Just Ride.

Should this ride thread be just a.... well, thread? Or should there be a dedicated Forum topic?

  • Yes, it's own topic in the Forums

    Votes: 19 90.5%
  • Nah... threads good enough.

    Votes: 2 9.5%

  • Total voters
    21
  • Poll closed .
They say Arizona was built on the 3 C’s, Cattle, Copper and Cotton. Today I rode to the farming community of Arlington, only a couple hundred people live in the area. Almost all the farming is just miles and miles of alfalfa fields planted to support the huge dairy and beef farms in the area.
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The mountains around here are all ancient volcanic and there are vast expanses of black basalt rock, old lava fields.
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There were Native Indian tribes all through this area , 800-900 years ago and you can see their petroglyphs all over these rock formations. This one is very near this spot ( not my photo)
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The Arlington Cattle Company started here in 1900.
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Behind me here, is the Arlington Canal. It was dug around 1900 to bring irrigation water to the farms, it was the key to all of the ranching / farming in this area.
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100 miles of fun in the sun today. Life is good! 😉
 
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They say Arizona was built on the 3 C’s, Cattle, Copper and Cotton. Today I rode to the farming community of Arlington, only a couple hundred people live in the area. Almost all the farming is miles and miles of alfalfa fields planted to support the huge dairy and beef farms in the area.
View attachment 225674

The mountains around here are all ancient volcanic and there are vast expanses of black basalt rock, old lava fields.
View attachment 225675View attachment 225676View attachment 225677View attachment 225678

There were Native Indian tribes all through this area , 800-900 years ago and you can see their petroglyphs all over these rock formations. This one is very near this spot ( not my photo)
View attachment 225682

The Arlington Cattle Company started here in 1900.
View attachment 225679View attachment 225680View attachment 225681

100 miles of fun in the sun today. Life is good! 😉
One of the coolest places I've ever visited was Canyon DeChelly, the last stand of the Navajo. Read about it many years ago in "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown. Always wanted to see it and did so in 2004.
 
Thank you for the tour!
I enjoy the different scenery and the appreciation of history (natural and cultural).

Thanks, yeah me too. I’ve made the observation here before, that what seems mundane to ourselves, is incredibly different and exotic to others. I also have a love of history.

One of the coolest places I've ever visited was Canyon DeChelly, the last stand of the Navajo. Read about it many years ago in "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown. Always wanted to see it and did so in 2004.

Would you believe I’ve never been there? Arizona really does have some beautiful country.
 
Thanks, yeah me too. I’ve made the observation here before, that what seems mundane to ourselves, is incredibly different and exotic to others. I also have a love of history.



Would you believe I’ve never been there? Arizona really does have some beautiful country.
If you go, remember it's on the res and you have to use a Navajo guide svc. Very reasonable 18 yrs, ago. Also, if you are in the western part of the state, go see Ft. Apache in the White Mtns, unbelievable preservation.
 
The floor of the canyon was once a peach orchard, one of the few positives that the Spaniards gave the Navajo. According to Dee Brown, when Kit Carson was ordered to round up the Navajo, they retreated to the canyon and as part of starving them out, they destroyed the orchards. The Navajo had up until then, had a good relationship with Carson dating back to his days as a mountain man. According to Brown, understandably, they never fogave him.
 
Many moons ago I met a couple that were Dine. Mary had grown up on the Rez and recalled going to school at Kaibito in a horse drawn buckboard. Gus had grown up around Flagstaff and was currently a contractor for an oil refinery on the Delaware and had become a friend of my uncle who worked there also. During a night of smoking and joking, many stories were told and one hit on the Navajo removal. Mary said according to the old folks and their verbal history, the whole thing was an escalation of a horse race between a soldier and a native that somebody didn't like the results of. The details and names of the participants have been lost to my memory though she did name names.
Never saw them again, hope life faired them well.
 
You said Harley doesn’t support your 05. Would you ride it anywhere just the same? I like the RK.
In a heartbeat. There are fewer and fewer parts available through H-D, but the aftermarket is strong as far as I can tell. They probably made more twin cams than any other engine, and with the exception of a couple of bonehead design flaws (early cam chain tensioner, early F.I.) they are pretty solid. I rode mine to Sturgis and Pikes Peak in '18, 5000 miles round trip, and am planning on going again on the same bike in a couple of years. Mine has 62K on it and has been pretty reliable. The only time, other than a battery failure, that it's been on a trailer was at Sturgis when the splined shift shaft stripped out, something else they are known for. In fact I'm riding to Tickfaw State Park in La. next week, 1120 miles round trip. and going back up to the Maggie Valley area the 1st week of Nov. with the Mrs. and another couple on their Harley. I need to quit riding so much and build the street tracker, but I'm kinda like a fat kid in a candy store with a charge account, I can't help myself.
 
I was shocked when I couldn't buy a main shaft first gear for my '02 Sportster. I expect too much.
I don't think you expect too much. Sadly, H-D has become, or maybe it always has been, looking mainly at short term profits and keeping shareholders happy, which as an investor, I get. However, when you piss off your old owners, they might not come back. One of the best examples of the long game has been the Japanese, Toyota and Honda in particular. In the 70's they sold inexpensive Corolla's and Civics with plenty of parts and service support to college kids. As those kids started families, they generally stayed loyal. Today they drive Lexus and Acura. Lesson? Hook 'em young and keep'em happy and they'll buy forever. They make very little on base model cars, but they are patient enough to wait 15-20 years to take advantage of their much higher earnings.
 
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