Day 18 Going Home

Sleeping arrangements for last night were as follows:
Chuck and Bruce
Al and Jan
Ken and C.E. (Newbies)
We spoke last night that we would meet at the lobby for breakfast at 8:30 AM. Jan and I stayed up talking about the past 17 days, as I'm sure that Chuck and Bruce were and Ken and C.E. Jan and I spoke as I was doing my blog and listing the pictures. We had done this before, however, we didn't stay up as late as we had the prior days. This was NOT a 2:00 AM night! I finished about 11:30 PM and it felt strange that Jan didn't have the weather channel on. He had on regular programming.

My alarm sounded at 6:30 AM and for the first time, put it on "snooze." I didn't want to get up, knowing that our journey was about over and we were going to head for home today. Don't get me wrong, I missed my wife, daughters, 3 month old grandson, 5 month old Beagle puppy and the two Great Danes. It was just sad that the journey and camaraderie with close friends was about to be over. We got dressed and packed our Motors, which were parked in front of our room. We cleaned them and walked over to the lobby to get our passes for our breakfast inside JB's. As we were having breakfast, Ken was telling us that after he got back to his room last night, he found that his cell phone was missing. He walked back to The Native New Yorker, playing "Frogger" again across Hwy 260. He thought that he may have lost it when he sat on the dinner booth and scooted over. It wasn't there. He left and played "Frogger" again crossing Hwy 260 and saw a small pile of scrap on the street which happened to be his cell phone. It had been run over by the traffic. Ken is going to have to buy a new, modern, 21 century cell phone. As Ken has been throughout the ride, he had a very good attitude about it. We finished breakfast, checked out of our rooms and left at 9:40 AM.

As Ken was about to lead us out of Show Low, AZ., Bruce said his good byes to us and told us that he was going to break away from the Group in Overgaard, AZ. where his family were. Ken led us on Hwy 260 out of Show Low. When we arrived in Overgaard, Bruce broke away and headed to the family property. We all continued on. We were going to stop in Star Valley, just east of Payson, to gas up our Motors. About 25 miles before getting there, Chuck's "Low Gas Warning Light" came on. We were going down the hill from the Woods Canyon Lake area and Jan had to put his "reserve" on. We made it to the gas station at 11:06 AM after riding 89 miles without a problem. Chuck has plenty of gas left! He filled with 4.5 gallons in a 5 gallon tank. Luckily we were going down hill! We left at 11:31 AM.

It was my turn to lead and we headed west on Hwy 260. Chuck and Jan talked about stopping in Camp Verde at a Shell gas station to say our good byes to Jan. The told me and, unfortunately, I was thinking of the Shell gas station in Cordes Junction. We had intentions of going north of Payson and onto the General Crook's Trail coming out at I-17. We rode through Payson and then north Pine, AZ. and Strawberry, AZ. Finally we started heading west on Hwy 260 with some mountainous, curvy roads. The CB cracked with Chuck's voice saying, "This is GREAT!" We continued on and entered Camp Verde. We passed the Shell gas station and I was oblivious. I was thinking ahead to Cortes Junction. We didn't stop and I led the Group onto I-17 southbound. At the Prescott exit, Jan waved good bye and exited. Sorry Jan, I promise that the next time we ride our Motors in the area of Camp Verde, I'll stop TWICE at the Shell gas station to make up for this. :) We stopped in Cordes Junction at 1:03 PM after riding 91 miles for our last pit stop. I told Chuck that it is tradition that since he leads us out of Phoenix to start our journey, that it would be appropriate, and tradition, that he leads us back into Phoenix. He smiled and agreed.

Chuck led us southbound on I-17. We passed Sunset Point, which is now open. We passed the sign for "Maricopa County" and then later the sign for "Welcome to Phoenix." I got on the CB and told Chuck that I would see him again in Denny's for our Tuesday coffee. C.E. and I exited I-17 at the 101. C.E. rode westbound and I went eastbound for home. Chuck and Ken continued southbound waving at us.

I arrived home at 2:11 PM after riding another 55 miles. Laura, my lovely wife of 34 years greeted me with the garage door open and open arms. She welcomed me "home" and we entered our house. When I entered, my 5 month old Beagle cried, whimpered, whined, jumped and nipped at me for at least 10 minutes. He was very happy to see me! He stayed by my side for the rest of the night. It is Great to be home!

This ride was different from the other two rides that we took the past two years. We had four original guys and two "newbies." I want to thank all of my good friends who rode with me and gave me great material to write on the "blog." Somehow I felt that the guys were afraid to do or say anything for fear that it would be on the blog. I also want to thank all of my friends and family at home who read about our journey through Chuck's and my blog. I hope that you enjoyed reading about our adventures.

We rode for 18 days and through 7 states in 5,217 miles. OK, so Chuck rode an additional 88 miles on Day 16 when he had to return to Cedar City, UT. to retrieve a bag. We also rode in areas below sea level as well as elevations above 9,900 feet. We also rode on some fantastic roads. We were very blessed that we never rode in nasty weather and that none of us suffered any major mechanical problems. It was a great journey. Next year, who knows! Until then...