When I was recently working in Chicago, I stopped by a bookshop and picked up a book called “Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips". It is a lonely planet book. This book is a gold mine if you are travelling to this area as it is full of useful information about hotels, restaurants, places to see etc. It complements the other books I have suggested in earlier postings on this blog. The other books are good for trip planning and this book fills in some of the detail that you need to know.The way I used this book (and many others) is to read the brief parts in the book about a particular hotel for example, and then use that information to then look it up on the internet to find out more. I find this works well as the books give you only just enough information, but you really need a little more to make your decision about whether to stay there or not.
This book is a must if you are visiting the area. I am happy to recommend it.
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7 comments:
Gary - just found your blog and have been reading through the back posts. Wow. Entire military campaigns have been executed with less planning than this. I hope you've allowed plenty of time for spontaneity and diversion - most of my best times on a motorcycle have been when I deviated from plan to follow my nose. Which is, of course, one of your concerns with riding partners who may or may not share that sense of adventure to just hang a right and see where it takes you.
At any rate, it looks like a fabulous trip, although I am a bit disappointed that you come all this way and can't find a couple of days to pop across the border to enjoy some Canadian hospitality. :-)
Hi Canajun,
Thanks for your comment. You are of course completely correct in what you say! The degree at which I plan things ahead is surprising to a lot of people. My problem is planning is what I do. For the last 36 years I have worked as a “Planning Engineer” in the UK construction industry. What I do is worked out how large construction projects are to be constructed. Some of these are huge. My last two projects have been Olympic Games, where I worked out how all of the construction and logistics needed of the London 2012 Games and the Sochi 2014 Winter Games would happen. As you can imagine, these take a vast amount of planning, so this strange thing – planning ahead for what should happen – is totally ingrained into me. I can’t help it!!
As you have witnessed, this sometimes (OK, I admit it, this often) gets into what I do in my personal life. I simply enjoy planning ahead. Having said that, the spontaneity will be there – whilst I have a plan worked out in that I know the route I will be taking, I am leaving how far I travel each day open and I will ride for as long as I feel like before finding a hotel. There are places that I want to stop and see and I will be taking detours to follow my nose.
As for Canada I am going to sneak over the border before the “official” part of my trip. My H-D is being shipped to New York from the UK and I will be riding it, probably via Montreal to the start of the tour in Maine.
Hello Gary - thanks for dropping by my blog. What a great opportunity to travel - your Road King is a beautiful bike, and will serve you well as you travel the US. Let me know if you end up in the Pacific Northwest!
Thanks Lance. The Pacific Northwest isn't on my route this time sadly, but I do get to Seattle often. My Step-Daughter lives there!
Cheers,
Gary
1. There's a movement to radically change California government, by getting rid of career politicians and chopping their salaries in half. A group known as Citizens for California Reform wants to make the California legislature a part time time job, just like it was until 1966.Jimmy
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Hi Gary -
You should be sure to check out hwy 89A from Flagstaff to Sedona to Jerome (and further, if you care to keep going).
Be sure to have a bite to eat at the Haunted Hamburger in Jerome. I don't know about ghosts, but the view from the restaurant is amazing...
Incidentally, there is no pizza worth eating in Sedona. At least, none I've found. Flagstaff has a couple good pizza joints, though.
Lucky - Many thanks for the suggestions about 89A. I had heard about this road and I was considering riding along it, but now you have mentioned it, I will definitely do it from Flagstaff to Prescott, before heading back north up to Ash Fork to check out Route 66. I will also check out the Haunted Hamburger – I have just looked at some reviews on the web and they all say the view is amazing, so it is a must see by the sound of it.... many thanks for the recommendation.
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