We landed at Sky Harbor Phoenix airport the Saturday before Easter. Chester's H-D picked us up and we rented an '09 Electra-Glide. My experience with them was top notch.
Sunday, we rode north to the Grand Canyon. About 3 inches of snow around Flagstaff, and the thermometer on the dash said 35 degrees. We were dressed for it, so it wasn't bad. It was surprising how busy it was at the Lodge. Lots of Asian tourists, and I must have heard 5 or 6 different languages being spoken. I lucked out with a parking space close to our room, and locked the bike with my Xena disc lock alarm, and didn't move the bike for two days. We either walked, or took the shuttle buses that run every 15 minutes. Went to Hermit's Nest on the shuttle (no other traffic allowed here), and hiked back. They say it's about 8 miles, but walking along the edge of the South Rim, it is more like 13.
Tuesday, headed south toward Williams, caught a piece of old Rt. 66. Then toward Prescott and turned on 89A through the mountains to Jerome. The famous Tail of the Dragon has nothing on this road! Even at a sightseeing pace, we managed to catch up to a couple on a Polaris Victory. I don't know if it was the rider or the bike, but he seemed shaky and pulled over to let me by. Jerome is an old copper mining town built into the side of the mountain. Very cool. Then on to the Hideaway (biker bar) in Cave Creek, and back to Phoenix.
Wednesday, we went southeast to Tombstone. Seriously nasty crosswind all the way down, and I lost the baseball cap that was tied onto my head (and a McDonalds sign blew down onto a car, injuring 2 people). The OK Corral is surrounded by a 10-foot adobe wall so you have to pay to see it, and the town is kind of a tourist trap, although there is some interesting history at Big Nose Kate's Saloon if you check in the basement. I skipped the souvenir shops and bought a T-shirt from Tombstone Choppers (2-bay repair shop with a steep gravel driveway).
Thursday, we got stopped by the Border Patrol on the way back. It was no big deal, but you could sense the tension from the recent drug wars all along the border. Turned the bike back in Friday with almost 2000 more miles on it.
Hardly anyone riding here......when I asked around, I was told they were waiting for the weather to get nice. Still, way better than Chicago!