The wind blew and blew our little two-man tent. Eric and I both have yet to enjoy a good night sleep. The moon was almost full and was amazingly beautiful as it reflected off of the lake. Packing seems to be getting easier and easier.
We left Lyman Lake and headed for Alpine, Az. It is a small community that looks like it should be in Alaska more so than Arizona. It was once a logging community, but as the forests were shut down, the jobs in the town disappeared. Alpine is the gateway to the White Mountains and it was the jumping off point for the coldest part of our trip.
The road through the White Mountains, or as the locals of Alpine call it, “The Trail,” is over 60 miles long of twisty switch back roads. We had heard that road was extremely difficult to maneuver and it surely was. However, we never imagined all the snow that we would encounter.
The north side of “The Trail” had spots of snow still covering the road and I suppose that ADOT had stopped plowing. We just went slow and made it through the snow and ice. However once on the south side of the ridges, it was hair pin turns that kept us on the edge of our seats the whole way, literally.
Coming around the last bend on “The Trail” we encountered a huge open pit mine. Impressively large, the mine engulfed the entire mountain. It was an interesting ride as the road cut through the middle of the mine.
The mining down of Clifton, Az. sat at the edge of the mine, a neat little town that would be worth going through with more time.
On ward we pressed all the way to Tucson. After a quick stop at the Harley/Buell Dealership, we pulled into a State Park just outside of the city and camped. We encountered a two gentlemen named Gerald and T.J. (Tommy Joy). These southern gents are avid motorcycle-campers and told us how “it’s so nice to see a younger generation getting out on bikes and enjoying what the good Lord left us.” They are great guys and we hope to see them in Helper, Ut. when they meet up there in June for a big motorcycle-camping rally.
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