Day 7 of ALAA-Fri, May 20th, 2011. Yuma, AZ to San Clemente, CA

FINALLY Reached San Diego!

Here is a picture of the desert I left with "The Wall" dividing the U. S. and Mexico in the background. Every quarter mile or so, there are these flags sticking up out of the sand with a bucket of water below them. I guess we're humane enough to provide water for those illegals crossing into the U. S. The other picture is the beach in San Diego. Yes, there is a LITTLE contrast between these two pictures!

Well, it has been an interesting 250 mile day! It was a shame to have to leave lush, green, and beautiful Yuma and ride to desolate, brown, and dirty San Diego :-). I actually have PROOF that California is the cereal state-full of fruits, nuts, and flakes. Anyway, I was at a Chevron station in Campo, CA that stocks crickets and larvae-the crickets, of course, were sour cream and onion flavored and the larvae, of course, were jalapeño flavored. Only in CA!

I've decided that La Jolla is the quintessential beach town-beautiful, eclectic, and expensive! I'm in a state park near San Clemente. The campsite I'm in tonight looks out over the Pacific so I'm expecting the waves to put me to sleep. This state park is about halfway between SD and LA so tomorrow afternoon will be spent at Malibu Creek State Park. It used to be the Fox Ranch where the outdoor scenes for the MASH TV series was filmed. I'm going to hike to where the set was located. More about that mañana. Considering that today is my seventh day on the road, it's taken me a week to reach San Diego! Now the Pacific Coast Highway or Highway 1 for the next, oh, 14 to 16 hundred miles!

Day 6 of ALAA-Thurs, May 19th, 2011. Douglas to Yuma, AZ

Well, you have to realize that this blog is being written by the winner of the DUMBA$$ of the week award! Why, you ask? I stopped on the side of I-8 in Yuma, AZ and took my sunglasses off to find a campground in the Yuma area. Found a campground-GOOD NEWS! Rode off with my sunglasses sitting on the back of the bike-BAD NEWS! On the optimistic side, losing your prescription shades isn't as bad as some things but on the pessimistic side-CRAPOLA! CRAPOLA! CRAPOLA! Okay, quit the whining!

Other than that, it WAS a good 350 mile day! Here are some of the interesting takes on today: Bisbee, AZ is an interesting small town! It was a copper mining town that has preserved its interesting buildings as it converts to an economy based on tourism-beautiful old buildings. Tombstone, AZ is WAY too touristy for me but still a unique place. I saw a guy at least 80 years old standing on the side of the Interstate taking a whiz. I saw 3 Great Danes at a rest area-the owner told me they weighed 153, 172, and 185 pounds. These were really big dogs!

Why is it that anyone who owns land in West Texas, Southern NM, and Southern AZ think they can subdivide it and sell it? They put up signs that declares their property to be "Desert Breeze," "Mountain View," "Twin Buttes" or any other ridiculous name to sell their scrub brush, utterly worthless, and butt ugly piece of land.  Advertising the "Last few lots available! 10 acres for only 29,900!," who would want to live out there in the middle of B#E? In 'n Out Burger today in Tucson! You can tell I'm getting closer to the Cereal State when you get to eat an In 'n Out Burger! They are the best!

Day 5 of ALAA-Wed, May 18th, 2011. El Paso, TX to Douglas, AZ



The thriving metropolis of Columbus, NM

 Today led me from El Paso, TX about 250 miles to near Douglas, AZ. It took 4 days to get out of Texas and today took me from Texas through Southern New Mexico and into Arizona. I went through some interesting small towns today: Columbus, NM which Pancho Villa attacked in 1916; Hachita, NM with 8 houses, a community center, and no businesses; Rodeo, NM where the only paved street is the highway; and Apache, AZ where there is a monument where it says "Gerinomo surrounded here." (No historical markers-just that sign!). The section of road from Santa Teresa to Columbus, NM must rank near the top of the most desolate roads in the USA. It's only 52 miles but there is NOTHING there! Nothing-no cross roads, no businesses, no signs, nothing except cactus, scrub brush, and the inevitable Border Patrol! There was a brush fire near San Simon but I avoided it by turning South toward Douglas and the Mexican border. Tomorrow will bring other new experiences as I head for Yuma while trying to avoid the dreaded Interstate I-10!

I met a guy at the campground here who was somewhat interesting. His name is Wayne and he originally retired from Pennsylvania to Florida but couldn't stand the heat and humidity. He was on his way through AZ and met the people that own this campground. They asked him to move here as a manager so he "went into town and spent $600 on a 1955 mobile home" where he currently lives here at the campground. He told me he's been here since last October and he hasn't seen rain here yet! WHOA-Now THAT'S the desert!

Day 5a of ALAA-Wed, May 18th, 2011

Everyday brings some excitement when you're on the road. Sometimes it's good excitement and sometimes it's bad excitement- today it was BAD! I stayed in a Motel6 in El Paso and paid for it with a debit card. Right after that, charges totaling $60 to the local gas utility company appeared on our account. I immediately cancelled the card but how did someone get the number? I scanned the card, put it immediately back in my wallet, and the receipt they gave me only shows the last four digits. Most of you reading this are smarter than I am so someone please explain how some miscreant got the number! Thank the Bride for catching it and doing most of the research into it! Is it called skimming when crooks get your account information by recording your credit/debit card data when you use it?

Day 4 of ALAA-Tues, May 17th, 2011. Big Bend NP to El Paso, TX

Today saw me going the almost 400 miles from Big Bend to El Paso, TX. I've been on the road for 4 days and 1,570 miles and I'm still in stinkin' Texas! Today I saw the Terlingua ghost town, rode The River Road along the Rio Grande, saw three towns with no drugstores or pharmacies but with a majority of gravel streets. Most of these small towns along the Texas-Mexico border are very undeveloped and poor. The people there are friendly and helpful with strangers. I talked with a couple of Harley riders headed from Utah to Key West. Even though I don't ride a Harley, we sat and talked over lunch at a truck stop. Oh, and the bike and I got sniffed again at ANOTHER of those Border Patrol inspection points. Tomorrow? FINALLY out of Texas and to New Mexico!

Day 3 of ALAA-Mon, May 16th, 2011. Laredo to Big Bend National Park, TX

Well, this is about Day 3 but is being written at the end of Day 4. Why, you ask? Well, last night was spent in Big Bend National Park . . . where there is absolutely no cell coverage! I wasn't surprised because BBNP is about 90 miles from nowhere . . . . . and that's NOT a joke, it's literal! It was over 400 miles from Laredo to BBNP but there's not a lot to see in West Texas!

The scenery is pretty in a stark, desert kind of way. I camped in the Chisos Basin campground which sits at 5,400 feet and is surrounded by peaks in a Crater Lake kind of way. Anyway, yesterday began in Laredo, TX and ended at Big Bend. I ran into a Danish couple riding a rented Harley from Orlando to LA. I went through 2 Border Patrol inspection stations looking for drugs and illegals. The bike and I got sniffed by 2 drug-sniffing dogs. Now that was weird!

Oh, two interesting things happened at the campground: 1) I saw this "creature" run through the campground I thought it was a small feral hog but it was smaller and didn't have the ugly snout that feral hogs have. The couple in the site next to me said that it was a javalina-whatever in the world that is! 2) I got up about 6:00 this morning and it was so light outside you could see your moon shadow. I walked down to the little boy's room to clean up and it was much darker when I walked back to the campsite. I looked up at the mountains surrounding Chisos Basin and the full moon had set behind the mountain. I guess I saw my first moonset! I was a little concerned because the campsite had a food storage locker to keep bears away!

Today is more of BBNP, the River Road along the Rio Grande, and Westward toward El Paso. Will I EVER get out of Texas??

Day 2 of ALAA-Sun, May 15th, 2011. Corpus Christi to Laredo, TX

Well, it was an interesting day but not really notable in any way. Today took me about 300 miles from Mustang Island near Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande Valley and them up the border to Laredo. I've been on three islands in the first two days; Galveston, Mustang, and Padre but I don't think I'm going to see any more islands for a week or so! The morning was along the Gulf of Mexico coast to the US/Mexico border-wet in the morning and dry in the afternoon. The trip along the US border with Mexico began in Harlingen, TX and this section of the Texas-Mexico border is fairly poor. All this afternoon I followed the border so you can imagine that I'm in an area populated primarily by Hispanics.

One surprising thing has been the number of Border Patrol agents I've seen-probably 25 so far. I guess they are looking for illegals crossing the border. I'm in Lake Casa Blanca State Park in Laredo and it's nearly deserted. One very good thing a bout this state park is that I can put the tent right next to the plug in electrical connection. That means that I can charge my phone and flashlight while I sleep.

It sprinkled a little on me today but that just kept it comfortable. Tomorrow I'm shooting for Marathon, TX. It's near the North entrance of Big Ben National Park. More of this ever-boring drule tomorrow.