Subject: Drive report
Author: tom short
Date: Feb 17, 2004, 6:45 AM
Post ID: 1716065735
Hi all,
This is for all you guys snowed in!
My lady friend and I did nearly 600 miles of traveling in S.E Arizona
over the weekend. The weather was near perfect! A little chilly for me,
being a flatlander, but wonderfully sunny and warm for my girl from
Bellingham(WA). About 60-65*F
On Sat., we left Phoenix and headed south on I-10 past Tucson. We headed
south when we reached Wilcox, AZ, the home of Rex Allen! We continued
south until we arrived at the Chiracuaha National Monument, a LARGE
National Park. It is famous for a few reasons, two of which are, 1) it
the home of Geronimo, and 2) the balanced rocks. Now these balanced
rocks, columns and staffs are as tall as skyscrapers!!! The geology of
the region boggles the mind! Some of these balanced rocks sitting atop
spindly looking shafts of rock are as big as houses!! The trali takes
you deep into the canyon, where you can walk between some of the giant
columns and into areas where some of the huge rocks have fallen and are
wedged into gaps between other columns. Not a good place to be if the
ground shook!
Continuing on down the trail, which in the shady spots was still covered
with some ice and snow, we made our way down to "Echo Canyon". We
stopped there to soak up the warm sunshine(which Kay rarely sees, seeing
hows she's from northern WA.) and had us a little piknik of trailmix,
apples and water. The creek was running gently, and before we knew it,
we had dozed off for about 30 min.!!
We decided not to take the long trail becouse we had dilly-dallied too
long in that area, so we took the trail back to where the car was
parked. About two hours later, we were emerging out of the most
spectacular canyon and scenery I have ever seen!!
We left the Chiracuahas and headed south again. We took some back roads
and went thru the tiny towns of Elfrida and McNeal and then on into the
old mining town of Bisbee. We tried in vane to find a friend of mine,
and then left west for Sierra Vista. It was getting late in the day, and
a hot shower and a comfy bed sounded good to the both of us. After
getting a room and showering, it was time to eat. We went to a Chili's
and from there, I called some good friends to come join us for a drink.
We had a good time eating and drinking, and then it was time to hit the
sack! 8:00pm!!!!
Sunday, we visited my friends again, this time at thier house. We had
coffee, and I looked at Deryls bike collection. A new BMW sport touring,
a Guzzi Quota,a Hailwood replica Ducati, and a couple other fun bikes.
We left there and heade for Tucson in a round about way, as we wanted to
go see the San Xaviar Del Bac missin, just south of Tucson. It is called
the 'Rose of the Desert", and for good reason. It a spectacular Spanish
mission, founded by Father Kino around 1800.
After that, it was just time to come on home. I saw lots of bikes on the
road, and I checked out each one to see if it was a Goose. Nope.
Anyways, a wonderful time was had!!
The Arizona Kid
Tom Short
AZ MGNOC Rep
Phoenix, AZ