We hung a
hummingbird feeder in the tree in our campsite the second day here; we’ve seen
hummingbirds flitting around back here but not quite making it all the way to
the feeder. Yesterday we finally had a
hummer land on the feeder and actually drink...but first it buzzed around me. I was wearing my pink/purple tie-dyed shirt
and it probably thought I was a huge flower.
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We were heading out on the bikes about 9:15 a.m. Still in the campground I pulled ahead a
little bit to wait for Kim. In the
meantime, Ozias and John pulled up opposite me on their bicycles. Ozias had a huge grin on his face and was
saying something. Are you saying that you want to race me? Both boys nodded their heads. Well,
you’ll have to wait a minute...I’m waiting for Kim. At about that moment
Kim pulls out, gets even with us and the boys take off. Obviously we couldn’t blow them away in the
campground but I would have played it up a bit more than Kim did...revved the
engine a bit, that sort of thing.
Anyway, at the spot that Ozias thought the race was over he skidded to a
stop, pumped his fist in the air and yelled, “We beat you!” Okay,
okay, you won....this time.
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Made the decision to go to Coolidge Cotton
Days instead of Arizona City Daze.
Really it was a matter of getting to bed late and not wanting to be up
early enough to make a 9 a.m. parade...Cotton Days parade didn’t start until 10
a.m. Got there in plenty of time and
realized that our bikes were parked along the parade route so we could actually
lean against the seats and watch.
You know that the community places a high
value on its agricultural heritage when 4 huge tractors are in front of the
fire trucks. The parade was scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m.; it lasted maybe 15
minutes. I think the organizers were a
bit optimistic. 😏
Parade entries included: no band...several
local candidates...tractors...firetrucks...a couple of schools/afterschool
programs...a local housing development float with people aboard dressed like
cotton balls doing choreographed hand motions to a song...a hair stylist on a
horse with a little donkey behind her...another float dealing with Coolidge’s
cotton heritage...Miss Cotton and her court...and a bunch of people wearing
orange shirts riding in small cars. I wonder
if the orange shirted people were carnival workers because later I saw one of
them coming out of a carnival employee truck.
And about half of the people in the parade
called out to us that they liked our bikes.
Only in a small town. 👍
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Was hoping that there would be a food vendor
who’d be selling Indian Tacos and yes, indeed, there was. So we each ordered an Indian Taco which are
the size of a dinner plate plus Kim ordered something else from another food
truck that appealed to him. We
definitely had too much food!
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There was a small craft area so we wandered
over to see what was being sold. Long
story short: I wasn’t intending to buy anything when I stopped at the metal
sculpture booth, although a little metal donkey had caught my eye. I explained to the gentleman eager to sell me
said donkey that I was on a motorcycle; it wouldn’t fit. A comical conversation ensued. Kim came along and said yes, we could fit the
donkey in the trunk. I asked if he’d
take $10 less than his last price...he walked over to converse with someone
else in Spanish...No fair using a
language I don’t understand. He
eventually said yes, I could have it for that price.
I don’t know if I got a good price or not
but it was in a range I was willing to pay. I’m pleased that I was bold enough to try to bargain
(again, not a skillset that I possess) and that I also walked away with the
donkey. 😎
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We took 87 west out of Coolidge and followed
it on around to 60 East which took us to 79 and on into Florence where we
stopped to get gas. Pumped the gas then
Kim went inside while I sat on my bike.
A guy all leathered up started his bike then backed around. I could see that it was a Road Glide
also....but he had spiffed it up a bit: loud pipes, ape hanger handlebars and possibly a Screaming Eagle package. There were two ways to leave the gas station;
when he was finally ready to leave he chose the more convoluted way. As he pulled even with me he revved the
engine and then turned left out of the parking lot onto a small town main
street with more energy than necessary.
Just about then Kim came out the door.
I mentioned to Kim that guy must have needed to show how manly he was by leaving
the parking lot like that. Maybe he saw me sitting over here on my bike
and decided to show me how the big boys do it. Without missing a beat Kim said, “Or maybe when
he saw you he suddenly realized that he’s really just riding a girl’s bike.” 😀
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In my short time in Arizona it seems that
roadkill is scarce...the occasional skunk or jack rabbit but nothing major. Today we saw something major: two dead cows lying
beside the road. Huh?! When I asked if those were
really cows, Kim said yes and mostly likely they’d been hit by a vehicle. Wow! That would cause a significant amount of
damage to a vehicle and possibly the drivers.
There are open grazing areas all around this part of Arizona; in fact,
we’ve been stopped more than once by cows crossing E. Park Link Drive. But this area wasn’t open...there were fences
lining the road. Don’t know for sure
what happened but I know they weren’t there earlier in the week when I came
down that road. Strange sight, for sure.
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Bike miles today: 145
Total miles: 946
 |
| Saturday's bike route |
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