6th annual scooter trip coming up

Well, everyone...we are almost ready to head out on our 6th annual, 17 day scooter trip. This year we are leaving at 3am on May 10 and going to Tombstone, Arizona from Fort Worth, Texas. We have to make a few detours to get the mileage right, but that isnt a big deal. We are going to run on I-20 until it meshes with I-10...then on thru El Paso and on to Arizona. When we get to highway 191 and I-10 going South, we will make the left turn and go to Douglas, get some gas to show that we were there, then on to Sierra Vista and get a little more gas. Then we will head back North to Whetstone and I-10, then go East to Benson where we will head back South on highway 80 to Tombstone. If anyone goes to Tombstone, I highly suggest staying at The Lorian Motel. The rates are great and the rooms are perfect...not to mention that it is basically in the middle of town and 2 short blocks from the historic district of Tombstone. The owner, Gordon, will point you in the right direction to see all the good stuff. We will be in Tombstone for 2 days, leaving out Monday morning and going back to I-10 and highway 191...also known as "The Devils Highway" to go North to Springerville where we will jump on highway 260 to go West and also go by John Wayne's ranch on our way to Prescott. You can see our route plans by going here... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLl51c2Gr7AGXUwaS6mC0aqlFHTsUN19TA . If you would like to see videos of our previous years trips, you can go here... https://www.youtube.com/user/HondaGoldwingGL1800 and see all of our previous years videos.

It would be great if anyone would like to meet up along the way or if anyone would like to tag along...you will be welcome.

Ride down from Tombstone and have breakfast at the Bisbee Breakfast Club.

Ft Huachuca has a great Buffalo Soldier museum and an Intelligence Gathering museum. All it takes to get on base is a Driver License and a hi-viz vest (or jacket).

Kartchner Caverns is a great "living" cave just a couple miles south of Benson on 90.

Stop at the Hannigan Meadow Lodge if you just want to sit on the front porch and drink a root beer and relax after riding the 191. Just a few miles further north is Alpine. Turn right at the intersection as if you were going to NM. Stop at the Bear Wallow Cafe for a burger and apple pie. It's only about 100 yards from the 191. It's been a motorcycle RTE destination for years.

The Hon-Dah Casino in Show Low / Lakeside / Pinetop / White River has a pretty good buffet. Make sure all the stuff on the bike is well secured/locked down. Lots of thieves in and around the Rez. As you're coming through McNary on 260 east of Show Low look for roadside signs for Indian Fry Bread. Some real good stuff in that area.

Be very careful in and around the Show Low area. There are a ton of deer and elk in the area. There are more trophy elk taken out of Arizona than any other state so we do tend to grow some big ones out here.

Lots of traffic enforcement on 260 west of Show Low, especially in the Heber-Overgaard area. Stick to the speed limit until you reach the Circle K on the left side way out in the middle of nowhere. And even then keep the speeds moderate because DPS has a regional office on 260 west of Heber.

Tourmeister just ate at a good place in Pine last week but I forget the name. You might check with him on that. Otherwise, the Crosswinds Restaurant at the airport in Payson is highly recommended for breakfast or lunch. From 260 you will go north on 260/87 (your proposed route) and you'll see the signs for the airport in a mile or two. It's about another mile up the hill.

Again, stay alert even during the daylight hours as there are a ton of elk in this area too.

Lots of places to eat in Jerome when you hit there or you can just wait until you get to Prescott; I'm a fan of the Hassayampa Inn (built around 1900) for breakfast or lunch. Continue to watch for elk leaving Prescott and all the way up into the Grand Canyon.

So close to Glacier Nat'l Park and you're not going to see it?

Looks like you're stopping at Mesa Verde NP on the way back down. We really enjoyed our visit there. A Mexican restaurant in Cortez called Tequila's is where we always eat when we're in town. Never been disappointed.

Are any of your destinations Tour Of Honor sites? The only reason I ask is that I see you are going to Eagle Nest. There's a great VN memorial there that a man built in memory of his son and the son's squad.

Lots of good roads in Colorado; looks like you'll be on a majority of them.

Enjoy the trip.

Thanks Texas T...we will be going by many of the places that you have mentioned. The place that we usually eat at in Prescott is downtown across from the court house on the South side. It's a bar and resturant with tons of pics of old time history. I will look up the glacier park...didnt think anything about it.

We caught some thieves a couple of years ago when we made a stop to venture out into the woods to do a nature call. On the way back we saw them with two of them going thru our stuff. Not a good idea as we all carry. We came out with weapons up and told them that if they move...they die. Then the excuses started rolling out. We took everything that they had as far as identification went...shot out all 4 tires and the radiator while asking them if they ever heard the phrase, "Dont mess with Texas"? Then we added "Dont mess with Texans or their stuff either...we have a nasty temper". I told them when we were leaving to think 2 or 3 times about telling the cops about this because we had their identifications and if anything was said, we would come back and hunt you down. We never heard anything over it and I still have all their ID's. This was way out in the middle of no-where, Utah and at least 40 miles from anything. Now whenever we stop on the road for a "calling"...someone stays with the bikes while everyone else goes to find a spot...then whoever waiting with the bikes gets to go do their business.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. Gonna do some searching tonight.

Glacier Nat'l Park is my #1 return destination point on my Bucket List. Absolutely beautiful. I'll probably take the bus tour next time so that I have more of an ability to see everything instead of focusing on keeping the bike on the road.

We rode east to west and then after exiting the park took 89 south. Actually we took 89 north and then when I realized I was just a few miles south of Canada I turned the bike around.

89 was a good ride with sweepers and curves; anything from 55 mph down to about 25 mph. Also saw some buffalo along the way.