Great Trip to the West: The Return

Our great trip was quickly drawing to an end.  We had been on the road for over 2 weeks and we were beginning to get drained.  We were also debating on how we should go home.  We took I-40 out most of the way to California, and we had originally thought that we'd go back on I-80, but it was a bit longer and we were tired.  We decided to go back the way we came.

But then we thought that it might be nice to see a "different nothing" on the way home.  So we again changed our plans and decided to go the northern route.

This way was new to me.  I had never been up that way before.  I had no idea what it would be like so I was pretty excited.  I'm always up for new and different experiences.

We began our trek at around noon PDT.  We headed north to Lake Tahoe.  I had heard stories about Lake Tahoe and they did not disappoint.  It was gorgeous.  Tons of Ponderosa Pines and the lake was a vivid blue.  I could look back at the mountains that we went through just a week before.  It reminded me of the Lord of the Rings.  We took a few pictures and jumped back into the car to head back into Nevada.  We filled up in Reno and it was a good thing we did, for Reno is basically the last bit of civilization until you get to Salt Lake City.

We drove along the lonely highway past house that stood in the middle of the desert.  We stopped at a closed rest area, something that seemed normal in those parts.  We continued to Winnemucca, a town that wasn't much more than a few restaurants and hotels.  We thought about stopping, but I woefully felt energetic and thought we could go on to Battle Mountain.  Which is what we did.

Now you might think that a city named Battle Mountain couldn't be anything other than awesome, but you would be wrong.  There were about 2 or 3 exits to this town and when we pulled off at the second exit we swung in to the hotel there, eager for beds and rest only to find that it was booked.  Not only was that hotel booked, but every hotel from there to Salt Lake City was booked.  I was stunned.  There I was with my pregnant wife in the middle of the Nevada desert with no prospects of getting a hotel room.  I wasn't quite sure what to do.  The very nice lady at the front desk was sympathetic and offered to allow us to sleep in the parking lot.  She said we could use the toilet facilities and help ourselves to the coffee.  She also called around for us, trying to find a hotel room.  I wanted to mention her by name, but I can't find her business card.  She was an angel in that wasteland.  Eventually she did find a place in Elko, about an hour and a half away.  He held his last room for us and we shot off into the night.  I thanked her profusely before we left and vowed to never forget her.

We got to Elko and I called the hotel.  He told me to get off of the interstate and go left.  I did.  I eventually  wound up in the desert.  I called him back and he kept telling me to go left.  Finally I went right and sure enough found his hotel in just a few seconds.  We checked in and helped ourselves to a late dinner of cup noodles and orange juice (our stores were running thin).  After a few minutes of unwinding, we turned in for the night.  Early the next morning I attempted to take a shower before we headed back on the road.  I pulled the knob of the shower and nothing happened.  I tried wiggling it around.  Nothing.  I played with it for a few minutes and then gave up.  We quickly packed up the car and I went to the office to check out.  Before I left I told the guy that the shower wasn't working.  He immediately became defensive and basically implied that I was an idiot.  That was the last straw.  "Hey!  I was just letting you know that your shower was f***ing broken!  I don't give two s***s about it.  I was trying to be nice so that the next customer doesn't flip out on you and kick your ass!"  He apologized and we concluded our business.  I left pissed off and just wanting to get out of Nevada.

The trip was long.  The scenery didn't really change until we went through Salt Lake City.  Once through that city, the background went from desert brown to more of an alpine feel.  I could see some trees again and the mountains were very picturesque.  But that was short lived because we soon made the climb north to Wyoming.

We pushed through the great grassy vistas of Wyoming.  We stopped at a gas station just a few miles in the state and it was a good thing we did because after that stop there wasn't much else for a long long time.  We were no long interested in seeing the local sights, we just wanted to go home.  I was pretty burned out on driving and sleeping in hotels and in other beds that were not my own.  We had come a long way and now home was calling our names.  Also, we needed to be home in time for my wife's monthly OBGYN appointment.  The wife slept as I pushed on.  Mile after mile went by.  Cheyenne and Colorado crept ever closer.  Finally we made the turn south and soon were in Colorado, our tenth state on this adventure.  We were going for the east side of Denver, but I was tired and my wife was tired so just south of Fort Collins, we stopped and got a hotel.  We spent the evening watching TV and eating Taco Bell.  It was much more restful than the previous night had been, and it was desperately needed.

Monday was a cheery day.  We were well rested and our spirits were high.  I made a quick call to my wife's doctor, hoping that we could postpone a day or so so that we could explore Denver, but sadly, it was not to be, either we saw the doctor on Tuesday or it would be a two week wait.  We decided not to wait (we had tons of questions for the doctor that we wanted answers to sooner rather than later).  We climbed into the car and headed out.

Kansas passed by.  For some reason it felt like it took a very long time to get out of Kansas.  We stopped only a couple times and not for very long, but it seemed that Kansas took forever to get out of.  Not only did we have to go through most of the state on I-70, but we had to go south through another half of the state on I-35.  The clock was ticking and I was bound and determined to make it home in time for the doctor's appointment early the next day.  By 9 o'clock we were both tired and I knew that it would be better to sleep then and wake up early than to keep going and risk an accident or not being able to find some place to rest.  I was still unnerved by our experiences in Northern Nevada.

Just east of Oklahoma City was our last stop of our trip.  We got a room, took showers and went to sleep.  At around 3 am Tuesday my alarm went off and we made a mad dash around the room to get ready to head out.  We were done within 15 minutes and back on the road.  I nervously checked the time.  The minutes ticked by.  I would silently calculate our ETA in Memphis at every mile marker.  Finally we crossed the Mississippi bridge and into Memphis.  Twenty minutes later we were in our doctor's office (we were 10 minutes late, but I had called several hours earlier to alert them to the situation).

Our great trip was at an end.  We had a lot of fun and learned a lot.  I learned a little humility in trip planning (especially with a pregnant wife!) and to not underestimate the distances between places.  Overall we rode approximately 5,268 miles and were gone for 22 days and saw 11 states.  This trip really allowed my wife to see just how big the US is (she's from Japan and could quite grasp how huge the US is).  We will certainly do other trips, but nothing can compare to this first trip cross country.

Critical Mass

The air was alive with excited energy.  Bells, horns,  and other claxons echoed around me and my party.  We took some pictures of ourselves in front of the horde of cyclists and chatted with a few nearby.

Suddenly the front of the mass surged forward.  People hurried onto their bikes and joined the queue.  I pedaled the cruiser I was riding toward the current.  Critical Mass had begun.

We headed up the main street, pedaling past street cars, the flashing blue lights of San Francisco's finest as our guides.  Quickly we became a massive snake of people and bicycles, slithering through the streets and causing automobile traffic to halt.

We rode up the streets, following the riders ahead of us.  There was no planned course.  Whoever is in the front leads the group.  Occasionally we would form a roundabout allowing those in the rear to catch up.  There was some talk that it was also a form of protest against auto traffic.

I personally conquered some of San Francisco's legendary hills.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  But it could have been better.  I was riding a little road cruiser that only had a couple gears on it.  It definitely not meant for hills, but I made it work.  At one point I was chugging along and the guy in front of me stopped causing me to stop and lose my momentum.  I had to walk the rest of the way up the hill.

Something that struck me was that we seemed to travel great distances in relatively little time.  I remember passing the San Francisco City Hall and what felt like only about 5 minutes later we were on a hill about 2 miles away.  It was very strange and awesome.

The spirit and the energy of Critical Mass is perhaps the best part of the event.  Everyone was charged with positive energy and fun.  I highly recommend this for anyone who goes to San Francisco.

Critical Mass is held every last Friday of the month and starts at 5pm.  Take a good bike and your helmet and enjoy!

Great Trip to the West Day 2: Into the desert

We drove west, leaving Amarillo behind us.  We continued through the scrub bush landscape and slowly it began to give way to desert.  Though we were safe from the desert heat in our air conditioned car, we could see the ravages of the desert heat.

The landscape remained unchanged for most of our long drive to our second destination:  Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Santa Fe used to be on the old Route 66, the main highway from the East to the West before the days of the interstate.  However, Santa Fe was cheated and was bypassed by the new interstate system.  Though it is the capital of New Mexico, it retains a small town feel.  Santa Fe was a very interesting stop for us.  We grabbed some lunch and wandered around the downtown area.  We only spent about 30 minutes in downtown due to our schedule.  It's definitely on our list of places we want to return to.

After Santa Fe we returned to the desert on our way to Arizona.  One thing that I did not like was that heading West on the highway there is a sign shortly after leaving Santa Fe advertising a rest area.  We got off for the rest area only to return to the highway and go back the way we came.  The rest area is only really for travelers heading East.  It was a slight inconvenience, but we made it through.

The journey through the rest of New Mexico was much like the previous leg, boring and long.

We actually had a major stroke of luck in Arizona.  We stopped at the visitor center and the lady working there advised us to continue on to the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest.  Had we not gotten her advice, we would've ended up being hurried and rushed on the following day.  We had originally planned to sleep early and back track to the National Parks before going to the Grand Canyon.  It was good that we took her advice.  It really saved us a lot of hassle and heart ache.

The National Parks of the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest closes at 8pm.  It was about 4:30 or so when we arrived at the Arizona visitor center.  We got to the parks at around 5:20 or so.  This was the first time we got to use our parks pass and it worked beautifully.  We got some patches and our National Parks Passport stamped and went on the drive around the park.  It's about a 20 mile trip and takes about 2 hours to complete (thoroughly).  We stopped at most of the lookout points and took pictures and video.  My wife was pretty tired so we didn't do any hikes, but we intend to return and do them in the future.

The trip through the parks dumps you out on a highway to the South of the interstate.  We took that into Holbrook and finding no hotels (we didn't look very much).  We headed to Winslow.  Yes, that Winslow.  We found a hotel after a little searching and relished in laying down and resting after another full day of travel.

I apologize for the infrequency of my posts.  I have been away from internet for a while.  I'll try to be better from now on.