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We brought Alexa along with us…as an app on Kim’s phone. So between my iPod and Alexa we’ve been listening to a variety of music. The speakers have stayed in the trailer so far, but there is enough wire for them to venture out. Yesterday we were sitting outside with the door open and music playing…occasionally the volume of a song would get louder and I was concerned about the neighbors being annoyed with our choice of music. You know, sort of like being that driver…the one with a thumping car stereo who plays the music so loud that you hear and feel it approach long before you see it and then you’re held captive to whatever music is playing. Didn’t want to be that kind of neighbor. But I stepped away from the trailer to see how far the sound carried…not an issue as it turns out. And really, who would be annoyed by classic 70s rock anyway…besides my mom, that is. J In reality, I haven’t seen our door side neighbor step outside his/her trailer…last night I saw a light on and a hand pulling a curtain so I know someone is in there but we haven’t seen anyone. We have seen short ‘outside the camper’ glimpses of the neighbor on the other side.
Kim went to ‘town’ (the grocery store about ¼ mile away) to buy food supplies, so let the camp cooking begin! Eggs, bacon and toast for breakfast with a side of ‘Free Bird’. 😉
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No bathroom run in the wee hours of the morning…yay!!
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Left about 10 a.m. for a ride to Joshua Tree National Park. The sun was out, the temperature was climbing and we had 90 miles to ride to get there. My vision of a day filled with easy riding was dashed about 25 miles down the road when the wind made an appearance. Oh My Goodness!! There were signs that warned about Gusty Winds Possible but that didn’t do it justice. Not far over the California border there was a sign that said ‘Caution Dust Storms if Lights are Flashing’...the lights were not flashing so one would think that all we have to deal with is the wind. WRONG!! Whoever was in charge of turning the flashing lights on must have been sitting in an office somewhere because if they were anywhere near US 10, those lights would have been on! There was sand blowing across the highway and a visible layer of dust rolling along in the distance. Yeah, I’d call that a dust storm. And I knew from experience that we’d be getting sand blasted somewhere along the way and sure enough we did…several times.
I also knew from experience that eyes, nose and mouth are prime targets for the grit. Nothing I could about my eyes and nose but I kept my mouth shut the entire way. Music was on but no singing for me!
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I’ve discovered that cruise control in a windy situation is a blessing. It’s very tedious to maintain speed and battle the wind. Today, with cruise, I simply set my speed and hung on for the ride. 😏
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| Highway 62 in California |
The town of 29 Palms, CA, is at the north entrance to the park, which is where we exited. Stopped in 29 Palms to buy Kim an extra layer of warmth (he forgot his jacket) and then we headed back to Quartzsite via East 62. It’s the main road north of the park (and mountains) and when you leave 29 Palms, it is 92 miles along East 62 to the next services at Vidal Junction. Lots of open road! It was a good road, with a speed limit of 65 and a good measure of ‘dips’, curves and straightaways. We were on it for 110 miles and it eventually led us back to Parker and from there we took 95 south to Quartzsite. Got back to camp just after dark at about 7:30…so while we were 9 ½ hours away from camp, we were riding about 8 hours of it. All agreed it was a long, fun day!👍
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About 20 miles out of 29 Palms, we encountered a man lying on the other side of the road, stretched out against a ‘sand bank’ (think snowbank but with sand). His pack was beside him and he was not moving. As I’m thinking we should turn around to see if he’s okay, Kim comes on the radio and say, “Strange place to be taking a nap, eh?” I countered with “You really think he’s sleeping…you don’t think he’s dead?” Kim assured me that guy was sleeping and not dead in a tone of voice that said "Silly girl". I’m not sure how he knew from a quick pass by but I took his word for it. I hope he was right.😨
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The Joshua Tree Visitor’s Center (north entrance) seemed to have a pet roadrunner. We saw it as we got off the bikes and it almost looked like something was wrong with its tail feathers. It just skittered around the parking lot, not wanting people to get real close but not terrified either. Then we saw a sign on the door of the visitor’s center that said “Feel free to take pictures of the roadrunner but please don’t feed it”. So, the wonky tail feathers plus the sign talking about the roadrunner are what lead us to conclude he’s the center’s mascot. I saw several cameras out (mine included)…I’m sure people were delighted to actually get a good look at one since in the wild they are elusive little buggers.
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Bike miles today: 286
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