Saturday, July 5, 2008

New Day


By now Kaye, Carol and myself have already made it home (Anita too). On Thur Carol and I made sure George was on his way, gave Kaye some last minute attention and then hit the road. Here's a picture of Kaye and Carol before we walked up the platform (and ahem, back down). Kaye is so cool - what a trooper! Not one tear after breaking an ankle in three places!

Even though Carol and I were now a day behind...we didn't have to hustle or burn rubber to make up the difference. I would say we had a pretty easy going ride from Farmington to Laughlin. At one point - we got off at route 66 outside of Flagstaff and talked with a couple of bikers. On the way out to Laughlin - it was pretty dang hot - upon arriving in Laughlin - it was PRETTY DANG HOT - I was wearing fingerless gloves and when we rolled into the heat - my fingertips felt like they were in an oven baking. We rolled to a stop and the brake and clutch levers burned my fingers tips -much the same way it would by touching the burner on the stove (which is still warm, but not scorching). And yes, I did gamble. Laughlin was F.U.N.! fun - that's all I'm going to say!

Next morning we headed out to San Diego - we were talking with Anita and we were going to wait for her and have breakfast, etc - but with SEVERE heat warnings (which we did advise the other group) we opted for safety first - and headed out early am to beat the heat. I'm sure glad we did. We stopped often to stretch our legs and before we knew it - we were home by 1:30pm. The great thing was that every 100 miles you could feel the temp go down a couple of degrees!

Hmm...all in all...getting out of and into California is a bear! No matter which way you go - you have to exit / enter via a desert. Note to self.

I have lots of visuals in my head, thoughts, and observations to write about. I'll do a little summary later today. Crossing the United States (southwestern states anyway) has provided me with insight into our country, our people, how we prosper and how we just survive. It also has provided me with insight into those I traveled with. This was not only a grand adventure - it was a lifetime experience I will never forget. Hopefully I'll be able to paint that verbal picture for you. Next time you travel - get off the freeway and visit America.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So glad to know you're home safe and sound! I hope everyone else let's us know when they get home, too!

Kathy

Anonymous said...

As far as I know all are home and accounted for except for Lynette who went to Phoenix to visit some friends... Jett