A little history, a little mystery and The Hells Angels.
This morning was brisk, 36 degrees, much colder and there would be frost on the rooftops. But the sun was shining and this is the desert and I knew before the day's end it would be 70 degrees, in the way that only the desert can be. I dressed in layers and fired up my bike to warm up, thinking how I had just put the carburetors back together to fix a leak and hoping it wouldn't give me any problems. Off I went to get some breakfast a little fuel and hot coffe for the road.
I started out doing something I don't enjoy much, a long slog on the freeway to get close to where I need to be this morning. The bike, despite my worries performed flawlessly, having no problem keeping up with traffic, my new windshield proved to be a wonderful addition, greatly reducing fatigue. I pulled off the freeway and turned towards my first stop of the day. The National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, a national veterans cemetery. I'm here to visit the graves of my father and father in law.
My dad was a great guy. Born on a very rural farm in Missouri and swept into a war when he was a kid, in a far away land he could scarcely imagine. He fought in the Phillipines and later went into Japan with the first occupation troops after Japan's surrender. After the war he could never go back to farming, he became a very accomplished man and worked jobs that took him all over the world. He casts a very long shadow.
My father in law is buried here too, he served aboard a mine sweeper in the Navy during the Korean War.
If there is anywhere quieter than a veterans cemetery, I've never been there. This is a desert cemetery, keeping with the natural surroundings. Crushed granite instead of grass, Palo Verde trees and saguaro cactus.
" The soldier, above all others, pray for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." General Douglas MacArthur
Leaving the cemetery I head North towards the town of Cave Creek. The town has its roots in the old West and a lot of residents still cling to that heritage.
Today the town is a favorite day trip location. A little touristy, they really play up the old west theme, lots of art galleries and restaurants. It is a mountain foothills community and there are a LOT of very wealthy residents.
Professional athletes, movie stars and artists all call this place home. Movies have been filmed here and it attracts a LOT of motorcyclists for a couple of reasons. One is the spectacular riding, the other is the aura of the Hells Angels, more on that later.
Nothing says the old West like a dinosaur! Haha!
I'll be coming back through Cave Creek, but for now I'm just blowing through here on my way to Bartlett Lake.
As soon as you pass through Cave Creek you smack right into the town of Carefree. " Carefree highway, let me slip away on you." Anyone remember that Gordon Lightfoot song? Anyhoo...Carefree is home to some world class golf courses and the famous Boulders resort, because it's surrounded by ...you know....boulders.
They also lay claim to the worlds largest sundial! Woo!
When I was a kid, people used to drive a long way to see this thing, believe it or not.
But Carefree has one other claim to fame, The New Dick Van Dyke Show! Anyone remember that?
CBS wanted so badly to get Dick Van Dyke back on TV, that they agreed to film a new TV show in Carefree.
He was living in nearby Cave Creek and didn't want to go back to California. The show was pretty bad and only lasted three years. Just the length of the contract they signed him for.
I'm past the edge of town now and rolling towards the turn off for the lake, but I had to show you this, I bet you don't have any of these back East, cell phone towers disguised as giant saguaro cacti! Haha!
Finally I arrive at the turn off for the lake. This is going to be fun! This road is pure joy to ride on, it is a non stop roller coaster all the way to the lake and a popular road for motorcycles, but watch your speed, Johnny Law monitors this road closely.
I finally arrive at the lake, if you look at the shoreline you can see how far down it is, like most Arizona lakes, we have been in an extended drought, the lake is barely half full.
I turn and head back for Cave Creek and plan to have lunch at my favorite little burger joint. Big Earls Greasy Eats!
This place has history! Which I will be revealing in another thread, but they also have great burgers and a fun vibe!
Now before I leave Cave Creek, I promised you some Hells Angels. Cave Creek has its own Hells Angels chapter and clubhouse. The infamous Sonny Barger, the unofficial president and most famous member of the Hells Angels lives here and until recently had a bike shop here.
Because of this, the town is sort of a Mecca for hardcore bikers and wannabe's. There are numerous VERY big bars/ restaurants that cater to this crowd. The FBI even raided their clubhouse with a full on SWAT team approach not long ago to seize their computers and search for illegal activity.
As I leave Cave Creek, I have one last stop to make.
Buddy Stubbs Harley Davidson in Cave Creek, has a really spectacular, free motorcycle museum.
Buddy Stubbs is a story all in himself. He's small and wirey, built like a jockey. In his youth he was a professional racer, winning flat track races and winning the Daytona 100 in 1963. He owns the oldest Harley dealership in the state and has a passion for motorcycle history.
When you first enter the dealership, you see the entrance to the museum. Check it out, Evel Knievel's Triumph that he used to jump The fountain at Cesar's Palace! That's cool!
When you walk into the museum the first thing you see is a Brough Superior and two Vincent's! This is going to be good.
This is a very impressive private museum. Nearly every British marque is represented and many European. And did I mention it's free admission?!
I took tons of photos, too many to post. But if you would like to see every bike. Here is a link
https://www.buddystubbshd.com/museum
By now it's getting late and I start my old bike for the last time today and head for home. It's been a great day and one of the best riding days I've had with my old 650, 120 miles and I flogged it pretty good and it never missed a beat. Days like today make all the time and effort worthwhile.
Until next time,
Bob
This morning was brisk, 36 degrees, much colder and there would be frost on the rooftops. But the sun was shining and this is the desert and I knew before the day's end it would be 70 degrees, in the way that only the desert can be. I dressed in layers and fired up my bike to warm up, thinking how I had just put the carburetors back together to fix a leak and hoping it wouldn't give me any problems. Off I went to get some breakfast a little fuel and hot coffe for the road.
I started out doing something I don't enjoy much, a long slog on the freeway to get close to where I need to be this morning. The bike, despite my worries performed flawlessly, having no problem keeping up with traffic, my new windshield proved to be a wonderful addition, greatly reducing fatigue. I pulled off the freeway and turned towards my first stop of the day. The National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, a national veterans cemetery. I'm here to visit the graves of my father and father in law.
My dad was a great guy. Born on a very rural farm in Missouri and swept into a war when he was a kid, in a far away land he could scarcely imagine. He fought in the Phillipines and later went into Japan with the first occupation troops after Japan's surrender. After the war he could never go back to farming, he became a very accomplished man and worked jobs that took him all over the world. He casts a very long shadow.
My father in law is buried here too, he served aboard a mine sweeper in the Navy during the Korean War.
If there is anywhere quieter than a veterans cemetery, I've never been there. This is a desert cemetery, keeping with the natural surroundings. Crushed granite instead of grass, Palo Verde trees and saguaro cactus.
" The soldier, above all others, pray for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." General Douglas MacArthur
Leaving the cemetery I head North towards the town of Cave Creek. The town has its roots in the old West and a lot of residents still cling to that heritage.
Today the town is a favorite day trip location. A little touristy, they really play up the old west theme, lots of art galleries and restaurants. It is a mountain foothills community and there are a LOT of very wealthy residents.
Professional athletes, movie stars and artists all call this place home. Movies have been filmed here and it attracts a LOT of motorcyclists for a couple of reasons. One is the spectacular riding, the other is the aura of the Hells Angels, more on that later.
Nothing says the old West like a dinosaur! Haha!
I'll be coming back through Cave Creek, but for now I'm just blowing through here on my way to Bartlett Lake.
As soon as you pass through Cave Creek you smack right into the town of Carefree. " Carefree highway, let me slip away on you." Anyone remember that Gordon Lightfoot song? Anyhoo...Carefree is home to some world class golf courses and the famous Boulders resort, because it's surrounded by ...you know....boulders.
They also lay claim to the worlds largest sundial! Woo!
When I was a kid, people used to drive a long way to see this thing, believe it or not.
But Carefree has one other claim to fame, The New Dick Van Dyke Show! Anyone remember that?
CBS wanted so badly to get Dick Van Dyke back on TV, that they agreed to film a new TV show in Carefree.
He was living in nearby Cave Creek and didn't want to go back to California. The show was pretty bad and only lasted three years. Just the length of the contract they signed him for.
I'm past the edge of town now and rolling towards the turn off for the lake, but I had to show you this, I bet you don't have any of these back East, cell phone towers disguised as giant saguaro cacti! Haha!
Finally I arrive at the turn off for the lake. This is going to be fun! This road is pure joy to ride on, it is a non stop roller coaster all the way to the lake and a popular road for motorcycles, but watch your speed, Johnny Law monitors this road closely.
I finally arrive at the lake, if you look at the shoreline you can see how far down it is, like most Arizona lakes, we have been in an extended drought, the lake is barely half full.
I turn and head back for Cave Creek and plan to have lunch at my favorite little burger joint. Big Earls Greasy Eats!
This place has history! Which I will be revealing in another thread, but they also have great burgers and a fun vibe!
Now before I leave Cave Creek, I promised you some Hells Angels. Cave Creek has its own Hells Angels chapter and clubhouse. The infamous Sonny Barger, the unofficial president and most famous member of the Hells Angels lives here and until recently had a bike shop here.
Because of this, the town is sort of a Mecca for hardcore bikers and wannabe's. There are numerous VERY big bars/ restaurants that cater to this crowd. The FBI even raided their clubhouse with a full on SWAT team approach not long ago to seize their computers and search for illegal activity.
As I leave Cave Creek, I have one last stop to make.
Buddy Stubbs Harley Davidson in Cave Creek, has a really spectacular, free motorcycle museum.
Buddy Stubbs is a story all in himself. He's small and wirey, built like a jockey. In his youth he was a professional racer, winning flat track races and winning the Daytona 100 in 1963. He owns the oldest Harley dealership in the state and has a passion for motorcycle history.
When you first enter the dealership, you see the entrance to the museum. Check it out, Evel Knievel's Triumph that he used to jump The fountain at Cesar's Palace! That's cool!
When you walk into the museum the first thing you see is a Brough Superior and two Vincent's! This is going to be good.
This is a very impressive private museum. Nearly every British marque is represented and many European. And did I mention it's free admission?!
I took tons of photos, too many to post. But if you would like to see every bike. Here is a link
https://www.buddystubbshd.com/museum
By now it's getting late and I start my old bike for the last time today and head for home. It's been a great day and one of the best riding days I've had with my old 650, 120 miles and I flogged it pretty good and it never missed a beat. Days like today make all the time and effort worthwhile.
Until next time,
Bob
