All This, and I Never Left Arizona

I finish up the rim road and head into Show Low.


I wasn't planning to stop for food, but I did a quick u-turn when I spotted a Subway Sandwich Stop. I'm tired, hot, hungry, and a little beat up from the long day. I park in front of the Subway and was taking my time getting ready to go inside. Suddenly I notice a school bus out in the parking lot and twenty or so high school girls wearing soccer uniforms sprinting towards the door of the restaurant. I tried not to make it too obvious as I made sure to beat them to the front of the line. Whew! That was close.

After lunch I ponder my next move. There is plenty of daylight left. I decide to visit a nearby National Park that I've never been to before.



Heading north from the rim the trees quickly disappear.




Boredom on a long highway always leads to experimentation.


Out here in the grasslands of Northern Arizona are some GIANT TREES!


Petrified Trees
WTF?! They close the National Park before sunset? The toll collector advised me you don't have to be out of the park at 6, but must be on the bike heading for an exit. Tyranny!




I stop at a visitor center to take a short walk.

The museum at the visitor center had a few dinosaur fossils on display. I made sure to get some pics for my kids.






This petrified tree looks to be mainly comprised of KTM Koolaid.










Back on the bike I head north through the park to check out the Painted Desert.

Yeah! Another Dave6253 ride report!

I wasn't all that impressed with the Painted Desert. Maybe it would be nicer with a great sunset?




As the shadows lengthen...


I jump on the I-40 to make it over to Holbrook.


Into the Blinding Sun


Then head down the 377 towards Heber. I need to find a place to set up camp.




I'm still running hard at sunset.


I spot a wind farm to the left.


The color in the sky was created by the smoke from a nearby controlled forest fire.


I pulled off the highway to look for a place to camp as soon as I entered the National Forest. A short distance down the dead-end road were some private "ranches" with mobile homes. A big dog chased me out of there. Oh well. Let's just head into town to fill up with water and fuel. I can find primative camping near the rim, right?

I get off the US 260 at FS300, the Rim Road, near Woods Canyon Lake. After a short ride down the gravel I found a campground I had stayed at before. I decided to roll through to check things out. It's crowded, but there were a couple spots left and more cars arriving. It's friday night. This area is popular because of the nearby fishing lakes. I didn't want to pay $14 for a campground so I left. I can find a place further down the road, right?

It was dark and the dusty road was very busy. With no breeze the dust hung in the air and visiblity was extremely poor. I kept hitting deep piles of gravel and getting squirrelly. The area was posted with camping restricted to the campgrounds. I wasn't sure how far I would have to travel in these dangerous conditions before finding a free spot. After a mile of this shit I tucked my tail between my legs and returned to snag the last $14 spot.

It's gonna be chilly tonight at that altitude.


Day 2 Map
I'll point out here that I've ridden 427 miles so far just to camp 2 hours from home.
What kind of idiot routes a trip like this? It's not an out and back. It's not a loop. I'll just call it a lasso.

You sound a lot like me: Deprived of motorcycles as a kid, got my first bike at 22 and I've been overcompensating ever since, first on the street, then on the dirt. I think that some day scientists will discover a gene that makes some of us motorcycle addicts.
You've got some great scenery and riding out there. Arizona is on my long (way to long) list of places I need to ride. All my previous rides in Arizona where strictly pavement.

Love your pics Great ride report Looking forward to more.

Day 3, Saturday, September 11, 2010

I hate crowded campgrounds. There was no way I could sleep until well past midnight so I just layed in the tent reading and wondering how most people can be so inconsiderate. Car Doors Slamming! Babies Crying! Generators Running! Kids Yelling! Car Alarms! Wood Chopping! Motors Revving! Adults Laughing! It was the noisiest campground ever! I finally went to sleep around 1 AM. The noise (All of it!) began again at 5AM.
I would have rathered camped in NYC.

It was cold last night. I crawled out of the tent well after sunrise. The temp guage on the bike said it was 45. The campground host told me it got down to 41. Brrrr!


I head east on FS 300. This is the dusty road I couldn't see on last night. The gravel didn't seem so bad in the daylight since I could see and avoid the deepest.


After about 10 miles the camping restictions ended and I found a perfect spot. I regret not trying to make it further last night. This spot is tucked a couple hundred feet off the road.


There's a fire ring, plenty of wood nearby, and great views off the rim.






The Rim Road is spectacular over here!

Very nice, Dave. Sounds very similar to the reason I sold my last V-Twin cruiser- tired of all the asphalt. So much to see and ride right in AZ!!

There is no shortage of scenic vistas on this twisty road.


This is a very dangerous road. Only because the scenery captures your attention.


I met Scott and Josh from Phoenix loading their bikes, a BMW 650, and KLR 650. They had camped here together last night. I was jealous. I've gotta start getting to camp before dark.




I finish up the Rim Road and run down the Rim on the twisty 87.






I jump off the highway in Strawberry for another new to me dirt road.

Thanks for joining in NDTransplant and Klaviator! I liked your last RR Klaviator.

Fossil Creek Road was a fun shelf road. It was hot and dusty. There was quite a bit of traffic as it's a popular weekend destination.











It was 95 degrees when I found a parking space at this place on the bottom of the canyon. From the road and parking lot the place didn't look all that great...


...Until I looked over the edge. Oh Yeah! It's Break time...

I found a shady spot along Fossil Creek where I could be alone. Further upstream is a waterfall and swimming hole.


Hot Lunch


I thought I was alone until the leaf next to me started moving.


MMMMmmmmm......


After lunch I hike up to the waterfall.


It's getting crowded. People are jumping from the cliffs and using the rope swing. I decided it's time for a bath. I strip to my shorts and wade in. Ouch, Ouch, Ouch, Ouch..... Pointy rocks! Cool and deep water... Ahhhhhh...

Beatiful perspective.

Wow! really good RR and great pics.I wish we had places like that over here in the UK.

Seriously: You chaps are lucky to have access to those roads.

YES WE ARE!!!

And thankful too.



Nicely done report,

Yay! Can't get enough of these AZ reports! Go, go, go!

pre-ordered last month haha!

Hey Dave,
Looks like you found some great roads...
Nice bike, too! Couldn't have made a better choice

Thanks for the beautiful report. I LOVE that photo of the leaf insect!

I climb back onto the bike after almost two hours chillin' at the creek.




The big KTM thunders out of the canyon...




and makes short work of...




Fossil Creek Road!



The road spits you out into the Verde Valley. I jump on I-17 and run north to get to the next special stage.

The controlled forest fire is visible to my right.




I-17 climbs back up the Mogollon Rim and I'm soon back into the cool pines.



My Exit



I've been wanting to ride Schnebly Hill Road for some time. It starts out easy.


Schnebly Hill Road runs down the rim again and spits you out into downtown Sedona, a touristy, hippy, new age mecca.



The forest fire has created hazy conditions.





The road is easy enough, although there are some sandy and rocky conditions. The closer you get to Sedona the heavier the traffic. The majority of the traffic is Guided Jeep Tours from operations in Sedona such as the Pink Jeeps. Most of the drivers were going quite slow, but pulled over and waved me past.




Camoflaged KTM



Look Closely! My bike is just to the right of center.




I refill with water and fuel in Sedona, then head north.