those gems just fly on by...

Rock on Duane!

Redfish wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2017 5:13 pm <snip> I talked with several really nice folks and had no idea at all what their names were. The worst of that is that every one of them did tell me their names at one point. I suck at the socializing part but I tried really hard and I enjoyed all of them.

Me, too.

You've seen those stick-on name tags? "HELLO! My name is ...." kind of tags? I love them. Should be mandatory for all moto-events. Would be great if they showed the forum screen name, printed really big, and not their Momma-given name.

Loving this. Really.

I had a major issue paying the Navajo so I could enter a monument that my tax dollars built. I will leave that entire subject alone for now.

The part of AZ around Payson is NOT what I expect when I think of AZ. Those roads through that area were incredible after the heat and brown and dry of the day before.

That old Coleman stove brings back some wonderful memories of a LOOOONG time ago. Pop used to let me work the little pump to pressurize the system. I still use a modern Coleman when I am camping, few things are as appealing as the smell of bacon cooking on a Coleman Stove.

And I am changing my stance on this. You need to hurry the hell up. This RR is Awesome.

Uncle Hud wrote: ↑Fri Jun 30, 2017 4:54 pm

Redfish wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2017 5:13 pm <snip> I talked with several really nice folks and had no idea at all what their names were. The worst of that is that every one of them did tell me their names at one point. I suck at the socializing part but I tried really hard and I enjoyed all of them.

Me, too.

You've seen those stick-on name tags? "HELLO! My name is ...." kind of tags? I love them. Should be mandatory for all moto-events. Would be great if they showed the forum screen name, printed really big, and not their Momma-given name.

We did have those for the last night. Actually they hung around the neck like a "press" credential. But reading...

Hppants wrote: ↑Fri Jun 30, 2017 8:43 am I'd enjoy a cold beer and chewing the fat with your Uncle. A lot.

The suspense is killing me - by now, is Mrs. 1911's sciatica feeling better?

Yes, you would enjoy UT's company. He always has a story and a cold beer handy. And advice about where to ride, camp, buggy and lots of other stuff in Az.And Maralee's back is ok. I get a chuckle out of watching her get out of bed, err off tent floor, and her first few bike mounts of the day. Once she's out of the tent and standing up straight she does pretty good. And she is no longer miffed about what I spent on the mattress. It's more comfortable than our bed at home and we're both sleeping like babies.

Day 6 Wednesday: Canyon Point to Grand Canyon. I come to realize that it must be an inside joke among Arizonans to tell outsiders that it never rains in Az. EVERY time I’ve been there it has rained. There’s no riding between the storms this time, and there is a lesson well learned. As the first few raindrops hit us right outside Happy Jack we pull into a gas station where the area under cover is crowded with Vtwins. One of the V riders points us to an empty spot under the fuel island roof. We nod thanks and don our raingear with amazing grace and efficiency. By now the rain gear is at the rear of the trailer, in color coded ditty sacks, to be accessed without a panicked rummaging search. I’m thinking the looks we get from the V riders as we pull right back out on the road are in awe of our dedication to the sport of sporttouring. But it might be that they’ve just come from where we are headed and they are in awe of our foolishness. As we turn toward Mormon Lake we run through rain and a little hale but no big deal. The second “scare” of the trip, and the lesson, is that riding where it previously hailed could be way more dangerous than riding where it is hailing. We have cleared the worst of the storm and are just cruising through a little drizzle, picking up speed. We crest a small rise and suddenly the FJR is squirming around and plowing through an inch or so of hail accumulated on the road. Luckily the road is straight, level and free of traffic. I roll off the gas and let the rig sort of go where it wants to. Now, in addition to never forgetting my shower shoes again I’ll be wary of where storms have been as well as where they are.

We get to Grand Canyon at a decent hour. It is Grand. Words and pics are insufficient. We hit the Yavapai Lodge Restaurant right before they switch from lunch to dinner. The food is good and fairly priced. The campsites are huge and level. Wow!

Day 7 Thursday: The visit with my uncle means that we’ll try Grand Canyon to YFO in one day. Well worth it to me. Mrs1911 keeps it to herself if it’s not to her. I’m expecting a boring and painful mad dash on slab to get there but still find myself stopping for pics along the way. Locals must laugh at the hicks from SC that take pictures at rest areas. I don’t recall ever stopping at a rest area here on the east coast and being impressed by the scenery or by the rest area itself. They really got a kick out of me stopping to take pics of whatever the hell this was, out on the Joshua Tree Highway. We came over a hill and thought we were about to meet a UFO.

Laughlin Nv





Standing in the middle of Joshua tree Hwy looking one direction



And the other



UFO!





As it turns out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivanpah_S ... r_Facility

It sure was good to roll into Mariposa, not too terribly late. Would have been a little earlier without a trailer. I’ll call this a “concern” rather than a scare. When we hit the California interstate/highway system I thought it was cool that “trucks over three axles” got a 55mph limit and I got a 70mph limit. For a while the “trucks over three axles” signs were followed by “autos pulling trailers 55mph”. I was motoring along in the fast lane with the rest of the traffic enjoying the fact that all that slow moving stuff wasn’t clogging the passing lane. I stopped reading the signs closely. A little while later Pillion says over the intercom "you know you are in a 55 zone don't you". I say "we're not a 3 axle truck or an auto". And she points out that the signs now say “all vehicles towing trailers 55mph”. And she points out the radar cameras. I slow down, painfully. We get to the Lodge and meet a few new faces and a few old. It’s been a long day. Our plan is to get a shower, grab a drink and then hang out in the parking lot as everybody rolls in. I shower first. The real bed looks good. I’m just going to lay down here for a minute while Maralee gets her shower. When I wake up we go to breakfast.

This is Damn Good.

When we first saw that solar power station we were confused too. Unlike at home, we could see it for miles and miles before we got close to it.

That 55mph towing thing is ridiculous. I better leave that alone too.

Edit: Awesome report so far Duane...this is Outstanding!

Redfish wrote: ↑Sat Jul 01, 2017 10:46 pm This is Damn Good.

That 55mph towing thing is ridiculous. I better leave that alone too.

Er.... um..... officer, define trailer. I would have ridden normally (if alone).

Day 8 Friday: Yosemite!!!
There might be some pictures out there that do Yosemite justice. I’ve haven’t seen them, and certainly haven’t taken them. But you can’t do a rr about Yosemite without them, can you.


















And then Ice cream (I found a shop a just down from the lodge that serves hand-dipped chocolate chip), and then dinner with Castle and SenecaHome, and then hanging out in the parking lot.

WOW what a day!

I'm confused, is Castle the funny lookin squirrel?

wheatonFJR wrote: ↑Sun Jul 02, 2017 9:59 pm I'm confused, is Castle the funny lookin squirrel?

Nope. Castle was actually Ed. He joined the other sandbox AFTER he returned from YFO. He rode from Virginia to YFO and back on a stock seat with stock handlebar position. An impressive gentleman.

The funny looking squirrel's name was Lunch. At least that's what Pop kept calling them.

wheatonFJR wrote: ↑Sun Jul 02, 2017 9:59 pm I'm confused, is Castle the funny lookin squirrel?

He is now

Redfish wrote: ↑Sat Jul 01, 2017 10:46 pm This is Damn Good.

When we first saw that solar power station we were confused too. Unlike at home, we could see it for miles and miles before we got close to it.

That 55mph towing thing is ridiculous. I better leave that alone too.

I haven't had a chance to look at other folks ride reports yet. I'm anxious to see how many of us came close to crossing paths on the way out there and back. And how many of us are posting pics of the same stuff.

1911 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 02, 2017 10:18 pm And how many of us are posting pics of the same stuff.

Odds are this one is the hit.