50 States, Day 349

Wickenburg to Lake Havasu City   155 Miles

"It's not about being better than everyone else, it's about being better than you used to be."
~Dr. Wayne Dyer



It must be the Pacific Time Zone, because we were fueled and rolling by before 9:30. Amazing. 

Wickenburg seemed like a nice town, and the lady that worked at the Super 8 lived there all her life and loved it. That said a lot. The place lacked master planning, cookie cutter houses and HOAs. Fine by me. Probably freaking hot in summer however. 



Today the RVs headed North, indicating the snowbird migration, the white beasts lumbering toward cooler climes. The closer we got to Lake Havasu, the more boats we encountered too. 

Riding through the desert is a simple affair; set the cruise, point it straight and stay awake. After numerous nights of sleeplessness, the third part could be sketchy, but no problem today. Mr. Sun came up and warmed the earth, and the sixty mile per hour breeze kept us comfortable. 



Arizona may be the bike capitol of the world. Florida could knock it off the podium, but bikes passed us both ways, and most were Harleys. Man those bikes are popular. 

We turned North at Parker and followed the Colorado River, and things got a bit more colorful. Houses hugged the shores, boats on trailers awaited their turn at fun, and traffic increased. Before long we cruised into LHC and wound through town (there are no straight streets there!) to see The Great One. 



His simple house stands serenely, the yard as neat as a pin. He didn't hear us ride up, no surprise as the Gold Wing is super quiet and he's pretty deaf. He greeted us with hugs and I surveyed the surroundings; the furniture, decorations and art have all been in a time lock, almost nothing changed since 1990. Those Depression era folks don't run to Pier One every ten minutes for the next thing, that's for sure. 


Dad is 92 and stays active. He preached a sermon on Tuesday, does hospital visits on Sundays, and gets in a game of golf every week. The days he doesn't golf, he walks the track at the High School, a mile and a half. QG got domestic and decided to cook dinner, so we all trooped to the grocery store and as I turned his car into the parking lot he pointed to the spot furthest from the store. "I usually park right there." Not for avoiding door dings, but to keep in shape. If that's what it takes, I'm in! 

We set up the tent inside the garage. Yes, it fits. Dad offered to abandon his bed and sleep on the couch/loveseat/bed in the spare room, but we declined. We wouldn't want to be a burden. (That's his favorite saying.)

QG put together a delicious chicken dinner with red potatoes and Dad provided the cole slaw. Great stuff. Between the car with windows that roll up, A/C in it and the house, and  a couch and kitchen, the daunting specter of stopping actually looks rather pleasant. Don't think about it, five weeks and some change to go.

It's pretty weird to be less than 150 miles to home and we won't be going there, and in fact will turn away. But that's the nature of the trip, as we zig and zag, the Sharpie marks on the saddlebag looking like an ADHD kid on... ADHD. 

And now, Miss Domestic, Quilter Girl!

It is fun to be in a kitchen again.  I am making stuff up, but it usually turns out okay.  I don't have much to work with in Dad's kitchen. I picked up a bottle of Worcestershire sauce and it was petrified.  I am making Apricot Chicken, oven roasted red potatoes, blueberry muffins, cole slaw, and ice cream for dessert.  I'm sure when I get home the novelty will wear off, but I do like to cook!  


It is warm today, with a slight breeze and the ride here in the morning was wonderful.  The rugged mountains on either side of the road made interesting shapes against the blue sky.  There were farms in places that must have had irrigation, because there was not much vegetation naturally.  Still there is more plant life here than in Nevada due to more rain.   Tomorrow we will find a quilt store and I will have some fun there.

QG

Tomorrow we'll be hanging with The Great One in LHC. See you there.





4 comments:

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

We Are the Crawford Family from Lake Havasu City. We are a homeschooling family and right now we are study the 50 states! On our way to an appointment around 12 we saw you guys on your bike going north on Acoma....When they saw the map on the bike and the website the got all excited and came on to look you on the web!! Very Cool. We will now be checking out your blog and we study through the states! Happy Travels to you both!!

The Crawford Family
of Lake Havasu City

Stephen & Heather
Justin (10), Chris (8), Emma (3)

Mel Nason said...

Glad your Dad is doing so well, Kevin. It was great to meet him in Seattle when you and QG were there last June. What a great guy!
Whatever happened to his son? You know, the one who travels, and writes?
Just kidding...

Unknown said...

Heather, welcome the Adventure! If you like you can go to 'Archives' and view and page from the entire trip. that's so cool how you're working with the kids on 50 States.
KP