Marana Stockyards for Breakfast

Last Sunday Kiri, Tuyen and I decided to do an early morning breakfast ride to a new place in Marana.  A friend of my dad's had pointed it out earlier in the year and I wanted to check it out.  So off we went.

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I sweet talked Kiri into being the trip photographer.

To beat the heat and humidity, we we're supposed to meet Tuyen at a gas station at 6:30am.  Kiri and I were on time.  Mr. Tuyen, on the other hand, texted some lie about his alarm clock not going off and we had to go over to his house.  Here he is wiping the sleep out of his eyes and mumbling something about not being a morning person.

We headed over Gates Pass, our usual route for Sunday mornings.  Kiri had the camera tied to her wrist and snapped pictures over my shoulder on the straight a-ways.  We've been getting some nice rain from the monsoons.  This is why the desert looks so green.

Even though the sun was out, it hadn't gotten hot yet.  You could still smell the lingering rain from the previous day.  If you've ever been in the southwest, and been lucky enough to experience a rain storm roll in, you'll always remember the amazing smells it generates.

Looking out over Avra Valley.  This is the valley west of Tucson.  Home to Old Tucson and the Desert Museum.

 Turning off of McCain Loop Rd onto Kenny.  Mr. Tuyen striking a menacing pose.

 You'll always see tons of bicyclists out on these roads.  El Tour de Tucson is coming up on the calendar.  People are starting to train for the event.  I swear that when I started this pass I had a dashed line.

 On straight a-ways I'll lean forwards and let Kiri get some nice air flow.  She says it helps when the weather is warm.  I thought it was neat you could see Kiri's shoulder in the left mirror and Tuyen in the right.  Group Photo!

 Traveling north on Sandario Rd, you eventually end up in the town of Marana.  Just prior to this picture we passed a hidden police car in some trees off to the right.  Luckily we weren't speeding as that would have cast a dark cloud over our nice morning ride.

 Sandario dead ends at the Marana regional airport.  We hung a left.

 The landscape changed to lush agricultural fields.

You can barely make out the white Kitt Peak telescopes on the far mountain tops.

This guy on the red bike keeps tailing us.  I can't lose him.

There are flowing irrigation canals that parallel the roads out here.

Cows!

We finally made it to our destination.  The Marana Stockyards.  They auction off cattle here, but the place also has a cafe.  This is our first visit.

Synchronized kickstand placement.  Tuyen and I didn't make the cut for the 2012 Olympic trials.  We'll be ready for Rio 2016.

What a cute couple!

Our beautiful photographer Kiri.

After a long ride we were ready for breakfast.  The Cattlemans Cafe can be found inside the auction house.

Kiri ordered gravy and biscuits and Tuyen and I had the french toast.  MmmmMmmm we'll definitely be back!

After breakfast we inspected where they sold the livestock. 

Kiri and I decided we're going to come here and buy our first steer.  We'll keep him in the backyard and see how long it takes for the neighbors to notice.

As we were leaving Tuyen noticed the strange symbols painted nearby.  I'm 100% sure they were left behind by alien lifeforms.  Kiri and Tuyen believes they're plain old branding symbols.  Pffffth, luckily they have me along to set them straight!

It was an enjoyable ride.  We'll be coming back soon!  Until next time!