I found me some free time today, and decided to go back to Coolidge dam. Hell, it was going to be 75 degrees today. In February. That just begs for a ride. Plus I saw some side roads the last ride, and this time I had a little time to mozy.
I fucking love this bike. Harley did a great job here. Even bone stock, its got good power for passing, pulling a hill and it just…. handles well. I’m still figuring out a few of the details on how I like it set up, but so far its got a good answer to all of my questions and I’m pretty happy with the purchase.
I headed out around 11. Temps were nice and not a cloud in the sky — I swear to God I hear my bike Purr. I twisted a throttle and headed east, toward the mining town of Superior and Globe.
Rode up through the San Carlos Apache Reservation. Beautiful country. I minded my P’s and Q’s. If you remember History, the Apaches don’t fuck around. Tribal police and all, I kept the speed limit.
I crossed underneath the 60, and toward Coolidge Dam.
This whole area felt weird. You can tell it hasn’t been maintained for a while, at least for a road heading toward a Dam. There were ghosts of old Marinas, and signs showing businesses that had been long gone. How long, I’m not sure.
The Coolidge dam has somewhat of a cool history. Built from 1924 to 1928, it was part of an irrigation project was needed to tame the rivers, and build water storage for farmers.
The dam has had a crazy history of water levels, which was it’s intended use. At times, its the largest body of water in Arizona with 158 miles of shoreline. Other times, not so much.
I doubled back, toward the crick and checked out some things I’d missed.
This may be a ride I’ll do a third time, as there were yet more roads that I wanted to check out but wasn’t able to see due to time.
You did an excellent job on this article! The photos of the dam, the artistic spillway, and the cement eagle are excellent! The old time movie clip with the president and the smoking of the peace pipe was classy and informative.