Chapter 73: Smelling the Roses

Early August, 1985

[Like who was going to sleep with whom tonight.]

That discussion was fast, furious and fun. With 9 people, 5-women, 4-guys and 3 beds it was going to be interesting. Since Sarah, Linda and Jamie would only allow one particular cock in their pussies AND demanded ALL of their guy’s deposits, they assigned themselves to whatever bed their guys were in.

TJ, Janet and Mary decided to play ‘musical beds’ then planned to ‘sleep’ together. Greg and I slept with Jamie and Sarah, who both insisted on staying ‘plugged’ all night. It WAS cozy, but since they were both small, it worked. Bob slept with Linda, in total comfort on the converted kitchen table (also the smallest bed). I don’t think Mary, Janet and TJ got much sleep as they were in the bunk over the hitch and VERY playful and vocal.

Greg and I were up first and quickly used the bathroom before making coffee. We took our coffee outside to get out of everyone’s way. It was early, about 6:45am. We talked about the campground near Albuquerque that we had looked up in our map book. It had pull-through sites that were very deep. The place was up in the mountains and we were DEFINITELY planning on getting the bikes out there. The thoughts of a nice long ride in the mountains got our excitement level peaking. It was almost 8 hours away, so we planned on getting moving as soon as we could.

One by one, four of our seven roommates joined us in the fresh cool air for their morning coffee. The three sleepy heads, Mary, Janet and TJ were still sound asleep. Once Sarah, Jamie, Bob and Linda heard us talking about riding our bikes in the mountains, Bob looked at Greg and I grinning, “Let’s get going! Maybe you guys should think about hooking up Greg’s truck to the rig. I’m excited to start riding, so let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”

He was grinning like a mischievous Chihuahua.

We prepared the trailer for hook up and after making sure they were still in bed, Greg backed up engaging the hitch somewhat roughly. The hollering inside confirmed that they were now awake.

We were all laughing like crazy outside. It didn’t take them long to use the bathroom and get ready, now that they knew we were in a hurry. Once they were finished, Greg and I dumped the black and grey water, topped off the freshwater and disconnected the utilities. They had just come out with their coffee as we were putting up the awning, getting the trailer ready to move.

Just before 7:30 am we were ready to roll. TJ and Janet were planning on grabbing breakfast up near the airport while we planned to refuel and get breakfast at a truck stop on the West edge of town.

Just before TJ got in their car his cell phone rang.

The way he spun around and looked at me indicated that whoever he was talking to wasn’t happy.

The conversation lasted nearly 5 minutes. At the end I heard him say, “As soon as he gets released, tell Brock to get to the airport and I’ll meet him back in Chicago. I was hoping it wouldn’t come that, thank God no one was seriously injured.”

After he hung up he filled us in on what happened.

Apparently, Tweedle, Deedle and Dumpling had been frantically trying to contact their Mob bosses. The Nome area Section Chief had gone out of his way to have the office phones temporarily disconnected. The three criminals, having figured out why they were in Nome in the first place, took Brock and the Section Chief hostage. With guns at their heads, they marched them down to the Marshall’s office to use their phone.

One of the Marshall’s unexpectedly came out of his office and saw what was going down just in time to draw on them, demanding they drop their weapons. That started a shootout that resulted in Brock getting hit in is arm just below his shoulder when he dove in front of the Section Chief to protect him.

Our three criminals were now on their way to the morgue. The Section Chief was putting Brock up for a medal.

TJ said that as much as he wanted to go directly to Tucson, he felt he needed to go back to Chicago. He knew they had to move against the Mob ASAP and waiting another 10 days or more was risky at best. He also wanted to give Brock and his daughters a ride to Sedona next week. He explained that he would still be able to perform the role that Dad had set up for him by doing this.

Because everyone was so excited about getting to Albuquerque and riding our bikes we opted for breakfast sandwiches ‘to go’ after fuelling the rig and Bob’s van. We made good time and thanks to a one-hour time change arrived at the campgrounds shortly after 5:00 PM.

We discovered that this place must be popular with people with motorcycles. It seemed like more than half of all the RVs parked here had Harleys or some other brand of motorcycle parked near them. We got a nice large spot right next to the public restrooms.

After making short work of getting the trailer set up, it helped that the site was extremely level and we never even had to unhitch it from Greg’s truck. All we needed to do was to put down the rear stabilizers.

It WAS a little awkward getting the bikes off of Bob’s van.

There were so many people around we had to borrow a ramp to make it look like we were rolling them down instead of picking them up and setting them down. There was no sense in creating any suspicions.

We were immediately greeted by several couples welcoming us to the park. Some were older than us and some were about our age but they were all bikers. We of course had to check out everybody’s rides. One of the older guys told us there was a nice, not too rough looking, biker bar about 20 minutes away. They invited us to join them, promising that the food was good and the beer was even better. I had to laugh when Greg groaned with the mention of beer. One of the older guys heard him and whispered to him, “if you’re a bourbon drinker like me, this place has Blanton’s that is priced pretty reasonably. I personally think beer tastes like panther piss.”

I knew that Greg had just made a friend.

After a few more minutes of greetings a parade of 12 bikes hit the road.

I was glad that none of the riders wanted to ride very fast. They also must have all ridden in a group before as we were all staggered nicely yet in a nice pack.

The view on the way to the bar was breathtaking. The sun was just beginning to get near the horizon which made the colors around us just blossom.

When we got to the bar it was just what I expected a biker bar to look like. It was very rustic looking and there were dozens upon dozens of motorcycles parked very neatly in front of it. We parked our little group off to one side so we wouldn’t get blocked in. The 20 or so of us walking in altogether did create some stares but the overall atmosphere was friendly. Most of our group must’ve been here before and several other bikers and their girlfriends came over to say hi.

Our girls were in seventh heaven. At one time or another all four of our ladies either had or wished they’d had a ‘bad boy’ for a boyfriend. Being in this environment was fulfilling their fantasy. They had all assumed the personas of ‘bad-assed biker bitches’ and they were dressed for the part, too!

Dinner consisted of some very tasty, greasy, nasty cheeseburgers and fries cooked just the way I like them. The girls even took a chance and ordered a mug of light beer, wanting to be part of the gang. Greg and his new buddy were the only ones drinking bourbon. Greg was having fun, smirking at me mercilessly. I was impressed that none of our little group had more than two drinks.

I was surprised when one of the younger couples in our group asked if we were going to the ESP Jamboree in Sedona. The guy’s name was Carl and his girlfriend was Anita.

I smiled, “Yes we are. Are you guys going there too?”

Carl said excitedly, “Oh yes, word has it that the ‘Invisible Man’ might make an appearance! They’re even having an ESP like aptitude test with cash prizes for those that do really good. I can’t wait for Anita and I to try it. It might be fun if you guys took the test too!”

I thought my girls were going to bust a gut. Mary cozied up to Anita and said, “That sounds like fun! Maybe we’ll all have to try it. My ‘old man’ and I are pretty tight!”

I of course, was busy wondering who let the word out about the ‘Invisible Man’ showing up. Joshua never mentioned anything about that to me. Somehow I felt like this had Johnny’s fingerprints all over it.

Sarah had been talking to another girl that told her she and her boyfriend were going to the Jamboree also. Her name was Sherry and her boyfriend’s name was Barry. We discovered that all but two of the couples in our group were planning on going to Sedona.

Barry whispered to me, “I have a feeling we should get to Sedona as early as next Monday or Tuesday to get a good camping spot. Sherry and I came to the Jamboree last year and it wasn’t very crowded. I just got a sneaky feeling it might be hard to get a spot this year especially if we don’t get there until Thursday or Friday morning.”

With all the talk of the Jamboree we had drawn quite a crowd. Several of the locals also expressed interest in going this year especially if there was a chance that the ‘Invisible Man’ might show up.

Carl and Anita along with Sherry and Barry seemed to bond with us pretty quickly. Carl echoed Barry’s advice about getting to Sedona early. He told me they were originally planning on trying to get there late Thursday night but were wondering now if we should leave first thing Monday or even Sunday morning so that we could get a good spot.

Greg assured me that a motorcycle ride up and down Oak Creek Canyon, just north of Sedona, would be even better than our sweet ride here. Knowing that we needed to reserve a spot for not just us but also Ed and Gracie we told our four new friends that that sounded like a good idea.

Since tomorrow was Thursday, that would give us an extra day or two to cruise the mountains around here then a lot more time to explore around Sedona. That conversation resulted in discovering about dozens of sights we could see in both places

Our group decided they’d had enough to drink and since it was dark now, felt we should be getting back. We shook hands with all the people we met, then mounted up and had a leisurely ride back down the mountain to our campground.

After parking the bikes, we all went over to a common area where they had a large bonfire going. There was an older couple, probably in their late 50’s, who we also had become very friendly with. They asked us if we wouldn’t mind them tagging along with us on our way to Sedona. His name was Steve and her name was Brenda. The smiles that they had on their faces when we told them we’d like that, gave all of us the warm and fuzzy’s. Oh yeah, Steve was rapidly becoming Greg’s new bourbon drinking, biker buddy and Brenda was a hoot, joking around with Sarah and Mary.

There were several small groups talking about different sights around here they wanted to ride to over the next few days. Everyone slurped down many more beers and drinks before anyone ever began thinking of calling it a night.

I felt that in the morning we should unhitch the trailer and completely set it up since we’d be staying here for a few days.

It also looked like we were going to have a regular convoy on our trip to Sedona, come Sunday or Monday morning.

I noticed Steve, Brenda, Greg and Linda holding court on a deep, but teasingly fun ‘discussion’ on ‘Real camping’ versus ‘RV camping’ with nearly a dozen other inebriated revellers.

It was getting loud as it seemed the ‘Real’ side was desperately trying to convince the ‘RV’ side of the benefits of their respective viewpoints. Greg was leading his group and had them captivated with tales of his experience and exploits in the wilderness.

Linda was just as vehement while Brenda and Steve were dynamically adding their insights as needed. They seemed to be gaining support from several others who had been ‘on the fence’. The rest of our family were listening with rapt amusement. Bob was his usual joking self and while technically arguing on the RV side was managing to set them back at every turn.

Like when the topic of how the RV was better because of the bathroom. Bob added excitedly, “Absolutely! Except when you go to dump the tanks and discover the hose wasn’t properly connected, then SPLAAATTT.”

A chorus of “Eeeww’s” and an “I DONE THAT man,” threatened to derail the serious side of the debate altogether.

I thought Greg was going to bust a gut because Bob had everyone so bamboozled with his bullshit.

The laughter may have been louder than all of the arguments! Everyone was having fun. I discovered that fellow RV’ers were like extended family. Most of them anyway.

As the fire slowly burned down, the crowd did too. The nice thing about this gathering was, that even though everybody was nearly shit-faced, nobody had to drive anywhere. There was some stumbling and bumbling going on but there wouldn’t be any DUIs happening with this crowd as they made their way back to their RVs.

Bob, Greg, Linda and Jamie decided to have one more drink before calling it a night. Even though I was 2 ½ sheets to the wind I still managed to make love to Mary before nearly making Sarah pass out after giving her another ‘baby making’ deposit.

As we drifted off to sleep we could still hear the subdued laughter and giggles coming from our other family members. Tonight Mary was snuggling very close whispering, “I had an amazing night tonight Sugar Bear. I haven’t had this much fun in ages and I can’t wait to get back on our bike tomorrow so I can go for another ride. I love you Baby.”

“I love having you behind me holding me the way you do, Sweetheart. I’m so glad you enjoy riding. We have so many wonderful things we’re going to discover together. None of it would be any fun if you weren’t sharing it with me. Good night my love.”

***

For no apparent reason I found myself awake fairly early.

Since the sun was up I made a pot of coffee then used the bathroom. I poured myself a cup and stepped outside to kick back in my director’s chair. I enjoyed just watching the different activities going on all around the campground.

It seemed like the older folks tended to be the early risers. I was struggling to relax and focus on all the fun we were having because I kept thinking about what awaited us at the Jamboree. From everything I’d heard from our new friends, it promised to be a lot of fun with very interesting conversations and activities. I just couldn’t help but feel there was a black cloud hovering over the whole thing. I wished I knew exactly what Johnny and Sherman’s agenda really was.

I decided to just close my eyes, enjoy the cool morning breeze and meditate for a few minutes. My coffee tasted especially good this morning.

About the time I noticed my coffee needed to be refilled, I opened my eyes and saw Steve timidly waving me over, motioning for me to join him. I held up my coffee cup, went inside, refilled it then moseyed on over.

“Your buddy Greg is sure passionate about backpack camping,” Steve said with a grin. “He kind of reminds me of me when I was younger. Brenda and I fell in love years ago when the two of us went backpacking down in southern Illinois. We were just teenagers at the time. Brenda and I only bought this here RV a couple years ago when we realized we might be getting just a little too old for roughing it.” (Steve has a 32-foot Class-C motorhome. It’s based on a Ford van frame and has a 12-foot utility trailer hooked up that he uses to carry his motorcycle.)

I laughed, “Greg and Linda have been wanting to go backpacking for a little while now. I have a sneaking suspicion we might lose them for a few days when we get to Sedona.”

“I think you’re right. I heard them talking last night about going over to some big camping place that specializes in backpacking equipment. I think Carl or Barry was telling them about it. It’s somewhere up near the Sandia Peaks Tramway.”

“What’s the Sandia Peaks Tramway?” I asked Steve.

“That’s one of those aerial cable car things like a giant ski lift that you can ride all the way to the top of Sandia peaks. That’s like over 14,000 feet high! There’s a nice mountain road through Sandia Park that Brenda and I are thinking about riding on today. Maybe a bunch of us could go?”

I chuckled, “If it’s through the mountains, you won’t have to twist any of our arms very hard. How far is it to that tramway thing?”

“If we’re going through the park to get to the tramway it’s probably about 35 or 40 miles. If we were just going straight to the tramway we could take the Interstate and cut through Albuquerque, it’s only about 20 miles that way.”

I chuckled, “What fun would that be?”

“My point exactly! Oh by the way, I was gonna tell you that Friday night there’s going to be a live band playing at the clubhouse. Admission is free and they make their money by selling hotdogs, chips, soda and things like that. The nice thing is they let you bring your own bottle if you want something a little harder, if you get my drift.”

“We might have to check that out,” I told him, “but now I should probably go and wake up all my sleepy heads. I’m starting to get hungry for some breakfast.”

“Well if you don’t feel like cooking and want to take a ride up toward that tramway, there’s a nice little diner about five or six miles up the road. As long as you don’t mind Brenda and I tagging along that is.”

“We wouldn’t mind at all. I guess as long as no one is in a hurry, I’ll let my family know that might be on the agenda. I’ll get back to you as soon as I find out what they want to do.”

“Well I’m pretty sure Brenda’s still asleep so there’s certainly no hurry!” Steve laughed, “Just let me know and we’ll be ready.”

With that I want back to the trailer where I found everyone awake and in the process of getting dressed. I filled a couple travel mugs with coffee then started a fresh pot.

I told everybody about the mountain road to Sandia peaks.

They were all VERY interested especially Mary and Greg. Greg said, “I hope the tram ride is open when we get there. My dad and I rode that back when I was just a kid. It’s the third longest single stretch of aerial cable line in the world. That sounds like a blast. What do we want to do about breakfast?”

“Steve said there’s a nice diner about 5 miles or so up the road that we would take to cut through the park. He’s up for it and was wondering if we were. I told him I’d let him know as soon as we made up our minds.”

Sarah was grinning, “A long ride through the mountains and that tramway ride sounds like a lot of fun. I’m up for it!”

Since there were no objections, once everyone was dressed, we went outside with our coffee.

I noticed that Brenda was now awake and she and Steve were sharing a cup of coffee by their RV. They walked over and asked if it was okay to have Carl, Anita, Barry and Sherry join us. We all agreed that it sounded like fun.

After we finished our coffee we mounted up and headed up the road to find the diner where we all had a big breakfast before heading into Sandia Park.

The road to the park is also known as New Mexico County Route 536. It was a beautiful and exciting ride. The views as we rode through the mountainous pine forest was breathtaking. The road was very curvy but a lot of fun negotiating it on our bikes. It took over an hour before we exited the park on the north side then backtracked west and south to get to the tramway.

Steve and Carl seemed a little put off by the price of the tramway ride.

Mary just grinned, “This will be my treat everyone. Just before we left Illinois I got a big bonus from work. So no arguments!”