Four Horses and a Jackass

[swmckinley]

Four Horses and a Jackass

 

That’s what we all laughed about at dinner that night in Moab, Utah. We had been coming up the road to Monticello and there on the hillside next to a fence stood four horses and one lone jackass looking forlornly down on to the highway.

 

I had risen up on Saturday morning at six am to hook up with these four friends on Harley's and me on the RT for our annual commune with the call of the open road. Three of us left out of Austin bound for Clovis New Mexico to pick up the other two and then head for our first nights destination of Albuquerque.

 

Clovis to Clines Corner and then on to Albuquerque was a windy affair with a cross wind of thirty to thirty five miles per hour. We arrived tired and hungry and ordered a pizza and called a night.

 

We rose early for the ride from Albuquerque to Moab and jumped on I-40 for a quick jaunt over to Clovis. It was cool, bright and cloudless morning and the RT was in her element. A recent resurface of I –40 had the road talking to the RT saying, c’mon on darling, 85-90 all the way to Clovis. A gas stop and cup of coffee early Sunday morning on the main drag of Clovis just about the time the city jail released the previous nights lodgers had us handing out cigarettes and spare change to a parade of reservation men.

We picked up Hwy 666 and then took a left on Hwy. 264 over to Window Rock and Ganado and stopped at the Hubbell Trading Post. The remainder of the day saw us making our way north on Hwy 191 through the Navajo Indian Reservation with a lunch stop in Chinle and finally on into Moab, UT for the night.

 

Moab Utah is a happening little town where the outdoors sport of four wheeling, motto cross, mountain biking and outdoors camping is alive and well. There is an air of youth and vitality there that is electric and contagious.

 

Early the next morning we headed out for Torrey by way of Arches National Park then on up to Hwy 70 to Green River for gas stop and ice cream bar. The sign on the highway says no services for the next ninety miles just before you get into Green River and after you leave the little town you can believe it, cause it is the wild west. We pick up hwy 24 20 miles outside of Green River and hook it over to Hanksville where we stop for lunch. Somewhere along the way I have to excuse my self from the group and step out and do some triple digit touring.

 

There in lies the rub, I am not really much of a group rider. I like to be on my own and for the rest of the trip I fought the overwhelming urge to just take off by myself. This feeling was compounded by my friends need to ride in a static formation and somewhat mundane speed.

 

After lunch I again departed the group and made my way through Capitol Reef National Park and then on into Torrey. We stayed at the Chuck Wagon and spent a couple of hours in the hot tub before dinner at the Café Diablo. While we in the hot tub three guys rode up to the hotel on dirt bikes and then came over to join us in the hot tub. We had a long conversation in which they told us they were down in Ocala Florida for the GS thing and now touring the west on dirt bikes. When I got home I opened my BMWON magazine and damn if those three guys weren’t in the opening picture of the feature.

 

Another bright and brisk morning found me hooking up my Gerbings for the ride down Hwy 12 through the Grand Staircase, Escalante National Park and on into Brice Canyon where we spent most of the day with a late afternoon arrival into Zion National Park and then on into Hurricane, UT. The wind whipped up in the late afternoon and was blowing twenty to twenty five mph as the sun was setting. We checked into a motel 8 and I remarked to the clerk “ Man it’s blowing today huh?” She took a casual look out the window and “Nah, it’s not blowing yet, why do you think they call this town Hurricane”. I would hate to be there when they consider it blowing.

 

The next morning saw heading for parts south through the Coconino and Kaibab National Forest on Hwy 89 where it was a cool thirty-eight degrees but the Gerbings kept me warm. A drop down onto the valley floor saw a spike in the temperature and a quick shedding of the keep warm gear. Hwy 89 took us back into the Navajo Reservation and through the towns of The Gap, Willow Springs and Tuba City. We went on into Flagstaff and found a Harley Dealership so two of the horses could get some attention but my old jackass just kept on hauling the mail. We had lunch at a Harley Road House that was built next to the dealer out near Williams, AZ. We then went out Hwy 40 west and picked Hwy 89 again and went south to Prescott, AZ to stay for the night.

 

Bright and early the next morning we left Prescott and took Hwy 89-A, a great twisty road to Jerome. Jerome is a mining town built into the side of a mountain that is home to artisans and old hippies. We feasted homemade pie and ice cream for breakfast and wandered the shops for a couple of hours. Making our way towards Payson, AZ that nights destination would take us through the towns of Cottonwood, Sedona and then over to I-17 south where we would catch Hwy 260 east into Payson for the night.

 

The next day found us making tracks across New Mexico on Hwy 60 with a stop in Pie Town for a Green Chile Cheese Burger and a piece of pie. Our original destination of Socorro changed to Santa Fe when large numbers of hooligans were observed roaming the streets at our gas stop.

 

The morning after Santa Fe saw me getting up and saying my goodbyes and departing for Texas. I left Santa Fe at 10:00 am Texas time and pulled into my driveway at 8:30 pm. This old jackass knows the way home.

 

 

Steve

 

 

[Kris]

And the moral of the story... it's better to be a jackass than a slow horse!! Guess you can call me a jackass too, I'll take it as a compliment.

 

I'm liking them roads, think I'll have to visit them next week... thanks Steve.

 

kris

[Kathy R]

Steve,

That was a mighty fine read. Funny tie in with the bikes/arse/horses.

Thanks,

[Rojen]

Good read Steve. I feel the need for a little slower ride myself after yesterday's jaunt. The RT adapts well. Maybe this weekend I'll be a burro. Sure footed and steady. (That and a new seat or butt.)

[murrayg]

Great read Steve. How many total miles and what's it like traveling on an Indian reservation? As you can tell from my question I've not had that experience. Anything a newbie through a reservation needs to know?

[Kris]

In reply to:

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Anything a newbie through a reservation needs to know?

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Watch your speed through the reservations!! The rules are different there... and you might just want to have a couple extra bucks for a "pay-off" in case you're pulled off for a little counseling. Though it's never happened to me, I've heard of stories where they're looking for the bribe to hit their hand before they'll let you go.

 

I just usually keep the speed with any other cars and enjoy the scenery.

 

kris