AZrov fall ride

[Rick G]

I think its time to plan the AZrov fall ride . I suggest the 3rd  or 4th weekend in September. Anyone who would like to attend , please either PM me or speak up. We also need to discuss the route we will take. I hope to know more about Supi after this week end.

[dminor]

Rick,
   No can do for that time frame. Mom is coming in from the dairy state and this might be her last visit. She is allot older than my Vision.
Don :(

[h2olawyer]

As I told Rick on the phone last night - I'm up for any date he can set to get the greatest interest.  Hope you can make it, Don.  Would be great to see you again!

H₂O

[Rick G]

As of now, I have picked the 20th and 21st of September. I'll try to juggle it to accommodate the most people, if necessary.  The ride will be to Supai on the Grand Canyon. Any stock vision should be able to hold enough gas for the trip. If you riding something else (but why?)  you will need to be able to go 170 miles between fill ups. 
I rode up there with friends Sunday and it was pretty close to spectacular. It starts as high desert and as you climb the scenery changes to Savannah , chaparral and finally tall timber, its been logged off , but the second growth is 30 to 40 feet tall now. The road winds down and the topography is reversed, finally dropping in to a canyon that connects with the Colorado river.
This is not the average  tourist destination , You travel through the Hualapie and  Havasupai  reservations , on a very good two lane road. When you arrive at the trail head ,there are trains of mules , with pack saddles on them,lined up , waiting to be  loaded. there are two helicopters as well. the view is great , not as deep as the canyon proper , but beautiful in its own right .
There are blue box restrooms, but no food at the trail head as the purpose of this road is to connect the Indians, ( their term) to the out side world.
It is lightly patrolled by the Hualapie fish and game as well as the Hualapie police. They mostly sit up in the timber section, chewing the fat.
I observed both cattle and horses along the road and I'm told that elk and deer can be found on the road now and then. Its mostly open range .
I took a few pictures and as soon as I can get them into the computer,  I'd like to post them, if i can get a  volunteer  to post them some where . I can attach them and send them on.

Sundays ride will be 30 miles, to the ghost town of Oatman , with its gun fighters and donkeys and maybe lunch. This is a short ride to give those traveling a long distance , a good start
home. For those who enjoy a really twisty road , this is a must.
Everyone interested , please pm me so I can tell how many to expect.
Thanks, Rick

[dminor]

Rick,
  The dates work for me. I probably won't be on the Vision,so 170 miles won't be a problem.
Don

PS>
Can we skip the donkey's this time? Don't want to meet those asses in the dark again! ;)

[Rick G]

It will be daylight when we go there, so no more ghosts walking across the road in the dark. You still have to watch tho, some times they are on the road in the corners and then there's those little piles of meadow muffins.
Anyone who is interested , PM me and I'll send my cell number.

[h2olawyer]

Count me as an 80% likely.  Still depends on how my dad is doing at that time.  If he continues as he is now, I'll be there.   ;D

H₂O

[h2olawyer]

Sounds like there was a bit of a rainstorm at Supai.  Town evacuated, many rescues of tourists.  Even some rafters had to get flown out after the flood washed their rafts downstream.  Seems the rain caused a dam to break on one of the side streams that feed into the Grand Canyon.  Those types of flash floods tend to be the most dangerous & destructive.

H₂O

[Rick G]

All the people who live in the Supai village were evacuated to the gym. in Peach springs.  A small earth dam broke as a result of all the rain up there, on the canyon rim country. it shouldn't affect us , in a month , but I'll check with the authorities on the conditions, prior to the 20th.

[glennw]

Ok... I'm in..
I'm even going to paint my V for the special event.. :o :o ::)

Hope to come up on Friday.. early.. so I can pound some
Colorado Cool Aids in the Motel 6 parking lot and catch up with my fellow Vision riders..   ;) ;) ;)

In my dreams my V won't go 170 miles on a tank... 140 w/ reserve.. :P


Hey Rick.. Does the recent Dam break have any effect on
our route? ???

[h2olawyer]

Glenn -

The dam break caused flooding down in the canyon, not up top, where this route is.  However, the heavy rains (8 inches!) may have played a bit of havoc with the road.  The end of the road is not Supai.  It is just a parking lot.  Supai is well down in the canyon.  It is the most remote town in the US.  They still get mail in & out by mules.

I hope to be there early Friday, too.  Planning on heading to Grand Junction or Delta in the truck with the bike in the back on Wednesday.  Leave the truck with some friends and then riding the V from that part of Colorado to Blanding or Monticello, UT.  Thursday's ride will be Monument Valley, through Grand Canyon National Park and on to Williams.  Then on into Kingman on Friday.  May change plans & go through Flagstaff instead.  Kind of depends on what time I hit the turnoff for the park.  There's nothing but miles of miles out there in the 4 corners area.

When I came back from the CROV ride @ Johnsondale, it took about 8 - 9 hours to go from Williams to Grand Junction (via Flagstaff) in my truck.  It's about 6 hours from Ft. Collins to Grand Junction.  If I get a real early start, I may make it to Kayenta, AZ the first day.  I'll be hauling a (full) gallon fuel jug with me as well.  I did 140 miles earlier this Summer & didn't get into reserve.  I'll bet it was close, though!  Don't remember how many gallons I put in the next fillup.

Hope I can get other COROVers to go with me!

H₂O

[Ron_McCoy]

Sharon and I are 94.7% sure we'll be there.  We're going to ride in Friday as well. ;D ;D ;D

[Rick G]

I don't expect the road was damaged , but I'll ride out there in a couple of weeks with Hector (on the Triumph Bonneville America) He will probably ride along on the 20th as well.
I will carry two one gallon cans of gas. Its 12 miles from the gas stop at Truxton to highway 18 and 60 miles to the canyon, so the round trip would be 144 miles . My vision took 3.1 gallons to fill up when I got back to Truxton,
We were running 60 mph , because the Honda Shadow had only a three gallon tank and the Meanie is 1600cc and thirsty, both were either on reserve or had the low gas light winking for a long time.
Glenn you can paint my bike while your here!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D just kidding.
Most of the evacuated people went home today. Only 5 homes were damaged in the flood.

[supervision]

  Let me say, I'd love to be there, that ride to the Canyon would be kool.   Barb and I went to the North rim, I was impressed. The ride, sounds like fun, even if we have to carry a little fuel.  Let me talk it over, and see what happens.

[ProfessorRex]

Hope I can get other COROVers to go with me!

If I can get mine back up and running in time, count me in.

[kwells]

looks like I'll be out on this one.  Will be flying back from Hawaii the 3rd weekend. 

[glennw]

Kwells....
I hope you are going with a chick...
Otherwise you have no excuse... :-\
G

[h2olawyer]

My plans are now officially on hold.  See my post in the Off Topic section.  It looks very much like I won't be able to make it down after all.  However, things may change - I'll just say the likelihood just dropped to below 50%.   :'(

H₂O

[kwells]

Chick will be in tow Glenn ;D

[glennw]

KWells.. my faith is restored.. ::)