Last weekend three of us headed south from the Phoenix area intending to explore SE Arizona, preferably on blue highways only. We had breakfast in Casa Grande then visited the domes just south of town. Allegedly haunted, they are heavily vandalized and graffitied, and totally surrounded by desert. In reality, they were built in the 1970s as a computer assembly plant and shortly thereafter abandoned.
One of us had to return but Lars on his Victory and I headed south across the reservation to Sells for gas and snacks. From there, rode up Kitt Peak to the telescopes and snow. A sign on top said the grade down was 8% and I measured the grade as 10 miles. Nice, coming down on compression. We stayed and had dinner in Tucson.
Next day, Monday, we visited the mission at San Xavier del Bac just south of Tucson, and then rode east from Sahuarita to Hwy 83, then south to Sonoita for gas and munchies. Talked to a guy from Colorado, the original owner of a Triumph coupe, and a guy from Georgia on a Moto Guzzi California. Both were just exploring the country.
From there we drove east to Tombstone, where not much was happening, to Bisbee for a late lunch. Walked through downtown looking at the shops, explored the Copper Queen Hotel, and touched on the Brewery Gulch area. The copper mine pit was in too much shade for photos but the Shady Dell was open. This is a motel using only 1940s and 50s trailers and motorhomes for rooms, and is complete with metal lawn chairs, pink flamingos, and a stainless steel diner.
We stayed overnight at a motel in Douglas. The TV weather said it hit 21 degrees that night but it didn't really feel that cold. Being right on the border the town gets some adverse publicity but we did not see or feel anything out of the ordinary. The photo of the bikes that morning shows Mexico about a quarter mile away. The fence must be a civic requirement as it was open to the world at each end.
Breakfast was at the Gadston Hotel, all marble and hardwood, brass and stained glass skylights in the lobby and restaurant but the rooms are supposedly not in the same restored condition.
On Tuesday we rode north on Hwy 191 past the Chiricahua Mountains to Willcox and Stout's Apple Mill for the best apple pie in the state. From there, north to Safford then west through Globe (52 degrees) and home. Had a sunset ahead of us for the last 30 miles.
Total miles were 664 and averaged 48 mpg on the Harlot. Cost just over $43 for gas and $57 for my share of the motels. Never felt hassled, threatened, or in danger anywhere. Border Patrol vehicles seemingly were everywhere and we drove through three of their checkpoints.
One of us had to return but Lars on his Victory and I headed south across the reservation to Sells for gas and snacks. From there, rode up Kitt Peak to the telescopes and snow. A sign on top said the grade down was 8% and I measured the grade as 10 miles. Nice, coming down on compression. We stayed and had dinner in Tucson.
Next day, Monday, we visited the mission at San Xavier del Bac just south of Tucson, and then rode east from Sahuarita to Hwy 83, then south to Sonoita for gas and munchies. Talked to a guy from Colorado, the original owner of a Triumph coupe, and a guy from Georgia on a Moto Guzzi California. Both were just exploring the country.
From there we drove east to Tombstone, where not much was happening, to Bisbee for a late lunch. Walked through downtown looking at the shops, explored the Copper Queen Hotel, and touched on the Brewery Gulch area. The copper mine pit was in too much shade for photos but the Shady Dell was open. This is a motel using only 1940s and 50s trailers and motorhomes for rooms, and is complete with metal lawn chairs, pink flamingos, and a stainless steel diner.
We stayed overnight at a motel in Douglas. The TV weather said it hit 21 degrees that night but it didn't really feel that cold. Being right on the border the town gets some adverse publicity but we did not see or feel anything out of the ordinary. The photo of the bikes that morning shows Mexico about a quarter mile away. The fence must be a civic requirement as it was open to the world at each end.
Breakfast was at the Gadston Hotel, all marble and hardwood, brass and stained glass skylights in the lobby and restaurant but the rooms are supposedly not in the same restored condition.
On Tuesday we rode north on Hwy 191 past the Chiricahua Mountains to Willcox and Stout's Apple Mill for the best apple pie in the state. From there, north to Safford then west through Globe (52 degrees) and home. Had a sunset ahead of us for the last 30 miles.
Total miles were 664 and averaged 48 mpg on the Harlot. Cost just over $43 for gas and $57 for my share of the motels. Never felt hassled, threatened, or in danger anywhere. Border Patrol vehicles seemingly were everywhere and we drove through three of their checkpoints.
