Grand Canyon and onward

After a good sleep in Williams at the lovely lodge we had breakfast buffet at their restaurant and were on our way to the canyon rim. I had a swim in the pool here and soaked in the hot tub. The last picture is a picture of a picture in the elevator. I had a fabulous supper the night before A salad with greens, blueberries, strawberrys raspberries and black berrys and feta cheese. And even got up and danced with the Indian children in their traditional dance.   
Now onto the Canyon Rim.

There is not a lot one can say about the Grand Canyon it kind of speaks for itself. There was a turkey vulture soaring the heights and it was a relatively clear day for views and we stopped at 2 viewpoints and then headed out into a little rain which turned into a lot of rain. Hard as we tried to make Monument Vvalley for dinner and sunset It just did not happen. Everyone was happy to get to their room in the Kayenta Inn and have dinner in their restaurant. Monument valley in the AM.

Nice hair !!!!!!!!!

Addition to Palm Springs

Somehow I managd to miss a very important picture in my Palm Springs Blog and because I am still there Here are my friends Ken and Karen. I am still behind because some of the internet connections are  very frustratinng and I have been busy also. I am still in the USA as my passport expired while I was here and they would not let me fly home so that is also part of the adventure. Driving to Whitefish in a Rent A Car and getting my friend Carol to pick me up and getting me home sometime tomorrow. Fun Fun Fun!!!

Palm Springs to Laughlin Nevada

That's what happens when you try to catch up from behind. I started doing this one and then ended up doing Laughlin to Williams instead. Anyway left Palm Springs after breakfast at Ruby's. Beautiful day and Ken and Karen saw me off.

Theses photos were all taken at the hotel before we left Springs. We journeyed through Joshua Tree National Monument. What an amazing place. Thousands of Joshua trees  in this one place on earth and rocks appearing to be piled on top of one another. God does good work.

From this fabulous place we headed further along Route 66 and when we reached Roy's place there was a  film crew waiting for our German celebrity Wolfgang Frieder A tour bus was there and also a Dutch actress and the antics were lively. People laying on the road and dancin on Route 66.

Then on to our hotel in Laughlin and that is already written up . As we traveleled on Route 66 to Laughlin there were several dips in the road. I just want to know what a ambiguos dip is Some one suggested maybe they could not decide if it was a dip or not.

Laughlin Nevada to Williams Arizona Oct 3/2011

I did omit word of the beautiful rainbow that greeted us as we entered Palm Springs. But was reminded as we had a beautiful rainbow greet us in Grand Canyon and of course another one today as we approached Monument Valley. Of course there is no rainbow without some rain and we got that also but for the most part it has been dry. We left Laughlin Nevada after another very extensive breakfast buffet. Headed back into the Mojave Desert. We climbed to a little town of Oatman where they cater to the tourists and often the burros come down out of the hills to say Hello. Unfortunately they did not come today. We shopped a bit and I ran into some fellow Calgarians and some people from Lacombe who know my cousin. So they took a picture and are going to say Hello for me.

In Oatman we also had a drink at a bar that had $1.00 bills pinned all over the walls. The best part though was leaving Oatman individually and running the hill to a small shop owned by George. We all lined up there for a photo. The curves were wonderful and I really got into it on this motorcycle. Wanted to go back and do it again. Part of the joy of doing a guided trip like this is that on your own you may never know these roads exist. When we left George's place we headed down Route 66 to  Saligman for lunch I had bought a wet cool vest from Ken Maki and boy did it ever work. 103 degrees and I was fine.

The above picture was taken after the hailstorm just before Saligman. We arrived at Lilo's restaurant just in the midst of it..No power but we still had a marvellous lunch.

We wanted to see the Grand Canyon at sunset but settled instead for  the sunset from my room. in Williams,Arizona. Grand Canyon tomorrow.

Marriot LA to Palm Springs Sat Oct1/2011

Up early to have a delicious breakfast buffet at the Marriot and then luggage and bags to the lobby by 8:30. Then we headed over to Eaglerider to pick out our motorcycles and get our jackets. Great store and facility and joy oh joy I am able to handle the BMW R1200RT

So finally after a lot of Rigamarole we headed out. Straight south on the Interstate and then east on the Ortega Highway. Everyone was excited to finally get some twisties to try out their new motorcycles.

 We had a bit of a fiasco at Hell's Kitchen. It was decided to order ahead to speed up the process but 3 guys got lost and they would not give separate cheques and so cheeseburger and fries turned out to be 24.95 ea. They will not do that again. This spot is a local biker stop and there were some pretty neat machines there. I sure liked the BMW in these photos.
This is our fearless leader Steve Heather

 Then it was on to Palm Springs. All the groups ended up mixed together and we did a group photo overlooking Palm Springs.

We drove past this large lake. Lake Elsinore. It was a tired bunch that finally stopped at the Palm Mountain Resort. Beautiful place. I phoned Ken and Karen Maki andwhen they came over Tom and I bought cool vests and Ken sold a few cool scarfs. After we had reached as many as we could Ken put his merchandise away and he and Karen and I went to Palm Canyon ( a local street) with all kinds of eateries and entertainment.

 It was a beautiful evening and there were many people walking about. We had a light dinner at Ruby's place and I had a picture taken with a bronze of Sonny Bono Jr. Looks like I'm playing with his knee? Then we called it a night.

New Adventure Wild West Tours Guided Motorcycle Trip

Friday Sept 30/2011
Flight to Los Angeles leaves at noon so be at the airport by 10:00AM
Stressed to the max. Will my bag weigh too much? Will I be able to take my helmet?
Bag weighed 23lbs nowhere close to 50. Helmet no problem. Flight was excellent and arrived LA 2:06

Caught the shuttle to the Marriot where we were greeted by our guides and sized up for jackets and met some of our fellow riders and given our room keys. Then we headed for our room. I went for a swim in the marvellous pool right ourside our door. Then in to change for welcoming dinner. This was different ..They bussed us to an outdoor restaurant The Rock and Brew where we were treated to breaded squid..Cheese bread and pizza and beer. Then to bed because we had to be up early the next day to get breakfast and go to Eaglerider to get fitted for our bikes.