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JULY 13, 2006 - BY THE TIME I GET TO PHOENIX, SHE'LL BE RISING…..

I got out of El Paso like a card shark with 5 aces. The temperature was already clicking in the high 80's by 8:30 AM, so I knew it was going to be a rough day, weather wise… I truly had no idea how rough it would get.

I pulled in and got gas and ice, because the Ramada was out of ice at every machine. Perhaps some other travelers knew the trick of taking the ice bucket and all of the plastic trash cans to the ice machine to fill up for the cooler. Some one has been following me, I guess………… ROD SERLING AGAIN????

About four miles later I realized that I had pulled out of the parking lot without putting on my favorite pair of driving gloves. They happen to be made for bicycle riding but the padding on the palms is far superior to motorcycle gloves. Ah well, someone will find them and enjoy them, I hope. It just wasn't worth a four to six mile detour. I'll find new ones.

I am cheered by the arrival of the New Mexico sign as I go past. I can say that I am done with Texas. If that sounds like a country song, it probably is, along with "How can I miss you if you won't go away?" My goal is to get to Arizona and the city of Tucson. To accomplish this, I have altered my travel style. The plan now calls for far more frequent stops and much more fluid intake.

After leaving Las Cruces, I became aware of a distinct smell. I had not experienced this odor for decades, but the memory of it is still strong. Unmistakable in the make up and smell, I knew I literally smelled cow poop and bovine flatulence. There were, however, no visual clues to back it up. Yet, it persisted to invade my nasal passages. It was so intense I thought that perhaps I needed to access my bathroom needs, but this was not necessary. Just as I was about to stop to check my pantaloons, the reason for my smelling bullshit, or as they say it down here, bullllllllsheeeeeyiiiiiitttt, I saw the clues. Farm after farm after farm of milk cows, lined the expressway. Large barns were filled with hay that was fed to the thousands of cows that were part of each captive herd. It was really quite a sight. These places were right next to each other and were the obvious cause of the olfactory invasion.

One of the stops for fluid for the bike and me took place at this goofy gift shop and gas station out near Las Cruces New Mexico. See the photos from that little adventure. It is the southwest version of Sea Shell City on the way to the Upper Peninsula. This place had every knickknack and paddy whack ever invented ever. The billboards had been visible for mile upon mile. What a hoot. Hand carved this and hand woven that and... blah blah….

The fluid intake is working. I am feeling good, despite the 104 temperature.  Lunch was provided by the "Si Senior" restaurant in Deming New Mexico. I have always enjoyed the Chicken Chimichanga from Paco's in Mt.Clemens, so I ordered one from here. It was good and hot. Actually it was good and almost too damn hot. I did well, though. So did the eight glasses of water I had.

I began to see a series of signs that I had not encountered until now.
DUST STORM POSSIBLE NEXT 15 MILES
DO NOT STOP ON TRAVEL PORTION OF ROAD ZERO VISIBILITY POSSIBLE
In the distance, large dust devils, some of them hundreds of feet high, could be seen dancing across the desert floor. Today the thought struck me that I have now crossed into three time zones, the Mississippi River is at my back, and so is the Continental Divide. If I am not half way, I am close to being half way. I have been very fortunate to have seen many things on this trip. I am looking forward to seeing much more, but like Dorothy, I must admit that there is no place like home. There are family and friends that I have not seen in a long time. That alone is unusual for me. As long as I focus on that which is around me, I do better than when I think about so many things back home - things I have no control over because of distance.

I intend, however to do my best at completing this trip. I may never have the chance to do this again. I am making the most of it. A friend posed this question to me:
What if you find a place that is so interesting that it compels you to move there? The fact is that I am a product of my environment. Everything I know and love is back "home". There are surely places that I wish to revisit at a more leisurely pace. I want to explore Charleston. As I have mentioned, Key West requires more exploration and more explanation. Perhaps Tucson may be added to the list.

I was happy to see the "Welcome to Arizona" sign go tearing past me as well, today. I feel like I am getting somewhere when I see the State sign go by. I had to stop in Benson, Arizona, in order to get gas. When I pulled in, there was a car pulling a trailer at the gas pumps. On the trailer was a Ural sidecar rig. I began talking with the lady, thinking her husband was the owner. It turns out that she has spent years trying to convince her husband about motorcycles. She was the driver. HE, was the sidecar passenger. That was pretty cool. I gave her a card, and we exchanged names. LeNore was leaving to drop off the car and take the motorcycle with her and her husband around the southwest area.  She seemed impressed with what I was doing.

Once into Arizona, I noticed that the dry brown color of the landscape changed periodically, but not by much. What changed was the TEXTURE of the surroundings. In Texas and New Mexico, the mountains and hills were smooth, sandy looking things. The deeper into Arizona, the rougher the terrain became. Finally I was looking at rocks and boulders as big as a house, if not bigger. Many of these made up the mountains and hillsides now.

The last time I was in Phoenix, was on my honeymoon. We stayed for two nights with a friend of Mary's from Michigan State. Then it was off to Disney Land, since Disney World was still farmland and swamp. I am sure that it has changed immensely in the 35 years since I was there last. I am looking forward to that.

On Interstate 10, while still east of Tucson, I watched as large lightening carrying thunderstorms roared across the desert in the far distance. How fun it would be, I thought, to see if the rain had much affect on the vegetation. I was also curious to see if any of the rivers would have water in them. In New Mexico and (so far) in Arizona, I have not seen one creek or river that had any water in it. They are all bone dry. I bet things get filled up fast, though.

When I stopped in Bensen (where I met the sidecar lady) it was a pretty sure thing that rain was going to happen. Lightening was crashing all around even though things were still dry. I decided to take off.

The problem was that I had decided to take off, approximately 10 minutes after I should have left. I remember talking about storms out east and near the coast. Let me tell you about thunderstorms in the desert.

Understand that the desert is the desert because it doesn't rain all that much. No, it barely rains at all. Thunderstorms know this, so they compensate for the lack of frequency of rain storms, by making each and every one count.

These are pretty violent affairs. It is very interestingly terrifying to see a huge black cloud in the distance as it creeps inexorably toward where YOU are. When it reaches the local area, get ready. Rain out in the desert, doesn't just fall to earth. It is thrown with such force that it can AND DOES hurt. The rain is accompanied by high winds too. Also, each rain drop feels like it weighs a good 1 ½ pounds. This is not a joke, You KNOW when you have been hit with a rain drop out here. Tis amazing, to say the least. I outran the weather front, successfully enough to be able to stop the bike, take off the rain gear and get the camera out for a photo of the conflagration going on behind me. Hopefully no rain for a bit.

Tonight I had an Italian dinner at a place up on 4th street here in Tucson. Carusso's has very good basic Italian food. Every once in a while I need to have my pasta fix. The sauce was good, but not as good as Virg's sauce.

Tomorrow, I'll be in Phoenix Arizona for the second time in my life. It will be the first time alone. Tonight seems to be especially difficult for me. It will be good to see my cousins and niece, though.