Day 5.. I hate the desert…
by Sarah on Jun.06, 2009, under Cali or Bust!
Today was a very long day.. probably about 400 miles.. We made a few stops and made a few weird turns in the Mojave Desert…
We left Wilson Arizona bright and early this morning around 9:30am… We decided to get some one gallon gas containers to take with us since gas stations are few and far between around Arizona, that turned out to be a life saver too!
But, before we could leave, we had to run into a couple of begging Indians talking about how the cops are awful, they needed some nourishment, and some money…and yatta yatta..sound familiar?? anyway…
Today’s ride was pretty hard on us, the wind blew us all over the road. The gusts of wind were around 65mph.
We went from Wilson to the Meteor Crater; that was awesome! The impact site was so incredibly massive that you couldn’t see clearly what was at the bottom of the crater (it was some huge mining equipment). The impact of the crater was so huge that you can still see some of the ripples it caused miles away from the impact site. We also met some really cool biker people there too. A couple of them were from Michigan, Switzerland, and Ohio.
After we left meteor crater we decided to go down one of the primitive roads (sand) and see an old house that was sitting there…
On our way from meteor crater to the grand canyon, Rick ran out of gas – thank god for the one gallon containers.. The ride was beautiful, in between mountains, temp changes, and lots of scenery.
We made it into Kingman Arizona where I stopped and got a really awesome tank bag at a Yamaha place, then we headed out for the grand canyon. We took some little side roads to get out there, and you could really tell the further you went, the deeper into the desert you got. We passed the Indian glass arch thing that goes out over the Grand Canyon, that seemed pretty touristy so we didn’t stop. I saw my first Joshua Tree and cactus’ and lots of sand in the middle of nowhere LOL. When we got to Lake Meade, it was beautiful. Clear blue water running in between the canyons!
After that we decided to head towards Hoover Dam, but about 50 more miles into the middle of a sandy nowhere, I was about out of fuel, my shifter wouldn’t work right, and it was overheating from 12 hours of continuous riding in the desert. Rick’s Garmin took us through all kinds of primitive sand roads, I thought we were never going to get to a gas station!
After talking to a guy at Wendy’s that looked like Captain Precard, (he was from Vegas) we decided to stay the night in Kingman, Arizona – about an hour and a half from Las Vegas! We stayed at a Route 66 themed Quality Inn where I passed out typing this blog LOL!
Today we are heading towards Vegas and Highway 1 in California. It should be around a nine hour ride. We are also traveling through Death Valley to get there – it’s only 110 degrees there!
Talk to y’all later!
Leave me some comments!
June 6th, 2009 on 9:02 pm
Thank the Lord, you both are all right! I was getting worried when I didn’t see your post yesterday but saw your tracking and knew you were still moving. Thank goodness you both had extra gas containers and the Garmin to get you out of the desert safely. Please be careful in all that heat with extra water and gas, frequent rest stops, and sunscreen. OK, I know you know that all, but I can’t help it when the Momma comes out in me, I have to say it or bust, LOL!!
The pictures are amazing! That was a great idea to put two pictures together to see the hugh size of the Meteor Crater. The canyon and Lake Mead are simply beautiful. I can’t wait until you see Hwy 1. The views from the Hwy of the ocean, beaches, and cliffs are supposed to be spectacular! Take care, have fun, and enjoy God’s beautiful handiwork in nature! Love you both, Mom
June 6th, 2009 on 9:38 pm
Thank goodness you posted something ! I was a little worried about you two. Glad you are ok and the pics are great. Hope your cycles hold out long enough to get you there and back home. Excuse the daddy Nodirt for worrying a little there but knew something was up.
Both of you take care and will have to call you on the landline to check in on you for the next few days since we leave at 4am for NC on Sunday.
Love and prayers,
Daddy Nodirt
P.S. Give it hell girl and enjoy the trip of your life ! Tell Rick I love him too and am glad he is there with you !
June 7th, 2009 on 1:18 am
hey!! i’ve been keeping up with you two sence you 2 left. glad to see you made it to cal. i love the pics you’ve put on here, they are amazing. i’m glad ya’ll are having a good time. i was getting a little worred today when the tacking was’nt working right. i guess rick must have lost cell service for a while. ya’ll be carefull and have a great time out there. i’ll keep tracking ya’ll on your adventure. tell rick to call me tomorrow if he dont care. later.
June 7th, 2009 on 10:07 am
I SEE YOU! LOL
June 8th, 2009 on 7:50 am
Amazing!!!
June 8th, 2009 on 8:33 pm
I’m still following you all. I hope the shifter problem is nothing important, maybe just overheating, too. Ask Rick if a change of tranny oil might help, when you get a chance.
Death Valley’s temperatures are too extreme for me to contemplate. Stay hydrated & take any lightheadedness as a sign to take water & look for shade.
I’ll bet that trap might come in handy for improvised shade.