2015 Get on a bike and ride!

 This is a summary of my first motorcycle ride in Arizona that took place in 2015, PLUS recollections that led to this ride AND also tossed in, a few early memories from the places I visited on this ride.

Background leading up to my first Arizona motorcycle ride

When I retired in 2006 I had thoughts of getting back into motorcycle riding as I hadn't ridden since Jean and I came to Arizona in 1978.  But for years for one reason or another it didn't happen, it just stayed a bucket list item.

But in 2012 and 2013 Walter Cress, a childhood friend now retired and living in Southern California, sent me a few emails about two motorcycle road trips he made to Northern California.  He also mentioned a ride he made many years through Nevada, Idaho and Montana, and a ride to the Baja California peninsula.

Walter's road trips were an inspiration to me and got me seriously thinking about riding again.

Later in early 2014 I watched a video titled Beyond The Border: Solo Riding in Mexico, by Sterling Noren.  He rode from Seattle, Washington on his BMW down the Pacific coast and crossed the border into Mexico, and then rides down the Baja peninsula and takes a ferry over to the mainland and then rides to the Copper Canyon in the Sierra Madre Mountains.  This was an excellent documentary and more inspiration for me, not that I will ever do anything that ambitious!

Even more inspiration was when I scanned some old film negatives of a motorcycle road trip Jean and I took less than a year after we married, we did a 3-day ride across the width of Florida, coast to coast, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, Jean on her first motorcycle, a Honda Super 90, and me on my first motorcycle, a Yamaha Big Bear Scrambler.  That is one of the best memories of my life.

So in 2014 with all that motorcycle inspiration bouncing around in my brain, I finally decided to get my Motorcycle Endorsement for my driver’s license and start riding again.  But getting the Endorsement would be a problem for me as I didn’t have a motorcycle I could use to take a road test.

Robert McCarty, a co-worker from my Florida days and now retired in northern Arizona and a Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic rider, recommended the TEAM Arizona Motorcyclist Training Centers (TeamAz), an organization that offers a Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) training course where you use their motorcycles for training. and when you complete the course successfully you automatically qualify for your motorcycle endorsement without any road test (or written) requirements at the MVD.  And since I hadn't ridden a motorcycle in about 37 years, I felt the training course would definitely be beneficial.

In September of 2014 I signed up with TeamAz in Scottsdale, they offered a 2-day, 15-hour class (5 hours classroom, 10 hours on a motorcycle) for $289.  I trained on a Honda Rebel 250 motorcycle.  The classes were held at the GO AZ Motorcycle dealer, a very short drive from my house. 

Above:  Our class had 2 instructors and 12 students.

Above:  Part of the area where we did our bike riding lessons, black bike in front is the Honda I rode.

Even in late September the heat was brutal, 10 hours of doing tough exercises in the hot sun nearly did me in, lots of sore muscles from handling the motorcycle.  The class required that we wear over-the- ankle boots and the only boots I had were some very old hiking boots that weighed a total of 5 pound for both.  It was tough just throwing my leg up over the bike with a 2.5-pound boot.

I hate to admit this but during the training class, I dumped my training bike once. The accident happened when I was hardly moving, I just lost my balance and fell on my face.  I messed myself up a little; a bloody nose, split lip, scrapped chin, bruised left thigh, and bruised right knee. 

One negative thing about the face injuries was I had to have a new photo taken for my new licenses, so my new licenses showed me with a injured lip!  It had healed up a little by the time I got the new licenses, but the scab was still very noticeable in the picture.  I would show a copy of this photo but I don't want to sully this write-up.

I completed the course with no further injuries and got my Motorcycle Endorsement, and as Freddie Mercury advised fat bottom girls to do, I was ready to get on a bike and ride!

But in November, something happened that postponed my riding plans, another injury, I injured my left hand at Tempe Town Lake (a kayak fell on my hand from a rack), x-rays showed no broken bones but the hand was swollen, discolored, looked terrible, was painful and took time to heal.  The left hand needs to be in good shape when riding a motorcycle as it is the clutch hand.

While my hand was healing I read a book titled France in America by a guy from England named Gary France who shipped his Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle from England to the US in 2010 to make a 21,000-mile road trip through 27 different states.  France did a fantastic job of writing and photographing his road trip.  I'm not normally a big reader but this book was one of the more interesting books I've read, and was even more inspiration for me to get back into motorcycle riding.

The Plan

My hand eventually healed, and after a few months in early 2015 kayaking in Tempe Town Lake, and a little hiking in South Mountain, I decided in April to rent a motorcycle and do a one-day ride.  I wanted to stick close to home for this first ride so decided to ride to two very unique towns next to Scottsdale, Fountain Hills and Cave Creek.

My plan was to rent a motorcycle from AzRide in Scottsdale, then ride to Fountain Hills to see the (1) famous water fountain for which the town is named.  After that a stop at the (2) Golden Eagle Hiking Trailhead, then (3) to see where singer/songwriter Jessi Colter lived, then to the (4) Pinnacle Peak Patio, then to (5) Cave Creek where I have a late lunch. After that, back to AzRide and return the motorcycle.

The map below shows the route I scheduled, a round trip of 90 miles on the Google map.

Above:  Map showing the 5 main stops.

The ride starts

On Wednesday morning, April 22, 2015, a little after my 74th birthday and almost 9 years after I retired, I went to the AzRide motorcycle rental in Scottsdale and rented a black Honda Shadow Spirit 750 motorcycle.  I chose this bike because it fit my needs for a first ride; not too large, not too small, and based on my research it was a good bike for beginners, a low seat height, a comfortable riding position, good stability, and good speed, "fast enough to get you out of trouble but not fast enough to get you into trouble" as the expression goes.

The basic rental price for the bike was $99, but with insurance, an armored-jacket rental (for protection, ...just in case), taxes, the total charge came to $174 for the day

Even thought this Honda model is not large as road bikes go, I was a tad nervous as I had never ridden a motorcycle this heavy.  The Honda 750 weighed around 525 pounds, compared with 300+ pounds for the Honda Rebel 250 I used in my training class, and 360 pounds for the Yamaha Big Bear Scrambler I used to ride in Florida.

Gaylen Brotherson, the AzRide owner, suggested I take a few spins around their area before hitting the open road.  So that’s what I did, and riding the Honda 750 did not feel any differently from other motorcycles I have ridden, my nervousness quickly vanished and I felt ready to hit the open road.

Before I left, Gaylen made my photo as he did for all his customers since he posted the photos on his website.

Above:  Photo at AzRide, photo by Galen Brotherson.
 

Heading to Fountain Hills

After the photo at AzRide I stopped by home where Jean also took a photo, I loaded up my camera gear, water, etc., put on my helmet, gloves and rode off to the town of Fountain Hills to see the fountain, my first stop for the day.

Above:  Photo at home, photo by Jean.

Heading south I picked up Via Linda Blvd., then headed east, past the Scottsdale Mayo Clinic, to Shea Blvd. for the 12-mile ride to Fountain Hills.  That part of Shea Blvd. starts out as a nice 3-lane highway, turning into 2-lanes, and then backed to 3-lanes before it gets to Fountain Hills.  The road is mostly straight but certainly not dull.  The drive in a car from our house to Fountain Hills is impressive with all the natural desert terrain, loads of saguaro cactuses, mountain views, but even more impressive riding a motorcycle.

Above: View along Shea Blvd.

After about 20 minutes I turned north off Shea Blvd. onto Saguaro Blvd. and arrived in Fountain Hills, a beautiful town known for its man-made water fountain, once the tallest in the world, but it no longer holds that title.

The fountain was built to attract people to live in Fountain Hills as the location was far from anything else.

Fountain Hills is also known for art and wine festivals, live music, and lots of good places to eat.  The town has artwork displayed throughout its downtown.  And the scenery is spectacular, outstanding views of the McDowell Mountains and the Four Peaks Mountains.

As shown in the following map, Fountain Hills is somewhat isolated, surrounded by the McDowell Mountains on the west, the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation on the east, the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community on the south and the McDowell Mountain Regional Park on the north.  Note path (arrows) in white from my house to the fountain.

Above:  Map showing Fountain Hills and surrounding areas.

 

Fountain Hills was co-developed in 1970 by Robert McCulloch, the same guy that developed Lake Havasu City and reconstructed the London Bridge.  McCulloch, also known for the McCulloch chainsaws, was certainly an interesting person, he came to Arizona in 1963.

Speaking of the London Bridge, Walter had earlier proposed a 3-day motorcycle trip to Laughlin, Nevada, where we would also have a chance to ride across the London Bridge.  After I get a few solo motorcycle rides under my belt, we will start planning that trip.

Riding to Fountain Hills brought back a flood of memories from earlier visits.

Jean and I have taken relatives to Fountain Hills as a starting point for Jeep and Hummer mountain tours.  The last time we were in Fountain Hills was in 2013, a year and a half before this ride when Jean’s sister and brother-in-law came to Arizona for a visit, we spent time around the lake area one day, taking photos of the fountain, etc.  We also left from Fountain Hills another day on a Hummer tour to the Four Peaks Wilderness Area.

One time Jean and I went with another couple to an Italian restaurant. The restaurant had indoor and outdoor tables, the outdoor tables faced the lake and was next door to the patio of a wine bar where a friend and her husband played live music, which we could hear from our outdoor table.  After the dinner we went over to the wine bar, listened to more of the music and sampled several wines.

Another time Jean and I went to a Limeliters (the 50's group, but with just one original member) concert, a local band I was friends with opened for them. I took photos of the local band that night and later they released an album and used one of my photos for the back of their CD.

One time I did a solo hike on the Fountain Park Trail.  After the hike I stopped off at a little coffee place and had an ice-cold coffee with chocolate and whipped cream, plus other stuff that I now forget.  The fountain was just going off as I ended the hike so I got to see it in full bloom.  After my hike I drove over to Ft. McDowell Casino and played a few hands of blackjack, and watched them set up the outdoor stage and chairs for a Blood, Sweat, and Tears show.

But back to this ride and the famous fountain.  I timed my ride so I would arrive at the fountain in time to watch the fountain go off.  When the fountain was new it sprayed water 560+ feet high when running all three pumps.  Most days now they run only two pumps and the water sprays only about 300+ feet high, it currently goes off every hour on the hour for 15 minutes.  Below are a few photos.

Above:  Lowell watching the fountain.

Above:  The fountain.

Above: Closer view of the fountain.

After I watched the fountain, I rode the bike to the Golden Eagle Hiking Trailhead, about a 4-mile ride, but still within Fountain Hills.  I wanted to see exactly where the trailhead was as it leads to the start of the Dixie Mine Trail, which I planned to hike later in the year.

The ride through Fountain Hills was very scenic; curves, hills, great mountain views, and nice homes.

Above:  Riding through Fountain Hills.

I arrived at the trailhead, enjoyed the view of the McDowell Mountains and the desert, took the photo below and rode to my next stop.

Above:  Golden Eagle Hiking Trailhead, with McDowell Mountains in background.

Heading to Jessi Colter's house

Leaving the trailhead and Fountain Hills, I rode north on McDowell Mountains Road which partially runs through the McDowell Mountain Regional Park, a beautiful area where Jean and I have hiked.

The ride was a nice 12-mile ride and when I reached Rio Verde Drive I headed due west and rode another 6 miles to Jessi Colter's house.  Her house is just off Rio Verde Drive on dirt roads.  I rode by her house for no special reason, just something to do on this ride since it was on the way.

When Waylon Jennings was alive he and Jessi lived in a gated-community in Chandler, Arizona.  But a few years after his death she relocated to this smaller place in the northern section of Scottsdale. Information on the Internet says the house is about 3,400 square feet of living space.

I was surprised that it wasn't in a gated-community, I could have ridden into her driveway, dismounted and knocked on her front door, ...which I didn't of course, being an outlaw she probably has guns.

The map below shows where she now lives.

Above:  Map showing location of Jessi Colter's house in Scottsdale.

Although I didn’t take a photo of Jessi’s house, I did find one later on the Internet, as shown below.

Above:  Photo of Jessi Colter's house, NOT my photo, taken from the Internet, actually a frame-grab from a YouTube video.

As a side note, the last time I saw Jessi perform live was in 2013, about a year and a half ago before this ride, at a Concert/Benefit for the Yarnell-19 she was hosting called Out of the Ashes,  It was held at The Rock at 32nd Street in Phoenix, an Alice Cooper music center for kids.  The Yarnell-19 were the 19 firefighters that lost their lives in the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire near Yarnell, Arizona.

Heading to Pinnacle Peak Patio 

After riding by Jessi’s house I rode over to the Pinnacle Peak Patio on Jomax Road, an old west steak house in the Scottsdale desert, a place where Jean and I have had many meals, her mostly the mesquite grilled steaks and me mostly the mesquite grilled cheeseburgers, both with cowboy beans and a salad, and live music with a dance floor. They also served chicken and ribs.  Fantastic food, great Arizona atmosphere, picnic style tables, sawdust on the floor, the servers all wearing western attire, the walls covered with business cards and neckties cut off from customers that made the mistake of wearing them.  They also offered hayrides, old-west dress up photos, and there was even a big tank of rattlesnakes in the back.  Plus they had an on-site microbrewery that brewed five types of beers, and they served other local brews also, including my favorite, Four Peaks.

Sadly the place was scheduled to close at the end of the month of this ride (April 2015) so I wanted to make one last stop to see it before the buildings are torn down.  It’s joining other similar western-theme restaurants that left this area; Greasewood Flat, Rawhide, and Reata Pass Steakhouse.  The land has just become too valuable, and luxury houses are being built in their place.  News articles says Pinnacle Peak Patio may be relocated, I hope so.

I don’t know how many people could be seated at one time at Pinnacle Peak Patio, but tourist would come up in busloads.

Pinnacle Peak Patio was a great place to take out-of-town guests.  One time in 1998 we were there with Jean’s young nephew and niece; G. Gordon Liddy was also there with his son who was a local lawyer and radio talk-show host that I listened to daily as I drove home from work.  Jean’s 21-year old niece made the comment about G. Gordon Liddy “Oh, we read about him in our history class.”  Jean and I got a laugh from that.

When I arrived at Pinnacle Peak Patio I parked the motorcycle, walked around looking at the old buildings, remembering the many times I'd been there, and took a few photos.  I didn’t go inside as they weren’t open.

Above:  Pinnacle Peak Patio.

Above:  Pinnacle Peak Patio (Pinnacle Peak in background).

Above:  Walking back to the bike.

Above:  Parking lot of Pinnacle Peak Patio.

Heading to Cave Creek

After I left Pinnacle Peak Patio I rode to Pima Rd. which took me to Cave Creek, a small desert town with cowboy saloons, biker bars, shopping, gorgeous desert scenery, ...a very charismatic place.  And live music, music is a big source of Cave Creek entertainment.

Although about 20 miles from where I live, I did go to Cave Creek a few times for the live music when I was a workingman. The Cave Creek Coffee Company (known as C4) was one place I liked.  It was a very small place, especially for the talent they were able to bring in.  Names like Michelle Shocked, Junior Brown, Tommy Emmanuel, Roy Rogers, etc.  But the biggest names I saw perform there were Chris Smithers one night with Jean, and The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash another night with a fellow co-worker.  Their main music venue was outdoors, but they had a smaller indoor music venue also.

Another place that has live music is the Buffalo Chip Saloon, I saw Jessi Colter perform there many years ago.  More recently since I retired I have been to Janey's Coffeehouse & Bodega, and Bryan's Black Mountain Barbecue for live blues music.

I mention that live music is a big source of Cave Creek entertainment, I should also say live music AND motorcycles!  Every year they have the Cave Creek Bike Week, hosted by the Hideaway Grill & Roadhouse, roughly same time frame as the Arizona Bike Week.  Cave Creek is a motorcycle magnet.  Lots of biker bars in Cave Creek.  You will always see motorcycles riding around, any day of the week.  I took the photo below of two Harley-Davidson motorcycles riding by, the Harley sound is very distinctive, which caught my attention.

Above:  Two Harley-Davidson motorcycles rumbling down the main drag of Cave Creek.

Below is a crop of the above photo, notice the riding attire, blue jeans, T-shirt and no protective gear other than his eye protection, the only protection required by Arizona law.

Above:  Crop of the previous photo.

A side note, in 2003 Walter purchased a dirt bike off eBay and picked it up at a pawnshop in Phoenix.  Before he and his 12-year old son headed back to California with his bike in his truck, we stopped at the Hideaway Grill in Cave Creek to shoot some pool and check out all the beautiful motorcycles parked there, and there were a bunch.

Another side note, after Sonny Barger (founding member of the Oakland, California chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club) was released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Phoenix in 1992, he moved to Cave Creek and opened a bike repair shop called Sony Barger's Cave Creek Cycles.  He was also a member of the Cave Creek, Arizona chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.  He's still living here in 2015.

The first time I'd ever heard of Barger was back in the late 60s or early 70s when I read the Hunter S. Thompson book on the Hells Angels.

There are many art & craft stores in Cave Creek also.  One night, a few years before this ride, while taking in some live music I went by a little art studio and saw outside a very large painting of Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger.  See following photo.

 

Above:  Lone Ranger painting.

Normally I'm not the type to casually stroll into an art studio, but being a long-time fan of Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger (I still watch his old rerun TV shows) I went inside to meet the artist Ron Wickersham, and view his many other paintings of the Lone Ranger, as well as his other paintings.

Cave Creek is an interesting town to take out-of-town-guests, Jean and I have hosted several relatives there over the years.

But on this day I just rode up the main drag enjoying the ride and the view.  I finally chose Harold's Corral for lunch.  Harold’s has a western-theme and specializes in American-style cuisine.  They bill themselves as the "Original Wild West Saloon," they've been there since 1935, that was years before I was born, even before my parents ever met! 

I ate outside on their patio because the weather was so nice, high temperature for the day was about 88F, plus outside was a good place to watch motorcycles ride by, going someplace, coming back from someplace, or just stopping in Cave Creek doing Cave Creek stuff.

Their menu included burgers, steaks, seafood, pasta dishes, barbecue dishes like baby back ribs, etc.  I had their bacon-cheeseburger & fries.  Delicious! 

Harold's has live music throughout the week but none was playing at that time of the day. 

Below are a few photos taken at Harold's.

Above:  Outside of Harold's Corral, that's the rental Honda in front.

Above:  I took a quick peek inside Harold's Corral.

Above:  The outside patio at Harold's Corral, where I decide to have my lunch.

Above:  Delicious bacon-cheeseburger and fries.

Above: Saguaros on a hill outside of parking lot at Harold's Corral.

 

Above: Leaving Harold's Corral after lunch.  Yep, bad timing on this shot by "Mr. Tripod," I wasn't looking at the camera and saying cheese.

After the late lunch, I mounted the bike, headed west on Cave Creek Rd., passing again places that have live music; Roadhouse, Buffalo Chip Saloon, Hideaway Grill, Horny Toad, Janey's Coffee & Bodega, Big Earl's Greasy Eats, Bryan's Black Mountain BBQ, Local Jonnys Tavern and Grill, and others.

I also passed the True West Magazine Headquarters, which moved to Cave Creek in 1999.  Owner and Editor-In-Chief is Bob Boze Bell is also an amazing artist and singer/drummer in local bands.  Bell is also an author and recently wrote the book titled The 66 Kid:  Raised on the Mother Road, a book I read being a fan of both Route 66 and Bob Boze Bell.

Heading home

After riding past those places I turned south, and to Cave Creek I said "adios," a phrase Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger often said on his TV shows.  If my bike had been silver I might have said "Hi-Yo Silver." I followed Cave Creek Rd. past Black Mountain to Carefree Highway to Scottsdale Rd., and returned the motorcycle to AzRide by 4:30 pm.  

End of this write up.

 

 

Miscellaneous Info

The Honda Shadow 750 was a pleasure to ride, low seat height, nice upright seating position, enough power for me, easy handling, shaft drive, 3.7 gallon gas tank, perfect for a leisurely day cruise.  I had an excellent day and I'm looking forward to more rides in the months and years to come.

Above:  Photo of Honda Shadow Spirit 750, Just a generic photo from the Internet, NOT the bike I rode.

 

Also, AzRide was a good company to rent from. I'll probably rent a few more bikes of this size from AzRide before moving on to larger bikes like the Harley-Davidson and/or Indian.

My total mileage for the day was 93 miles. 

I had two cameras for this ride, my 2014 Panasonic Lumix LX100, my 2001 Olympus C-700 UZ, and a tripod.

High resolution photos can be found at my Google Photos album at https://goo.gl/photos/96i7zkMHxr9C2SAW7

https://haroldscorral.com/

 

1970 Motorcycle Roadtrip across Florida

This write-up is about a 1970 motorcycle road trip Jean and I made across the width of Florida, coast to coast, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, I’m writing this in 2022 and don't recall many details but will do the best I can based on the few photos we took.

Background:

Jean and I were married in August of 1969 and had bought a new house 8 months later. This motorcycle trip was about one year after we were married and two months after we moved into our house.  This ride was a 3-day, 350-mile round trip to Sanibel Island.  Jean rode her 1967 Honda Super 90 (90cc) that she bought second-hand in 1968 when she was still single, and I rode my 1965 Yamaha 250 Big Bear Scrambler (250 cc) that I bought in 1965.

Jean’s Honda S90 bike was one of Honda’s early success models.  It was lightweight (175 pounds wet) due to its pressed steel frame to save weight over tubular construction of other similar bikes.  Its 8-hp engine would allow a top speed of 60+ miles per hour, plus the bike was extremely reliable.  Jean had been riding her S90 for about 2 years but this would be her first "long-distance" ride.  The S90 was more than adequate for this trip as we would not be on any high-traffic, high-speed highways.

I had been riding motorcycles for about 5 years but this would also be my first “long-distance" road trip, most of my riding had been off-road.  I had previously installed a large rear sprocket on my bike for trail riding and enduros, but even with this sprocket and off-road tires my top speed was also more than adequate for this trip.

I don’t remember what prompted Jean and I to make a 3-day motorcycle ride, maybe the TV show “Then Came Bronson” was an influence?

Also I don’t remember exactly why we chose Sanibel Island as our destination but I think it had to do with Sanibel Island being famous for its beauty, its miles of pristine beaches, and having one of the best places in Florida to find seashells.  Sanibel was considered the best shelling spot in North America according to Travel & Leisure Magazine.  One source said “There are 400 seashell varieties in all, rolling onshore by the thousands every day. Horse conches, jingle shells, giant cockles, calico scallops—take your pick."  Plus it was a “coast to coast” ride, which had a nice ring to it.

The following illustration shows the route Jean and I took on this 3-day trip to Sanibel Island.

Above:  Google map showing our route.

 
Day 1:  June 3, 1970 (Wednesday):  Riding to Sanibel Island

Jean and I left from our house in Juno Isles on June 3, 1970, a beautiful sunny day.  We rode north on Ellison Wilson Road to Donald Ross Road to A1A to the town of Jupiter where we picked up Indiantown Rd and followed that west all the way to SR 710 (aka Beeline Highway).  On the Beeline highway we headed northwest until we reached the St. Lucie Canal at the Indiantown border.

Indiantown is where I used to skydive a few years earlier, in 1966 and early 1967, before I got more interested in riding motorcycles.  Indiantown is also the home of fictional comic character Roscoe Sweeney from the strip “Buzz Sawyer.”  Sweeney was one of my heroes when I was a kid.

At the Indiantown border we took SR 76 west all the way to Lake Okeechobee where the St. Lucie Canal flows into Lake Okeechobee, close to the small lakeside community of Port Mayaca.

Lake Okeechobee, also known as Florida's inland sea, is the largest lake in Florida, it’s so wide you cannot see the opposite shore, if you are crossing the lake in a boat it's 25 miles from one lock to the next lock.  And I’ve read the lake is the third largest natural freshwater lake by area wholly within the US.

Lake Okeechobee is also touted as having some of the best freshwater fishing in America: bass fishing is popular here, as well as other types of fish.

An interesting fact to me about Lake Okeechobee is that it is part of the Okeechobee Waterway, a waterway that extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The waterway runs through Lake Okeechobee and consists of the Caloosahatchee River to the west of the lake and the St. Lucie Canal east of the lake.  The Okeechobee Waterway was created to provide a water route across Florida, allowing boats to pass east–west across the state rather than traveling the long route around the southern end of the state.  Sort of Florida’s version of the Panama Canal you might say.  So a boat can sail, paddle or motor from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico through this waterway.

After Jean and I reached Lake Okeechobee we headed south on SR 98 and rode another 11 miles along the shore of the lake until we arrived at Canal Point, another small community lakeside.  At Canal Point we stopped for our first break, and to admire the lakeside scenery.  We had been riding a little over an hour and traveled about 50 miles at this time.  We took a few photos which are shown below.

Above:  Jean at Lake Okeechobee.

Above:  Lowell at Lake Okeechobee.

Above:  Jean at Lake Okeechobee.

Leaving Canal Point we continued south through Pahokee to Belle Glade and then headed west passing through a series of other small towns on the southern end of Lake Okeechobee; South Bay, Lake Harbor and Clewiston.

The 2 photos below were made somewhere among these small communities, but I don't recall exactly where.  I remember I lost the map I had and Jean and I turned around to look for it.  These photos were taken about that time but I don't recall if they were taken before I lost the map or perhaps after we found the map.

Above:  Lowell with a map.

Above:  Jean somewhere, looking for the map I believe.

When we entered Clewiston we stopped at a gas station to top off our fuel tanks and check our chain adjustments. See photo below.

Above:  Checking chain adjustment.

The restaurant in the background of the above photo was the Old South Bar-B-Q Ranch, a Florida institution. Billboards across the state invited diners to the restaurant in Clewiston.  I didn't notice the restaurant when we were there, I only noticed the name later when looking at this photo after scanning the negative (the original prints had the name cropped off).  I now wish we had stopped there for a cold drink.

The following map shows the small towns we rode through getting to Clewiston.

Above:  Map showing towns around Lake Okeechobee.

The farms around the southern end of Lake Okeechobee grow a lot of sugarcane and each year the farmers burn the fields before the harvest and we would often see the smoke from where we lived on the eastern coast of Florida.

After our stop at Clewiston we continued on US 80 for about 55 miles to SR 93 and then headed south to SR 876 where we headed west again to Punta Rassa (suburban neighborhood to Fort Myers) where the Sanibel Island Causeway starts.  The total ride from Clewiston to the causeway was about 80 miles.

The following map shows the area of Sanibel and Captiva Islands, and the causeway.

Above:  Map showing the barrier islands of Sanbel and Captiva.

The causeway from the mainland at Punta Rassa to Sanibel Island is about 3 miles long and consists of three separate two-lane bridge spans and two man-made islands between them.  The causeway islands were dredged from the San Carlos Bay when the bridges were built.  The three bridges are just referred to as A, B, and C.  The two man made islands are referred to as A and B.  The following Google map shows theses bridges and man made islands.  (Note this is from a 2022 map but would have looked pretty much the same in 1970.)

Above:  Map showing 3 bridges and 2 man made islands of the causeway.

 

The causeway was a fun ride as it gave us a great view of the San Carlos Bay.  The round trip toll for motorcycles was $2. We paid riding onto Sanibel Island but there was no charge for riding off Sanibel Island.

The Sanibel Causeway was just opened in 1963, 7 years before our motorcycle ride, replacing a ferryboat that had run from Punta Rassa to Sanibel since 1912.  The bridge closest to Punta Rassa had a drawbridge the year we rode over it, but we were not lucky enough to see it in operation.

Sanibel is one of the few barrier islands with an east-west orientation: most barrier islands are north-south. Hence, the island has great sandy beaches that face due south and southwest for 17 miles along the Gulf of Mexico.

We pulled off and stopped at one of the causeway island (the first one I believe, but I'm not certain) and took the following photos.  We rode our bikes right up to the water's edge.

Above:  All the above photos are from the man made causeway island where we stopped.

 
After that stop we rode our motorcycles over to Sanibel Island but were too early to check into our motel, so we rode around for a while.  We finally checked into our motel, the Jolly Roger Motel, where we had reservations to stay two nights, which was about a 5-mile ride after leaving the causeway.  The Jolly Roger Motel was advertised as Sanibel Island’s newest and most modern motel, with the largest motel pool in southwest Florida, plus it was directly on the Gulf of Mexico with a very nice beach.  Following are a photo of the Jolly Roger Motel where we stayed, and a newspaper ad for the motel.

Above:  Front of the Jolly Roger Motel. 

 

Above:  Ad for the Jolly Roger Motel.

I don’t recall where we had our meals on this trip, perhaps just at the motel as we had an efficiency apartment with a kitchenette.  I also don’t recall what we did after we checked into our room, perhaps just rested the rest of the day, had a few cocktails, and spent some time on the beach.

Day 2:  June 4, 1970 (Thursday):  Touring Sanibel and Captiva Islands

On this day we again hopped on our bikes and toured Sanibel and Captiva Islands, stopping at several beaches to look for seashells.  The following illustration shows some seashells that can be found on the two islands.

Above:  Illustration showing seashells.

 
The ride from the Jolly Roger Motel to the Blind Pass Bridge that separates Sanibel Island and Captiva is about 7 miles and we stopped there to view the two beaches there, Blind Pass Beach (Sanibel Island side) and Turner Beach (Captiva Island side).  The following photos are from Turner Beach.

Above:  Jean at Turner Beach.

Above:  Lowell at Turner Beach.

Sanibel Island and Captiva originally were just one island but the 1926 Great Miami Hurricane created a new channel now known as Blind Pass, and created the two separate islands.  The following photo (from the Internet) shows the two islands, Blind Pass, and the Blind Pass Bridge that connect the islands.

Above:  Photo from the Internet showing the Blind Pass Bridge.

 
After we crossed the Blind Pass Bridge we continued on north to the end of Captiva Island where we stopped at another beach to look for seashells.  There's a name for the bent-over position people get when they search for seashells, it's called the "Sanibel Stoop" or "Captiva Stoop" depending which island you are on.  The following photos are from after we left the Blind Pass Bridge.

Above:  Jean checking her shelling map for beach locations.

Above:  Lowell & Jean at a beach on Captiva Island.

Above 2 photos:  Jean doing the "Captiva Stoop" looking for seashells. 

Above: Lowell & Jean at a Captiva beach.

 
After the last Captiva Island beach stop we headed back south toward Sanibel Island.  See the following photo.

Above:  Jean riding back from Captiva heading for Sanibel Island.

 
Once we were back on Sanibel Island we stopped at the Castaway Restaurant for a cold beer and just to look around.  Close by was a marina on Sunset Bay where they rented boats. The following photos are from that stop.

Above:  Jean at the Castaways Restaurant.

Above:  Jean at Sunset Bay.

Above:  Lowell at the Castaway Marina.

Above:  Jean posing with a tree.

 
Once back at the Jolly Roger Motel we spent some more time on their beach, including looking for seashells.  The following photos are from the Jolly Roger Motel beach.

Above:  Jean on the beach back at the Jolly Roger Motel.

Above:  Made by Lowell

 
Day 3:  June 5, 1970 (Friday):  Heading Home:

On the ride back from Sanibel, we had gone about 60 miles and I started experiencing an engine problem where I would just lose power and the engine would eventually die.  This happened on and off for about 20 miles, I stopped many times to check points, plugs, gas filter, etc. but never identified the problem; but the engine would always eventually restart and run a little more.

When we finally got to some civilization (Clewiston), I made a decision to end our motorcycle ride there because we were lucky enough to find a gas station that also rented trucks (they just had one truck).  We loaded up the two bikes in the rental truck and continued on home that way.  That was part of our experience I guess, another memory.  The map below shows approximately where my bike started giving me the problem.

Above:  Map showing motorcycle problem area.

My main worry was getting stuck out in the boonies with only one bike and no place to stay once it got dark.   Back then there wasn't much between Fort Myers on the west coast and the Palm Beach area on the east coast, just a long lonely road.

The following photo is of the Yamaha Big Bear Scrambler being worked on at the truck rental place.

Above:  Working on the Big Bear Scrambler at the truck rental place.

The following photos are of Jean waiting for the paper work for the rental truck to be completed.

Above 3 photos:  Photos of Jean waiting for completion of the truck rental paperwork.

The next photo is of the motorcycles being loaded into the rental truck.

Above:  Loading the bikes on the rental truck.

After we loaded the two bikes on the truck we made it home without any additional problem.  So ended our 3-day trip.  One downside from our ride was that we both ended up with sunburned hands, we had not ridden with gloves.

I solved the Yamaha Big Bear motorcycle problem once I got home but since it's been 52 years I don't remember what the solution was.  I carried spare parts with me on that trip (points, plugs, etc.), but apparently not the right part.

**End of this write up**

 

Miscellaneous Information below...

Some miscellaneous Info and nothing really to do with the 3-day motorcycle road trip, just some random thoughts I had while doing the above write-up, this will eventually be deleted.

(1)    An additional comment on Honda.  Back in 1968 when Jean bought her Honda, if you told someone you just bought a Honda they knew your were talking about a motorcycle since Honda didn’t start selling cars in the US until 1969.  Palm Beach County didn’t get their first Honda Auto Dealer until 1971, the year after Jean and my motorcycle ride to Sanibel Island.  I recall one time talking to the Service Manager of the West Palm Beach Honda Motorcycle dealer and asked him if they would be selling the Honda cars also.  His comment was that they tried to get the rights to also sell the automobiles but they weren’t able to. In 1971 the rights to sell Honda automobiles in Palm Beach County went to Roger Dean Autos and the first autos they sold were the Honda 600 Coup, which had an 600cc, air-cooled, 2-cylinder engine.

(2)    An additional comment on Jean and my motorcycles used on this trip.  Jean had her 1967 Honda S90 from 1968 to 1973 when she sold it and moved up to a 1973 Kawasaki F7 175cc motorcycle.  I kept my 1965 Yamaha Big Bear Scrambler until 1978 when we moved to Arizona.  Before leaving Florida I gave it to friend Jimmy Jeffers.

 (3)    An additional comment on Indiantown, Florida:  A few years after this 1970 motorcycle trip I became friends with two coworkers at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, Terry Singleton (RIP, 1994 at age 50) and Jimmy Jeffers.  Over many years the three of us would make the 15-mile drive on the Beeline Highway from work to Indiantown to have a catfish lunch and cold beer, and sometimes shoot a game of pool at a place called the Seminole Inn.  The Seminole Inn opened in 1926 and is still open as of this writing (2022).

I wonder if any Pratt & Whitney engineers today (2022) make that noontime run to the Seminole Inn for catfish, beer and pool?

(4)    An additional comment on the Okeechobee Waterway:  A few years after this 1970 motorcycle trip I got to know a coworker fairly well through riding motorcycles, his name was Gary Reeves and he used to tell me about some of his other interests he had with his wife Mary Ann, including backpacking in the Smoky Mountains and also paddling his 17-foot Grumman double-ender canoe in the rivers of Florida, the Loxahatchee River, the Myakka River and even areas around Singer Island.  Both of these adventures resonate with us, and Jean and I also eventually did some backpacking in the Smoky Mountains a couple of years.  I never got around to doing any paddling in Florida but Gary’s paddling adventures stuck with me for many years and once I retired in Arizona I decided to take up paddling for myself and have paddle kayaks on 3 different lakes plus the Lower Salt River.

Gary took early retirement at the age of 55 and spent his time between his Florida home and a cabin in Alaska.  He currently still has a canoe in Alaska, an Old Town square stern which is solar powered, something he added himself.

When I lived in Florida I didn’t know a lot about the Okeechobee Waterway but in doing the write-up on the 1970 motorcycle trip I’ve read some on this cross-Florida waterway, and about some of the people that have made the entire trip by boat.  One of the stories I read was about 6 kayakers that made the trip, it took them 7 days.  Another story was by some guys that made the journey in a 26-foot sailboat and I believe it took them 4 days.  People that make the journey by motorboat usually make it in 2 days.  I will never make any exciting kayak or sailing journeys like these of course but I enjoy reading about folks that do.   Making the trip today requires going through 5 different locks, but only 4 back in 1970.

The map below shows this boat route(s) across the state of Florida.

 
(5)    An additional comment on Sanibel and Captiva Island.  Hurricane Ian in September of 2022 devastated Fort Myers and the 3 barrier islands; Sanibel, Captiva and Pine.  At this writing it is said to have come ashore as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds up to 155 mph, as the 5th-strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in the contiguous United States and the deadliest hurricane to strike the state of Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane.

(6)    An additional comment on the Sanibel Island Drawbridge.  All the original bridges were replaced in 2007 and the drawbridge was replace with a much higher bridge.  There is an interesting YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z2YBi9d2d0 titled "Sanibel Drawbridge's Final Opening.”  This video shows the Sanibel Causeway drawbridge's final opening before its demolition.