Tues. Sept. 22, 2020
We left Juneau with masks and face shields ready for some fun on our motorcycles; however, the highlight of the flight south was that I hit my 1,000,000 (paid) miles Alaska Air. They flight crew was nice and celebrated this milestone with me!
We took a lyft from airport to our cycles, Harry’s needed a new battery and Michelle the owner of storage unit was already on it and picking a new one up for us. She’s an awesome business owner and we appreciate her so much for caring for our ‘babies.’
This was the first time for me on my new motorcycle and it felt good immediately. It is an automatic, which is odd to not have to ‘shift’, but I loved it. Overnighted in friends casita and prepped for the next days outing.
Wed. Sept. 23 Rode 150 miles
On way out of town stopped at GO AZ to have my mirrors looked at and fixed, then we were off! We rode N to Payson and stopped to grab some groceries before heading 30 miles E towards our campsite, at Woods Canyon Lake; Crooks Campsite. It was cooler up on the rim and an enjoyable night camping. Though I was sick (from the heat), Harry took care of me and we climbed into the tent and watched “The Peanut Butter Falcon”, what a great movie.
Thursday, Sept. 24 Rode 170 miles
Up and back on the road, off to Camp Verde, Cottonwood, and Jerome, before going up the mountain outside of Jerome headed to Mingus Mountain campground. We turned onto the road and went about ¼ mile but it was very steep and all gravel, not good for motorcycles. Hence we turned around and went across road to Potato Patch Campground, sadly it was full HOWEVER there was a road next to campground that allowed campers, so we went there instead. There was a toilet but no water and it was free! Camped there for 2 nights. For dinner rode down to Prescott and ate at a brewery, cute little town.
Friday, Sept. 25 Rode 80 miles
Up and going and rode to Sedona to go on a hike. Picked the Devil’s Arch Trail. On a ‘normal’ day it would have been EASY hike, but in the heat of this day and temps near 100, hiking in the beating sun was just too warm for me. We enjoyed the red rocks and the area, but the hike was HOT. Went into town and grabbed late lunch / early dinner, then back to our camp site. On the way realized I was low on gas, so backtracked for gas and suddenly it was dark, no fun getting to site after dark.
Saturday, Sept. 26 Rode 80 miles
Off to try another hike in Sedona, this trail we know and we love, West Folk Trail on the N side of Sedona. They limit the # of cars in the lot, but we only had to wait about 5 minutes to get in. It is an amazing trail, goes about 3.5 miles into the valley, it follows a river and is very wooded, hence it is not that hot even when sun in beating down. At one point I stopped and laid down on the side of the river and harry kept going, I actually fell asleep and enjoyed the rest in the heat of the day! Onward to Flagstaff and into a hotel! Took lyft to dinner and back and enjoyed another brewery meal!
Sunday, Sept. 27 Rode 220 miles
Off to the Grand Canyon, took 40 W and then N to the canyon. We entered the park and we were a bit disappointed that a huge van/suv holding 6-8 people cost $35 to enter, but ONE motorcycle with ONE person cost $30. The two cycles together only have 4 small tires and 2 people but we paid $25 more than the huge SUV that entered. Was a bit disappointing. HOWEVER the ride through the park was not disappointing. We had a great ride, about 50 miles RT inside the park. HOWEVER there was no camping anywhere in or near the park, so we headed back to Flagstaff. Got another night in a hotel and enjoyed dinner at the restaurant across the street from the hotel. It was great, Oregano’s.
Monday, Sept. 28 Rode 210 miles
Up and headed east towards Winslow, AZ, just to say we’d been there! Then headed back south on 87 to Pine and Payson. Doubled backed to our campsite from Wednesday night and enjoyed another evening up on the rim. I felt better this night and was able to go sit on the ledge of the rim and watch the sunset. We ate leftovers for dinner and listened to the elk bugle all night long with an almost full moon in the sky. The Woods Canyon Lake area is stunning and I am sure we will return her again.
Tuesday, Sept. 29 Rode 160 miles
Slow start to the day and decided instead of the ‘normal’ route back to Phoenix let’s go East and then turn back to the west. So we went to Globe, had an amazing lunch at a great Mexican restaurant before heading towards Phoenix. Wow the heat kicked my butt again, once we got to the desert floor. Was a bit longer of a ride in that heat than I had wanted, but we got back to friends safely and felt so good to cool down, shower and enjoy a relaxing evening before heading home!
Total miles ridden 1,176 miles!
3. Gia Long Palace now the HCMC Museum. This is an overlooked museum by a lot of visitors (or so it seemed). Unlike the Independence Palace or the War Remnants Museum the foot traffic here is less. It actually is quite informative and covers a lot of the history of Saigon and how it’s growth to what is now a modern city. The ground have a lot of greenery and some war remnants, such as fighter planes, anti aircraft gun, canons etc. There is a special charge for wedding parties to enter and indeed there was one in there during our time, we guess is it a great place for photos! 
IF on your visit you want to get some clothing made this is the town to do that in. We did not, but our new friends did and they loved the craftsmanship!
We did bring a cab back over the bridge for < $1. Everything is so reasonable.
Jan. 19/20, 2017
The Duomo is the 3rd largest church in Europe and Duomo means the “home or house of God”. It was started in the 13th Century and finished early in the 1400’s.
Stopped through the Baptismal and sat for a while letting the paintings on the ceiling sink in, again it was beautiful. The outer doors of the Baptismal are bronze and well over 1000 years old. Each section tells a story from the Bible.
Once back to Venice we toured around learning about the many campos that are the big squares around the city. Historically these were the gardens or fields of the area. Virtually everyone has a church, a well, and a palace. There are more than 150 churches in Venice and most are Roman Catholic.
Ultimately we made it to St. Marco Square, the largest in Venice. It was named after St. Marco the patron saint of Venice. Most simply call it ‘the plaza’ of Venice. We toured St. Marks, (St Mark’s Basilica) the largest church in Venice. All of the gold on the outside is indeed 24 K leaf paint. It took over 700 years to decorate this church. The columns came from Turkey.
The Horses of Saint Mark is a set of Roman bronze statues of four horses were first placed on the porch of St. Marks’s in 1204. However, Napoleon took them in 1797, and were ultimately returned in 1815. The horses stayed place on the porch of St. Mark’s until the early 1980s. At that point due to air pollution, and weather issues the originals were moved inside to the museum and the ones on the porch now are exact replicas. To view the inside of the church is free, but it is worth it to spend the 5 E to go upstairs and see the original horses and to see the view from the porch.
timistravels 