Day 17

Start mileage 94254
End mileage  94522
Daily total mileage 268
Trip to date mileage 3547

Woke up around 6:00 am local time in New Mexico. It was around 45 degrees, a little chilly but nothing bad. Did daily routine and started breakfast of cereal, peanut butter and cheese sandwich plus a banana for leg cramps.

Since I am getting so much experience breaking and setting up camp it doesn't take long and I know where and how to pack the trailer. Sure I still run out of room every morning but somehow it all gets in or on the rig. BTW, this is the first morning that the tent and fly were dry. Of course being out on the desert keeps the humidity very low.

This KOA is a nice place and I recommend it to all who find themselves in Lordsburg, NM.

Well out on the road again driving through some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, in MHO (My Humble Opinion), of course I have never been too humble. It isn't long until I leave New Mexico and enter Arizona.

At last back in Arizona. Never thought I would feel so good about being someplace other than Dillsburg Pa! It is something about the scenery, the dryness, the bright harsh sun that is so inviting to me.

Just a few pictures to give a little flavor to the reader and show what turns me on by being here.

Just look at the rolling mountains.

How about this for a view?

 

Riding on US60 through Safford, Pima, Peridot and Globe Arizona I ran into Miami Arizona. You might want to follow this link for some information about Miami. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami,_Arizona

Seems it is an old copper mining town which is seeing a revival. The following pictures are attempting to show the strip mining in Miami.

 

They don't really show that well but here they are anyhow.

 

The next series of pictures just show some of the scenery I drove through. BTW, the road from Globe to Superior is designated a Scenic Drive and it really is. It is also a little technical for bike riders.

 

Just a bunch of rocks!

Now that is a bridge over troubled waters when it rains.

 

So now I am through Superior onto the desert and the Superstition Freeway.
Following US 60 across the valley into Apache Junction, Mesa, Tempe, and at last Phoenix. Join up with US 10 from Tucson to completely go through Phoenix and into Avondale and stopping at a friends house as my final destination for the next several days. It was 95 degrees by the time I arrived and was around 2:30 local time which doesn't change with the Spring ahead and Fall behind so I am now three hours earlier than Easter Standard Daylight Savings Time. Seems Arizona has enough time in the sun and doesn't need anymore each day. I can see their point.

My friend was waiting for me as I drove and parked in front of his house. I went in and met his three dogs. They stopped barking after a short while and accepted me into the house.

There was room in the garage for my trailer and bike so they are out of the sun. They are still polluted with sand and dust from the road and rain the other day. I will get around to washing the rig once I get settled and refreshed from the road.

A trip to the grocery store for some supplies and back to the friends house to relax, drink beer and chat about the last 20 years or so. Cooked some brats on the grill with veggies in foil packs (does nice job cooking and no clean up) that get thrown away after use. A little wine and more beer and I am ready to crash by 8:00 pm. No night life for this old traveler. The bed was very, very, very comfortable and I enjoyed every last minute of sleep.

Tomorrow blogging  emailing and getting ready to ride to South Mountain to see the view.

TTFN