Northern Arizona pine country - Part 5

Heading back down the 260 was nice. As mentioned its very steep and lots of twisties, but a 4 lane highway. I really enjoy it. I decided the next area would be Christopher Creek. I did notice on the way up it had its own little circle, much like Mormon Lake did. This sounded perfect to me. This is all new to me. I have no idea what Hunter Creek Drive is, but I may just have to come back up to this area again (not like it isn't a regular ride for me) and check it out.

Christopher Creek used to be a very busy area. Before I even got there, I wondered how well everything turned out without the highway going straight thru it. Sadly I was disappointed. There used to be little shops in the middle of the whole town right off the highway. Along with a gas station, restaurant, cabin rentals, camping ground and some great looking forested area. Not much there now. The restaurant is still there, and next time I may go check it out. The cabins and camp ground all still there but almost everything else is gone. So sad. This area is so beautiful and to have all the pass thru traffic brought plenty of tourist. After thinking about this for some time, I bet the cabin rentals are very inexpensive now. They used to be very expensive. I didn't even stop, just rolled down on the loop back to the 260.

With all the times I've been up here, I've never stopped at Kohl's Ranch. Not even as a kid. I pulled into the parking lot and saw they have cabins and camping available. very nice area as well. I was close to Star Valley (my final destination for the day) and was in need of a drink. Hey, what do you know....they have a steakhouse and a saloon. I walked in and the steakhouse is closed...the door to the saloon was as well. I asked someone at the front desk and they are not open until 5pm. It is only around 3 so I was no about to stick around and wait. So headed right across from Kohl's Ranch. This is the Tonto Creek area and it also has a fish hatchery. There were several campers setting up for the weekend. There was even an old travel trailer. I cross the bridge that separates Tonto Creek from Horton Creek and there is a small parking lot which I pull in to. Now in case you didn't know my last name I Horton so I find much amusment with a creek named Horton Creek. Hey look a trail that is named after me too.

In the same parking lot I see another sign. Horton Creek Picnic area. Perfect!

And yet another one that points back to the parking lot area!

This is primarily a fishing area (thus the fish hatchery being all the way up the road). I really wanted to get take some nice photographs of the creek. I did go a little crazy tho.

The water is so clear you can practically drink out of it.

I really wanted to get some creative photographs so I started playing with the camera a bit both settings and placement.

By this time I was done of taking photographs of the creek. I wanted to walk to the Horton Picnic area and check it out and take more photographs of the forest area.

The pines are very tall.

As much as I enjoy the forest, I was quite exhausted with all the walking and hiking. I got back on the bike and headed back down the 260. I arrived at my parents place and was happy to see it. Time to rest before tomorrow's trip to the Tonto Natural Bridge.

Northern Arizona pine country - Part 4

Rollin' rollin' rollin', keep them wheels a rollin'!

At this same ranger station (even tho it was actually closed) the patio behind had ppl on it. It looked as tho they were in a circle and taking pictures. I was thinking it may be a wedding, but really not sure. I did not want to be any sort of annoyance for them so I made sure when I started the bike and drove off, I kept the noise down.

I dart straight across the station and head down Forest Lakes Road. There are several lookout points there. All the stops are on my left. It was hard to decide to stop before or after the lake. Then I look up and notice the clouds really started rolling in.

Ahh here I am. Wood Canyon Lake! Or at least the start of the camping/recreation area.

This was obviously a slow area, and even if it wasn't I was going to ride slow and enjoy the forest beauty. The road was also a bit rough since it was a mountain road and not part of the highway. It has plenty of twisties a couple of switchbacks.

Just as I make my first stop I look up. Oh man, the rain clouds are really building up now. It would be no big deal to be in the rain up there. However, not a good idea to be riding down the rim while its raining or possibly even very wet. The highway up to the rim is a very steep grade.

What am I to do? Carry on and do what I do best, keep riding. So on this stop I manage to get some more views off the rim. Keep in mind there are no fences or anything from keeping rocks, trees or ppl off the cliff. From this view there were no clouds. You can also see the highway from which I came.

Here you can see basically how steep it is and how the cliffs are.

This is steeper than it looks, but here I am looking straight down from one of the overhanging rocks.

More views from where I'm standing of the rock formations that make up the rim.

Parents, keep your children away. I'm just warning you. I just saw a greasy biker up there. Oh wait! That's me! I wanted to get a couple good landscape shots with me in.

I hadn't taken many photos with my scoot in it, so I figured it was time to take some more.

So I put the camera away once again. I am really close to the lake at this point. I arrive and end up circling th parking lot just so I can find a good spot to park. Its beautiful and there are lots of ppl around. Most of them stare at me wondering what the hell I'm doing up there. Others stare at me probably wondering why a greasy biker has a camera. I swear I'm not an undercover cop.

I remember many times when I was younger coming up here to go finishing. We would always get here before dawn and cook breakfast with out camping stove and wait for the store to open so we could rent a trolling boat. I've caught many fish on this lake.

Boy was I really itching to fish at this point. Hard to do without my gear. I walked to a quiet cove area on the lake and wanted to take some photos. On my way to the area, I see a squirrel in the rocks. I stop to try and take so photos of it, but it quickly looked and me and ran off. I'm trying to be a little more artistic in some of these, playing around with the camera settings including focus.

This next shop is the side of the store. Although it looks like it may be old I don't believe it is.

By this time I'm back at the bike, packed up and really to head on out. I was going to try to go to the camping area which goes further towards the back of the lake. However, they now charge to even pass the ranger gate so I turned back around and headed back to Forest Lake Road. I stopped at the first lookout area on the way back to take some more photographs of the views off the rim. Of course the first one is of my bike from where I was heading.

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.