The Monday Ride. 01/22/18

Prolog.

Several weeks ago on the Wednesday ride we went to the Zip Line. The zip line is what we call the power lines that go from the mountains down a canyon to the powerhouse at Parker Dam.

That time we went in on the west side of the Arizona Canal and came out on the east side of the canal.

Sue and Denis haven’t been to the zip line via the back way so we decided that we would go there on Monday.

Getting Going.

We met Sue and Denis at the fire station and were on our way by 9:00.
We drove north on 95 and turned east on Shea Rd.
As soon as we turned onto Shea Rd. we stopped to air down the tires.

Once the tires were deflated we started driving east. About fifty yards down the road I hit a large chuck hole and heard a loud noise from the back of the jeep. I went a few more yards and could hear a loud thumping coming from the rear. Patti was looking in the side view mirror on her side and said that she could see some thing sticking out of the passenger side rear tire.

I stopped to take a look. Sure enough there was large bolt or pin sticking out of the face of the tire.

Ok, time to change the tire. Denis was a big help. I am glad he was there because my back is still messed up and I don’t think I could have put the spare tire back up on the carrier.

To Go or Not To Go.

We got the tire changed and after a little discussion about whether or not to continue the ride without a spare tire. We decided to go ahead and complete the ride. Denis said that he had a repair kit if we have any more trouble so off we went.

About 15 miles down Shea Road you cross the Arizona Aqueduct. On the east side of the canal there is a large ATV staging area; here is where we get on the trail.

The Trail.

The trail follows the Canal for about a mile.

Then we turn right off this trail and start climbing.

Here is a view of the Aqueduct.

The trail takes us to the bluffs overlooking the area.

We get some great views from the bluffs.

In this view you can see the slot canyon that we go through often.The canyon can be seen in the picture below. There are two sharp peaks in the middle foreground between these two peaks you can see the slot canyon (a Line) going to the left.

We continue driving along the rim of the bluffs.

We see this wall of solid rock jutting out of the valley below.

Patti got this picture of a hawk sitting on a Saguaro.

The hawk was a long ways off and I was surprised that it even showed up.

A View of Lake Havasu.

We worked our way along the eastern edge of the bluffs and eventually we got our first views of Lake Havasu and the Colorado River.

As we worked our way along the rim we turned onto  several trails that went to view spots.

Here is a view of the Bill Williams River and Bridge.

Here is a view of Lake Havasu.

Here is a view of the Colorado River and the mountains to the north.

Eventually we got to the zip line and after taking a few pictures…

we got on the trail back to Shea Road.

Going Home.

We drove west on Shea Road and stopped just short of 95 to air the tires up and headed for Quartzsite. As we were nearing home we noticed a couple of ultralight air craft flying overhead.

Okay, that was the Monday ride. As always it was fun.