Before I leave the top of the mountain I want to tell the story of how I met Pat and Patricia Masters. In 2004 Conn and I were traveling to the BMW national rally in Spokane Washington. We took Hwy 37 past Lake Kookanusca and the Libby Dam. I had never been down this road and was absolutely in awe and when we arrived at the dam I pulled in to take pictures. Well I looked down towards the base of the dam and saw a motorhome parked there. Well I just had to go down there and park by that motorhome because I wanted to see the water coming out of the dam. Turned out when I got down there, there were several places to park and no water just the river. Well like I said before I just HAD to park by this motorhome so did just that. This weird looking guy comes out and says,"What do we have here? Hell's Angel's geriatric division!" I thought Oh my God What did I get us into but pretty soon Trish came out and she looked normal so we stayed and chatted and indicated we had to spend an extra day on the road as we could not get to Spokane early. So Pat said"Why don't you camp here...It's free" So we met this delightful couple from Daytona Beach, Florida who camp all over the west and hunt and fish and go to Mountain Man Rendevous.3 days later Pat sat down at the Rendevous in Libby Montana to sharpen Trish's knife and died. Following are a couple of pictures of Pat.
Trish has this great tent also which could be used in inclement weather for cooking and just hanging out.
While I was at the rally in Sipapu I had several people tell me I should do the Salt Tiver Road. I thought it was a different road than the one I was traveling but it seems it is Hwy 77 between Show Low and Globe. Absolutely delightful. My pictures do not do it justice as I cannot ride and take pictures also.
As I continued on toward Tuscon I had to stop and take pictures of the Saguaro cactus. They were growing everywhere and definitely a sight to see for this prairie girl from Alberta.
So I am heading for Tuscon when suddenly I see a sign. Biosphere 2. Well I did not know if I was too late but decided to check it out anyway. I remember in the 1990's being quite enthralled at the thought of those 8 scientists locking themselves in this giant greenhouse for 2 years and living completely self sufficient. Turned out their oxgen level went down to 14% and they either had to pump in oxygen or discontinue the experiment and they did pump the oxygen in. These are the pictures I took there on the tour.
This next one is of the ocean.
The folowing is of the rain forest and some bamboo growing in it.
The following is of frankincense donated by a foreign country.
And in the grasslands we saw this octopus catus which is very aptly named.
Once outside again we saw these pomegranates growing
This ocotillo cactus was also growing outside the complex
As I was leaving I was quite excited to see a roadrunner run across my path. No coyote after him though. As I traveled on to Tuscon it was getting late so I found a Motel 6 right near the I 10 off ramp so I could catch it rather effortlessly the next day. They were very busy and as I stopped the rain started. Several of the people who were coming from the east where I was headed said it was just pouring all the way and there was an accident. Another case of the good lord looking out for me.
Rose the next morning to this lovely sunshine and headed for Tombstone which will be my next chapter.
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