SCOOTER DIARIES DAY 14

Scoot, Bob and me shot out of Show Low, Az. around 7:15.  The temperature at sun rise at 5AM was 25 degrees.  It was very, very cold riding down the old Hashknife Pony Express Trail

Down the road we witnessed the destruction from yesterdays wind.  Trees were broke in half and there was a camper trailer on it's side of the road and skid marks all over the highway.  We met Edward, from Fla., and his cousin and they told me of their cousin and his wife being blown off their motorcycle yesterday.  There, but for the grace of God, were me and Scoot.

It was very, very cold all day.  I stopped in Payson, Az for coffee and wound up standing around in the sun in the parking lot, as it was warmer than inside, talking to Dan who is wandering solo, also. Except, he had no agenda at all.  He had been laid off from his firemans job in Orgen and got on his bike to go for a ride.  He talked about doing the blueridge parkway.  We finished our coffees and parted ways.

I have gotten very tired of mountains.  Scoot just does not have the umph above 6,000 feet.  He does not like the cold any more than I do.  We pressed on to Prescott, Az so we could cross that last 7,000 foot pass in the warmer, though still cold,  weather. I have started calling Arizona the land of the dead people roads.  Almost all the roads are "adopted" for dead people.

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Some pictures from the school of volunteers, construction, Jimmy with his students and one of school bus's with 4 legs.

SCOOTER DIARIES DAY 13

Scoot, Bob and I got out of Glenwood at 6:30.  I found Scoot over snuggled up with Mrs. Shmitt's 140mph Triumph motorcycle.  Never knew he was into fast women.

Jeff, the owner of Los Olmos Cabins had recommend Alma's Cafe just 5 miles down the road. I had no intention in stopping as the last thing I needed was more food.  But, it was so damn cold I pulled in to wait for the sun to get a little higher. It was a great little cafe.  The "table" was there with the regulars. Lori Fauct is the chef/owner. Robin is the waitress/cashier.  I lingered over breakfast listening to all the local goings on.  Lori's husband, setting at the "table", told me that there had been light ice on his sprinklers this morning.  It finally came time to move on.  Thank you all for a fun morning.

We crossed into Arizona and into the town of Alpine. The ride, though chilly had not been too bad. We had crossed two 9,000 foot passes with no problem and there was not much wind.  In Alpine I met a turkey hunter who was dressed like I wanted to be.There was also snow on the mountain.

We headed down the road and we came to a Y.  Though my planning had been to the left I decided to go right since both ended up where I wanted to be.  As we came out of the trees the wind really picked up.  We started  the slow climb up another mountain range.  The higher we went the more Scoot protested.  I stopped to try and figure out what the problem was, but Scoot could not even stand up because the wind was so strong. When I got to the snow line and Scoot was really protesting, we turned around and headed back down the mountain.  In Eagar we stopped and inquired about a mechanic.  They said there was no motorcycle/scooter bike per se, but in Springerville, just down the street, was TD Automotive Inc.

I pulled into TD Automotive and everyone had on Harley T-shirts.  I was afraid they would tell me to take my toy bike on down the road, but they welcomed Scoot with open arms and wheeled it into the garage and Cory got on it right away.  We looked for a fuel filter but could not find it right off, but he noticed oil in the air filter.  He said that at this altitude it could easily be the filter since the air is so thin at 7,000 feet.  He cleaned it and took it for a test ride.  Seemed to be better but in the winds I could not really tell.  I tried to pay Tim the owner, but he refused any money.  I tried to pay Cory and he refused any money.  So, they are participating in a food drive with the Harley riders in the area so I made donation to the fund. Tim, Cory and Larry are great guys!

Scoot worked great, but my mind did not. I took off for Show Low about 44 miles down the road.  That was not a good decision.  The boys at TD Automotive should have fixed my brain.  The further I went, the stronger the cross winds.  I was working hard to keep from getting blown off the road....seriously.  At the halfway point, I found a little store and went in to hide from the wind for a few minutes.  The girl there told me they had closed the  interstate just to the north because some tractor trailers had been blown over.  Winds were clocked at 77 mph.  I believed every mph of it.

I finally pulled in to Show Low and the first "Gucci" coffee shop.  The coffee was excellent and the conversation was challenging.  Dennis, a retired regular at the coffee bar, and I had some stimulating political conversations.  We had differing opinions, but we discussed them in what is an unusual manner today.  Usually each person is yelling their position, but we had a good give and take.

I left there and went to the Holiday Express hoping that tomorrow I will be smart enough to stay off the road if the winds are as high.  (It may snow)


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SCOOTER DIARIES DAY 12

Scoot, Bob and me headed out of the Hill Top B&B around sunup. There was a strong fragrance of roses in the air as we left. It turned into a long and interesting day, so get a beer or glass of wine and sit back for the ride

I thought yesterday was windy, but boy was I wrong. Winds today were forecast to be 25-30 in the morning and up to 40-45 in the afternoon. Headed into the wind, I was down to 25 mph.  In the crosswinds, I was holding on to stay on the road. Downwind I was doing 60mph up steep grades. Other than 19 miles on AZ-26, luckily there was no traffic. In almost 100 miles I counted 10 cars and a school bus. It was so windy I was afraid to stop to take pictures because the wind kept trying to blow the bike over.

After I crossed the Rio Grande River the first stop today was border patrol and some of Sue's people. I did not look like a "citizen", but after some negotiation they let me go.

I crawled up to the 9,000 foot Emory Pass, but so did everybody else. My only problemwas that it got cold, so I dug out the rain gear again for warmth.

I did my first inflight refueling today. Probably could have made it into Sliver City, New Mexico, but when the low level light came on and stayed on, I put the gas in. This is my first experience with newly redesigned gas cans and I think they got it right this time.

I was riding along, whining about the winds, when I saw 2 bikers on the side of the road and only one bike, so I pulled over to investigate. It was a bicycle built for 2 and they really had something to complain about. The winds were killing them. They were from Washington state, but had started this journey on 1 April in Jacksonville, Fl. We visited a while and discussed pulling them to Sliver City. We all saddled up and continued into the wind chamber.

Got my "Gucci" coffee when I rolled into Sliver City and then went looking for lunch. This is a small world story. I found a very small cafe with just a few tables and all were occupied, so I asked a gentleman, Bob Allen, if I could join him. Ironically, he was from Boca, Fl. and was on a solo trip  also, only camping. He gets the same questions I get about my wife. The world gets smaller. He flew helicopters in Vietnam, also. And smaller; with my former boss at the airline. And smaller; he had worked for my buddy Ed of Lafayette in Egypt. That is a lot of coincidences.You never know who you will meet. The good thing was we both agreed that this was excellent mexican food.

I mulled over staying in Sliver City or pressing on. It was only 1:30 and I wanted to make some more miles. The decision was made when the B&B I chose would not give me a discount on the room. I visited the City Tourist office and they set me up with a room in Glenwood, 64 miles down the road. We crossed the Continental Divide just outside Sliver City.

The ride was much better out of Sliver City. The road was flatter and though the wind was still blowing, it was not like on the other side of the mountain. I was back cruising along. I stopped at the Last Chance just "because", where I met Amber. We had a long chat and she wanted me to get a picture of their slogan, "If your wife drives you to drinking have her drive you to the Last Chance".

I rolled in to Glenwood and the Los Ornos Motel and Cabins about 3:30. Jeff, the new owner, was trying to sort out the swimming pool plumbing to no avail. I got a nice little single cabin for $60. The place was very clean and the grounds well kept and he is still working to upgrade place. From what I saw in this little town, it was the best deal going.

This is just a small collection of 4 mom and pop hotels and 3 mom and pop cafes, a bar and a gas station. None of which are open much. I wandered around and met some interesting people. First was Gary Conquest. He was born in Deadwood, SD and has been a wrangler for 47 years and still is. He came here out of Wyoming to winter here and work a little.. When he does not have work around Glenwood, he has a free lunch at the senior center and visits around this small community. He had great stories and was neat as a pin. He walked down the street and had that cowboy swagger as he walked.

Next was Tim. Tim was born in this area and been wrangling all his life. Calls himself "the last of the true cowboys". He had just finished 14 days driving 500 head up into the highlands for the summer. I found him sunning himself in front of the local bar, that was closed. He was not all dressed up like Gary, but still in his working clothes. He and Gary both had weathered faces beyond their years.

Dinner was at Mario's. I did not have the pizza as suggested by Jeff, the owner of the cabins where I was staying and he was right. Had a sandwich and there was nothing exciting about it.

Back at the cabins, Jeff had checked in the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Schmitt, who were honeymooning on their go-fast bikes. She could not have weighed 90 pounds, but had set her all time best speed record today, 141 mph. I have no idea how she did not get blown off. Jeff had built a fire and we sat around watching the stars come out and in these dark hills it was a beautiful sight.

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On of the reasons I work with the James Dean Byrd Foundation to raise money for Escuela Bilingue los Algrarrobos is because they try to help themselves.  Every year the school has a flea market.  Though markets are common, the flea market of just used items is not familiar to them.  Besides the items sold, the parents cook food and sell it.  This year was a hugh success. Raising $1,000 is a big deal in this small town. Here is the email from Christine, the Secretary of the Ecuadorean part of the foundation. (In her email she says this is the "first" , it is just the first for this year.)

HELLO, EVERYONE
On saturday 7th, we organized the first activity to raise funds for the School: the Flea Market. Thanks to all the donations we got, we had a game "THE TOMBOLA" with 260 prizes,(all donated) and we filled 2 classrooms with clothes, shoes and other items. We collected $1000 approximately, with that money we cover half month salaries, to us is a success, considering that the most expensive item was $5.00.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your support.I'm attaching pictures of it before we opened to the public.
I'll keep you informed about our progress.
Regards
Christine Michelet
Secretary of the Foundation
James Dean Byrd.