Ride to the Rim!!!!

[beemerdons]

SkooterG: Two more couples have reserved their frontier cabins at the North Rim Lodge: 1) David and Jill Forbes, and, 2) Brian and Melanie Boles. Oh, by the way: Mel asked if you would consider giving her a bikini wax and a foot massage again like you did in Puerto Penasco last year. Greg, looks like the current count is 8 BMW's and 5 FJR's for the Grand Canyon!!!

 

[beemerdons]

SkooterG: Craig and Chris Thompson got their frontier cabin at the North Rim yesterday and the lodgings are now sold out!

Looks like it is going to be mostly those funny looking motorcycles with the cylinders sticking out the sides and a few FJR's.

 

[Khunajawdge]

Add 3 to the list.

George, Robert, and Kelly, all on Yamahas! Have a cabin on the North Rim for the 23rd! Probably be in Laughlin, the night before or the night after. We'll see what time you guys make Flagstaff for Breakfast when you post it up, and whether we'll be able to muster for that or not?

 

[beemerdons]

George, Robert and Kelly: Glad that you'll be with us and that you're on Yamahas! I've a call into mi amigo SkooterG as we speak, to let him know that RJ and Elle Strayer are also with us at the North Rim in a cabin; aboard a 2008 BMW R1200RT.

I'd imagine GregM will concur with this, but we should be in Flagstaff by 0900. It's only a two hour ride from North Phoenix.

I've a vacation home at the Islander Resort at Lake Havasu City and it takes me two hours to ride to Flagstaff. It should take you about the same time from Laughlin. On August 23rd you'll be wanting to start riding at 0700; still damn hot then!

Khunajawdge: Did I tell you I sold my home in Los Osos at 1714 Pine last October? My Morro Bay realtor said I was lucky!

 

[Big-D]

I've a vacation home at the Islander Resort at Lake Havasu City and it takes me two hours to ride to Flagstaff.

It's 210 miles from LHC to Flagstaff.

 

[beemerdons]

Big-D is correct, you better allow yourself 3 hours to safely and prudently ride from Laughlin to Flagstaff. There's no use having a morning conversation with an Arizona DPS Officer to start your day. I will have my cell phone with me and except for a "dead zone" from McGuireville to Munds Park you can call me at: 602-722-0427. SkooterG will also has his cell phone.

 

[Khunajawdge]

Big-D is correct, you better allow yourself 3 hours to safely and prudently ride from Laughlin to Flagstaff. There's no use having a morning conversation with an Arizona DPS Officer to start your day. I will have my cell phone with me and except for a "dead zone" from McGuireville to Munds Park you can call me at: 602-722-0427. SkooterG will also has his cell phone.

Thanks for the intel on the time/distance from Laughlin to Flagstaff. Maybe we should consider Kingman as a first night's stay instead? An early start seems like a MUST! We will probably call you when we arrive in Laughlin or Kingman on the 22nd, to give you an ETA or a meeting place? How Hot is Damn Hot?

 

[beemerdons]

Big-D: Do you live in LHC? If you do, perhaps you can be point man as far as reporting weather conditions at the AZ-CA border for the week leading up to August 23? Also, if you're a Lake Havasu City resident; please send me a quick e-mail at [email protected] I'm in Unit #354 at the Islander and my phone number there is 1-928-680-2354; though I don't keep an answering machine on that phone. We can get together at Chico's for Mexican food and yak it up about both our FJR's!

Khunajawdge: Well, here's the bad/good news from the National Weather Service for August 23 of 2007. Bullhead City, across the mighty Colorado from Laughlin had a high of 110 degrees and a low of 79 degrees last year; record high in 1996 was 122 degrees. We Zonies take off our sweaters and parkas when it gets over 104 in the PHX Valley of the Blast Furnace.

Kingman last year was relatively cool at high of 94 and a low of 68; record high was in 1980 at 108. You climb up out of the Colorado River Basin as you leave Laughlin to a higher elevation at Kingman; 678' at Bullhead City and 3,325' at Kingman.

 

[beemerdons]

https://www.weatherfordhotel.com/dining_menus_breakfast.html Alright, Spoke to SkooterG and we've selected an eatery!

We are going to dine on the patio of Charly's Grill at the Historic Hotel Weatherford in downtown Flagstaff, Arizona at 0900.

Address on www.mapquest.com is 23 N. Leroux St., Flagstaff, AZ 86001; 1-928-779-1919. Chuy Says: Try the NM posole!

 

[Big-D]

How Hot is Damn Hot?

The record high (air temperature) in the world was 135 degrees in which that temperature was reached in the Sahara Desert. The second highest recorded temperature was 134 degrees with Death Valley California holding that record for the highest temp ever recorded in the United States.

Lake Havasu City usually runs about 10-15 degree warmer than Phoenix in the summer and about 10 degrees cooler in the winter. According to the National Weather Service the highest recorded temperature ever recorded for Lake Havasu City was 124 back in 1950. Now our temperatures come from our airport, which is real close to the lake itself. I have two high-tech thermometers that allow for some pretty accurate readings and I firmly believe we have hit 127 on at least three occasions in the eight years I’ve lived here. I spent nine days back in the 70's at a place called Cottonwood Cove which is not far from here and also on the Colorado River, where the temperature was 129 degrees every day.

To answer your question “how hot is damn hot?” During normal years, once June 1st gets here it seldom ever drops below 100 degrees even at night. From June1st until the end of September, the temperature during the day will average between 108 & 118. Once it gets above105, consider it to be “Damn Hot”. It feels like you are being cooked over a rotisserie. You do see people riding motorcycles, but that is usually early in the morning. There are very few places to escape the heat. However, once you reach Kingman, the temperature will usually be below 100 and continue to drop as you move towards Flagstaff.

Havasu comes in 3rd, right after Hell and Death Valley for being the hottest places in this country. Coming here for a weekend, hanging out with friends on your boat on the lake drinking beer does not constitute living in Lake Havasu. The difference between partying here and living here are two completely different entities. Many people move here saying “Wow dude, I’ve partied here for years, can’t wait to get moved in so I can party hardy for the rest of my life”, only to move away after spending one summer living here. To survive here you must first love the desert and all it has to offer. You must enjoy the heat beyond your comprehension and like the feeling of loneliness. You must enjoy driving vast distances to reach other locations and most importantly, you must face the possibility of divorce, because it is very high here. However, IF you can handle it, living in Havasu can be the ultimate place to call home.

 

[beemerdons]

Come on FJR Forum and join us at the Grand Canyon, there are still frontier cabins available at the North Rim. When Leandra at Reception was contacted a week ago today, she said all of the lodgings were sold out. But they must have had a block of cabins on reserve for a group that has just backed out, because they now have frontier cabins available again; and two couples from www.azbeemers.org have secured their rooms. With this crazy heat here in Phoenix: Ride to the Rim!

Blaise and Zee Peters

Ron Bongard and his Lady

 

[Niehart]

I just got back. It was awesome! The ride out as the sun was setting was kick ***. You guys will enjoy this, it will be a ride that you will remember for a long time.

87 at the rim. 64 on the way out. Lot hotter than that once ya get out of the park.

 

[beemerdons]

Hi Niehart: Glad that you enjoyed yourself at the Grand Canyon! A lot of people that have never visited Arizona do not realize that we have more than the beautiful Sonoran Desert; which I love being a Zonie desert rat. Once you are above the Mogollon Rim we have incredible lakes, dense forests and twisty roads that are great. '666' Devil's Highway is Numero Uno!!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogollon_Rim

https://www.azride.com/route666run.html

 

[Khunajawdge]

my own...

George, Robert, and Kelly, all on Yamahas! [/quote)...
- is (currently?) revised to; George, Robert, and Rudy, all on Yamahas!

So? Is Zane Gray's "Rider's of the Purple Sage" a worth while read?

I'm currently re-reading Edward Abbey's "Monkey Wrench Gang" which is causing me some consternation?

Maybe "A fly on the Wall" By Tony Hillerman?

 

[beemerdons]

Khunajawdge: Zane Grey was the favorite author of my father, Ed Stanley; when my Dad passed away 25 years ago his entire collection of Zane Grey novels became mine. "Riders of the Purple Sage" is a good read; but, you must remember that this was one of his first novels and it was written in 1912. Therefore, it is a highly idealized accounting and romanticized version of the Old West. Zane Grey was born in the 1880's, so the West was just recently tamed at that time. Zane Grey's Mogollon Rim cabin was burned in the "Dude" fire of 1990, but has been rebuilt in Payson. I'll draw you a map of its location.

Tony Hillerman is my favorite author. I love riding one of my motorcycles through the Navajo Lands and find myself thinking of Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn; the protagonists in most of Hillerman's novels. Mr. Hillerman has written 18 fiction books and my 6 favorite in this order are: Skinwalkers, Dance Hall of the Dead, The Blessing Way, Listening Woman, A Thief of Time and Talking God. The religious mysticism and native superstition of the Navajo and Hopi amazes me; similarity to the Hawaiians!

Skinwalkers refers to Navajo and Hopi Ghosts, which they firmly believe in even today. I run the Pipefitting Division of Metro Mechanical here in Phoenix and I have a Navajo weldor Tom Begay and a Navajo fitter Rowdy Beyale in my piping field crews.

In conversation about the Rez (Reservation), Begay is from Tes Nez Iah and Beyale is from Lukachukai, I said the word chindi.

Chindi means ghost in Navajo and I thought that these two were both going to have a heart attack when they heard that word.

They said they had never heard a white man say that word before and wanted to know how I knew it. I said I learned it from reading Tony Hillerman's books. Rowdy cursed and said "That writing man talks too much about the Rez". Accurate novels!

 

[Khunajawdge]

Tony Hillerman is my favorite author. I love riding one of my motorcycles through the Navajo Lands and find myself thinking of Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn; A Thief of Time and Talking God. The religious mysticism and native superstition of the Navajo and Hopi amazes me; similarity to the Hawaiians!
Skinwalkers refers to Navajo and Hopi Ghosts, which they firmly believe in even today.

Chindi means ghost in Navajo and I thought that these two were both going to have a heart attack when they heard that word.

They said they had never heard a white man say that word before and wanted to know how I knew it. I said I learned it from reading Tony Hillerman's books. Rowdy cursed and said "That writing man talks too much about the Rez". Accurate novels!

Kudos for the descriptive! I "dig" the anthropology angle of impending travel to the Southwest. I'm going to work on a copy of Hillerman's "A Thief of Time" for this ride. Can't wait, is it August yet?

I visit Thailand alot. Some of my travels (yes, by motorcycle) have ended me up in places where Phi (Ghost in Thai) are very prevalent. For example, one such place is Kho Phi Phi or ghost island! Can't wait to head into the rising sun, is it August yet?

Cheers,

 

[Wetdog]

Any firm ideas where you guys plan to have lunch on the way up? I would like to meet up with you at Jacob Lake (if that's where you stop). I will not need a room I can just go home, Page Az.

 

[beemerdons]

https://www.weatherfordhotel.com/dining_menus_breakfast.html Alright, Spoke to SkooterG and we've selected an eatery!
We are going to dine on the patio of Charly's Grill at the Historic Hotel Weatherford in downtown Flagstaff, Arizona at 0900.

Address on www.mapquest.com is 23 N. Leroux St., Flagstaff, AZ 86001; 1-928-779-1919. Chuy Says: Try the NM posole!

Hi Wetdog: We are having breakfast at 0900 hours at Charly's Grill in Flagstaff at the Hotel Weatherford. All info is above.

We're going to meet Khunajawdge and his Kalifornia Krew, and Big-D who'll already be in Flag, and ride to the rim together.

Why don't you call me on my cell at 10am, 602-722-0427, and we can meet at Bitter Springs at the junction of Highway 89 and Alternate 89. You'll recognize me on my '03 silver and blue FJR; I look like Tom Selleck from the Magnum P.I. TV show.

You'll also recognize SkooterG; only rider that has his big ears sticking out the sides of a Shoei motorcycle helmet. Ha, ha!

 

[beemerdons]

If you have been sitting on the fence for the AZ FJR Forum / AZ Beemers Ride to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, but you now want to join us:

Here is a recap of available lodgings and our planned 0900 breakfast stop!

1) Your best bet for lodging is where the rest of the group is staying: North Rim Grand Canyon Lodge; if they now still have openings available to you.

https://foreverlodging.com/lodging.cfm?PropertyKey=181 1-877-386-4383

2) Kaibab Lodge: https://www.kaibablodge.com/ 1-928-638-2389 Is 18 miles north of GC rim and if riding after dark be very wary of the damn forest rats!

3) Charly’s Grill at the Hotel Weatherford at 23 N. Leroux St. in Flagstaff. https://www.weatherfordhotel.com/dining_menus_breakfast.html 779-1919.

 

[beemerdons]

Just a gentle bump to remind everyone that two weeks from today we are getting out of this Phoenix Furnace and riding up to the cool pines and twisty roads of Northern Arizona. After our brutal summer in Maricopa County this is well deserved!!!

Our Fine California FJR Friends: We're really looking forward to seeing you. You have to cross blazing hot Mojave Desert to get here; but once you reach Seligman that cool mountain air will refresh you and the scenery becomes so very beautiful!