Seligman AZ to Orange CA… the round-a-bout way – Total Trip Mileage: 2734
Remember on Friday when I said: “And this will be the last vacation post. There will be nothing worth writing about tomorrow.” Well… I lied.
As usual, my amazing feller kept the fun going. Instead of blasting home on the 40 as planned, a friend, who had reservations in Holbrook at the Wigwams thought it would be fun to intersect along the road and have lunch. They were heading East. We were heading West. The plan was to meet in Needles around 130ish, which gave us time to take the long way via Route 66. We had steady rain from Seligman all the way through Kingman, but not enough to hinder the ride. In fact, it made it cooler! After a super quick stop in Kingman to grab this shot I’ve been wanting to take for the last three years…
… we continued on Route 66 up through Oatman, something I’d never done on a motorcycle. The old road is narrow, winding, has occasional piles of burro poo (something I feared slipping on, how embarrassing would that be?), along with falling rocks, and in general, is not in the greatest shape, but boy was it fun to ride! The town of Oatman, while touristy, is worth the trip up the mountain just to see the burros that have overrun the place. Since we had to meet our friend in Needles, we couldn’t stop and play, but I did snag this quick shot.
So this friend we were meeting. About four years ago, Brian and I went to some motorcycle/art show, and met a photographer there. Not a photographer like us. Or any of the gazillion people who claim to be photographers. This guy is the real deal. He and his four year old daughter were en route to Colorado to visit the grandparents (and a couple dinosaurs and yee haw horseys) but made the stop at the Wagon Wheel to have lunch with us. We had a lovely time–watched V ride the bucking bronco, talked motorcycles, and then, as we were leaving, Barry took this fantastic photo of Brian and me. We rarely get a nice picture together on these trips because long arms can only do so much in the selfie department. Thanks, Barry! We’ll treasure this.
But the fun didn’t end there! We popped back on the 40 out of Needles, then back off at Goffs road to Amboy, always one of our favorite stops.
We probably spent a couple hours there chatting, then paid our respects at the Amboy cemetery, before hitting the road.
But you know what? We still didn’t want to go home. So you know what? We turned the bikes toward Joshua Tree, had a great dinner at the Joshua Tree Saloon, and listened to the Ghostlight Trio play some swinging honky tonk, rockabilly, and country.
After a good night’s rest at a nice little motel (the Safari Motor Inn–with the world’s nicest proprietor), we had an outstanding breakfast at the Country Kitchen, then rode through the Joshua Tree National Park before hightailing it home on the 10.
See?? Wasn’t that a great couple of days? And here I thought they’d be nothing special.
AND… I got home to find my book proof waiting! YAY! And guess what?? It looks fantastic!! I need to make a couple small changes, then it will be ready to print and up for sale! I have a work-in-progress website for it if you want to take a peak. www.motordolls.com.
Okay… so NOW I’m done posting about the trip. Just in time, ’cause I’m sure you’re sick of me!
OH!! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE SPORTSTER!! It turned 56 today. Our Sporty’s had a little post-ride celebration in the garage with some oil cocktails. Silly Sportys! Thanks for another wonderful adventure, Lil’ Hosses!
Until next time…
Later gators!