Friday, November 17 - Monday, November 27
Saturday, November 18, 2023
Day 49. Woke to a beautiful sunrise, though I probably could have stayed in bed longer and still seen plenty of it. After sunrise, I went back to bed. I felt tired. I also had the sensation that I had nothing I needed to do.
I arrived had arrived at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument yesterday evening, after a longish drive from Joshua Tree National Park. The drive was easy. I was impressed with the scenery as I entered Arizona from California. There is a range of mountains, not too far into Arizona, that were inspirational. This type of entering mountains and/or canyons is a hallmark surprise of driving in the west. I have had amazing experiences with the natural settings of several roads along I-70 West in Utah and I-15 South in Arizona, such as the Virgin River Canyon, where there are long stretches of dramatic elevation changes with amazing landscapes as the road winds through canyons. These are scenic wonders challenging adequate description with words, as well as engineering and construction marvels.
Back to this morning, it was a damp beginning to the day. It even rained lightly for about an hour around 9, then it stayed cloudy all morning with some sunshine in the afternoon. Now at night, it seems there are only a few clouds. The moon is almost to half-moon size, qualitatively speaking, and it is beginning to make it bright out. I did not need a light to walk around the campground road.
I went riding around 12:30. I did not think I’d get in as many miles as I did. I rode down to the border, to Lukeville. The border crossing at Lukeville can be very busy as it is the main route to Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, known as Rocky Point. It is a beach town on the Gulf of California, and itnis only 65 miles from the border. It was especially busy due to Thanksgiving being this week. l turned around at Lukeville and rode about 12 miles north, passing the campground, then I turned around again and came back here: 30 miles. It felt great, though it is a different mindset, riding on a road with such a small shoulder, if any, and cars whizzing by at 65 mph. But, I did it, and then I had a great shower. There are solar showers here at Organ Pipe. The water was decent temperature, not cold like it felt last December. Based on today, along with the weather forecast, I’ll be able to take a warm water shower every day!
I made a box of pasta again, now I have five more meal already prepared. I met my site neighbors David and Gary, from Tucson, and we sat and talked for about 50 minutes. They have tent trailer like the style our family used for Gloucester years ago, before Dad bought the big tent. Wow. The big tent. We used that for several years. Cape Ann Campsites. Had a big place in my growing up.
After talking with David and Gary, I did 6K steps that I needed to reach my 10K for the day. And now, time for bed. It’s 8:30.
Sunday, November 19, 2023
Another nice sunrise, though not as dramatic as yesterday. There were not many clouds this morning.
I’m having Cheerios now. It was 48 degrees this morning, not warm, but not as cold as last year.
Talked with David and Gary again. They’ve invited me to their house in Tucson. I’ll see if stopping fits with my plans. I might go to that Desert Museum, near Gilbert Ray Campground, in the morning someday, probably after I leave Catalina, but I am not sure. David from Joshua Tree told me you had to go to the morning show when they let loose the birds of prey. I also stopped at a campsite and talked with a guy traveling with a Harley pulling a tent trailer. I had only seen something like this one other time. He had a lot of gear with him. I was a little bewildered that so much could fit into his trailer when packed. He had been all over the country, over two hundred thousand miles on the Harley. He also rigged up his iPhone on a tripod so it took pictures at night if it was ‘tripped.” He had photos of a coyote he said from last night or this week. They were amazing photos, closeups, coyote right in his campsite.
I heard coyotes tonight that sounded like loud and close. It seemed there were lots of voices.
I did my ride today, 31 miles, riding down to the border and back twice, plus a few other miles back and forth on the section in front of the park that has additional shoulder on it. So, I have sixty miles already, and my goal was/is 180 for the time I here at Organ Pipe.
I also went to the Visitor Center and bought a new magnet for the fridge. I wanted to look at their T-Shirts, too. Last year, they had one that I had later wished I had bought. (Like I need another t-Shirt 😊) I might go there again tomorrow with my laptop and see if I can use the WiFi. While there, I met Kim again. She is the ranger who gave the talk last year about bats, and who we met the next day in the Visitor Center. She took our picture! She also was giving her bat talk tonight, so I went to that. It was interesting, a learning experience.
I came back to the van after that, but I am going to go back out for at least a short walk. I need to get in 700 more steps, and I want to look at the stars for a little while. It is only 8:15 right now.
The campground is much less populated tonight than it was last night. Saturday nights are always the busiest. It was like that at Death Valley, though at other campgrounds, such as Zion and Bryce, it seems it’s just always busy. I wish they had a campground at Petrified Forest. I imagine they don’t simply for fear of theft of petrified wood pieces.
From Tucson, I might go to New Mexico on I-10, and check out Madera Canyon on the way. Or I might go up to Sedona, maybe see Ruth in Payson. And I might even end up going to Petrified Forest again. These are all weather affected. Time will tell.
Monday, November 20, 2023
I had a great sleep, but I do not recall any dreams. My Garmin "body battery" increased by like 85 points all the way to 100. I went out to see the sunrise around 6:45, walking around for 30 minutes or so before it happened. Sunrise has been around 7:15 here at Organ Pipe.
I will determine if I ride today based on the wind. I am enjoying sitting in my van and writing, having my tea, and just contemplating things great and small.
Later … I did a ride, staying in the park almost entirely, doing repeat circuits to the visitor center and back. Riding this circuit in the park is relatively hilly, more so than being out on US 85, which is mostly flat. It was pretty windy day, too, and, according to the ten-day forecast, I can expect this kind of wind daily. It is what it is. It felt cold out just now sitting because of the wind. Today’s ride put me over 6,000 miles for the year. I took a shower, had lunch, and went to the visitor center to see how their internet access was. It was not good at all.
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
I did another 31-mile ride, mostly within the park again, like yesterday. That’s four days, and it is feeling great. After the ride, I took a shower again, fourth day in a row. How novel! Then I had lunch and simply sat around doing a little writing. I did a hike, walked to the Desert View Trail and walked it counterclockwise. The trail is 1.5 miles, and I probably walked an extra mile by walking to it and back from the campground. I have been getting my 10K steps in regularly now. I did about 13K today.
The trail was super. There was great lighting, as it was around 3:30 when I left to hike, and it was getting closer to sunset. I found that it would be a fantastic place to watch sunrise and sunset. I think I’ll check out both from there tomorrow. It would only be about a 20-25 minute walk to the top.
Tomorrow I will go into Ajo and do laundry. Maybe they’ll have WiFi? Probably not. But, they will likely have a library!
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
I looked online. There is a laundromat, Lemon Brite Laundry, but it does not say anything about there being WiFi. There is a library, but it is closed beginning today through to Monday morning.
I had a couple dreams, I remember thinking about them when I woke, but I do not recall them now. I have been here five nights already, with five to go.
Later ... it's been a great day, things of interest, so often the unexpected, and it is so often something new. I had a good ride again, earlier in the day this time, around 10AM. On my way out of the campground, I stopped and started talking with a woman with a Winnebago Solis. We talked about a few things: vans and their components, travel plans and calendars, how she got her dog (Kinney, named after McKinney, TX), camp hosting …. Tricia (Trisha?) is from New Hampshire. She is on the road until June and has been out this trip since September 1. She wants to stay in the southwest and stay warm.
I finished my ride a little faster than the previous two days over same terrain, some slight differences. I’ve passed my mileage for October already. After my ride, I showered and ate, then I headed to Ajo to do laundry.
I drove slowly to town, and all the way back, too. Cars speed on that road like crazy. The speed limit is 65. I think a lot of cars are going much faster than that, and for some reason that inspired me to start riding the majority of my cycling miles in that circuit within the park. I found the laundromat and did my wash. There was an interesting woman there, living in her 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan. She is staying on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land south of Why. Yes, Why is the name of the town. She said the land goes back a long way, and it is all free open dispersed camping.
I went to the post office next, and I mailed a letter, along with some brochures and a sticker from Petrified Forest, to Lucy. I came out and went to the coffee shop to check it out. I soon realized they were in closing mode. In fact, it was five minute to closing time. But I liked it, and I hope to go back on Saturday. Support local business, have a muffin and tea, they have internet, and they had friendly people working there.
I met several people in succession I would like to interview. The woman at the laundromat, an older guy sitting having coffee outside the Ajo Coffee Shop, two woman who were in the coffee shop, and a guy sitting outside the library. I’d like to ask them a series of questions: the who what why where and when of what they are doing in Ajo. They’d be so interesting. The two women told me something very interesting. There is an old hotel in town, bought by some non-profit, and it was made available for artists who are low-income. Artists could go live there, low-rent! One of the woman, the older one, lived there in 2009. She said she was there a year, and now she owns property. She said to look up NPR and Ajo, and she mentioned the Curley School.
I also learned from the two women that there is WiFi at the library, it is available outside the building, which is across the courtyard, and they leave it on all the time! That entire section of town is amazing in its architecture and design. And there is an art gallery, too.
I drove back “home” to the campground after walking around the courtyard some. My van’s battery power, the lithium batteries that power the refrigerator, induction stovetop, microwave, and ceiling lights, went up about 20% a a result of driving, bringing it to 55% now. I’ll make it to Saturday, but I will have to drive again just to get the batteries up. But, driving to Ajo might just have great results!
I watched the sunset from my campsite, then I went to the ranger talk. There was a guy and a woman talking about the night sky, and I joined them. It took me a couple minutes, it being dark out, to recognize the woman was a woman who had been sitting across from me, adjacently, the last two nights at the ranger talk. I wanted to talk with her, spend some time with her. But I did not want to stay waiting to talk, and she seemed interested in staying and talking with the ranger who gave the presentation. He was interesting and entertaining, a natural speaker it seemed, though his talk, about the night sky, could have easily been billed as his career story. It was a mix, but it was good, too. Anyway, I left and waved goodnight to her.
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Thanksgiving, and it is 8PM. I had a “busy” day of reading, riding, walking, and taking photos. And of course, thinking and feeling. I did not see Trisha or the woman from the ranger shows. I did not see much of anyone to be honest. I kept my space, more or less, talked briefly with a few people.
Today’s ride was down to South Puerto Drive, where Laura and I saw the detainees last December. I did not notice, when we drove there, there were so many plastic water bottles, discarded shoes, pieces of clothing or blankets tossed on the side of the road. There is a lot of it. The road itself is bumpy and has mostly gravel, as compared to hard dirt and easy riding. I would not like to ride a road like that for many miles, and I only did seven miles, three and a half out, then I rode back. Initially, this road was not right on the border, so much as about a few hundred yards from it. It was a dirty, messy environment, unpleasant. When I finally did reach a place where the road was right on the border, with Trump’s Fence hovering over the road, there was a blue tarped water station. It looked in rough shape. There were a few large drums, presumably filled with water, and the ground was littered with plastic bottles and cups and assorted discarded trash. There was a dark smoke smoldering fire on the Mexico side. And as dirty as it seemed on the US side, it looked much worse on the other side.
I came back and finished my miles at the campground. I have done 30 miles each day for the first six days here. I will probably continue to do that.
After my ride I took a shower, not exactly a warm one this time, and I read more. I walked to the overview at Desert View Trail to watch the sunset, which was decent. I read more in the evening and took a walk around 7:30 to get in the rest of my needed steps, around 3K. Now I am about ready for bed.
Friday, November 24, 2023
November is soon to slip by us, just like October, only it seemed faster. There is still a week left. I had a good sleep again. It is supposed to become windy by noon today, so I will ride by 9AM. I may not ride tomorrow, when I go into town. I have three more nights here. The weather forecast stays great, as it does for Tucson.
It seems warmer on this trip than last year. I have not had any frost, nor has it been near freezing over night at any point. Last year it was colder, both how it felt and according to some data on the spreadsheet we kept documenting such things as weather.
Later … I was successful in taking the day off from biking today. That will feel good for the legs. I’ll ride early tomorrow, then drive up to Ajo again. I want to charge the batteries, use the Library WiFi, and have some tea at that coffee shop. Maybe I’ll find even more to do.
I met the woman at the ranger talks tonight, the one I have seen there several other nights. She has been on this leg of her trip since 9/1 this year, but has been traveling overall for the past three years. I’ll probably learn more, as coincidently she is heading to Catalina SP on Monday for the next two weeks, while I will go to Picacho Peak and then Catalina. So, we'll both be at Catalina some of the same days. Also coincidently, she was in Page at the time of the eclipse in October, at an RV place not far from the Walmart where I watched it. Go figure.
The ranger talk tonight was all about his telescope and looking at Jupiter and the Moon.
Saturday, November 25, 2023
I had a great sleep, a few dreams, one with Heath in it, but I do not recall details. I went out to watch the sunrise. I was disappointed, as I think my phone camera seems to be malfunctioning. In some instances of light, it is not taking the crisp photos that it has always been capable of doing. It does not seem to be processing light in the same, and it is not focusing well.
I am in the Ajo Oasis Coffee Shop, working on my blog for the first time since … Zion. I have not had reliable internet access in quite some time. As I sit here, Victor, the guy from that building we went to last year, the Three Tribes Marketplace, walks in and sits down. I go over to him and say hi, tell him who I am and that I had met him last year, explaining I was with a woman named Laura who had spent some time talking with him. He made no indication he remembered this at all. I went back to my table.
Then a couple of guys with blue t-shirts came in. The shirts had Humane Borders written on the back in large white lettering. I started talking with one of them, and he briefly told me about how they try to help, but it appeared he was in a hurry to leave. I learned they are the group that supplies water at those water stations we saw last year, like the one I saw the other day when I rode my bike on Puerto Blanco Road. I’ll search online for info on Humane Borders.
After he left, four uniformed Sheriff's Department officers came in and stood waiting for their orders. This place is busy. It seems there’s been a steady stream of customers for the past, well, as long as since I arrived.
I am going to head on out. I need to organize, review, select, and process Joshua Tree and Organ Pipe photos for the blog! Oh my, that’s a lot of work! It takes time. Of course, time I have …
Later … I came back to Organ Pipe and had dinner, the last bag of pasta cooked up earlier in the week. Then I walked to the ranger show. But as I neared it, I could see the screen, and I realized it was going to be Kim and the bat presentation again. I did not want to see it again. I walked back, and crossed paths with Linda, as she was walking to the show. She decided to skip it too. She was actually carrying a plate, eating her dinner while walking. I told her I was going to walk for a while and asked if she wanted to walk, too, after she finished eating. We ended up walking together for about 45 minutes.
Sunday, November 26, 2023
It is my ninth day here, and it feels both special and repetitive to some extent. There is a part of me that could stay here longer, enjoy this park for many more days, and there is a part of me ready to move on. There is a satisfied, peaceful side me, and there is a restless, “let’s get going” side of me. Well, I am here today and tonight, and I will be leaving in the morning for continuing adventures on the trip to Nowhere, also known as Now Here.
I love it here, and I will come back for certain. I love this entire trip.
I am sitting in my van. It is very quiet, so much so it is not hard to passively hear conversations of other campsites. There is a couple having morning coffee, and there seems to be a conflict over some logistics of keeping the food stuffs properly stored. Her tone has become somewhat animated in a complaining manner, that the food storage is inadequate and somehow it is his fault. I am making the assumption that these two people love each other, they have been together for some time. I also think there is probably some underlying factor, that how the food product is stored is a symptom of something else.
Later … I did my ride, much easier than yesterday. Faster, too. Then I sat around, reading, took a nap, fell asleep and woke up at 5:45, after sunset. Took a walk to get in my 10K steps.
I am up to 240 miles riding done here.
I sometimes create songs while out riding, music and lyrics, but I do not recall them later. It is a thing of the moment, then it is gone. It is a very energizing, feel-good activity and experience. If I knew music, as in how to write what is done, maybe I could envision it, then recall it later, but that’s not the case. But it sure is inspiring at times.
Ideas on other travel. Home January 8. From Big Bend to home? Look at the map. After my January visit, then what? Drive south until April, then make my way back north to Danbury. What about a bike trip? Spain and Portugal? That would be a winter into spring trip, February, March, and April. What about cross the USA for summer? Back to that north route? Or the original Bike Centennial route with turnoff to San Francisco? They have a name for that route. We are talking May-July or June-August. Mostly hotels, not camping. Easier, less gear, better sleep, shower every night, etc.
Then come back, some time here in September, then head west in the van by October 1?
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