Thursday 10/28
Blaze and i are off on a bike ride today. This dirt/gravel road in this Ripirian area leaves the campground and goes up. No flats, no downhill just a gradual climb up and over the mesa. It’s 21 miles total and is the old road from the copper mine to Safford. Did i tell you about the copper mine? Dodge Phelps, one of the biggest in the world. Most likely 8-10 miles away. I can hear what i thought was shotguns going off quite regularly. Nope, blowing up the ground to load on trucks to take to the smelter.
I lost a water bottle in my travels. Insulated 20 oz. I have a bottle holder on my bike pack and i went thru some bumpy stuff and it must of bounced off. It was on a ride in Silver City. Going to try a little bigger one and not bring a extra. Took the locks out of the pack and added the 10mm. Blaze is holding five bars as we start up.
Couple of ranches off this road and after 4 miles there is a small interpetive site with picnic tables. I have brought the selfie stick and charged the remote. The holder is a pain PIA to use and i fumbled around for a bit trying to get the phone in it. My phone and watch both start vibrating and saying “Emergency Dailing 911”, God damn it, two things, i don’t have my glasses on and the sun is so bright i can’t see the screen of my phone. Another couple of seconds before i get to the point i can respond, but too late, it looks like it went thru. But maybe not. Nope, I get a call bvack from Clifton City Hall and of course i hang up on them trying to answer. I call them back and explain what happened and the dispatcher says it hadn’t went out yet.. I sitting there trying to figure out what i pushed on my phone and thinking a safety meeting is in order when i look up and here comes the BLM Ranger in his Ranger truck coming down the road. Pulls in and gets out. Turns out he was just cruising and wasn’t aware of my fumbling. Everybody likes Blaze. After the Ranger leaves i decide to get the selfie i never got. Got the phone in the holder carefully and go to slide the remote out and….i left the remote plugged in the schooner.
I get back on Blaze and get another couple of miles and see a F150 coming down the mesa maybe a little fast, so i stop and get Blaze off to the side. Two hunters, Steve and Jessie, with blood stripes under there eyes. They had killed their first deer of the season and that was the ritual. Decent 4 point. Of course they stopped and showed me the buck and took a picture sitting on Blaze. They wanted to take a picture of the buck on Blaze but i shook my head no. Local guys, both had high snake gaiters on. Quite the meeting.
I get to the top of the mesa and can see it starting down when i turn around. Eight and half miles to there and used two bars. Never used power on the way down, just rode the brakes. found a Yeti insulated cup off the side of the road. Looked like a Ultra beer can. Stopped and walked back and a nice orphan. Does this take the place of my old crooked coffee mug that i brought out of retirement for this trip? We’ll see
Going to stay here another couple of days.