Every time I think my riding is on hold for the summer, here comes a big monsoon storm and cools things off.
We had temperatures of 110 degrees for several days just a few days ago, but after a big thunderstorm last night, I woke up to temps in the low 80’s and cloud cover. So I decided to head out for a ride that has been on my mind for a while.
After warming up my bike, I headed to top up the gas tank, I ran into this gentleman putting gas in his hot rod, a Studebaker Daytona with a 289 V8 in it , that sounded very healthy! He told me , it was a rare car, they only made 2400 of them.
I pulled out onto highway 60 and head NorthWest through the towns of Wittman and Morristown on my way to Wickenburg, I won’t be stopping here today, just passing through. I did however take a minute to stop and photograph this old native stone building. You can find houses and buildings like this , in old towns, all over Arizona.
Especially in lower elevation desert communities. Most were built in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s , lumber was not readily available , and costly to ship in from forested regions, hundreds of miles away.
This building had been converted to a business, but was probably an old homesteaders house.
After passing through Wickenburg, I turn North on highway 89 and head for the town of Congress. It’s a very small town with not much along the highway, most of the homes are spread around in the hills. There were however some interesting looking buildings that I stopped at.
I saw what looked like an old garage and stopped to check it out, when I pulled up this old guy came out, wiping his hands on a rag, with a look on his face that said “yeah , how can help you?” I thought, here’s my opportunity to meet an interesting local ( just like Yamadude! ) I said I thought his place looked very interesting and could I take some photos. ( He just rolled his eyes ) I asked him how old the building was?
He just turned away and said gruffly “I don’t know nuthin bout that! “
Ok then.....I know when I’m not welcome......so I skeedadled!
Moving on, my next destination dead ahead, the Weaver Mountain range, and the super twisty road that travels up the face of that mountain range known by every local as Yarnell Hill. It is too steep, and twisty , and too many blind corners to be able to stop and take photos there.
Here I am near the top at a look out station, a little over 2000 feet higher than the valley floor below.
Shortly after reaching the summit, I pulled into the town of Yarnell. Take a look at the signs my bike is in front of and look at the scenery behind it, and hang onto that image for a moment.
This site, this town , was the location of Arizona’s deadliest wildfire six years ago. June 2013 a brush fire started near the town, the region had been in drought conditions for years with lots of super dry brush and grass, that combined with high winds, created a monster fire that quickly spread and threatened the town.
Nineteen members of the Granite Mountain hotshots, lost their life fighting this fire. They were trapped in a small valley when shifting winds turned the fire around on them and trapped them between two fire lines. In desperation they deployed their emergency shelters and the whole crew was killed when the fire swept over them. Sadly they were only 1/2 mile from safety at a local ranch.
In 2017 Hollywood made a movie about their story, starring Jeff Bridges and Josh Brolin.
I meandered around Yarnell for a little bit. It’s a pretty small town, really the ride here is better than hanging around.
Time to head back for home. On these following photos. Cameras don’t do these views justice, they somehow don’t convey the distance that your eyes see. When you look out in the distance and see those mountain peaks, realize that they are 50 to 60 miles away. It really is quite beautiful. That is one thing that living in the desert provides, clear views to the horizon.
Until next time, I’ll see you on the road,
Bob
We had temperatures of 110 degrees for several days just a few days ago, but after a big thunderstorm last night, I woke up to temps in the low 80’s and cloud cover. So I decided to head out for a ride that has been on my mind for a while.
After warming up my bike, I headed to top up the gas tank, I ran into this gentleman putting gas in his hot rod, a Studebaker Daytona with a 289 V8 in it , that sounded very healthy! He told me , it was a rare car, they only made 2400 of them.
I pulled out onto highway 60 and head NorthWest through the towns of Wittman and Morristown on my way to Wickenburg, I won’t be stopping here today, just passing through. I did however take a minute to stop and photograph this old native stone building. You can find houses and buildings like this , in old towns, all over Arizona.
Especially in lower elevation desert communities. Most were built in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s , lumber was not readily available , and costly to ship in from forested regions, hundreds of miles away.
This building had been converted to a business, but was probably an old homesteaders house.
After passing through Wickenburg, I turn North on highway 89 and head for the town of Congress. It’s a very small town with not much along the highway, most of the homes are spread around in the hills. There were however some interesting looking buildings that I stopped at.
I saw what looked like an old garage and stopped to check it out, when I pulled up this old guy came out, wiping his hands on a rag, with a look on his face that said “yeah , how can help you?” I thought, here’s my opportunity to meet an interesting local ( just like Yamadude! ) I said I thought his place looked very interesting and could I take some photos. ( He just rolled his eyes ) I asked him how old the building was?
He just turned away and said gruffly “I don’t know nuthin bout that! “
Ok then.....I know when I’m not welcome......so I skeedadled!
Moving on, my next destination dead ahead, the Weaver Mountain range, and the super twisty road that travels up the face of that mountain range known by every local as Yarnell Hill. It is too steep, and twisty , and too many blind corners to be able to stop and take photos there.
Here I am near the top at a look out station, a little over 2000 feet higher than the valley floor below.
Shortly after reaching the summit, I pulled into the town of Yarnell. Take a look at the signs my bike is in front of and look at the scenery behind it, and hang onto that image for a moment.
This site, this town , was the location of Arizona’s deadliest wildfire six years ago. June 2013 a brush fire started near the town, the region had been in drought conditions for years with lots of super dry brush and grass, that combined with high winds, created a monster fire that quickly spread and threatened the town.
Nineteen members of the Granite Mountain hotshots, lost their life fighting this fire. They were trapped in a small valley when shifting winds turned the fire around on them and trapped them between two fire lines. In desperation they deployed their emergency shelters and the whole crew was killed when the fire swept over them. Sadly they were only 1/2 mile from safety at a local ranch.
In 2017 Hollywood made a movie about their story, starring Jeff Bridges and Josh Brolin.
I meandered around Yarnell for a little bit. It’s a pretty small town, really the ride here is better than hanging around.
Time to head back for home. On these following photos. Cameras don’t do these views justice, they somehow don’t convey the distance that your eyes see. When you look out in the distance and see those mountain peaks, realize that they are 50 to 60 miles away. It really is quite beautiful. That is one thing that living in the desert provides, clear views to the horizon.
Until next time, I’ll see you on the road,
Bob
