Santa Fe & The North Rim

 A Western Sojourn

Sometimes, you get lucky.  The stars align and fate unfolds.  Such was my journey to The North Rim..

This was going to be a fairly "routine" trip; Alpine, AZ, then Santa Fe for a BMW "Weekend Getaway" event, back to Alpine, and home.  Good roads, a chance to explore Santa Fe, with a nice, historic downtown Santa Fe hotel thrown in.  The BMW event was a wild card, had never been to one of these despite being a BMW MOA member for years.

Then I found out that the Grand Canyon North Rim actually opened 15 May.  Hmmm...I could loop to there from Alpine on the way home...the Jacob Lake Inn had rooms...hmmm.  I'd tried, and failed, to get to the North Rim three times before...twice they were still closed on late May rides to the World Superbike races in Utah; the third time a massive wildfire closed the road and the lodge.

Krisanne had a better idea than staying at Jacob Lake:  "You know, there's a lodge right on the rim, have you checked there?  It is one of the historic National Park lodges.  Supposed to be awesome"  Why, no.  Boom, I've got a reservation at the North Rim "hotel" for 2 nights.  More later on how incredibly lucky that was.

Tucson To Alpine

Ginger ready to go at 6:30 am...

North out of Tucson, toward the Salt River Canyon; a well-worn route, but scenic nonetheless.

An "elixir of life" stop in Globe.

Gotta love the motto.

This route takes me thru the Arizona "ski country," past Big Lake, then down into Alpine from the north.

And to the Sportsman's Lodge, my Alpine "go to" for 15 years now.  There's good reason for that, as you'll find out in a few days...  8000 foot elevation, sleep is always tough the first night.

The route:

The fun bits...the Salt River Canyon

And past Big Lake

A fun day, but candidly, nothing new...have done this ride countless times.  Still, nice roads, little traffic, good weather.  No complaints!

Alpine To Santa Fe

The BMW MOA runs these "Weekend Getaway" events and this particular one was at the Drury Plaza Hotel in downtown Santa Fe.  More than anything, the hotel was the draw for me:  right on the historic plaza and an interesting renovation of what was originally a hospital, then offices and now a hotel.  They did a really impressive job; it's a great place, and I would not hesitate to go back.  Good location, nice facilities, free happy hour at 5:30!  Drury's business model is to find interesting, distressed, properties and rehab them into mid-lux hotels.  They certainly succeeded here.

Heading south out of Alpine on Route 180 into New Mexico.

Route 117 takes you through La Malpais National Monument, a section of which is known as The Narrows, and is home to the La Ventana Natural Arch.

A somewhat interesting ride, marred only by a stint on I-40 which is both ugly and a truck zoo.  Route 14 north into Santa Fe was fun, albeit with some construction zones, and Sandia Peak was unfortunately closed.  Not sure if it was wildfire or construction related.

Speaking of wildfires, Santa Fe and its surrounds were being threatened by two massive wildfires, one of which is the largest in New Mexico's history.  Fortunately, Santa Fe itself was fine and the air quality actually pretty good because the wind was blowing west to east, with the fire located primarily northeast of the city.

Check in was quick, the room very nice, just like the rest of the hotel.  They really did a good job, and the staff is pleasant, with a sense of humor.  

Reptiles out my window

Preferred parking

Quite a few attendees.

The requisite SWAG

Rooftop pool...unfortunately, the bar was closed.

At 5:30, the hotel has happy hour for all the guests, 3 drinks max, and a self-serve popcorn machine.  Very nice.  Attracts a crowd, as you might imagine, but you can take the drink and stroll the grounds.

The route:

Now, I tried, I really did.  The BMW "package" included dinner for two nights...I stroll over to the meeting room...windowless, all the tables inside, crap wine and beer for sale, one item only (lamb) on the menu.  There was a fairly large open courtyard directly in front of the meeting room entrance, could have easily accommodated several tables.

No thank you, head over to the hotel bar/restaurant for a very nice meal on this outdoor patio.

Wound up talking with a local Santa Fe community group, interesting folks, one just returned from Tuscany, another couple from Costa Rica.  Beats the hell out of the BMW "what programs do you use to plan routes/how many driveshafts have failed/what oil do you use" conversations.  I'm just not a group guy and should have known better.  That said, love the hotel, the location and the chance to explore Santa Fe.

The next day, I set out on foot to do exactly that and found my way to The Railyard.  Newly "rehabbed," a funky collection of shops, galleries, farmers market and restaurants.  Great vibe.

There are also actual trains.

As nice as the Rail Runner seems, there's also this painted party train:

They run 2 hour booze cruises.  The Sky Railway

The historic train station is under renovation.

And a really robust farmers market.

Extra fresh.  😎

I got there too late!!!  All sold out.

A couple of breweries.

Movie theater.

And even an REI 

Have to say, this was my favorite part of Santa Fe.  Good vibe, fun stuff, well done.

On the walk over...one of these things is not like the other.

Ode to a Pick Up Truck

A bit more modern

Umm, ok...

Santa Fe Back To Alpine

Cold, wind and a whole lot of nuthin'.  41 degrees when I rolled out of the Drury Plaza garage, heading south for a short stint on I-25 this time to avoid the truck zoo that is I-40.  But man, it was windy, needed to pay close attention to keep Ginger in lane, although these bikes are far less affected by cross winds than either of my GSs were.

The route:

Alpine To The North Rim

As I mentioned earlier, this was my fourth attempt to get to The North Rim.  Cold overnight in Alpine, upper 30s, low 40s.  It's about 45 as I get ready to leave.  Call Krisanne to say good morning; she says, "I'm so excited that you get to go to the North Rim!"  I'm not there yet, I say.  Cue the music...

Head out to load and start Ginger, couple of clicks and a slow "urrrr, urrrr" then nothing.  Fuck.  Another southwest battery bites the dust, this one is exactly 3 1/2 years old, so right on time.  Of course, I didn't pack the little jump pack I usually bring...stupid.

There are a few other riders that I met last night packing up, getting ready to go.  Unfortunately, none have cables or a jump pack.  I ask them if they know if Frank is up yet..."yes, we just saw him, he's in the office."

I've known Frank and Phyllis for 15 years now, been coming to the Sportsmans at least once each year.  Frank's a fellow rider, and they are both incredibly nice.  The motel, although nothing fancy, is spotless, and there's always cleaning equipment out for the bikes.

I walk into the office and there's Frank sitting behind the desk in his bathrobe; it is 6:55 am.  "Hey, Frank, battery's dead, would you happen to have a jump pack?"  "Sure, I've got three!  I'll meet you at the bike."

So there's Frank, standing next to me in his bathrobe in the early morning cold, jump pack in hand.  Ginger fires right up.

This is why I go to the Sportsmans, and why I always will.

Ride into Springerville and stop at the first auto parts store I see, leave Ginger running while I buy another jump pack.  Glad they had one, and I should be good for the rest of the trip. 

Heading to the Vermillion Cliffs

The Navajo Bridge over the Colorado River.  Condors nest here, but didn't see any today.

Fill up in Jacob Lake, then turn for The North Rim, you can see the fire devastation as the road climbs to a peak of 8840 feet.

Some new growth.

At long last!

The route:

I had read that check in is a bit of a zoo, nothing before 4 pm, so there's a long line starting at about 3:15.  As I'm waiting, I learn that getting a reservation here is hard...very hard.  Folks were recounting how they got on line six months ago when reservations first opened, site crashed multiple times, things were fully booked in hours.  They could not believe I got a room only a week ago...neither can I; right place, right time.  😎

They have cabins and also 2 "hotels," I've got a room four doors away from the farthest you can be from the lodge.  Ginger is literally parked in the furthest parking spot there is.  But we're HERE!!!

Down these steps to the hotel

My place for tonight and tomorrow.  The most interesting thing about the room:  in ceiling radiant heat.

The Lodge is at the end of this road.

Worth the walk!

As you walk into the Lodge, the dining room is on your right.  I've got reservations at 8:15, also lucky from what I understand.  Even better, the hostess seats me around 6:30.

My waitress is from Tucson, Oro Valley specifically, what a small world.  She's working there for the summer; "Tucson's too hot!"

There are two observation decks overlooking the rim.

A good day.

After a good breakfast and a great view, I went wandering on the Transept Trail.

It is a pretty easy three miles to the campground and back, winding thru the forest and the edge of the canyon.

The photos simply don't do it justice.

That afternoon, I did the Bridle Path to the campground, then back to the Lodge on Transept again, so about 6 miles for the day.

Ahhhhhh...

Even better!

I couldn't finagle my way into an earlier dining reservation, so a couple of hot dogs to go with the G&T would have to do.  Just fine with that... 😎

The North Rim To Flagstaff

Decided that a 480 mile one day ride home in the heat would not end up in the "fun" column, so decided to break the ride in two and stay in Flagstaff at the Little America Inn, a great hotel despite the name!

First, let's see if Ginger starts...because the ride is shorter, I could wait for it to warm up a bit...

She lives!  Jump pack stays in the tail box...

Back to Jacob Lake and the Vermillion Cliffs.

Lunch at Marble Canyon...

With an airstrip directly across from the lodge.

Not the Little America Inn...

That's more like it...

The one on the left is a new Kia EV6, spent almost a half hour talking to the owner and his wife.   Nice looking vehicle, but I don't like matte paint.  When did having a car in primer become a thing?  Plus, as I learned, you can't take it through a car wash.

They love it, very nice and roomy inside and they road trip with it, mostly from Peoria, AZ to California to visit family.  That said, they stay in interstates where charging is not a problem.  Interestingly, the Little America, which bills itself as a "travel center" and has a Sinclair station on premises but no charging whatsoever.  There's a Tesla supercharger across from it, and an Electrify America fast charger a quarter mile away in, of course, a Walmart parking lot.

And there's the rub for a Rivian for us...the infrastructure is just not there yet to travel tertiary routes through the expansive West.  The North Rim is a 50 mile road in, then the same 50 out...and they have no chargers at all at the Lodge.  There's a gas station, though.  Until/unless this changes, I just don't think an EV will work for our use case.  We'll see...lots can happen in two years' time.

The route:

Flagstaff To Home

Ginger started again, but just barely.  Again helped because I could wait for it to warm up a bit before I left.  And boy, would it get warm.

The "back way" home, past what's left of Lake Mary (not much) and Lake Roosevelt (more, but still very low) with a stop again at Vida Coffee in Globe for some caffeine and to soak my shirt for what will be a hot ride.

The route:

As I leave Globe, the Melt-O-Meter hits 104 and change, not that the "change" matters one whit when it's HOT, DAMN HOT!

Ordered Ginger a new EarthX lithium battery as soon as I got home...the one in Bonnie, my "lithium experiment" will be five years old this December and is perfect.  Plugged Ginger into the battery tender, and got a green light almost immediately, once again showing me that AGM batteries become unreliable after a few years in this heat. 

A COLD shower and a beer never felt so good!!!!