It was Saturday, a day I didn’t have to worry about work and could sleep in. So naturally, I was wide awake before 7:00 a.m. for absolutely no reason whatsoever. Daytime high temperatures continued to be much hotter than originally predicted, cutting short any potential day trip plans. But I had a window of opportunity in the morning, before it got hot, to take a motorcycle ride I’d been planning since before I got to Sierra Vista, so I took it.
I started by passing through Hereford, then down Route 92 into Bisbee, a different route than we took last weekend. This brought me into a more modern part of town, with all the stores and restaurants you’d expect to see in a small town. I turned left onto Route 80, which brought me back to the historic part of town with the Copper Queen Mine that we explored last time. I wanted to walk around town a bit more, take it all in, and see the sights on my own, but the police had the road into town blocked off, so I couldn’t. I returned to Route 80 and continued north to Tombstone. Yes, that Tombstone.
I parked across the street from the O.K. Corral (again, yes, that one), and walked a block to the historic district. This is fun even on an ordinary day, but this weekend was Helldorado Days, where Tombstone goes all out at turning the historic district into a full re-enactment, gunfights and all. The road was closed to traffic and covered with dirt to recreate its old west look. However, as early in the morning as it was, the festivities hadn’t kicked off yet. Most places were closed, and re-enactors were still arriving in full costume. It was surreal to exchange a friendly “Howdy” with a sheriff as we passed on the sidewalk. I did get to see a rehearsal of events leading up to one of the afternoon’s gunfights, which was fun. I had to remember that their poor treatment of the black messenger was just part of the show, historically accurate but not for real. It didn’t reach anywhere near the level of Blazing Saddles.
I didn’t know I had my own store in Tombstone…
It was an enjoyable stop, even though I didn’t get the full experience, or get to check out places that weren’t open. It would be fun to ride into Tombstone on my iron horse for a meal at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon. Fortunately, both Tombstone and Bisbee are close to Sierra Vista, so I’ll have an opportunity to revisit both another time. Google took me down some fun twisty back roads through the hills to get back to Wayne’s house. I got back before the oppressive heat arrived for the afternoon, and Lister was safe and sound. We spent the rest of the day beating the heat, hanging out, and enjoying yet another spectacular Arizona sunset.
That evening, Darryl invited me to take a ride with him and Marilyn to Coronado Peak in the nearby Coronado National Memorial, again in the morning before it got too hot. Historians believe that this is the route Francisco Vázquez de Coronado and his group traveled in 1540 to explore modern-day Mexico and the southwest US. Indeed, the park itself is right on the Mexican border, with amazing views of both countries spoiled by the black line of the border wall.
We drove in Darryl and Marilyn’s diesel Dodge truck up to the Coronado Peak parking area, since they were concerned the road would be too rough for my motorcycle. While there are some rough patches, they’re no worse than the ruts just around the corner from Wayne’s house, which I got through easily on my way to Bisbee the previous day. I could tackle this on my V-Strom, and probably will at some point. While we were there, a Harley-Davidson Street Glide with absolutely no dirt preparations whatsoever pulled into the parking lot. As Shadetree Surgeon says, any bike can be an adventure bike — just hop on and go have an adventure.
A Border Patrol agent pulled in just as we were preparing to make the 0.4-mile hike from the parking lot to Coronado Peak. He put on a backpack, and we exchanged greetings as he quickly hiked down the trail as though we were at sea level. We took the climb slowly since we were not acclimated to the thinner air at 6,800 feet. The hike itself was fairly easy, though, and rewarded us with spectacular views across the Chihuahuan Desert. (No doubt, this was why the Border Patrol agent was here.)
We enjoyed the view for a while, then had an easy walk back to the parking lot, since down is much easier than up. After a snack, water, and a friendly chat with a talkative local, we drove back down the bumpy dirt road. I was back to Wayne’s at about noon, again before the hot part of the day when I didn’t want Lister locked inside the van.
This was the last of the hot days in Sierra Vista, as well as across Arizona in general. Today, it has finally cooled off to more reasonable temperatures in the 70s, which will continue for the foreseeable future. Matty and Yellow Wolf left this morning to head toward Quartzsite. I would be doing the same, but I’m still waiting for my trailer’s wheel bearing seals to arrive so Darryl and I can finish repacking them. Now it looks like they won’t arrive until Wednesday night, thwarting my plans to drive to Quartzsite, Thursday and pick up my mail on Friday, where my Halloween costume is waiting for me. My mail forwarder isn’t open on weekends, which means I won’t have my costume for Sunday’s party with the Meet In Q group. I would’ve had it shipped to me at Wayne’s if I’d known the bearing seals would take this long. But I’ll still be able to pick it up on Monday, in time for the Lit Cactus party on Halloween itself. It’s worth waiting and finishing the wheel bearing job, since one side is already taken apart, and I’ll have Darryl’s guidance and tools to get the job done properly.
The weather forecast had called for rain the next few days, but changes daily (and is often still wrong), and now says that only tomorrow is supposed to be rainy. This means I might still be able to visit some places I’d wanted to see before leaving for Quartzsite at the end of the week.
Smokey Da Van 