Trains, Motorcycles and Makin' Tracks...

Up on the north side of Phoenix there's a big club of steam train guys. Those boys have laid 16 miles of itty bitty track through the desert... and run some lil' steam trains on 'em you can ride for free. The kids like it so I went with my sister, her son and wife, along with his kids; who were going for the "christmas lights" show along the tracks...

OK... the lights weren't ... ahem... what you might classify as... uh... spectacular ;).... and the trains are... um... well, let's just say I'll keep my Raider! ;) but it was a fun deal...

*Where? Where?! I don't see any such women anywhere!!!*

As we walked out to the lil' steamer I spotted this sign... hmmm... I didn't even have anything worth stealing... a midget train... and not ONE of them gals to be seen... a guy just can't win :(

Well we went on out and climbed on... uh... climbed down? ... uh... stepped down? sat down... ???

OK... we boarded the train...

This actually, ain't our train... but you get the picture...

*Silverton-Durango Eat your Heart out! ;)  *

 Hurtling through the desert into the sunset at the blinding, terrorizing speed of... um... 5mph or so ;) is Oh My God!!! thrilling!!! :) Ok... I'm bein' mean... but the kids like it!

 I guess if you're into trains and steamers...(I guess they have a big building with HO and N gauge setups too) this might be a place for you... Now... If I'd been paying attention I could tell you where it was... closer than Pinnacle peak near I-17!! :) but, senile like I am... you're askin' for a lot.

After all that excitement I looked at what the weather man was claiming and decided I better get a good ride in to calm down... 'cause it's gonna get messy for a few days... So, I got up yesterday in the Valley of the Sun and took off for yon Arizona Mountain roads, rolling toward the Mogollon Rim...

*Me and the Raider bound for Payson*

Took me a bit to find my way through Phoenix to catch Hwy 87 and cut north...

Twas a nice ride, even if it got a mite chilly up along the Mogollon rim. The thermometers were sayin' 45 degrees or there-a-bouts... which is fine if your on foot...

... at 70 mph in the wind, it feels a bit cooler... not as chilly as the 10 or 11 degrees I rode in Colorado... but for a lazy old twister... chilly enough...

I cut west on Hwy 260 just above Pine and Strawberry to run over to Camp Verde... The original idea was to cross I-17 to hit Cottonwood and then turn south over Mingus Mountain and swing around through Prescott and Wickenburg to roll home...

Buuuuut... though the road behind me hadn't any problem... there were a few spots, in the shade where it was threatening to be icy... I just figured that 7700+ Mingus Mountain might could be something I just didn't have the ambition to play with yesterday so I said bluck bluck BaGuuuuCK! and turned my chicken tail for the Valley down I-17 ;)

The good part is though... I videoed most of the ride... uh huh... Sideways!!! arrrrrggggghhhhhh. Nit wit that I am these days... I forgot to spin the lens to the proper position on my handlebar mounted camera... so everything is filmed sideways...

I guess if you wanted to lay in bed, with your head on the pillow... it would work out just fine!

Well... back to my literary efforts... good thing I have something to keep me busy when it rains.

Still gettin' older in the desert
Brian