After a great visit with friends Steve and Jeannie in Santa Monica we’ve been busy with events surrounding Cassie’s son, Parker’s university graduation from California State University at Monterey Bay.

We left Santa Monica and headed toward Monterey with an overnight stop in San Luis Obisbo where we succeeded in finding our first dark beer since the trip started. Just as in food and coffee, regions of the US have different taste preferences for beer and wine. We’re glad to be out of Budweiser territory and into California wines.

After spending several days in and around Monterey we back-tracked south to Morro Bay

to travel one of the most prized roads in the US…the Big Sur on the Pacific Coast Highway (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_1)

over the next two weeks we will be traveling favored sections of the PCH as we head to the Napa valley wine country. We will forgo hotels and camp along the way, weather permitting. We are still dealing with abnormally cold and wet weather and are concerned about our route back as snow continues to fall in areas we planned to pass through. Yesterday was one of he few days without some rain on us in the last three weeks, and it’s been chilly. Today we’re staying over in Morro Bay due to very high winds along our PCH route…..not a good thing when riding along cliffs with steep drops into the Pacific Ocean.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_1

I’ve updated our route so far.. 4300 miles and counting.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1JEQ09BShC0i6khEE0GOrFmMAwjLYSbi9&usp=sharing

Santa Monica and Venice are well known for their substantial boardwalk and beach activity scene. We took advantage of the dry weather, pleasant temperatures for an extended walk along the route. There’s many others doing the same.

Our bodies needed the chance to stretch

Today was spent in Santa Monica, CA with our artist friends Steve Behal and Jeannie Catchpole.I thought I’d share a moment of their teamwork on an in process painting

You won’t find any photos posted for yesterdays ride across to Mojave desert. Anyone who think this trip leg might have some adventure or romance would have been badly disappointed.

With temperatures reaching 96F, gusty cross winds and traffic at 75 mph there wasn’t anything we found to enjoy. Even the burrito I ate at Bartstow, CA gave me heartburn and indigestion.

Rating 0 on any scale

Total climate change. Spent two nights near Hoover dam to acclimate. Today we cross the Mojave desert and end up in Santa Monica, CA on the Pacific ocean

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam

May 12, 2019- Day 15 QC to CA ride

It is what it is…

We will arrive as scheduled in Santa Monica to visit our friends Steve Behal and Jeannie Catchpole; then, Monterey for Parker’s graduation.

That is good, as the leg of our x-country trip TO California has been total improvising and flexibility due to the weather we encountered.

We are already looking at revising our itinerary for the return trip…due to cold temps and snow remaining in the Sierra’s…and the fact that we still wish to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and the Utah border.

Now we look at the Hoover Dam.

What is amazing is the Hoover Dam was built UNDER budget, UNDER time…and 70 percent OVERBUILT according to current construction standards.

Wow!!! That is amazing for ANY construction project…let alone one of this magnitude.

We are really glad that we laid over for a day and visited this magnificent structure. Definitely worth the visit.

You may be disappointed about the lack of photos on the way. But with the wet, cold and gray it was difficult to justify stopping to snap shots….and much of the way since North Carolina has been despressingly impoverished and dismal.It did serve as a good reminder of how beautiful the places we live are in comparison.Starting in North Carolina we passed through the first native American reservation and took the time to refresh our knowledge of the awful history of their abuse by the government and incoming settlers.Oklahoma serves as the prime showcase of all the tribes, 38 of them, that were forced from their native lands into reservations in Oklahoma….at a substantial cost of lives in these forced marches. Very sad.We have finally entered dry warm climate of Nevada. Currently at Hoover dam/ Lake Mead not far from Las Vegas. We are considering returning to the four corners state area (Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico) on our return trip east in June. Cold, snow and rain prevented us from visiting that area this trip.The high desert of northern Arizona and New Mexico that we did pass through, with it’s cliffs of many colors, is memorable.And it may be warm and dry enough to dare stop for photosCactus in bloom in Boulder City, NevadaNorthwestern Arizona/Nevada

Thursday, May 9, 2019 – Day 12 of QC to CA ride.

To be back in the land of big skies.

Hello Western U.S.!!!

I was an avid reader of Western historical fiction, Western TV shows, and Western movies. Every time I’m in the Sierra’s, or rural areas of Arizona and Santa Fe, my imagination goes into high gear.

I always wonder about the different individuals who chose to make the trek westward for a better life, or just the plain adventure. I think about the native Americans and the changes forced upon them.

As I ride across the plains and desert, I think about the places Indians could have laid in wait for the wagon train making it’s way slowly across the rutted trail; or the large herds of cattle, and the accompanying cowboys hoping the next water hole is still in existence…the sound of cows bawling and whips in the air.

The light is different in the west. The sky is big and clouds race across with their shadows running across the landscape. The colors of the earth, rocks, landscape….not lush, but colorful and bold.

Today we rode across New Mexico on Hwy 40 – flirting a bit with Historical Route 66.

Tomorrow we ride Arizona. What direction? To be determined by the weather (and our interpretation of the forecast) in the morning.

Waited out the morning thunderstorms. Ended up with a great day.
Passed through the Texas panhandle and are now in Santa Rosa, New Mexico.Should be past the dangerous weather part

Weather routing used for sail racing and offshore passages proving useful…again.

We elected to lay over in Lawton, OK as we reviewed how the weather was developing west of us.

Good thing, as our target destination has been under severe weather and tornado warning. We are under tornado watch here until 11:00 pm – but don’t feel that the likely hood is high.

The staff here at the Apache Casino and Hotel have been the friendliest we have met at any hotel. They just allowed us to move the motos under the entry cover, so we don’t receive hail damage. There is a threat of receiving 1″ hail here tonight!

Thank you Apache Casino and Hotel staff!!

Hoping we have a window to leave in the morning to get west beyond the next set of cells.