Springerville AZ
Yesterday was quite a ride! It was the day to ride the US-550 known as the Million Dollar Highway. My rest was excellent…the Affordable Inn is a very nice motel with a good hot breakfast to start the day. The room was very clean and well appointed….been a while since I stated in an upscale place like this one.
While loading the bike I met Ernie and Laura Desotell from WI. They had been touring the west lately and were on their way home (I subsequently received an email from Ernie letting me know that they arrived safely). I believe Ernie recently had surgery and they were very happy he recovered well and were able to get out on the road.
Sophia was loaded up and I headed north on the 550 which was right outside the motel’s parking lot. It wasn’t long before I encountered my first twisty leading up to a view point with a big sign declaring ‘Switzerland of America’. There were two busloads of tourists and a trio of ladies abandoned their husbands to get a photo with me….but no time to chat with them and learn of their originations and life’s stories as the buses were loading for departure.
This area appears to have been mining country according to this sign at the same viewing spot….a spot with a gorgeous view to the mountains.
Continuing on I was struck with beautiful view after beautiful view. Some I could not really look at as the road was climbing and twisting and I still am not comfortable taking these turns on cliff’s edge. But I did stop occasionally to catch my breath so to speak. Here is a photo of the tunnel that I rode through.
The road was very well maintained…I don’t recall any abnormal rough spots….I don’t even recall any construction in process on the highway. There was some traffic but it wasn’t obstructive to my travel…in fact, I think I was the one obstructing a faster mover so I would move over and allow the few fast moving car or bike to pass me. It seemed that I rode quite a distance and climbed forever before I finally reached the Red Mountain Summit. Elevation is at 11,000 feet….the highest peak so far in my summer road trip.
There were a couple of small towns along the way before the pass, Ridgeway and Ouray were right on the 550. I stopped at a gas station in Ouray for a pit stop and to sip some water. A group of 5 riders rolled in on Harleys to tank up and continue south on their ride. Two of them had to check out my carry rack and the one noticed the shroud I had made around the Garmin. He called his buddy over and showed him the arrangement….seems his Garmin was unreadable in the light. They all were from Houston on rented bikes doing a summer ride.
A few ridges later I crossed the Molas Pass in the San Juan NF at 10,899 feet….again, spectacular views and enjoyable rides. I met Doug in the parking lot and asked him to take a photo….he’s the one who pointed out that the Molas Pass name sign was on the highway and positioned me over there for photo….very nice of him.
I believed I crossed thru a small valley then back over another mountain and reached the Coal Bank Pass at 10,460 feet. It was here that I met Dave and Dana Chiordi from Navajo Dam NM. They were up in the mountains searching for black mushrooms and kindly took the photo for me as my proof of US550 ride for the SCMA. Dana is originally from Rancho Santa Margarita which is located about 5 miles from my El Toro home. Doug invited me to contact them next year for fly fishing as he has a friend who could teach and guide me. I’m getting excited about fly fishing now that I have been riding through the Rockies and seeing all these streams/rivers and fishing holes!
I T-boned onto a road where a huge tourist bus was blocking the intersection and I could only see an arrow pointing right to continue the 550. As I turned I then saw another arrow pointing left to the town of Silverton. I felt constrained for time as I needed to get to Springerville AZ before nightfall and check into the motel so I just continued on my ride. Later I arrived in Durango, drove right by the motel that I had stayed in last year, and finally arrived at the H-D store at the south end of town. It was while paying for my Durango T-Shirt that I found out there was a H-D retail store in Silverton with T’s denoting the Million Dollar Highway. Oh well, maybe I can order one on-line.
While in the store I met some folks from Michigan that were also riding south. Mom and Dad on an ElectroGlide pulling a trailer and son on a Street Glide. I passed them and quickly headed out of town on the 550 towards Aztec where I connected to the 516 into Farmington. No need to stop in Farmington H-D as I had a t-shirt from there on last year’s trip. I continued through town on the 64 for what seemed a long way until finally connecting onto the US-491 south to Gallup.
I liked the US-491. It is very well maintained and one can really twist the throttle on it. I was doing 85-90 all the way into Gallup. I did stop early in the ride to take a photo of Shiprock from the side of the road. That is one amazing monument out in the middle of the desert!
Gallup was a surprise. I had always imagined someday to ride into Gallup seeing a cowboy town with honkey tonks lined by hot cars and bikes…..maybe even some horses. It may be that kind of place but the 491 took me through a business area consisting of pull in buildings sitting on desert sand and rock. Nothing really stylish or romantic. I did pull into a Burger King and drank two cokes trying to quench my thirst and cool my body down from the long desert ride on 491.
Then is was back on the road…this time the I-40 heading west to exit 339 onto the US-191 south to Springerville. I only had about 40 miles to go but became concerned when I realized that the exits had no gas stations. When I exited at 339 the blue lights were all out and the yellow low fuel lamp was glowing. But not to worry….about 300 yards south from the exit was a station where I could fill up before the 90 mile or so ride to Springerville.
The ride south again was very comfortable and presented desert views different from the Sonoran desert to the west. Mesa’s, plateau’s, gully’s, wash’s, hills of green, large bushes, some ranches, wide sky with setting sunlight reflecting off the few clouds drifting east. My calculations since Farmington had me arriving in Springerville just after dusk, in the night’s darkness. By the looks of it, that forecast was gonna hold.
A red Jeep Cherokee passed me up as I purposely slowed my speed for them to take the lead. This is wide open country and there will be plenty of deer, coyotes, and other wildlife crossing the road. I like the idea of a cage cutting a path for me. As it were, about 40 miles into the ride I noticed the Jeep suddenly swerve. Looking at the swerve spot I saw something in the road, tumbling near the centerline stripes. Steering to the right edge of the road, I could see the object still tumbling and as I got closer I saw that it was a snake. I couldn’t tell what kind of snake, the poor guy was tumbling so bad from the jeeps undercarriage turbulence. Sure hope he eventually made it across the road without injury from the tumbling!
I breezed through St. Johns as dusk was beginning and hauled butt to finish the last 30 miles as quick as possible to minimize the distance to ride in the dark to Springerville. The Jeep had continued on into St. John’s so I had no headlight leader ahead of me for this last leg.
As is my luck on the last 20 miles to a destination, something comes up. This was a rough road section so I had to slow down to the 50’s and 60’s. But it was for only a brief period and I was back to haulin’ butt when I could see Springerville’s town lights in the near distance. 4 miles from town the dark was upon me and I wondered how far I would have to go to find the “America’s Best Motel”. There was no need to worry however, it was practically the first light I saw next to the gas station. I had safely made another day’s run of a satisfactory distance, completed another USA 15 ride, took photos, got a T-shirt, and found the evenings motel all within 415 miles or so. Now I’ll settle down for a day of rest, catch up on the blogs, and await the arrival of Bob Rogers so we can ride the US-191 together and complete another USA 15 before high tailing it across New Mexico into El Paso for the Three Flags Classic checkin!
I was very pleased with myself …..especially for not running over any snakes J.
C ya mañana,
Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
Cell: 949-433-0761
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