3 Flags Classic

Well as you can see from my previous post. I was in Nogales and then I was in Walla Walla Washington. Well there is a whole lot of road in between. We started at 3AM. It was dark to say the least. There was no time to stop an lallygag or take pictures. Many stopped at the MacDonalds in Globe for breakfast. They were a little overwhelmed to say the least and it also gave rise to the credence that bikers like MacDonald's. Our first checkpoint was Torrey Utah. We stayed at the Rim Rock where I had stayed on the way down. Tonni, Mark, Marshall. The joke was 1 room 2 beds Sooner or later one of them would have to sleep with me. Nooo
They ordered a cot and to add insult to injury threatened to put me on the porch. We did stop a couple of places for fuel and potty breaks and just to have a quick lunch. The trick is to go past the check point so you can sleep a little longer and still make the next checkpoint. Next stop Snake Harley Davidson in Twin Falls Idaho. We checked in and travelled to Mountain Home before finding a motel. That night the wind came up and it rained but by morning it was clear and cold.
We headed for Boise, stopped at MacDonalds for breakfast and headed north through Council and on to Walla Walla. We checked in and stayed in Lowell that night. We saw a few of our travel mates at the same motel. The next day we did stop at Chief Joseph Dam.

 

My bike, Marshall's, Tonni's and Mark's

 

Next stop was the border and on to Harrison Hot Springs. I was delighted to see Steve from Abbotsford and Peter from Vancouver ( he was the fellow I took to Nakusp Hot Springs in the sidecar). There was a horrible bike accident on Highway 1 which delayed a lot of the riders but we were fortunate to be ahead of it. This next picture is the view from my room of the hot springs. They gave us robes to wear over our swimsuits to go to the pool. What decadence.

This is the lodge. The next day I took a walk around the grounds.

 

 

This is the lake.

I saw a lot of these hairy bushes which I have yet found anyone to identify for me.

This is the source of the springs. Quite a fascinating story.

 

The lake again from a different angle.

On the way back from my walk I encountered this lovely park and had to use my room key to access the grounds.

 

 

What a thrill to arrive at the final checkpoint and receive the coveted belt buckle. We still had the banquet to look forward to. The banquet was sumptuous serving steak and salmon and all kinds of salads and desserts. The redcoated RCMP officer was great.

 

We travelled 2,363 miles in the previous days over glorious scenic twisty roads.

What a rush. Can hardly wait for next year. The next morning it was with great sadness I headed home Alone. I had had such a great time with old friends and new. That night I stayed in a motel in Salmo and this was my view the next morning.

In the Crowsnest Pass I was quit cold and amazed at the amount of snow in the hills but it was nothing in comparison that fell when I was off on my next adventure to Palm Springs via the BMW rally in Quincy California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nogales and the beginning of the ride

Finally I made it to Tucson. Just before we went on the ride to Nogales I looked out my hotel window and this was the sight that greeted me. Sure glad they are crows and not vultures.

The next morning was the ride to touch the fence in Nogales Arizona. What a nice gesture this proved to be. The people of Nogales were most welcoming.

Here I am parked in a line of bikes. Before the ceremonies started.

Here is the fence. 1 side Arizona USA and the otherside Mexico.

Here I am touching the fence. Making it a true 3 flags classic.

Here I am with a nice policeman from Nogales Arizona. I was asked by one of the police how long I had been riding a motorcycle . I said about 40 years, Oh wait a minute, I am only 39 years old. Gee I must have been born on a motorcycle.

The shadow on this picture was too bad. The police in Nogales ride BMW's and this guy could practically make this bike stand on its head. He was an excellent rider.

So this guy standing in front of this bike drives up. He is from the Nogales bikers and is the Chief of Police in Nogales Mexico. He opens up this trailer. That is a disco ball hanging inside on the lid. Takes out that speaker and has a sound system and a stage. The guy in the trailer is a deputy mayor of Nogales Arizona and he is thanking us all for coming. It was quite a production but very welcoming. The Mexican chief of police then took whoever wanted to go into Mexico for a ride and about 25 went. The rest were relegated to 3 restaurants which had buffets for us and we were joined by dignitaries and other officers. I had a dish that was a horrible green but turned out to be marlin in a sauce. It was very good.

 

You are not allowed to hang any banners on the Mexican fence so they used this one into parking lot. It worked.

This is Blake Anderson the president of the 3 Flags Committee.

 

 

Just outside Tucson

 

We pulled over after leaving Tucson at 3:30 AM and 3 of us stayed on the highway but Tonni went down into the pull out and it was sloped pretty bad and he fell over so as the others helped him get up right  I took this opportunity to take a picture of the sunrise.

We stopped for fuel after that and I took these pictures hopefully so one could see the lovely terrain we were riding through.

 

Boise Idaho. The trees are starting to turn.

The next stop was a rest area we stopped at briefly and I took pictures.

 

 

This was the checkpoint at Walla Walla Washington. I thought it looked a little crude. Why was it not right in the Hampton Inn. Well I guess they had tents overhead but about 2 hours before we arrived this tremendous wind came up and blew everything away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Utah to Tuscon Arizona

Well I left off on the Escalante Staircase heading for Flagstaff. At some point you go past entrance to Bryce Canyon and some of the rock formations are indicative of what you find in the park. And then you go through 2 beautiful red tunnels and into Red Canyon. I have actually been here before but took some more really awesome pictures before putting on my rainsuit in Mt Carmel Junction.

 

 

This is a continuation of the staircase. Awesome colors and just rock, rock, rock everywhere.

 

Now this is just outside Bryce Canyon. Utah is so diverse with different rock throughout. I find it a very fascinating place. Colorful and the vistas go on forever.

 

 

In Red Canyon

 

 

So on to Mt Carmel Junction and putting on the rainsuit. Sure glad I did. It was a cold wet journey through the reservation and Kanab. I was never so happy to see a MacDonald's sign as I came down out of the hills cold and alone only to find it was an advertisement for the one in Tuba City and nowhere nearby at all. I fueled up at a little Indian service station and headed for Flagstaff. The wind picked up and it was pouring rain as I entered the city. I glanced over and saw a Super 8 checked for traffic and headed in. Whew! Nice room and a restaurant across the parking lot. The next morning the rain had let up and the sky was blue to continue on the next leg of the journey. Down Lake Mary Road towards Tuscon. As I got nearer I crossed this awesome bridge at Roosvelt Dam. So nice to be able to stop and take pictures as once on the 3 Flags there is no time for dawdling and picture taking but we would be retracing those steps I had just covered only it was Tuscon to Torrey 667 miles in one day and I had just taken 2 days to cover it.

 

 

The water levels were way down in the reservoirs. Not as bad here as in California.

Lots of Saguaro cactus in the hills now and I noticed the barrel cactus were in bloom but did not get any pictures. Yes I finally felt like I was in Arizona. I arrived at the Doubletree Hotel for the start. They took my picture as I arrived for my passport. Tonni, Mark, and Marshall who were to be my companions on this journey greeted me and then I finally checked in at my hotel down the road La Quinta. I saw a lot of friends and the next day was the Touch the Fence ride to Nogales which I will tell about in my next episode.