Day 11 - Prescott AZ to Joshua Tree CA

Both Angela and I are constantly amazed at the change of scenery in this part of the country. We started in the town of Prescott AZ (which Angela absolutely loves), climbed into the Ponderosa pine mountains and then descended into the desert.  Along the way, we traveled through high desert plains - some areas lush enough to have impressive horse farms.

We drove over 300 miles today - almost every mile of which is one I biked in 2009 and 2010. It brings back powerful memories for me (perhaps a bit of nausea for Angela as the bike ride is the only thing I seem to be able to talk about). I was hoping that this trip would inspire me to do it again.  It is absolutely gorgeous out here... but every never-ending climb and long desolate road foster a certain anxiety. Surely the mountains have gotten taller and the towns moved further apart in the last five years. As we pass the motels I stayed at on those trips, I am reminded of the soreness remaining from the day's ride and the nervousness of the next day's ride. I often had difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep despite the exhaustion.

By far and away, the happiest memories from those trips are of the people on the ride with me. Each and every one them was truly special, and I cherish the time I was able to spend with them. The exact same thing can be said about this trip

The route out of Prescott took us through switchbacks similar to the ones we had driven yesterday.  The weather was a bit chilly and the rain had not yet cleared.  We climbed the mountains and drove through the clouds.

Suddenly, we were out of the pines and into the cactus. The curves made the ride as fun as a roller coaster.  When they ended, it was a steep straight descent towards Wickenburg - a picturesque "cowboy" town.

The picture below is of our map (a gift from my sister and family) and the lens cap of our trusty Fuji X30. If possible, I prefer to navigate by map - but sometimes, we have to break down and use the GPS apps on our phones.

Coming out of Wickenburg, we drove along US60. The leader of my bike rides called it "the loneliest road in America". We may have seen a few more desolate roads on this trip in New Mexico (like coming out of the Zuni reservation), but this section of US60 is pretty empty. However, every once in a while, out in the middle of nowhere, you'll come upon an RV park. And some of them are full. I don't understand it. This part of Arizona has no state or federal parks. It is probably 50 miles in any direction to the nearest real grocery store. Coming through here in April of 2009 and 2010, I did note the RV parks - but they definitely weren't this full. We are sure they are snow birds, but Angela and I are baffled on why they picked here - out in the middle of nowhere.


From Wickenburg to the California state line, there really isn't much in the way of food or gas. Upon getting in California, we stopped in Blythe at a great BBQ place.  Again, the RV parks leading into the town were full. I've spent the night twice in Blythe and the town seemed absolutely dead in April.  But here in January, it is somewhat lively. In this part of the state, it is desert - very empty. The skies were clear (they got some of that rain that had hit us) and the temps were pushing 70.

Our goal today was originally Palm Springs, but we had checked last night for hotels and there were limited vacancies.  I guess the great weather, combined with this being a weekend, had brought in a lot visitors. So we booked ourselves a room about 25 miles further away in Joshua Tree.

We took a "back way" into Palm Springs (a road that I had biked) and it looks like you've landed on another planet. It snakes its way through small barren canyons until suddenly you're into lush farm country.

We stopped to visit our friends, Bryan and Percy, in Palm Springs.  Bryan is suffering from a particularly bad case of viral pneumonia that has landed him in the hospital. He is getting much better, but is still pretty weak. However, he looks fabulous - and that is the most important thing. It was great to see these guys, and meet their friends who were also visiting Bryan. Let me say, if you have to be in the hospital, Palm Springs Hospital (on Bob Hope Drive) is a good place to be. The views are stunning.  And once again, we had the place to ourselves.

In all truth, we tend to park the Ghia in somewhat remote areas in case we have to push start the car.  And along those lines, we haven't had to do that since Winslow. The car is doing great.  We gave it a quick wash in Wickenburg. We get a ton of compliments. Young men (16-21) seem to be drawn to it and want to know what it is.

After leaving the hospital, we drove to Joshua Tree. It was dark and the drive was all up hill. We climbed several thousand feet. Tomorrow it is Lake Forest (near Irvine).