The Map so far!

About 6,500km!

Day 11—Jacob Lake, Arizona to the Grand Canyon then Fredonia, Arizona

Yesterday was crazy! We tried to get to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, but it was snowing, hailing, raining and snowing again! So we stayed at Jacob Lake, about 40 miles from the rim and decided to try today. And we made it! We left early and headed out to the North Rim. It was chilly, but a beautiful sunny day. The canyon was amazing! The colours were incredible, and there were way more trees than I expected. It was huge! And you can see so many layers of earth and colours. And it was really neat with the snow on the top of the canyon. There was snow on the ground and in the trees on the way there, but no snow on the roads.


We walked around, got a coffee, and headed back. Halfway back to Jacob Lake, we hit a snowstorm. It was whiteout conditions with blowing snow and hail. We finally made it back to Jacob Lake, picked up our stuff, and headed out. Although we were on a motorbike and stopping often in the snowstorm, we were the ones to ask the way to the park. Two sets of motor-homes stopped and asked us for directions to the Grand Canyon. But at least the directions were easy—down the road until you hit the edge!

We headed out of the canyon area, and dropped from 8,800 feet at the canyon to around 4,000 feet an hour later. It was beautiful coming down from the canyon and seeing the land change from pine and forest to more open land. We were also able to take some of our layers off as we descended.

-Lauren

Day 10—Tuba, Arizona to Jacob Lake, Arizona

Another windy day but really not that bad. We head towards the Grand Canyon! I’m excited always wanted to go. The landscape changes from a wind swept desert to grasslands taken over by tumble weeds and large rocks poking out in seemingly random places on the horizon.

We find Highway 89A and head in the direction that will eventually take us to the north rim. It’s a beautiful scenic drive, slowly ascending past the rock dwellers and through other smaller canyons.

We finally get to the junction to turn off to HWY 67, we stop to fill up on gas and grab a bight to eat, we get off the bike walk to the lodge and it begins to HAIL!

~Devin

Snacks and beverages at the end of the day.

Day 9 – Chaco,NM to Tuba, Arizona

We made it to Tuba City, Arizona! At Chaco Park, a lady had recommended a camp site in Tuba. Finding the camp site was a bit of a trick, no real signs for it. Finally we find a parking lot with RV’s parked side by side with picnic tables next to them. Looking to our right we see what could be our camp site, it was a 15 square foot lot with a picnic table in the middle and a fence on the far side and road with traffic behind that. No Thanks! Talked to the Hotel lady, of course their all booked, drive around to the two other Hotels and their full too, the last guy suggests the only motel in town “Grey Hills INN”. Turns out its an old school dormitory that was converted in ’89. Its also a training ground for kids, to learn the profession. Plus, they have a special needs class that comes in and helps out. All the proceeds go to the program, which is great because it costs about $20 more than the last motel we stayed in and it’s a dorm that was build in the 70’s for a reservation school.

We woke up early at 5:30 to see the sunrise in this incredible canyon. Climbing up to a close by view point we sat back and waited. Amazing!

13miles of rough wash board roads on the way out, the Connie 10 (the motorbike) started to overheat. Years of driving old Honda trail 90’s on my dads farm really came in handy. But the Connie just isn’t made for dirt roads. I was in 2^nd gear most of the way going about 20 to 30 mph sometimes faster on the straight stretches (I know that because I taped the conversions to the speedometer), It was the first time the thermostat was showing almost in the red. We stopped, waited for a bit to cool down and continued on. Steadily the engine temperature climbed hotter and hotter and I began to worry that bumpy roads and the distance traveled was finally catching up to us. But the second we hit pavement it dropped back to normal and within a few minutes it was back to normal operation temperature. This bike just doesn’t like to do it in the dirt.

We did pay a small price though, the bike has been leaking small amounts of oil and anti freeze. We have a bottle of distilled water to top up the cooling system. The oil was slightly overfilled on the oil change I did just before we left, so I’m hopping that’s what the leaks about. Nothing to be alarmed about but will have to be addressed sooner or later.

The rest of the ride was long and windy. The fairing blocks a large amount of wind from pushing our heads around, the trade off is the bike gets pushed around the road more. I find the best way to cut through the wind is to slow down and lean. This is fine if we’re the only ones on the road. But when the posted speed is 70mph (120kmph) and we’re slowing down all the time, big trucks that are less affected by the wind come right up behind us. I can see them coming though and we just pull over and let them go by.

~Devin

Day 8—Cuba, New Mexico to Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

Today was the day I have been looking forward to for a while! I have wanted to go to Chaco Canyon since I volunteered in Texas, so finally it was here. We left late-ish, but it was only 50 miles up the road, then 21 miles (13 on a dirt road) into the canyon. And we arrived safely and by 1:30 thanks to Devin’s amazing driving! Now we only have to get out again tomorrow ;)

We set up camp and then headed out to explore the ruins. The Hopi people built these “Great Houses” that included lots of rooms, kivas (ceremonial buildings), storage facilities, and other cool structures like massive roads. We first went to Pueblo Bonito, the largest in the canyon and spent lots of time taking pictures and walking through the little rooms. Some of the rooms had 3 stories, and you can still see some of the posts where the floors were. The masonry was amazing, with lots of little stones making walls 3 feet thick and up to 3 storeys high!

We then went to explore other ruins, and took a hike up (way up!) to the overlook, where we could see a bunch of the canyon ruins and Pueblo Bonito really well. It was quite spectacular! Coming back down with the wind and the rock scrambling was a bit slow, but totally worth it! We are staying right in the canyon, next to the cliff walls and hope to wake up for the sunrise tomorrow. It was hot when we got here, but since we are above 6,500 feet, it will be cold tonight. We are already wearing our sweaters, and the breeze is chilly. All in all, it was a great day, and it was nice to spend most of it off the bike!

-Lauren

91 km today

Day 7 Santa Rosa, NM to somewhere close to Cuba, New Mexico

Some how we have happened on a beautiful spot, that I’m sure only the locals know about. In fact as we where setting up our camp site a group of about 7 kids pulled up in a chev blasting music. Just over the cliff there is a nice warm rock in the sun that is a perfect spot to sit and see the amazing view. That’s where Lauren and I had dinner and that’s where coughing and puffs of smoke are coming from now.

We had a nice relaxing day, heading to Albuquerque,NM. We spent some time in Old Town bought a few trinkets. Lots of tourists, with music and walking cowboy shows through the streets.

I had a dream 5 years ago that I should go to Albuquerque,NM and here I am, even with the exceptional touristy monuments and exciting gift shops I am still left disappointed somehow. Im not sure exactly what I was expecting but it seems we found a great place to buy tourist trinkets.

Since sitting at this spot, 2 different groups have stopped by. The first where the kids and now this other truck just stopped. Two guys and one girl, One guy much drunker than the other two. He crys “PURPLE RAIN!!” as he looks at the sunset and throws his beer bottle over the cliff, and pretty close to where we are sitting. I don't think they see us, so before any other bottle come whipping by I go up and say hi. As I walk up the drunk guy is so excited to see us he trys to put his hand out the window to wave, but the window is closed and just punches the glass instead. I walk around to the diver side and say Hi. The drunk dude says "This is a great place to get high, wana smoke some weed?" I decline and they head on there way.

Today was mostly on Interstate 40, until turning up to HWY 550, an amazing highway if anyone gets a chance. At almost every corner a new and more amazing cliff or gully would appear. Lots of bikers on this road so we must be going the right way.

~Devin

We left Santa Rosa State Park and headed into Albuquerque to see a bit of old town. We were also there during an old car show, so saw lots of those too. Albuquerque was nice, with really different, southwest architecture. The plaza was nice and shady and had a church, founded by the Franciscan Friars, on the north side. We wandered around and then headed out. Our goal was to be close to Chaco Canyon so that we could make the short drive the next morning. We ended up in Cuba, New Mexico, and took a back road up a mountain (about 9500 feet up!) to a beautiful spot on the top looking over New Mexico plateau. It was amazing! We read, wrote, and hung out on the warm rocks, then watched the sun go down over the ridge of mountains. Probably the most beautiful place yet!

-Lauren

401 km today