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Adventure in a time of Covid
- Thread starter Trail Boss
- Start date
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- new mexico
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- Feb 20, 2015
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- First Name
- ken
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- Musgrove
- Joined
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- Location
- GEORGETOWN,TX
- First Name
- ken
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- Musgrove
- Joined
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- Musgrove
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- Buda, TX
- First Name
- Rich
- Last Name
- Gibbens
Not too long after entering Arizona...
...we turned right onto Hwy 191 and headed north. Our first stop for the day was in the little mining town of Morenci, home of the amazingly large Morenci copper mine. It is hard for the mind to comprehend the size of the Morenci mine. Having been in continuous operation since 1939, it is a massive hole in the earth, large enough to be clearly seen from space.
The photographs we took of it simply do not do it justice. You can get a little bit of the scale of it in the picture below from the buildings in the middle of the frame.
Another picture that doesn't do this place justice. It is more than 10 miles - yes, 10 miles - across the mine. I zeroed out my tripometer in Morenci, then rode from south to north through the mine. Once we exited the mine on the north side, the tripometer read 10.7 miles.
Before riding across the mine, we stopped in Morenci for fuel and a snack. It's some weird quirk in my psych but i really enjoy gas station hot dogs and corn dogs. I don't have a clue why - probably some weird long forgotten thing of my childhood. And, apparently, I'm not the only one.
For the next several hours we rode north on Hwy 191 and, yes, just like everyone told me, it is an incredible ride. Well worth the distance and effort we expended to get here. As an added bonus there was very little traffic. I'm not sure if that's because it generally doesn't get much traffic or if it was due to most people sheltering-in-place. Either way, we passed very few vehicles during the 90 mile ride to Alpine.
We took an extended break once we finally arrived in Alpine, enjoying a sandwich at the Alpine Store.
From Alpine it was a fun 40 mile ride to Reserve, NM. It was still fairly early so after topping off with gas (note: 87 octane is the highest available in Reserve - if your bike requires premium fuel, you might carry some octane booster with you) we decided to ride south to Glenwood, NM to visit the Catwalk a local had told us about.
Glenwood was an interesting place but, unfortunately, the Catwalk was closed as part of the state shutdown. So back to Reserve we went. I guess I will just have to travel here again at some point in the future so I can hike the fabled Catwalk.
The locals weren't shy about sharing their views on the shutdown.
...we turned right onto Hwy 191 and headed north. Our first stop for the day was in the little mining town of Morenci, home of the amazingly large Morenci copper mine. It is hard for the mind to comprehend the size of the Morenci mine. Having been in continuous operation since 1939, it is a massive hole in the earth, large enough to be clearly seen from space.
The photographs we took of it simply do not do it justice. You can get a little bit of the scale of it in the picture below from the buildings in the middle of the frame.
Another picture that doesn't do this place justice. It is more than 10 miles - yes, 10 miles - across the mine. I zeroed out my tripometer in Morenci, then rode from south to north through the mine. Once we exited the mine on the north side, the tripometer read 10.7 miles.
Before riding across the mine, we stopped in Morenci for fuel and a snack. It's some weird quirk in my psych but i really enjoy gas station hot dogs and corn dogs. I don't have a clue why - probably some weird long forgotten thing of my childhood. And, apparently, I'm not the only one.
For the next several hours we rode north on Hwy 191 and, yes, just like everyone told me, it is an incredible ride. Well worth the distance and effort we expended to get here. As an added bonus there was very little traffic. I'm not sure if that's because it generally doesn't get much traffic or if it was due to most people sheltering-in-place. Either way, we passed very few vehicles during the 90 mile ride to Alpine.
We took an extended break once we finally arrived in Alpine, enjoying a sandwich at the Alpine Store.
From Alpine it was a fun 40 mile ride to Reserve, NM. It was still fairly early so after topping off with gas (note: 87 octane is the highest available in Reserve - if your bike requires premium fuel, you might carry some octane booster with you) we decided to ride south to Glenwood, NM to visit the Catwalk a local had told us about.
Glenwood was an interesting place but, unfortunately, the Catwalk was closed as part of the state shutdown. So back to Reserve we went. I guess I will just have to travel here again at some point in the future so I can hike the fabled Catwalk.
The locals weren't shy about sharing their views on the shutdown.
Last edited:
- Joined
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- Gibbens
Our accommodations for the evening were provided courtesy of the Frisco Lodging Company, located on the south end of Reserve. They have a selection of rooms and suites or one cabin to choose from.
Our spacious accommodations in Suite A.
With the riding done for the day, we decided to do what we always do - drink alcohol and tell tall tales.
Unfortunately, there was no alcohol for sale in Reserve! The nice lady at the general store told us we could get alcohol at a small store in Apache Creek, 12 twisty miles north. The challenge was it closed in 20 minutes. Scott volunteered to make the run while the nice lady called the store and asked them to stay open until he arrived.
There are few restaurant choices in Reserve. Luckily, Ella's was open for take-out, so that's what we did. We all ordered food and then hauled it to our rooms while we waited for Scott to return.
A little while later Scott returned, having successfully secured a couple of 6 packs. Way to go Scott!
We passed the remainder of daylight, sitting around the deck area, enjoying the cool evening air and good fellowship, thus ending day 2.
Our spacious accommodations in Suite A.
With the riding done for the day, we decided to do what we always do - drink alcohol and tell tall tales.
Unfortunately, there was no alcohol for sale in Reserve! The nice lady at the general store told us we could get alcohol at a small store in Apache Creek, 12 twisty miles north. The challenge was it closed in 20 minutes. Scott volunteered to make the run while the nice lady called the store and asked them to stay open until he arrived.There are few restaurant choices in Reserve. Luckily, Ella's was open for take-out, so that's what we did. We all ordered food and then hauled it to our rooms while we waited for Scott to return.
A little while later Scott returned, having successfully secured a couple of 6 packs. Way to go Scott!
We passed the remainder of daylight, sitting around the deck area, enjoying the cool evening air and good fellowship, thus ending day 2.
Trail Boss et al,
You roped me in with a few photos, before mentioning that you were "loading the truck"...with perfectly good motorcycles (I assume)...and setting out for NM and AZ. But then I remembered my friend's comment about the #1 farkle for every KTM rider - a truck and/or trailer
.
In any case, I always enjoy your ride reports and photos, as well as refreshing my memory of the great NM and AZ roads you're on. Keep up the good work!
The history of Morenci and Clifton has always interested me; I remember stopping there growing up, and Clifton in particular seemed eerie with the mine tailings running right down to the town in those days. Maybe you know the old (1962) George Jones tune "Open Pit Mine", which tells a story about that area:
You roped me in with a few photos, before mentioning that you were "loading the truck"...with perfectly good motorcycles (I assume)...and setting out for NM and AZ. But then I remembered my friend's comment about the #1 farkle for every KTM rider - a truck and/or trailer
.In any case, I always enjoy your ride reports and photos, as well as refreshing my memory of the great NM and AZ roads you're on. Keep up the good work!
The history of Morenci and Clifton has always interested me; I remember stopping there growing up, and Clifton in particular seemed eerie with the mine tailings running right down to the town in those days. Maybe you know the old (1962) George Jones tune "Open Pit Mine", which tells a story about that area:
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Looks like you had time to do 191 a couple of times.
Tom
0
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... A little while later Scott returned, having successfully secured a couple of 6 packs. Way to go Scott!
...
That sure looks like a bottle of El Charro in Ken's hand...
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- Rich
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- Gibbens
Trail Boss et al,
You roped me in with a few photos, before mentioning that you were "loading the truck"...with perfectly good motorcycles (I assume)...and setting out for NM and AZ. But then I remembered my friend's comment about the #1 farkle for every KTM rider - a truck and/or trailer
John Wayne always said that a man has to know his limitations. With that philosophy in mind, I freely admit one of my many limitations is not enjoying riding a motorcycle long distances on straight highways at 70 mph or faster. I don't mean it's less enjoyable than other types of riding, I mean I simply do not like it. So, when I have to cross the vastness of Texas and I'm in a hurry, I will trailer if that option is available.
For those who don't mind, or even enjoy, wide open highways - more power to you.
- Joined
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- Gibbens
Yep, it's something like that (I don't remember the model #). We raided JT's stash and drank it as a supplement to the beer.
- Joined
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- Location
- Buda, TX
- First Name
- Rich
- Last Name
- Gibbens
Day 3: It was a brisk 39 degrees when I started packing my bike for the day. Brrrr. Ella's was the only game in town, so to speak, for a meal before departure, so that's where we settled for breakfast.
You might be wondering to yourself, "I wonder what Reserve is like early on a Saturday morning." Luckily, I'm here to answer that burning question.
As you can see, there wasn't much happening. Of course, the state-wide lockdown wasn't helping matters. I'm sure it will be noticeably busier when we come through here next month for the New Mexico BDR.
The exciting thing about today was we were planning on riding dirt for a few hours. Have a look at the pavement options.
It was either a long ride north around the Gila on pavement on boring pavement with a side order of IH-25 or retrace our steps south on Hwy 180 and Hwy 152. We didn't really want to re-ride roads we had already ridden this trip - we wanted new stuff. The most logical answer was to take our ginormous adventure bikes cross country via the dirt. So that's what we did.
A word about the dirt - we deliberately chose to ride our adventure bikes on this trip because we originally intended to ride pavement only. I know people say you can ride those huge adventure bikes on dirt but the fact is they are a poor choice for anything other than easy dirt roads. If the road gets bad, if there is sand, or mud, it would not be fun, especially loaded down the way we were with ankle breaking hard bags. Still, we were game to try the dirt since we had good reason to believe the roads were, in fact, easy dirt and in good shape. So, after some discussion, that's what we elected to do. Dirt, here we come.
The dark blue line is our intended route for the day.
We rode 12 miles of pavement north from Reserve to Apache Creek. As we rode, the last three elk in a herd crossed the road in front of us but I was too slow to get my camera out before they were out of range. Upon reaching Apache Creek we turned right on an easy gravel road and started to climb the mountain through a beautiful conifer forest. Bob remarked over the Sena intercom system that the forest looked too perfect, like a movie set. It was gorgeous. Every so often we would pass a camp site with a vehicle or a camper..we weren't the only people enjoying nature during the lockdown.
A few miles later we topped out about 7000 feet in elevation and left the forest behind as we crossed a vast plains area.
As expected, the road was well-maintained class 1 dirt and gravel - normally not what I consider to be particularly fun to ride - but the scenery and remoteness of the area compensated for the less-than-challenging riding. I was really glad we chose this route.
JT, Scott, and Ken zipped ahead while Bob and I took things a bit slower. I was in no rush, knowing we had plenty of time. A few miles later, the road started to deteriorate to dirt two-track. Clearly much less traveled but a lot more interesting to ride on.
As we neared the east side of the Gila area, and almost back to pavement, we encountered a large group of dual sport riders, heading in the opposite direction. It was cool to see other riders out enjoying this beautiful spring day.
Ken was very happy to be riding here today. We all shared that same enthusiasm.
You might be wondering to yourself, "I wonder what Reserve is like early on a Saturday morning." Luckily, I'm here to answer that burning question.
As you can see, there wasn't much happening. Of course, the state-wide lockdown wasn't helping matters. I'm sure it will be noticeably busier when we come through here next month for the New Mexico BDR.
The exciting thing about today was we were planning on riding dirt for a few hours. Have a look at the pavement options.
It was either a long ride north around the Gila on pavement on boring pavement with a side order of IH-25 or retrace our steps south on Hwy 180 and Hwy 152. We didn't really want to re-ride roads we had already ridden this trip - we wanted new stuff. The most logical answer was to take our ginormous adventure bikes cross country via the dirt. So that's what we did.
A word about the dirt - we deliberately chose to ride our adventure bikes on this trip because we originally intended to ride pavement only. I know people say you can ride those huge adventure bikes on dirt but the fact is they are a poor choice for anything other than easy dirt roads. If the road gets bad, if there is sand, or mud, it would not be fun, especially loaded down the way we were with ankle breaking hard bags. Still, we were game to try the dirt since we had good reason to believe the roads were, in fact, easy dirt and in good shape. So, after some discussion, that's what we elected to do. Dirt, here we come.
The dark blue line is our intended route for the day.
We rode 12 miles of pavement north from Reserve to Apache Creek. As we rode, the last three elk in a herd crossed the road in front of us but I was too slow to get my camera out before they were out of range. Upon reaching Apache Creek we turned right on an easy gravel road and started to climb the mountain through a beautiful conifer forest. Bob remarked over the Sena intercom system that the forest looked too perfect, like a movie set. It was gorgeous. Every so often we would pass a camp site with a vehicle or a camper..we weren't the only people enjoying nature during the lockdown.
A few miles later we topped out about 7000 feet in elevation and left the forest behind as we crossed a vast plains area.
As expected, the road was well-maintained class 1 dirt and gravel - normally not what I consider to be particularly fun to ride - but the scenery and remoteness of the area compensated for the less-than-challenging riding. I was really glad we chose this route.
JT, Scott, and Ken zipped ahead while Bob and I took things a bit slower. I was in no rush, knowing we had plenty of time. A few miles later, the road started to deteriorate to dirt two-track. Clearly much less traveled but a lot more interesting to ride on.
As we neared the east side of the Gila area, and almost back to pavement, we encountered a large group of dual sport riders, heading in the opposite direction. It was cool to see other riders out enjoying this beautiful spring day.
Ken was very happy to be riding here today. We all shared that same enthusiasm.
SilverBullet
never slow down...you never grow old
How can you tell without a label? The cap looks like it could be Cabrito also.
Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
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At the intersection of 59 and 61 our group split. JT and Ken decided they wanted more dirt so they continued south on 61. Scott, Bob, and I stayed on 59 east, which took us to Truth or Consequences. I had ridden 61 a few years ago during our CDR ride and wanted to try 59 east, which I had not ridden before. We waved goodbye and went our different ways.
I have to say it was a good choice - Hwy 59, which is paved, was the best road of the trip. Hands down. No question about it. At least for me. While I really like all the other twisty roads I've written about in this report, Hwy 59 was better. Why? Because of the elevation changes. I love twisty roads. But twisty roads with lots of elevation changes are even more fun and Hwy 59 had tons of small elevations changes everywhere. I can best compare it to the switch back on Hamilton Pool Road, for those of you who have ridden that road. Those kinds of elevation changes were abundant on this road. It was like riding a twisty roller coaster, making it one of the most fun paved roads I've ever ridden.
A few hours later we found ourselves in Elephant Butte, with temperatures in the low 90s. It was hot. And windy. At that point we decided to expedite things a bit and made the decision to slab it back to our hotel in Las Cruces via IH-25 instead of taking the more interesting, but longer, Hwy 185. A bit more than an hour later, we arrived at the Comfort Inn in Las Cruces. Time for a shower, a hot meal, and maybe a cold beer or three. Several hours later, JT and Ken arrived and joined us in our festivities. JT's spotted an interesting message on one of his cans.
The next morning we made the long drive back to Austin.
That's our story. I hope you enjoyed tagging along with us.
I have to say it was a good choice - Hwy 59, which is paved, was the best road of the trip. Hands down. No question about it. At least for me. While I really like all the other twisty roads I've written about in this report, Hwy 59 was better. Why? Because of the elevation changes. I love twisty roads. But twisty roads with lots of elevation changes are even more fun and Hwy 59 had tons of small elevations changes everywhere. I can best compare it to the switch back on Hamilton Pool Road, for those of you who have ridden that road. Those kinds of elevation changes were abundant on this road. It was like riding a twisty roller coaster, making it one of the most fun paved roads I've ever ridden.
A few hours later we found ourselves in Elephant Butte, with temperatures in the low 90s. It was hot. And windy. At that point we decided to expedite things a bit and made the decision to slab it back to our hotel in Las Cruces via IH-25 instead of taking the more interesting, but longer, Hwy 185. A bit more than an hour later, we arrived at the Comfort Inn in Las Cruces. Time for a shower, a hot meal, and maybe a cold beer or three. Several hours later, JT and Ken arrived and joined us in our festivities. JT's spotted an interesting message on one of his cans.
The next morning we made the long drive back to Austin.
That's our story. I hope you enjoyed tagging along with us.
Great, great, great. Glad you used the pandemic wisely. Sorry my Vstrom missed it. I remember being on some ride while that was happening.
Great trip and good story! Hope to join the NMBDR trip next month - only ridden the southern half.
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Great write up!
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Glad it didn't rain after you got on the dirt after Apache Creek! That dirt two track section turns into a massive mud wrestling pit full of cow excrement...
I agree about 59... lots of fun!
I agree about 59... lots of fun!
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That's what I wanted to see, the XT back in action.
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That's what I wanted to see, the XT back in action.
I am making her earn her pay.
if it was raided from JT- it’s problee the goat