Follow Those Wheels

Day 5 - Palo Verde to Quartzsite. 53 miles. We were anxious to see Quartzsite. We had heard that it was motor home/flea market city, however, that is in January and February. What we saw was big gravel/dirt parking lots that fill with trailers in the winter. It was pretty stark and barren. A lot of dry camping. However, where we stayed was fine and we had coffee with the local guys who were full of BS and found it hard to believe that we were biking to Florida. One of the best parts of the trip is meeting the locals. Everyone has a story to tell. Had a good biking day even though we had to bike the freeway for a good 12 miles. (that is where Russ finds most of his collection) Today we crossed over into Arizona via the Colorado River.

Russ' collection so far: Dozen+ bungie cord, 1 hack saw and a truckers hole pin!

Day 6 Quartzsite to Tonopah. Russ = 86 miles (Denise 46 miles) with strong head winds! Today we were on the main freeway for a total of over 20 miles or more throughout the day. There was such a strong head wind that it took us forever to get to our destination. However, we kept going forward little by little. We were glad when we finally reached our destination.

Day 7 brought the biggest challenge so far - a driving rain storm! The guys had 70+ miles to Tempe (we were camping in Masa, another 20 miles further) The girls bailed, however, driving the motor home through the Phoenix area was a challenge in itself. Seven hours of biking with rain hitting them at 45 degree angles. They left the campsite in the rain by 11:00 AM and within an hour the storm worsened to a huge downpour. Arizona has no trees to hide under on the road so the guys just kept peddling. When it started to get dark at 6:00 pm, they called for a pickup at the local REI store in Tempe.

Day 8 and 9 = A rest day so the motor home can get an oil change. We are staying at a really nice RV park that has over 1800 spots. It is called Valle Del Ore and the Harris' have a friend staying here in one of those really fancy rigs. Most people here are in Park Models and upscale motor homes. They have full slate of activities going on. Since the weather is marginal we haven't hit the pool yet but did join their friends for dinner and dominos. It seems like we all wasted the day with bike repairs (Russ has already had to replace a tire and align a wheel) and Dawn and I had computer problems and I finally had to locate an MAC store to rectify my problem.

We are doing a taste test with Ben and Jerry Ice Cream. Our goal is to try as many flavors as possible while going across country. We have a rating of 1 - 5 and so far my favorite is Cream Brulee. I wonder how many samples we will try and what the best will be. If anything, it gives us an excuse to eat ice cream. We also have an ongoing dominos game and I joked that the winner gets a free plane ticket home from Florida. So far Mike is ahead by a long shot.

Here are a few pictures. The wild turkeys were in our campground and the catfish heads were hanging at another campground that was along the Colorado River. We were told that they were around 65 pounds each. Hope all is well. Will keep in touch.