Desert Riders Yuma, AZ For the thrill of the ride!

Spring Break-Away
(scroll down for pictures)

Spring Break comes in April and it is a perfect time to visit the Grand Canyon. Crowds are small and the weather is good - well, mostly. We left Yuma on Sunday, April 2nd for a five day ride. We rode to Prescott the first day where we stopped to visit some friends. The next day we went through Williams, Az. and up to the Visitor's Center at the Grand Canyon. We watched the recommended IMAX film about the canyon and then rode up to the canyon rim. To say the canyon is awesome is an understatement. We stopped at numerous viewpoints along the rim and then left the park through the East gate and headed to Page, Az. where we spent the night. The trip from the Canyon to Page was beyond description. It is one of the most beautiful rides I have ever been on. I was so enthralled I didn't even take any pictures. They wouldn't have done it justice anyway. Suffice to say, you have to see it to believe it. Great ravines slice through the desert while red cliffs provide the background as the well paved road winds its way down from the 7,000 foot height of the canyon rim.

The next day, we left Page and stopped at the Navajo Bridge which crosses the Colorado River about 500 feet above the water. The bridge was built in 1927 and was the first bridge to cross the river in this area, allowing travelers in their Model T's to easily get from Arizona to Utah. Before the bridge was built they had to use Lee's Ferry. The ferry crossing is just a couple of miles up the road from the bridges and is now the spot where most of the river boat rides originate. After leaving Lee's Ferry, we followed Highway 89A past the Vermillion Cliffs and up a 4,500 foot climb to Jacobs Lake. The change from desert to forest is impressive and happens very quickly as the road ascends the mountains. After Jacobs Lake, the road drops again to the desert on the other side and an intersection which took us into Utah. The weather was turning bad by the time we got to Zion National Park so we rode through the park without stopping to take a tour. It is quite impressive and I felt sorry for the people in cars who couldn't look up at the awesome cliffs as they drove through the deep canyon.

We stopped in St. George, Ut. to visit some friends and left the next morning for Kingman, Az. In the afternoon, as we rode along Lake Mead, the weather got pretty bad and as we approached Hoover Dam, we were battling 30 mile per hour winds, rain and lightning. Seeing the lightning, I didn't want to be the tallest thing in the desert for the next 75 miles to Kingman, so we stopped at the Hacienda Casino/Hotel in Boulder City. We were apparently fortunate to get a "lake view" room for only $85 a night. Good thing I got a discount. We got them back though as we actually won a few bucks in the casino.

The next day the weather was perfect as we headed back to Yuma and the end of a perfectly wonderful ride.

First stop - Breakfast at Marks in Quartsite	We saw a little snow as we got to Williams
No wonder they call it the "Grand" Canyon	Pictures can't show the real beauty of the Canyon
A motorcycle is the "only" way to get around	Desert View at the East end of the park
There were lots of Navajo vendors along the roadside	The original Navajo Bridge, built in 1927, and the new one to the left.
Looking back at the valley we had just crossed and the Vermillion Cliffs	Welcome to Utah
The weather wasn't looking too good as we entered Zion	We got lots of rain and even a little hail
Our "Lake View" room at the Hacienda	The road back to Yuma wasn't quite as magnificent as the others we had ridden over the last few days.