June 5, 2023 – Monday – Start Mileage 710 – End Mileage 904
Days Inn Flagstaff AZ to Residence Inn Goodyear AZ
The day began early and we had learned from the previous day that we should prepare a little the night before. I had set out our clothes for the morning and had the saddlebags locked and loaded on the bike. I had covered the bike loosely with the tarp as the cloak of invisibility. I had read about this method in so many motorcycle travel books. The beat up tarp seemed to have done it’s job. It looked as if someone had stored some piece of junk in the back lot just to keep it from the building owners from calling a salvage company to cart it off to the landfill. It in no way looked like it was worth messing with.
While packing up I started talking to the older couple in the next room who was doing the same and loading their luggage into their own car. They were on their way to Boston. They seemed like a couple of old hippies and as if they have just completed their wake and bake session. They were coherent, but super laid back. A few minutes later an amusing incident occurred when the elderly lady accidentally walked into our room, mistaking it for her own, and started talking to us as if we were her husband. She startled me for a moment. We shared a laugh and she apologized before she found her way out.
We eventually pulled out of the hotel parking lot and made it across the street to the gas station to fill up, it was about 9:30 AM. With the tank full, we hit the road towards Phoenix. I set the Google maps directions to avoid highways and it directed us to Sedona, AZ.
The roads were incredible, the best I had seen so far. We were almost to Sedona, about an hour into it and we came upon the Sedona welcome center. We noticed a sign for a Native American jewelry sale as we sped by. I had not expected to see a building on this lush mountain road, let alone a welcome center with a unique sale taking place. We decided to make a u-turn and check it out. We pulled in, hopped off the bike, stripped off our jackets and took a look at the first couple tables of jewelry laid out. This stuff was nice, but expensive! It did not seem like we would be able to afford any of it, so we headed over to the welcome center and gift shop that also included a dairy queen. It was only 10 am or so but Al was ready for ice cream. I let him get away with it because it was hot out. We bought a Sedona sticker and started walking back. I noticed a large native looking gentleman and starting browsing his table. I asked him about the braclets that were made with small colorful beads and what looked like seeds. He said that the seeds were from the Grand Canyon and held special signifigance to his tribe. How much? $20. Would you consider trading for one of the t-shirts I am selling, I asked, as I handed him one of our stickers. Sure, I can do that. Really? Cool, I will go grab you one from the bike, what Size, 2XL? Yeah, that will work. I know it does not seem like much, but it feels very special to me, more meaningful.
We stopped for lunch at the Javelina Cantina on recommendation from the manager of the dairy queen. Al had a fried beef taco and I had the relleno cat fish. I did not realize the exact meaning of relleno (stuffed) and the waiter kindly enough explained it to the ignorant gringo. I had expected a stuffed pepper with cheese and cat fish and what had been presented to me was a cat fish filet that had been stuffed with a layer of cheese. It was absolutely delicious and perfectly cooked.
I am so grateful that I had programmed Google Maps to avoid highways because it took us through the town of Jerome, one of the most beautiful towns I have ever seen. Jerome is nestled into the mountainside cliffs of Arizona’s black hills. Its European charm added a unique touch to our journey. I thought we had been taken back in time and had somehow driven into a coastal town hugging the cliffs on the Italian seaside. I practically drove over the edge because I continued turning my head away from the road.
Leaving Jerome, we winded our way through miles more of mountain side roads. As we continued towards Phoenix we could not ignore the rising temperatures. When we arrived at our Al’s aunt’s hotel, the outside thermometer displayed a scorching 106°F. It was a jarring introduction to the southern Arizona heat.
After settling into our hotel room, we piled our dirty clothes into the hotel’s clothes washer and then headed straight for the pool. Al requested a cannonball. Something about the size of the pool brought me back to my childhood and Kevin Sahina’s backyard pool. I told Al, I have something better, I will teach you how to do a can opener. It is when you point one leg straight down and wrap both arms around your other leg, hugging it to your chest. As you enter the water you lean back it creates a sort of suction affect that forces an explosion of water upward and into the air six to twelve feet above the pool. It is much better than a cannonball.
Carolyn arrived at the hotel while we were still in the pool and introduced us to her coworkers. We dried off, went back upstairs to move the laundry to the dryer and then take a shower to prepare for dinner. After the clothes were dry I tossed them in the room for later and we all left for dinner. We ended up at an Italian restaurant in a trended Phoenix shopping mall. Al had the short ribs and gnocchi and I had a small pizza.
We returned to the hotel and I folded the clothes, loaded them carefully into the saddle bags and organized other items as best as possible to carry down to the bike to load them that evening rather than in the morning.
Al laid down with his ninong and I took the couch. Overall, our day was filled with interesting encounters, scenic beauty, and the unmistakable heat of the Arizona desert. We looked forward to the next leg of our journey.