Featured Touring 3,113 Miles Across The American West - With A Nip Of Sturgis Mixed In

@learningtofly
Thanks, Tony! I'm sure there will be many more milkshake photos once Russell's back in the saddle. And, yes, good work on the wristwatch ID. That is a blue-dialed Yachtmaster on his wrist! He has of late been quite the watch collector.

@learningtofly
And, Tony, my gosh! 18??!! You're my watch hero.

 

Day #12: to Santa Fe, New Mexico to Show Low, Arizona
Total Miles: 375

Waking up in Santa Fe is always a delight and this morning was no exception. Beautiful, crisp morning and....my favorite oatmeal in the world is at the Santa Fe Motel & Inn. Actually, one of the last times we stayed there, one of the wonderful staff, Josh, told me that the "oatmeal" is actually groats. He told me how they prepare it the night before in a slow cooker. And he was kind enough to give me a package of groats to take home with us! Pre-Covid they served a full, hot breakfast but now they serve this lovely--and way more than adequate--spread. The groats are in the slow cooker on the far right. They have an assortment of toppings for the groats including walnuts, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, raisins, and brown sugar. Please disregard the gray bar down the center of this "photo". I did screen shots of two pics and tried to make them into one pan shot. Why I didn't just take a pan shot is a mystery (even to me). Oh, and on the unphotographed table behind me was an assortment of fruit and energy bars.




Our route for the day. This is one of my favorite rides ever and I could do it every year...which lately we've been doing! And today was our highest mileage day of the 13-day trip.



Our first stop of the day--and a very highly anticipated stop--was in the little town of Mountainaire, New Mexico. In particular, we were looking forward to breakfast at Alpine Alley. We did a trip in June and missed breakfast there because if was closed for the day. But hurray! It was open today.





This is Faye, who owns Alpine Alley with her husband. They bought Alpine Alley just prior to Covid hitting and managed to keep it afloat by a thread by doing lots and lots of carry-out. Faye is a lovely person and really our main reason for always stopping at this place. Well, that and the delicious food they serve!

Note that Steve is the one holding the coffee pot, not Faye. I suspect she was angling for him to take a job there.



There was a new addition to all of Alpine Alley's delightful and diverse decor...an aquarium!



The weather was starting to look a bit ominous as we mounted back up and began heading west towards Show Low. It seems that nearly every time we do this ride that we have the threat of rain or the actual rain (usually accompanied by quite the thunder and lightning show) between Socorro and Show Low. This time was no exception.

We could see big patches of areas where it was clearly raining cats and dogs in the distance. New Mexico has huge skies so often we can see at least four or five areas where the rain is coming down. We always think we'll be able to ride right in between those patches. Right.....

Just as we crested the hill into the miniature town of Pie Town it started to rain. We hadn't planned to stop but Steve made a ride leader executive decision and pulled off the road to park by the Pie-O-Neer Cafe. It was a brilliant decision because the moment we stopped it started to pour. We ran to the porch and laughingly thanked our lucky starts for our timing. Plus, we got PIE!!







As we sat inside eating our pic all warm and dry, the rain petered out and we debated about putting on our rain gear for the rest of the ride. Steve and I said we didn't care what anyone else decided to do, we were definitely going to don our waterproofs. That turned out to be another great decision as we got quite a lot more rain before pulling into Show Low.

This is what is looked like as we left Pie Town. Those blue skies mostly disappeared as soon as we headed down the road.



Hmmm, looking back at my photos I was surprised to see that I took exactly ZERO photos in Show Low! So my next post will be short and sweet and wrap up this Sturgis thread.

 

Day #13: Show Low, Arizona to Tucson, Arizona and HOME
Total Miles: 184 miles

It's always nice to stay our last night of a big trip in the town of Show Low. It's a nice town in the White Mountains that is always cooler than Tucson. So for summer trips it's a "last hurrah" of coolness before descending back into the "oven". And the distance is a nice way to finish out a big trip, too. A shorty of a day at 184 miles but with gorgeous roads through the forest the first half and with lots of fun twisties as we reenter the desert.



As we rode into the outskirts of Tucson, Patrick and Roseanne peeled off near his home and then Russell did the same as we rode past his neighborhood. Here are our bikes, back home safe and sound. We were all so happy and thankful that with four bikes going over 3,000 miles each, we had not one mechanical or hiccup of any kind.

Steve had already moved his Road Glide to the front of the garage when I snapped this photo in anticipation of riding his Fat Boy again the next time we went for a ride.



Our total miles! But I'm not quite sure why my MPG reading says 99.9! I wish... I do, however, get 50+ mpg regularly.



And back to the 100ºF+ temps in the Sonoran Desert.



I hope you've enjoyed this ride report! Thanks for your patience in hanging in there with me. I'll leave you with this one last thing we learned--and laughed at--on this trip compliments of the National Park Service. Hope it brings a smile to your face, too.

 

@learningtofly

Thanks, Tony! I'm really glad you enjoyed the ride report. And thank you for staying with it! Yes, it was a challenge (no) thanks to the new job. But posting this report was a great way to relive great memories, take my mind off work, and share our adventures with you all!

 

Wow, Tony, that web site and watch info is exceptional! I will definitely share the link with Russell. Thanks!

 

Yep, @Bikerman, missing you by a measly 2 days is pretty much my only regret about my (and your!) Sturgis trip. It truly would have been BRILLIANT (great word!) to have met you and your esposa. Sigh... Maybe someday Steve and I will get to the UK or maybe you'll be in the American Southwest.