Last night after I got back from my sunset photo attempt I met an interesting guy.  Mike is from Michigan and rides a Gold Wing and pulls a little tent trailer.  I say little tent trailer because the tent trailer I pull is almost twice as big.  Anyway, Mike left Michigan and has been living out of that tent trailer, and the occasional motel room – depending on the weather, since April, 2015.  We swapped stories around the campfire for over an hour and just barely scratched the surface; I hope our paths cross again.

I told you that the wind was blowing right.  Well – last night the inside of my tent felt like those guys tents you’ve seen in the climbing Mt. Everest documentaries – just not quite that cold.  That’s an exaggeration of course but it was windy and cold.  I wouldn’t call it a good night’s sleep but I did sleep, which is good.  I was up at 6:00 and the wind had settled down sometime in the night to just a strong breeze.  On my way back from the bathroom I was happy to see that my new friend Mike had his campfire going and I joined him for a few minutes getting warmed up.  Mike wanted me to join him for a little ride around today but I told him that I was heading for Kingman; we talked a little longer then it was time for me to get packed up and head out.

I was on the road by shortly after 8:00 and the wind that was forecast for two days began it’s second day onslaught.  It was still fairly clear though so I stopped at one of the roadside overlooks and got this shot.  I’ve been to the Grand Canyon several times and I don’t remember ever being able to get this close to the edge from the parking lot.  The front wheel is literally less than 6 feet from the edge!!
I was about half way out of the park when I saw some movement off to my left.  Sure enough it was an elk having some breakfast.  I whipped the bike around and started looking for a place along the side of the road to park it.  I was off the road in the soft stuff but I wanted to see how close I could get to this elk.  I think he saw me but I was upwind so he couldn’t smell me, and I got fairly close before he decided he’d had enough.  Probably had nothing to do with my stealthy stalking skills though, these animals have been exposed to humans since birth.
This is Route 66 country and many of the businesses that are still open have some kind of eye catching display or sign to get your attention and hopefully make you stop and part with some of your hard earned cash.  I needed fuel anyway and these hot rods outside the gas station worked to get my business.  I actually thought they were having some kind of car show, but on closer inspection – they have been parked here for a few days at least.  There were a few more cars but these were the two best looking ones.  The red one has big slicks and a wheelie bar – wonder if it ever saw a drag strip…..
Seems like every time I go on a ride I take one of these pictures, but it’s usually somewhere in Texas, not Arizona.  Well – I’ve got something to tell Texas – I paid my wind dues in Arizona this year!!  Interstate 40 from Williams to Seligman is only 43 miles, but that 43 miles is now in my top 10 most challenging motorcycle experiences.  The speed limit is 75 mph and even the big trucks are going at least that fast.  Mixing it up with all those folks while fighting a crosswind of 35 to 40 mph with gusts to 50 takes the fun right out of it.  The wind didn’t quit at Seligman but the traffic did – Whew!!  I always use LOTS of sun screen but by the time I rolled into Kingman, my face was aching, burned from the wind.  Not very many miles today but I was very glad to be off the bike.

They Call the Wind Maria is a song from Paint Your Wagon and although I can’t remember the lyrics, I do know the tune and on days like this it plays over and over in my head.