Alpine, September 2012

Just got back from a nice trip to Bisbee.  But I can't post those pictures until I get my last trip to Alpine online from waaay back in mid-September.  My uncle, and a friend of my dad's, were supposed to attend but were unable to make it at the last minute.  Kiri had signed up for a photography class that weekend and stayed at home.  So it was just me, the parents, and my grandfather.  My dad and I headed out Friday morning and we stopped in downtown Globe for lunch.  The old Sheriff's office.  Still in use from the looks of it.

I was taking a picture of the church and just happened to catch this fellow riding through.

Notice the hillside "G" for the city of Globe.

We stopped for lunch at the La Casita Cafe.  The sign stated they've been in business since 1947!

 I have a tendency to order fajitas at Mexican restaurants.  These were quite tasty.  You can never have enough onions!

 After lunch I took a quick stroll down the block to stretch the legs.

 Soon we were back on the road.  We stopped at a roadside camping spot my dad wanted me to see.

And then again at the Salt River Gorge.

The clay in the water gave the river a nice reddish tint.

We made it to Alpine just as the sun was setting.  The temperature must have been in the 60 or 50's as it was a bit chilly as we pulled in.  The next morning I woke up early and found the sun shining through the trees.  I grabbed the camera and snapped a few pictures.

Later that same morning my parents and I took a small ride over to New Mexico.  My grandfather saw us off and wished us safe travels.

We made a small stop in the New Mexico town of Reserve.

There was a small monument to Elfego Baca here.  I yelled at my mom to dodge and weave!

The monument to Mr. Baca.

 The local hunters had taken down an elk, which was in the bed of the the red pickup truck.  People were milling about and taking a look.  The temperature was a little warm so we pressed on.

 We made our way north to the town of Quemado.  Before we left the Gila National Forest I snapped this picture at a road side stop.  That top case doesn't look like it would make a comfortable back rest, but my mom said it didn't bother her.

 We filled up the tanks in Quemado and headed back to Alpine.  There's a small lodge just north of town that was having a Oktoberfest later that day.  Don't ask me why they were having it in September.  My mom thought it might be too cold in October, so they have it a month early.  Not sure if that's true or not, but it sounds good. We arrived back to the cabin, picked up my grandfather, and headed over.

Mmmmm, brats.

The lodge was having different contests.

This one involved being the first person to hammer a nail into a tree trunk.  Of course, most of the contestants had had a few beers _and_ they had to use the non-flat side of the hammer, which upped the level of difficulty.

I took a few pictures of people's bikes who were staying at the lodge.  This was a decked out Concours 1400.  I'm really leaning towards this bike as my next one.  Can you picture Kiri riding in style, resting on that plush Corbin top case?

This was a wild looking beast.  I believe it's a Honda Valkyrie Rune.

Soon the sun was setting and we decided to head back.  The end, to a nice "get away" weekend.

The next morning my mom and grandfather left early.  Leaving my dad and I to take our time on the way back.  I only took one picture on Sunday.  This was at a rest stop in New Mexico looking back towards the White mountains.  Until next time!