From Globe, we continued our northerly trek. I\u2019d decided I just didn\u2019t want to face Phoenix if I could avoid it, so we were in the process of giving that riding nightmare a very wide birth\u2026 Going pretty far out of the way and into colder temps and higher altitudes, but assuring a superior ride as compensation\u2026 A worthwhile bargain, I\u2019d thought\u2026 provided we encountered no frozen precip on the roadway\u2026<\/p>\n
North to Payson for a stop and fuel-up, then north again through Strawberry heading for Cottonwood, then onward to Prescott\u2026 that was the \u2018plan\u2019\u2026 we didn\u2019t make it. Nope, we did stop in Payson, and we did take the road north towards the cutoff that would have taken us to Cottonwood\u2026 However, going straight would take us to Winslow.<\/p>\n
Coincidentally, just the evening before, I\u2019d been talking with Napper on the phone, and she just happened to mention that she needed another Tee shirt from the famous \u2018corner\u2019\u2026 if I happened to be in the neighborhood. She then went on to tell me that the last one I\u2019d brought her from there had become her favorite\u2026 but, it was getting a bit long in the tooth now\u2026<\/p>\n
She professed not to want me to go out of the way or make a big deal of it; but, if I happened by\u2026 I knew, of course, as any relationship experienced man naturally would, exactly what that meant\u2026 I was confident ALI and my Gerbings were up to the challenge\u2026 What remained was to find out if the rider was too\u2026<\/p>\n
We rode on straight and made it to Winslow\u2026 I\u2019d had no plans to actually go another 130 miles out of the way, especially since it would be due north in the dead of winter, but when I saw the sign\u2026 you know\u2026 what else could I do? It was only 65 miles further, and there could be a big payoff later\u2026<\/p>\n
It was cold going over the \u2018hump\u2019, with lots of snow up top\u2026 and my Gerbings were fully employed once again. There are no \u2018facilities\u2019 for about fifty miles, so\u2026 My advice is if you are in that area anytime soon, don\u2019t eat the yellow snow!<\/p>\n
I kept a careful eye out for any ice on the road, but there was none at all. The road itself was dry for the most part, so we just had a great ride up and over, then down the other side\u2026 The last thirty miles or so is flat, long and straight\u2026 Oh well, the things we do for the women in our lives\u2026 right?<\/p>\n
It was mid-afternoon when we arrived, made our purchase, and confronted the next choice-point\u2026 Stay there or head for Cottonwood and hope we could make it before dark\u2026 I was leaning hard towards staying there\u2026 The nice ladies in the gift shop at \u2018the corner\u2019 recommended a motel that was owned by friends of theirs\u2019, and that settled it\u2026 I got a room.<\/p>\n
I was told by the motel owner of a couple of good restaurants and the only remaining true pub. I dined on quite good Mexican fare, then found PT\u2019s\u2026 Met some certifiable characters for sure in there, had a rather interesting evening, and I stayed a bit longer than I\u2019d figured on\u2026<\/p>\n
I chatted with several folks, all of whom were locals, but all of whom had come to this place from somewhere else. I saw nothing that would incline me to want to relocate there\u2026 well, except for those characters! Nice folks, very friendly, welcoming, and seemingly good folks. They sure treated this stranger in their midst well!<\/p>\n
With all due caution, I scrupulously avoided any dancing! I think I\u2019ve learned my lesson\u2026 at least for a while. It also appears the brew offered in that establishment came from a batch that had nothing but wholesome ingredients, too\u2026 a refreshing change for sure!<\/p>\n
Upon my return to the motel, I tried to log-in via Wi-Fi, but nothing doing\u2026 Oh well, one night without it won\u2019t hurt. Besides, I could actually use a little rest, so I\u2019d be turning in early anyway. Tomorrow will be a big day, so rest and a good night\u2019s sleep would serve me well\u2026 Now I\u2019m really, really glad I didn\u2019t get drug out onto the hardwood under the light of a neon moon\u2026!<\/p>\n
The next morning, I stepped outside for my initial look-see\u2026 Brrrrr! I went back inside and checked the local conditions\u2026 23*F with a \u2018feels like\u2019 in the teens\u2026 OK, so maybe I won\u2019t be heading out super early. I stepped back out again, and there the owner was\u2026 He offered coffee!<\/p>\n
My host was an older guy about my vintage\u2026 Originally from San Jose, CA, he\u2019d wound up in Winslow after having tried his luck in Wichita, KS\u2026 he had no plans for retirement. Funny how full retirement just isn\u2019t for everyone.<\/p>\n
Some, like yours truly, take to it right off and flourish with all the new-found opportunities. Others, like this guy and many others I\u2019ve met, seem to need what \u2018work\u2019 offers: Predictability, routine, productive activity, visible, meaningful, immediate feedback, and most of all a sense of purpose\u2026 a reason to get up each morning and get going. In fact, nobody I met there was retired, even the 86-year-old lady, originally from Wisconsin, who waited on me at the restaurant!<\/p>\n
The motel owner was a real talker! I finally decided he was just a lonely old man even though he and his wife ran this place together. He just wanted to talk\u2026 and talk. I thought about how that seemed to be the common thread around there\u2026<\/p>\n
Refugees who had wound-up there, found what they were looking for through the friendships they\u2019d made with kindred spirits, and a fullness to life that had eluded them elsewhere\u2026 \u00a0I\u2019m mighty glad I stayed there after all\u2026 And, thanks, Napper, it wouldn\u2019t have happened without your \u2018suggestion\u2019\u2026 You just never, ever know where adventure will find you\u2026 or you will find it\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From Globe, we continued our northerly trek. I\u2019d decided I just didn\u2019t want to face Phoenix if I could avoid it, so we were in the process of giving that riding nightmare a very wide birth\u2026 Going pretty far out …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-meanderings-by-ddt-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=806"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":807,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806\/revisions\/807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willowinthewind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}