My winter trip

[trbig]

My brother and his family are coming over here to eat dinner (Stroganoff) I think there'll be enough. There's a pot full that's even bigger than Ivan's helmet!

Tomorrow, my brother has a big get-together for Christmas breakfast, then the afternoon, we go to his wife's brother's house for a big barbecue... smoked everything. I'm going to have to get some tires with stouter weight limits for the trip home.

Merry Christmas everyone, and thanks for the responses.

Tod

[XJOK2PLAY]

Tod,
Glad to see you made it!

Man... those pictures are awesome... wishin' I was there with ya! I know it woulda been a blast.

Glad to hear you were successful with the surprise! Now that's a Christmas adventure story!

Merry Christmas my friend. Thanks for taken me along for the ride anyways...

Come home safe.

Bob

[Tropic-al]

Have the best Christmas ever!!

Tod, enjoy your mom and family's company, hope you have the greatest Christmas ever! I know the feeling as I consider myself close to parents/family but we are spread out. Although, let me tell you, not that I could ride to see them, but if I could, they could not pay me to ride in that weather to spend time with them!!
Keep up the reporting. Some of us are seeing that part of the country for the first time up close now!
Have a safe rest of your trip.
Take care

[XSokieSPECIAL]

DAMMIT........ That last paragraph brought a tear to MY eye.

You have a wonderful Christmas with your family man.

I'm glad you made it safely and I enjoyed the journey even though I wasn't there.

Hope you stay in touch but we'll understand if you don't.

Make sure we're with you on the way home.

Tell mom from this family too!

[Bigfoot]

At least this time they were probably tears of joy, unlike all the other times you made your Mom cry.

[trbig]

I tried a second time to go make a canyon run. It was in the low 50's, so not too bad. I threw on my mesh jacket with the rain liner in it and headed off. I rode over to Globe, AZ and headed north towards the Salt River Canyon on HWY 60.

Sometimes too much trouble to go around.. so go through.





The temps were dropping well below comfort zone. I wasn't dressed for this at all. I saw this, and hoped that was all of the snow I was getting into.





Sometimes hope just isn't enough.











I finally topped out and headed down towards the canyon to SLIGHTLY lower temps. I had felt like my hand was getting frostbite every time I took it out of the glove for a pic... but it wasn't much warmer than the rest of me.. lol. The roads were still wet in spots and it was cold enough that I worried these spots might be ice, so no canyon carving done today.














I turned around at this point and headed back... through the snow.. to get back in time to my brother's house where I was finally meeting up with my parents. Mom makes some beef stroganoff that is out of this world every Christmas. My brother lives by them, so every year I get a phone call saying, "Hey.. what's up bro? Just sitting here eating stroganoff." Sometimes even close family members are evil.

So I pulled my bike into bro's garage, and just as the door gets about halfway down, they pull in the drive. Just about got busted. She says she saw some guy in coveralls, but thought it was Rex's neighbor. So a few minutes later, I snuck up behind her in a hallway, put my arms around her and said, "Gonna have to make some more stroganoff this year." She cried... twice. What a sissy.


Tod

[oseaghdha]

Holy sh!t...it's the Lavender Pit.

Closed in 1974 it is one of the largest open pit copper mines in the world. From 1950 to 1974 they removed in excess of 250 millon tons of rock producing 600,000 tons of copper. I know 250 "million" sounds small when you consider your government is throwing dollars around in the trillions. But 250 million tons of rock is more than a mole hill.

There is a new prospect just north of this mine. It appears to have 190 million tons of ore grade material and similar reserves of copper. Copper that is much needed for all sorts of things from electrical wire to pennies.

But it may never be touched thanks to the "Moonbats".

Took a side trip down into the original Copper Queen Mine in Bisbee. You have to wear raincoats down there! Pretty interesting tho.

[XJOK2PLAY]

And Bob... your old-timers is kicking in. You never met them personally, but the boys were with us at the Journey concert.. we just gave them the floor tickets while we stayed in the old folks section.. lol. But I did tell you about them at least then. My youngest is almost 17. My wife still occasionally gets carded and some have thought she was David's sister... which makes me look like a cradle robber. Some guys have a mid-life crisis and trade the old for new... I'm gonna have to get one that looks my age.

Tod

Sorry Tod, my 'old-timers' never kicks out... fact it can't kick at all anymore...

Seems like I do remember you telling me they were there now... I just didn't get to meet them that night, right? (Just checking...) Now I did meet your wife that night... or was it your daughter? I can't remember... (HeHeHe)
If she's gettin' carded at your old ugly age... you best hang on to that tight as ya can with both arthritic hands, my friend!
After all... who else in the world's gonna put up w/ ya?? I mean... just look at ya... LOL... always off on some motorcycle trip... leavin' her at home on Christmas... man... If she's that young lookin', you sure are a trusting soul!
LOL LOL HeHeHe

Glad you've had some fun so far... sucks ya hit bad weather... but hey, at least ya haven't dropped the bike & broke something else today, have ya?
(Maybe I'd better shut up... that WOULD really suck if all that happened... I mean- crash your bike while parked again... ( hasn't that happened like TWICE now?) come home and find your wife's gone... your kid cleaned out your bike parts, sold 'em on ebay, bought a new Concours 14...)

How long did you say you'll be gone, and what's your home phone #/ address ??

Hope ya know I'm just messin' w/ ya... I mean after all... you're like my brother... I pick on ya cause I like ya... at least I hope that's why you pick on me...
Be careful today, will ya?

[XJOK2PLAY]

There is a new prospect just north of this mine. It appears to have 190 million tons of ore grade material and similar reserves of copper. Copper that is much needed for all sorts of things from electrical wire to pennies.

But it may never be touched thanks to the "Moonbats".

...So us 'lectricians get to keep on payin' high prices for copper wire... go figure!

Mighta known it would be due to some environmentalist wack jobber...

[Elevenator]

Bisbee is a really neat looking town with homes built into the hills into solid rock. It started out as a mining town, as many of them around here did, and you can see the evidence of it all around... including this giant hole in the ground. The pics don't do it justice.. this is a big-azz hole!

Holy sh!t...it's the Lavender Pit.

Closed in 1974 it is one of the largest open pit copper mines in the world. From 1950 to 1974 they removed in excess of 250 millon tons of rock producing 600,000 tons of copper. I know 250 "million" sounds small when you consider your government is throwing dollars around in the trillions. But 250 million tons of rock is more than a mole hill.

There is a new prospect just north of this mine. It appears to have 190 million tons of ore grade material and similar reserves of copper. Copper that is much needed for all sorts of things from electrical wire to pennies.

But it may never be touched thanks to the "Moonbats".

[trbig]

Glad you didn't get caught in that sandstorm around Pheonix I've been hearing about on the news.

Nice to hear you've been lollygaging. I was worried you might have hit that mess.

Hey Greg.

You mean THIS sandstorm I got caught in yesterday? You should be able to see mountains.








But no worries. Shortly after that I got hit with this crap. I came to the desert for this? I could have stayed home and got this crap...








But.. that rain washed all of the dust out of the air... and deposited it right on my bike...






Headed out to try for that canyon ride again, then later to meet the parents and surprise the hell out of my mom.

Yes and this makes for a very awkward conversation

Which is AWESOME to watch your kid painfully blunder through. Makes for great character building... and much amusement for the parents.

And the "Dad of the Year" award goes to... not me! lol.

Tod

[4.0xj]

My wife still occasionally gets carded and some have thought she was David's sister...

Yes and this makes for a very awkward conversation

[trbig]

Yup... I have a spare clutch handle, but some of us can still ride without one if needed.. . lol. I have LOTS of spare stuff... just no turn signal. It was a generic one for the fairing, so the parts bikes are still safe.

Well if I was to ask you then you would say mom. If I asked mom then she would say you. So....

My money is on the mailman...

And Bob... your old-timers is kicking in. You never met them personally, but the boys were with us at the Journey concert.. we just gave them the floor tickets while we stayed in the old folks section.. lol. But I did tell you about them at least then. My youngest is almost 17. My wife still occasionally gets carded and some have thought she was David's sister... which makes me look like a cradle robber. Some guys have a mid-life crisis and trade the old for new... I'm gonna have to get one that looks my age.

Tod

[XJOK2PLAY]

Well... I can... but I get these strange two cutouts in the front of my sweaters and tops...
lol

Meaning, of course, the temps at that time might be a bit 'nippy'?

[Wildkat]

Kat and Bob,

You can't make that long of a trip in the middle of DECEMBER without someting falling off

At least it was just a part of the bike.

Well... I can... but I get these strange two cutouts in the front of my sweaters and tops...
lol