Another nice ride yesterday. Put on about 140 miles this trip and with only 2 breaks, my you know what got a little sore…….. Lol
Headed North out of town toward Yuma Proving Grounds but got sidetracked just before the turn off on AZ Hwy 95 instead I heading south thru Dome Canyon. You would not believe all the farms in this Canyon that must stretch for 30 to 40 miles. It is like driving section and county roads in MN but with water canals, farmed fields, mountains and the Gila River guiding your diction of travel. Lots of 90 deg turns but paved the hole way.
Did I mention troopers? Well you see border patrol F150 Pickups stationed about every t0 miles or less. I know I ran across 15 on them on my last trip out this way. But it was obvious they were looking for someone as they were stopping anyone in a dark colored GM SUV for inspection.
Ok back to my travel. This road lead me onto what so far has been one of my favorite roads. Old Hwy 80. I connect to it just east of Wilton, (which btw has a park on it’s east side that actually has a few trees you can park ender for a shaded brake), and then heading east on it you follow along side the I8 Freeway or I should say the I8 follows Old 80 as the name says Old…..Lol.
One of the nice thing about Old 80 is it travels thru some of the oldest and smallest towns in the area as well as passes one of the larger cattle feedlots I have ever seen. Keep in mind this is all part of the Sonoran Desert.
My travels east ended with me criss crossing I8 and eventually taking a break in Dateland AZ some 60 to miles east of Yuma. After the brake and now the temp climbing to the point you wanted to be riding rather than stopped, I took a few shots of the bike again and headed back toward Yuma taking what is called the Frontage Road just north of the I8 in Dateland thinking this would connect me to Old 80…….
There I go thinking again. Frontage Road is a one lane service road traveling along 1000’s of acres of desert property that is for sale stretching for almost 20 miles. I am not really sure how long it is as I am basing that on the pounding my butt took traveling down it. Again using my old dirt bike skills I got thru it but it was a task and challenge to behold.
Finally I find the not so familiar stop sign before entering Old 80 Even though I had never been this Far East on it before I sure was glad to see it’s name just the same. And so was the bike. P/S before I forget the “Frontage Road like so many DIRT roads in AZ has a Stop Sign at both it’s beginning and at it’s end”. Not sure why as there was no road entering or crossing Frontage Rd, and I had to have been one of the only travelers on it for quite some time but it had a stop sign at each end just the same.
So I now have a new decision to make as I travel up Old 80. Do I try to follow my steps backward to the Yuma Proving Grounds cutting thru Dome Canyon to Hwy 95 again or do I take I8 thru the mountain and shoot back into Yuma the short way.
My butt told me “Take the shortest route Mark” but far be it for me to be accused to thinking with my butt. So I took the longer and more scenic route heading back viva Yuma Proving Grounds after all I have all kinds of time.
Well by now it is well into the 100 deg’s temps as I roll back into Yuma on Hwy 95 and soon am home calling it a day. Cindy and I went to Lutes Casino for lunch as they have some of the best food in town and then we headed back for what I was going to call nap time.
I stopped at the computer to check what I had missed so far today when Cindy comes in and say’s Aren’t you going to get read for work? Work I think I am not scheduled to work on Tuesday! Oops it wasn't Tuesday, it was Monday one of the extra days I had agreed to fill in for. Oh %%#&**
Well needless to say I was late by almost two hours. When my manager called to see what was going on I was just pulling into the parking lot. After a mad dash across the lot… ok a brisk walk across the parking lot as I do not do mad dash any more, I punched in to everyone asking why I was late.
All was forgiven as I am the old guy in the department so after I told them I thought today was Tuesday not Monday. They all just laughed it off accepted it is as an old guy thing and everybody went on as if it had never happened.
It is Always and Adventure!
