Words and photos by JK
Monday July 21. An early start on coffee and leftover spaghetti bolognaise is not ideal but who cares at this point in the journey. The end was very much in sight with all the mixed feelings that ending could conjure. We had arranged to meet the Camp Soaring Eagle builder, Mark Morris, at 9am, at a scenic overlook on Hwy 89A called Oak Creek Canyon Vista. As I looked at all the pine trees I doubted the romantic name. Wrong again Kingstone. There really were oak trees in the canyon and the views are spectacular. What a beautiful place this part of Arizona is. Sedona is deservedly famous for its beauty and as Mark led the way on his Yamaha Star 1100 cruiser through the twists and turns downhill I actually felt that this area may very well be the prettiest place in the whole of the USA. 21/2 hours ride from my office and I had never seen it! What a duffer I am! I’ll be riding here again and that’s a promise. We took Hwy 179 through the huge road works in Sedona and to my joy I noted that roundabouts are proving ever more popular. Great for motorcycles, far smoother and more traffic friendly than those horrid 4-way stops, roundabouts also allow for many roads to converge without chaos and queues. The R1 is OK in roundabouts but I wished I was on the KTM 990 Adventure I had test ridden from Bernies in Mesa AZ. Now THAT bike is FUN in roundabouts! Just a note, Sedona is an artist town and apparently McDonalds have turquoise arches here to fit the local traditional colour schemes!
We arrived to a warm welcome from the staff at Camp Soaring Eagle, the latest camp to join the Hole in the Wall Gang organization and in my opinion the camp with the most spectacular setting of all with its huge red bluffs and rock formations. I kept looking for Indian smoke signals from the top of the cliffs! Jennifer Perry, Rick James, Pronto Parenteau, Mark Morris and Juan Morales, Director of Facilities, happily listened to my stories and gave me my medicine… coffee. Rick James is the son of the founder Max James and is the Director of Community Outreach. He and Pronto, the Camp Director, drove me around the site and explained the plans and designs. A lot of experience and thought has been poured into this camp and both parents and children will see the benefits of considering all their needs and desires, not just their medical needs. I liked the sound of the entranceway with 60 foot bluffs to imitate the entrance to the original Hole in the Wall and the feeling that here they could leave all their cares and fears behind and enter a world of safety and seclusion. I want to visit again in a few months to see the progress. All our best wishes and serious praise to the James family for using their business success to the benefit of children less fortunate. The millions of dollars they are spending to bring joy and health benefits to these kids is an example to all. Boy do I wish I could have raised more money.
After an hour or so we dashed off to Phoenix airport and the more familiar hot, flat, raked-gravel landscape I have come to view as home away from home. Tomorrow was the conclusion of my tour and I wanted to do a ride around Phoenix to finish off since I had not done so at the start.
No comments:
Post a Comment