Category: California to Texas 2013

Hope, AZ to Wickenburg, AZ
Date: 01/08/2013
Distance traveled: 59.83 + 2 miles not recorded by the GPS (365.13 miles total)
GPS tracks: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/260028948

I woke up on Tuesday morning snug as a bug in a rug in my tent. The Ramblin’ Roads RV park was an excellent choice for a good night of rest. I was concerned that the lights would keep me up, but that was not a problem at all. I only woke up once because I was cold (I think it got down into the mid-30’s at night), but all I had to do was throw on another layer and I was fast asleep.

My campsite at the RV park.

Biking, however, was really really boring. Highway 60 may be my favorite road as far as conditions go, but there is also a whole lot of nothing out there. Most roads at east turn, dip, climb, do something… anything… for a change. This road was like that old Atari video game where you are forever flying toward the tower but never get there. It was straight and slightly uphill for the majority of the ride. Only the last 10 miles were downhill, which made for a nice change. The only eventful thing that happened was that someone thought it would be cute to swerve into the shoulder at me … I’ll never understand people and why they think endangering someone’s life is funny.

Whole lot of nothing… at least the shoulders were nice.

The thing that kept me going was the thought of seeing Ruth and Ben (my sister & brother-in-law-to-be)! They live up in Prescott, AZ and were going to meet me in Wickenburg to take me back to their place for the night. It was so great to spend an evening with family… it made me a bit homesick, but also made me super happy to see them and their super cute house.

Ruth and Ben on their way out of the house this morning.

This morning I got up and had breakfast with Ben (homemade McMuffins – awesome!) and am now just hang’n out with Fred (the dog) waiting for it to warm up more. It’s 77 miles back to Wickenburg, and Prescott is pretty high up so it’s damn cold outside – I’m waiting for the temp to get up higher. It was in the 20’s when I got up! It should be in the mid 30’s by the time I leave.

Until then, I’m gonna keep hang’n with Fred.

Me & Fred.

Blythe, CA to Hope, AZ
Date: 01/07/2013
Distance traveled: 57.51 miles (303.3 miles total)
GPS tracks: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/259512504

It was good to get back on the bike. Today’s ride was very nice, despite spending a good chunk of it on Interstate 10. But it wasn’t too bad – interstates are nice if for nothing else than the super wide shoulders.

I had a short diversion onto a side road where I met some prospectors who were literally looking for gold. It was fun to chat with them – believe it or not, they do find gold every now and then. Apparently this is a pretty common snow birding activity down here. This is where my day with the snow birds started.

Wayne and Carol pan for gold & help clean up the desert – they come down from North Dakoda every winter.

Highway 60 … well, that was really nice to ride on. It was smooth. Wide shoulders. And had some fun things along the way. For example, Stevie’s dinner where I spent 20-30 min chatting with another set of snow birds who live in the RV park nearby – also down from somewhere up north for the winter.

Stevie’s Diner – in Brenda, AZ, 15 miles before Hope. I had a great turkey on rye sandwich here with slaw. Also spend some time chatting with some snow birds.

At the end of the day, I got to Hope, AZ with no issue. There’s really nothing here but the Ramblin Roads RV Park. Turns out these RV parks are lil communities, complete with planned events! Bingo some nights. Poker tournaments other nights. Tonight was Bluegrass! Score! I got settled into camp, got a shower, and now I’m sitting in this overwarm community center listening to some crooning of “Walking after midnight” and the like.

I love it! It was the perfect way to end this day.

Looking back on Highway 60 – it was a nice ride!

Hope! The only thing in this town is the RV park & the gas station.

Listening to Bluegrass music at the Ramblin Roads RV park with the snow birds.

 

Some other pictures from the day:

I grabbed a picture with Liz before I left B&B Bait this morning.

Cute sheep! – Just outside Blythe, CA

Blythe, CA
Date: 01/06/2013
Distance traveled: 7 miles around town – rest day

The bait shop.

Today was my first day off the bike and to be honest it kinda sucked. Today was the first time in the trip I’ve truly felt lonely and have missed home, Margaret, and all of our friends. Life is better on the bike if at least for no other reason than it’s a good distraction. Thank goodness for good cell reception – I used a good chunk of my time talking to M and my parents which helped make me feel a lot better.

But my body needed the break. I got up late. Mark got us breakfast from Carls Jr./Hardees – biscuits and gravy. A double portion for me. I did laundry. I hung out with Mark, Darcy & Liz. I did some trip planning.

And then I went to get a massage in town – and got more than I asked for in terms of services offered – can you say ‘skeezy’? That’s the first time that’s been offered to me. Quite literally the woman grabbed my junk and asked “do you want me to massage this?” I didn’t quite know what to say besides “no, thank you.”! Really, the only part that pissed me off is that she didn’t give that good of a massage and I /really/ wanted a good massage! After she got shot down she rushed to finish the massage and I was out of there! At least now I know why they charged so much…

Other than that my day hanging out at the bait shop was pretty uneventful. I’m looking forward to getting back on the road tomorrow.

Update: I should emphasize how great the folks at B&B were to me. They are super nice. Darcy went out of her way to be helpful. Liz made sure I didn’t go hungry. Mark provided great company. They also have a great setup here – tables and chairs around a fire every night were people are continually hanging out. They gather a great group of friends around themselves.

Laundry

Sunset over the duck pond at the bait shop.