What an amazing winter ride! Routine in many ways, so different and interesting in so many others… For some mysterious reason, I just don’t seem able to get enough of it… Heck, I’m already thinking about the next ride. Nope, I don’t have a clue where or even when that might be, but… nothing new there, huh…?
We wandered off thinking south Texas might be our destination this time. We did go there, but we didn’t dawdle for long… We rode on to New Mexico, with a couple of places in mind, but… we didn’t follow any script, and next think I knew were back in Arizona scooting along some familiar roads. We did ride a few not taken before just because they were there and so were we… By the way, we re-validated my old saying, “There are no bad route choices, just different choices.”
I’ve been asked countless times, “Doesn’t this ever get old to you? Don’t you think you’ll eventually get tired of it?” My standard answer is, “It’s too soon to tell; I’ve only been at it a couple of decades…” Truth be told, I don’t anticipate a time when this could ever become old or unappealing. It is so much more than just a sight-seeing excursion, or a ‘total-immersion’ ride upon two wheels… The spiritual dimension is the big hook, you see…
Gliding along in such an amazing setting, completely free of the concerns of ‘normal living’… No bills to pay, no one to please, nothing to prove, no place to be, no commitments nor responsibilities, no due dates or deadlines, just endless miles of road with unknown and unanticipated adventures waiting to be discovered…
And, all the time in the world to think… unencumbered by distractions like to-do lists or companions wanting conversation and/or attention. Just lots of quality time to ponder anything and everything… To work through issues and ideas… To pursue the illusive ‘truth’; and, most of all, to find inner peace and acceptance of oneself… I am indeed a hopeless addict!
Following the surprises of Yuma, AZ, we rode across ‘the river’ into California… Only a couple of miles on the other side from all the lushness of abundant agriculture were sand dunes, cactus, and barrenness seemingly out of step with what all we’d just been discovering… The desert yields many contrasts and contradictions, but it is always mysterious and challenging… both physically and mentally!
We did another loop up around the Salton Sea, and confirmed it was still there. Further west the dried and scared landscape had turned into a sea of mud, where the fires had died down and rain had returned. We had no need to wander there, so our stay in California was predictably brief.
We rode north to Bullhead City and Laughlin, NV, then through Kingman, AZ, (did you hear me honk, Dan?) then we turned back south… Back into Arizona, and… As long as we were visiting areas we hadn’t gone to in many years, it seemed only fitting to return to Why, AZ… Why indeed?!
Stopped at Granny’s Kitchen in Why for breakfast.
No grits, so I had refried beans instead… The salsa was quite good, too. No sweet tea either, so I had to improvise there, as well...
I made another decision to ride back north, and… that’s when we were confronted with the coldest temps on this entire ride! Later, I made yet another ride up there, with the same result! No mas! We returned southward, and we stayed south for the remainder of this outing!!!
DDT
