From Here You're On Your Own: Globe to Sedona, AZ

From the church, I hopped onto US 70 west bound. Had lunch in Pima at the Mesquite Taqueria (red chile carnita burrito) and rode thru the San Carlos Apache Reservation. Monday was hot as hell and my right arm looks like hamburger from being burnt again and again over the last couple weeks.
There really wasn't much to see on US 70 - just heat and cars.
By the time I made it to Globe on Monday afternoon I was beat so I pulled into The Days Inn and napped and later attempted to wash some clothes in the hotel bathtub; not advised. I ended up with still unclean but now wet and sour shorts the next day. Oh, well. Live and learn.

I was up early on the 3rd (4:30 AM) for some un-Godly reason so I got the ice bucket from my room and a washcloth from the bath and gave the bike a sponge bath; a long, hot, sexy sponge bath......
50 miles of dirt roads will build up a cake of dust that is just awful to take back off so I was out there scrubbing longer than I thought.

July 3rd was without question the best day of riding I've had since I left Atlanta.
Blue skies, puffy white clouds, cool enough to wear long sleeves and give my burnt arms a break; and the scenery was spectacular.

From Globe I get on Hwy. 188 headed north.
This takes you thru Tonto National Forest (no relation to Lone Ranger) and right by Theodore Roosevelt Reservoir and Wildlife Area.
Absolutely gorgeous. This was the kind of day that bikes are made for; long stretches of solid 2 lane country roads, few cars, and the mountains on one side with the lake on the other.

On 188 North, you pass Salt River Canyon Wilderness, Salome Wilderness, Tonto, Hellsgate, and 3 Bar Wildlife Area - all of it gorgeous. Then you pick up Hwy 87 that takes you into Payson.
I stopped in Payson for lunch at The Buffalo Burger (or something like that). The girl behind the bar told me about a ride to Jerome, AZ that is very popular with bikers.
Payson to Camp Verde was the best part of the day. Long stretches of road, all by myself, crowded with fir and cedar trees. It was like being in a movie about riding bikes - it was so perfect and peaceful, I couldn't believe it.
After nearly 30 days and almost 3,000 miles on the road I feel really in control of the bike and not merely on top of it. Yesterday was so incredibly relaxing I just couldn't get enough.
I felt more like a pilot sailing thru an ocean of green and brown, riding up the crest of one wave, and coasting down the other side. I reached the top of one peak just in time for The Beatles to start playing "Dear Prudence" on my Ipod - The sun is out, the sky is blue, it's beautiful, and so are you - couldn't not have planned it better.
At Camp Verde I stopped to talk to "El Duece" and get coffee. I decided that I had time to do the side trip to Jerome so I turned left on 89A instead of right towards Senoma.
Jerome is perched right on top of a mountain. There's just enough room for a small main street with shops and bars and restaurants - worth the 15 miles or so around the curves and up and down the valley.
I got a room at the Best Western on Airport Rd., here in Sedona. What a perfect view.
Went downtown earlier to see the shops and just scoot around a bit. Had BBQ at Red Rocks (great baby backs) and have been just enjoying the peace and the superb scenery.