I rode Scarlett down while the rest of the Chang gang flew into Phoenix from Denver on Christmas Eve. Took me two days, nine hours each day, for a total of 905 miles according to Googlemaps. Long day, but at least I only encountered very light snow falls.
I overnighted in Alburquerque with Piper and Darrell S.
I had forgotten about the stretch of road between the Meteor Crater and Flagstaff on I-40 though, and it's strong headwinds coming from the West. MPG rating for that stretch? 20 MPG. I think next time, I'll take the bypass road at Holbrook AZ that takes one on a reportedly curvy road towards Phoenix.
I've been seeing sad MPG results throughout the trip so far, best MPG being 27 and average seemingly to be around 24MPG, a far cry from the older OR1.01 EFI mapping that ranged from 32-36MPG. I will evaluate after this road trip but I may go back to OR1.01 for the EFI mapping.
I've not found the scenic spots for Phoenix, Arizona yet but Miles (my youngest son) and I did wander over to the White Tank State Park on the west side of the city to see what we could see.
Turned out to be mostly large cactus, sage brush and rocky terrain with campgrounds interspersed throughout. No trails available for the rig to get some altitude to get a shot of the sprawling metropolis that is the city of Phoenix.
Christmas Day in Arizona
Miles, with his teenage energy levels climbed up a small hill
to get a look around.
The rest of the day was spent visiting Martha's family and friends in the area. Here's a group family shot of yesterday evening. There was much food eaten, beverages enjoyed and great company.
Nice crowns eh?
We had "crackers" with our dinner, and crowns came in them for all.
14 comments:
Poppers. They had them at yesterdays Christmas dinner with my cousin and his family. I had never heard of them before and wasn't aware of them being a part of Christmas traditions. Two 450 mile days. Those are long days especially at 60 mph. And those mileage numbers aren't much better than a car.
Apparently it's a British thing RichardM, the two days riding here were indeed long but not bad....plenty of time to think when not worrying about traction. The MPG was disappointing.
Crackers. Not poppers. And yes it is a British thing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_cracker
Thanks Dave, I've made the correction.
I concur: 'crackers'.
My sister does that too.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
I wouldn't mind the sight of cacti right now. It looks so much more adventurous than the valleys of the Black Forest ;-) These were long riding days, Dom. I guess three days would have been more appropriate for the distance, but I am sure you've enjoyed it anyway.
I like the picture of the Thing and the cactus.
David Masse, thanks...hope the holidays are treating you and yours well.
SonjaM, yep, long riding days....but time was short. It all worked out and no real bad weather so its all good.
Gary France: thanks, the got some really big ones here as you well know. Some folks even have them in their front yard...
That must have seemed like a long trip on the Ural. How is Scarlett doing in the desert? Miss the snow yet?
Enjoy the holidays and visiting with family, and the beautiful sunshine of course.
Trobairitz, moving at Ural speed, it's always a seemingly long road....but not too bad. Scarlett is doing fine, saw snow on the way here so am good for a bit. Lots of sunshine here but windy and with a damp kind of cold....not quite what I expected I guess.
The desert has a certain allure all its own. So desolate yet peaceful, great riding space with room for the thoughts to roam and soar.
Glad you enjoyed your time with family too. They are what makes our time alone in the saddle the yin and yan of life.
Happy New Years, have a safe ride home.
Christmas in Az, cool and it does not suprise me you rode. Now to get back, good luck and enjoy the ride, good way to end this year or begin 2016, Ya!
I have been to Pheonix about every way there is to go and either direction south of Holbrook was a good ride.
Hey a big shout out to our long lost souls Coluralado amd Mrs.
Thanks for posting up we know they are well now.
Hi Darrel Hi Piper
Hi Spat (John), might as well ride the crap out of the rig while its under warranty right?
Phoenix is OK but not where I'd settle I think. I think I will try that alternate route back to Holbrook instead of I-17 which I found boring.
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