Featured Touring Tucson Arizona Gmu

So because Europe or UK GMUs are no longer a thing I decided to arrange a very special one. To Tucson Arizona, US of A.
I flew from Amsterdam firstly to Minneapolis (as there’s no direct flight) and then to Phoenix, where a rental car was waiting. A Jeep Rubicon. I hadn’t realized just how tall this thing was, nor the difficulty I had climbing in. I should’ve packed a step stool. Before setting off from Europe I’d arranged an e-Sim for my phone which initially I couldn’t to work. This resulted in no GPS, no maps and a very over tired me feeling stranded and even thought I might have to sleep in the car till morning. Reluctantly I activated my Dutch Sim so I could get Google Maps working again and thankfully when Maps came up redirected the car onto the correct freeway towards Tucson around 90 minutes away. After easily finding the hotel I parked the car.
It was a very long day of travelling, over 28 hours and I was pretty wrecked.


Flying into wintry Minneapolis




Here’s the Jeep



more to come……….

 

Of course you can’t have a GMU on your own, so my good friend who I’ve been communicating with for a few years Sandi and husband Steve showed me around and we ate together a lot and had a great week.
Arizona is famous for Mexican food, indeed Mexico is only a short ride away. My first Mexican meal was amazing. It’s hard to get Mexican here and certainly not to this high standard.

Salsa made fresh at the table.


then mixed enchiladas for me.


Sandi, Steve and yours truly




You can’t come here without having a Margarita. They are really epic. Sandi had the orangey one.

 

Can’t get rid of that second photo. Anyway loads more to come…….

 

@BonnieCat
Nikki, Steve and I absolutely loved hanging out with you for a week in Tucson and sharing our favorite aspects of Tucson and the Sonoran Desert with you! I'm not only looking forward to the rest of this thread, Steve and I are looking forward to your return so we can hop on motorcycles and do a big tour through Arizona and southern Utah!

 

Nice one. I've got the same NC 500 t shirt too.

 

The weather in this part of Arizona was hot, at least for a Northern European like me. It was around 25 degrees Celsius all week and a pleasant change from back home.

Next day I drove to the Sonora Desert Museum which is described as a zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden all in the one place. It was roasting hot. I started walking around but had to dive into the cafe to get some water. I chatted to the lady serving and told her I was melting in the heat. She said I should visit in the summer. I went into the reptile house and saw lizards and some tiny but deadly snakes, thankfully behind glass.



Today’s adventure was to drive up to Mount Lemmon which is 9200 ft. And today Steve was my companion whilst Sandi had to go to work. We drove up there in Steve’s big Ford F150 truck. The state of Arizona has thousands upon thousands of cacti, forests of them. As we gained altitude the cacti gave way to alpine like trees.

 

Photos from Mount Lemmon (Windy Point Vista)



you can even ski here. This is Ski Valley. Mount Lemmon, Coronado National Forest

 

Sandi and I took a trip over to the local Harley Davidson dealers (Saguaro Harley Davidson), a huge dealer with hundreds of bikes to ogle at. I fancied a teal colored trike, priced at 38000 dollars. It was gorgeous.



Sandi may be able to correct me. But if this was the CVO model, here in the Netherlands that bike is 70000 euros. Sadly I was only able to order a couple



All the staff there I met were super friendly which is typical of the US

After this we went to the local Triumph dealer where I was anxious to try the Speed 400. Amazingly it was a bit too tall for me. I’m after something smaller and lighter to join my fleet. Definitely not selling my big Suzuki. I then tried the Speed 900 which was lower than the 400. It felt a nice bike. Anyway just today at my local Suzuki dealer, I’ve signed a deal on the Burgman 400 which I can collect later next week. Anyway I digress back to Arizona and the absolute highlight. This was a trip to Tombstone and Bispee. A fantastic day out with equally fantastic company. But that’s for the next post……..

 

I forgot to mention, Sandi has the most amazing Ford Mustang Bullet edition which sounds absolutely awesome. Sadly I didn’t get a photo but the noise of the engine and exhaust will stay with me for quite a while.

 

@BonnieCat
Oh my goodness, Nikki. I laughed out loud when I read this post. I recall looking at the Tucson temperature when you and I texted one another that morning you were at the AZ Sonoran Desert Museum and seeing that the temperature was 70ºF. For us Arizonans, that's the perfect temperature...not too hot, not too cold, just like "baby bear's porridge".

 

@BonnieCat
Terrific photos of the desert and Windy Point, Nikki! Congrats on your Burgman 400 deal. Can't wait to see some photos of that, too. I'm really enjoying your thread. It brings back lovely memories of your recent trip here. Thanks for posting!

 

@BonnieCat Great trip and fantastic write up. I think we all would like to meet with @Sandi T She is a real star or shing light to all of us here and her tales are like novels. But you are doing quite well with her with this one.

 

@BonnieCat Two is always better than one.

 

Thanks Joe, but Sandi wins the prize for her amazingly detailed and enjoyable trip writeups

 

@Sandi T Something for all to look forward to. We will be in Canada later this in cars but i will bethinking of you and the gang. And had we got longer i would be tempted to hire a bike and hang out.

 

After driving back down from Mount Lemmon, Steve and I popped into a cafe called El Nene for a Sonoran Dog.
You’re probably wondering what one of these is. Well it’s a sort of hot dog but miles better. It’s a meaty hot dog wrapped in bacon and grilled. It’s served in a soft bread bun with beans, onions, cheese and jalopeno salsa. It was lovely. It’s a famous snack here in Arizona, especially in Phoenix and Tucson. Steve ordered a couple of little extras which I forgot the name of.
The white drink is not milk but a Mexican drink made with rice water and sweetened. It shouldn’t taste this good and be this refreshing but it was.

 

At the weekend we drove to Tombstone and Bisbee. For former being a real cowboy town complete with wooden building famous for its old Wild West history and the old outlaws. As it was the weekend the O.K. Coral Theatre re-enacted events from times gone by. It was a lot of fun. Bisbee is an old copper mining town with 2 massive abandoned quarries. Around the quarries the earth is coloured red from the copper.





We had burgers in Big Nose Kate’s Saloon.

One of the enactments was being placed in stocks with the crime you had committed on a notice round your neck. They then took your photo. I was going to own up to the crime of riding Japanese bikes, a punishable offence in these parts

 

Next stop was Bisbee.

 

Bit late to your thread @BonnieCat . It looks like you had a fantastic trip. It is good to see the two sides of the pond meeting up, a great effort on both your parts.