Ralph Weickel’s Blog

Today, May 26, 2009, was the day to see the Grand Canyon - we had plans to see the North and South rim - ambitious as always.  We headed north on Route 89 with the temperature in the mid-forties.  The ride north from Flagstaff was wonderful with beautiful scenery and a cool ride at 7000 feet.  The day warmed quickly as we headed into the high desert and our first stop was Carmen and the ever popular Trading Post.  We made a decision to get gas whenever the opportunity presented itself as the distances between stations has grown.

Our target was Page, AZ and Lake Powell.  As w erode north the mountains and grew and we rode among them - pictures could not do them justice.  One of the most breath-taking rides occured when we rode up into the mountains with red rock on either side and stoppoing a vista overlooking the valley.  It was one of those rides you go - this is why I ride a motorcycle.  The ride into the mountains included a cut-through in the moutain that led to a plateau and a short ride to Page, AZ.

Page, AZ is the home to the Glen Canyon Dam which was a pleasant surprise to see.  The town sits on a plateau and the lake provides plenty of recreational opportunities.  From Page we continued north on Route 89 to Kanab, Utah - a ride filled with views and vistas that were a real treat.  The rode was made for motorcycles with sweeping turns and good pavement.  Kanab, Utah was a small town with the feel of a town on top of the world from which you can go into any direction for recreational fun.  Fredonia was next on the list as we made our way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Once you reach the turn off for Route 67 and the ride to the north rim - it is 45 miles to the north rim.  The ride is throught the Kaibab Forest and provides an opportunity to see some prisitne areas of the country.

We reached the north rim and had gone up to 8800 feet.  The view from the North Rim was truly breath taking especially for a Canyon novice.  Clouds obscured the south side of the Canyon and it still left we in awe - very inspiring to see.  As we left the North Rim we encountered a brief hail storm - a first for me - riding in a hail storm in May.  It was a new experience and not one I would care to repeat and we got through it and returned to sunshine for the ride back to Flagstaff.

The ride to Flagstaff was into the desert sunset and warm evening breezes.  This warm ride turned rather cool as we headed into Flagstaff and the temperature dropped into the forties.  It was a full day as we left at 8:30 am and returned at 8:30 pm - it was definitely a great riding day and enjoyable to be off the Interstate.

Today we head to Kingman, AZ and Yoshua Tree, CA.

Have a tremendous day!