Day 7 March 31, 2006

Day 7
March 31, 2006
Rock Hound State Park, NM to Roper Lake State Park, AZ



Rise and shine. Breakfast consisted of granola and pop tarts. We had planned an early start, and were able to get packed, loaded, and moving by eight o’clock local time. Getting back down the hill was seemingly easier than the ascent the night before. The cattle must have still been asleep; they were not roaming near the road this time.



A quick stop for fuel and to adjust Deb’s cargo (it had been loaded while on the side stand and was lopsided) before high-tailing it out of town and towards Arizona. Our route necessitated getting back on I10 for a brief period, but we were able to split off onto Hwy 70 heading northwest. We inadvertently passed the state line and had to circle back for a picture, but it was worth it.



(We may not hit very many states on this trip after all. Anything much farther north than we are now seems to be too cold or has snow flurries forecasted.)

Just a mile into Arizona, we found ourselves pulling over again, but this time it was a mechanical issue. Deb’s speedometer had abruptly decided it was not going to cooperate, however her tachometer and indicators were still fully functional. With a quick roadside check for loose cables or wires (and the addition of an exhaust burn to Erik’s forehead while looking), we determined it was going to be a more intricate endeavor figuring out the problem and coming up with a resolution. Since she was pacing us, we knew she wouldn’t be speeding and could do without it until the next full stop.

Miraculously, after the next gas stop, her speedometer was working again. We will have to keep an eye on it going forward, but we are hoping for the best.



Just a mile or two down Main Street, we found Jerry’s Restaurant (not to be confused with Denny’s) and were very pleased with the standard diner fare. We were afforded the opportunity to sit in a large corner booth with plenty of space for ourselves and our gear, access to an outlet for charging, and a great view of the Comfort Inn next door that offered free wireless internet. Yeah, we sponged some free web.





We also got to meet Bob Clark, a local rider and president of the Easteren Arizona Motorcycle Riders Club.



He says he found us by following the smell of burning rubber, but we think he’s just a jolly man that likes to meet riders that come to his town. We were right – he sat and talked with us for a while offering up stories of rides gone by, details about upcoming rides, and places to go and things to do and see in the area. His riding club is putting on its 14th annual Observation and Poker Run in a few weeks. An observation run follows a route of 150-200 miles, then asks questions at the end about things that you were supposed to see along the way. If you don’t pay attention, you can’t win prizes. Either way, the Special Olympics is the real winner and gets the proceeds.

Bob offered up a great route idea up 191 through the Coronado Trail. He had ideas for gas stops along the way, places to eat, and spots to stop at for scenic photo ops. When we asked him if there was a Honda shop where we might replace Erik’s missing fairing bolt, he said that unfortunately there was none, but that he used to be a mechanic and had an assortment of nuts and bolts back in his garage that we were welcome to look through. We told him we’d see how the events of the day unfolded and he gave us his phone number and told us to call if we needed anything while here in Safford.

After finishing up our early afternoon breakfast, we headed for Roper Lake State Park. This time, we sent Erik and Gavin through the park to find our nesting spot before putting any money in any box. This park was beautiful like all the others, was set on a lake with swamplands and high grass to house the ducks and other assorted wildlife.



Gavin and Rebecca walked down to the restroom while Erik and Deb began setting up camp at the chosen site. Returning to see the tent already up, Gavin hesitantly suggested a site closer to the water that was not reserved this weekend. It offered a covered structure over the picnic table, which the original site didn’t. Three out of four campers agreed that the second site was better, even though the original scouts had agreed nixed it.

The definition of “happy camper” would be Erik walking a hundred yards across the camp area with fully-erected tent hovering above his head, murmuring the whole way. Nobody knows quite what he was saying, but it’s probably better that way.

After moving, we realized we had to go back up to the ranger station to let them know about the site move. Erik was somehow nominated for the task, and hopped on the bike to take care of it.

Erik: I need to move my site
When the ranger got the envelope out of the lock box and noticed there was only $12 in it, he informed Erik that since there were four bikes, each bike would have to pay an entrance fee.
Ranger: Please deposit $30 more
Erik: You gotta be kidding me, right? (censored for public viewing) For $40 I can go get a hotel. The manager of the site told me that one was enough since we can fit four bikes into one parking space.
Ranger: It’s in the rule book that a motorcycle is a vehicle and we charge per vehicle, sir. Since you’ve spoken with the manager, and the head ranger will not be in until tomorrow, I guess we’ll make an exception this time.
Erik thanked him, turned and walked away, threw his fist in the air for the other campers waiting in line to see, and shouted “Bikers unite for cheaper camping!”

Arriving back at the new site, Erik was obviously no longer upset about the changing of the site. His new focus had turned to the park ranger and the entire state of Arizona for their inadequate rules regarding vehicle fees in their park system. He was certain that the park rangers here should be over working at the dam park like the other dam rangers.

Once the site was setup for the night, Rebecca was able to hang her hammock (for only the second time so far on the trip) and take a relaxing nap. Little did she know that while asleep, the others would abandon her for a geocache high atop the lookout. They also happened upon this on their way back…



(no snakes were harmed in the making of this story)

Rather than eating Ramen for the fourth night in a row, we decided to head into town for dinner since it was only seven miles from the campsite. We were looking for the Wendy’s we’d passed on our way in to keep it cheap, but when we couldn’t find it (hmm… maybe that was a different town?) we decided to hit up ‘ol trusty – Jerry’s again.

Dinner fare was just as great as breakfast had been earlier in the day, but since Gavin had such a hard time choosing between eggs and pancakes before, he stuck with the breakfast side of the menu again.

We made a quick run over to the local Wal-Mart for a few more essentials (more pancakes, and extension cord, and a head lamp for Deb - her pen light just wasn’t cutting it), then we headed back to camp. As we arrived, we saw exactly what we had hoped not to see.

We forgot the cameras on this little outing, but trust us that the looks on our faces were priceless when we saw that the gate to the park had been shut. It’s an electronic gate with a keypad, but at no time were we given a code. There isn’t supposed to be any vehicle traffic in the park after 10 o’clock, but here it was a quarter after 11 and four bikers were stuck. The monkey was back at the campsite having a good ‘ol time with some of the neighbors he’d cozied up to in our absence.



Erik jumped over the gate to see if the was anyone in the ranger’s station and Gavin was working on unhooking himself from his bike while Deb and Rebecca played with the keypad. They tried all kinds of codes that make patterns (they usually set the codes that way so that people don’t forget them) but nothing was working. 123#, 321#, 426#, 258#. Nothing. Just beeps telling us we’d gotten it wrong.

“What about 1234?” asked Deb, and sure enough – open sesame! We quickly hurried through, afraid that it might be on a timer or that it might have set off an alarm in the station. Riding down towards the campsite, rabbits were running rampant trying to get themselves caught under the wheels of the bikes.

Turning down towards our site, Gavin thought that we’d made a wrong turn and pulled over to turn back around. At the same time, unbeknownst to Gavin or Rebecca on the red bike, Erik had shut off the power to the yellow bike and he and Deb were coasting down the hill without lights in an attempt to remain quiet. We almost collided, Erik and Deb coasting at almost 25 mph and Gavin and Rebecca halfway through a U-turn. Yellow and red make orange, but luckily we avoided that scene by mere inches. Grabbing a handful of front brake, Gavin was now faced with keeping his bike from hitting the pavement as it went over to the left. Instinctively, both he and Rebecca had gotten their left feet down and were holding the bike up with pure adrenalin. Nothing scratched, broken, or bent, but both Gavin and Rebecca would be sore in the morning. I guess we’ll have to stay in this beautiful setting for another night.