MyRidz.com: Get out there™ |
Crossing Arizona
 Crossing Arizona - the desert in October Ah - a great time to cruise through the desert. Temperatures are below triple digits, skies are clear and crisp, and lots of wide open spaces. Found a couple of new roads that are way cool. You know what they say: "Ride and you shall find" or something like that
Check out my routemap on GoogleMaps Day 1: Encinitas, CA to Eloy, AZ, about 450 miles Headed East from the coast on little country roads to catch Highway 78 up the mountain to Julian. Stopped in for a piece of pie and a coffee in the little “wild-west/goldrush” touristy town of Julien. Was immediately surrounded by old folks – ladies with blue hair, lots of walkers, etc. After a moment of initial panic (maybe in reality I’m not a carefree biker-type on a road trip, but an old guy with Alzhemiers and I’m with them, but don’t remember it?), I see my bike (2007 Fat Boy) parked a few feet away and I snap out of it! Close call!The geezers must have been on a field trip from the local senior’s home. Fortunately they were harmless. Dropped down into the desert from Julien after my escape from Julien. It’s almost a 4,000 foot drop in just a few miles, and a dramatic change of scenery – from pines to rocks and lizards. Pretty dry down here – check out the photos.
Stayed on the 78 heading East, into Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and past Ocotillo Wells. Wide open highway, beautiful day in the desert, and almost no traffic – yeehaw - I love this!
As I was passing along the southern shore of the bizarre Salton Sea, just visible over my left shoulder, I remembered once reading about a strange phenomenon along the western shore – some kind of religious cult or something that had painted the side of a mountain. I didn’t know where it was or what it was called, but sure wasn’t going to let details like that stop me. I mean, come on, the planet’s only so big, and I can cover a lot of ground on my road-hungry Harley.
Sure enough, after some confusing directions and a couple of wrong turns, I’m on Main Street (aka Slab City Road) in Niland, California. I’m not even going to describe Niland itself – you had to be there.
A couple of miles out of town I see it – imagine what it would look like if a giant spilled a big box of colorful candies in a pile on the desert floor. At that’s what it looked like as I first spotted it, Salvation Mountain, that is. (Check out the details under the Cool Places tab).
Turns out this guy, Leonard Knight, is famous for his unique endeavor – spending 23 years living in the back of a car building this monument to his personal faith in God. Wow! He’s a nut, sure, but a nice friendly nut who you can’t help liking. (Seel Cool People tab for more on Leonard). Kind of tough living along the Eastern shore of the Salton Sea:
Next 3 hours was less than exciting - on the interstate between Yuma and Eloy, Arizona. If somebody knows a secret road that parallels the 8, please.... First thing I saw in dusty, dreary Eloy, Arizona, was a fine establishment called the Tumbleweed Inn Cocktail Lounge. It had bikes parked out front, and as I was in need of both a hotel and cold beer, I took this as a sign from above (maybe a bit of Leonard rubbing off on me).
Day 2: Eloy, AZ to Needles, CA About 400 miles. Didn’t get out of Eloy until about 1 PM (long story), and had my eye on a road I hadn’t tried before – Highway 93 running Northwest from Wickenburg to Kingman. I had passed through the area around Wickenburg a few times before. Nice area – with high mountain roads, sweeping views, and not too many cars. It was a bitch getting through the urban sprawl around Phoenix – lots of traffic and lots of traffic lights. Shit – I hate that crap! Highway 60 runs from Phoenix to Wickenburg, and gets nicer as you start climbing out of the Phoenix crap.
The 93 from Phoenix to Kingman is a sweet, sweet road. Although it doesn’t have twisties and thrills and chills, it is wide open with incredible high desert/mountain scenery. Caution though – get gas in Wickenburg – it’s about 100 miles without a gas station.
Check it out – it’s now on the MyRidz guys “A” list.
Interesting things along the way: - Eat At Joe’s restaurant (see Cool Places tab)- Nothing, AZ. Some guy put up a sign to say “Stop in Nothing, AZ, and sure enough, 2 miles later – there it is – ‘Nothing” Exactly. Maybe it was from a Monty Python movie?
 Why bother? Overnight – decided to stop at Laughlin, Nevada for the night.
Dropping down the mountain into Bullhead City (on the East side of the Colorado River across from Laughlin) as the sun was setting was awesome!
Passed on the overnighting in Laughlin – the casinos were just so bright and noisy, I felt like I had landed on another planet. Moved on down the road to Needles, California.
Bad News Alert
Day 3 - Needles, CA to Encinitas, CA. About 350 miles. It is hard to beat riding through the desert in the early morning, when the sun is still low and is casting long shadows over the desert. I found myself singing and whistling as I hummed across the landscape.
2 really cool parts of this route: - the “snake” coming up the mountain on the 74 from Palm Desert, CA. See the photos below.
 Big time A+.
Add Your CommentLogin to leave a comment. |
|
– the cool biker hangout bar in Needles, the Red Dog Saloon, is shuttered. Seems the owner crashed his airplane and that was that. 
