ARIZONA (again)
Sept 18
Joe got back on Rocinante and continued his
desert ride. The temperature is still over 100 degrees. He
re-crossed the Colorado River into Arizona at Parker. Most of the
water from the river has been diverted for use in other areas. A month,
and a thousand miles, ago Joe could step across the Colorado River at its
headwaters in the Rocky Mountain National Park. If he followed the river
all the way to the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), he could step
across it again. If, that is, the river actually made it that far. But it
no longer does. The water is all used up and the river is gone.
Sept 19
Joe and Barbara are staying in Wickenburg
at the ranch of KC Publication's founder, K.C. DenDooven. KC
Publication is the largest and best publisher of full-color, information
and interpretive books on National Parks, National Trails, National
Monuments, natural scenic wonders and Native American Culture. Top notch,
high-quality books. Other than their surprising oversight of a particular
scenic wonder located in Eastern Kentucky, they pretty much have America
covered. And very well covered, at that. The DenDoovens are sending 130
books, each on a different topic, for the students following Joe's trip to
use in their research. This is way cool. Thank you, K.C. and Bonnie
DenDooven.
Sept 20
After a wonderful stay with the DenDoovens,
Joe headed east and arrived in Phoenix. "It's hot riding," Joe
says. "I can handle temperatures in the high 80's pretty well but
over 90 it gets tougher. Anything over a 100 really wipes me out."
Today, the thermometer on his bicycle read 110 degrees. Heat is also
radiating upwards from the black highway asphalt. If he is riding at, say,
twelve miles per hour, it is the same as if a twelve mile per hour hot
wind is continually blowing in his face.
Saguaro Cactus
Sept 21
Barbara flies out of Phoenix today, home to
Eastern Kentucky with its beautiful green trees and cool creeks and
rivers. Joe is sad she is leaving but glad for her visit. He will pedal
from the airport to the other side of Phoenix today and head eastward
tomorrow.
Sept 22
At breakfast, Joe met the D2 (D Square)
photographers from Phoenix. They took pictures of him riding out in the
desert for an upcoming feature article in Teacher Magazine. Teacher
Magazine goes to every public and many private schools in the country. The
photo shoot was great and Joe said, "Those guys really know their
stuff." Later that day, Joe was interviewed for an upcoming article
in "American Way Magazine." This is the on-flight magazine for
American Airlines. Even with all this activity, Joe made it to the
Miami-Globe area. He will speak to two schools there tomorrow.
* Teachers: Joe's first collection of resource material is
now listed on the "Teacher Design" page. It's for you to use.
Contact David. Cash prizes will be awarded to three elementary schools-
located anywhere- that have the best, large, creative maps of Joe's
journey.
Hey kids, any questions for Joe?
Sept 23
Today's ride was a short but eventful. Joe
spoke to all the fourth and fifth grade students at the elementary school
in Miami and to the entire school at Globe. Everybody was really into the
ride and enjoyed Joe's inspirational, motivational talk. He had hoped to
speak at the Apache school in San Carlos but it was an official holiday on the
San Carlos Reservation celebrating Apache Indian Day and school was not in
session. Joe was invited to a coming-of-age celebration tomorrow morning
for a young Apache girl. The ceremony begins just before sunup. Since Joe
can't ride his bicycle in the dark he is trying to find a way to get
there. The Apache Tribal Council recently voted that the short term
monetary rewards gained from destroying their land by mining was not as
important as preserving the integrity of the land for their children and
future generations.
Thank you, Amanda.
Sept 24
Joe caught a ride to the ceremony with the
editor of the local paper. Thanks, Shirley! He said, "It was
incredible. It was an absolutely beautiful and solemn coming-of-age
celebration for a young Apache woman. When the sun came up and the early
morning rays shown directly on the beautiful young woman dressed in a
gorgeous, traditional yellow dress, it took my breath away." Joe will
describe more about it in an upcoming narrative in the "Stories from
the Road" page. Later in the day, he rode to Safford.
NEW MEXICO (again)
Sept 25
Joe left Arizona and crossed the border
into southwest New Mexico. He had been in the northern part of the state
earlier in the trip. He rode 77 miles to Lordsburg. Temperature- 98
degrees. It was possibly his most difficult day of riding. I believe his
exact words were, "absolutely miserable day for bicycling." The
desert, he said, "is parched and the small bushes that used to have
some green are now totally brown."
Sept 26
Joe pedaled 47 miles to the mining town of
Silver City. Still 98 degrees. He crossed the Continental Divide for the
11th and final time of the trip. That's a lot of times hopping back and
forth across the Rocky Mountains.
Sept 27
It is still 98 degrees. The weatherman says
it should cool down in a couple of days. Joe's 54 miles to Deming were
mostly downhill but he had strong, hot headwinds all day, "like
a big fan blowing hot air on you all day." Joe is concerned that the
readers may be getting as tired of hearing about the heat as he is in
riding in it. You're taking us all on an adventure, Joe. We are with you,
through he good times and the hard times. We want to know.
Sept 28
Two traveling bicycling families took Joe
to lunch. It was a beautiful day. Still hot but the weatherman says it'll
be in the 80s tomorrow. Joe pedaled 60 miles to Las Cruces. Out West, you
can ride on the shoulder of the interstate highways, which is where he
rode today.
Sept 29
66 miles to Alamogordo and the temperature
never broke 90. Joe was quite pleased. He rode across the White Sands Missile
Range where the first atomic bomb, developed by the Manhattan Project, was
exploded in the wee hours of the morning of July 16, 1945. People in
Arizona and mid Texas saw the light from the explosion. He visited the
White Sands National Monument and wants to point out that the white sand
is not really sand, it's gypsum. Hundreds and hundreds of square miles of
gypsum. There are a lot of UFO rumors in this area but Joe did not see
anybody from outer space. In fact, if anyone reports an alien riding a
bicycle in the desert, it was probably Joe.
White Sands
Sept 30
Joe left Alamogordo and rode 37 miles up
into the Sacramento Mountains. He gained 4,300 feet of elevation in 18
miles which makes it one of the steeper climbs of the trip. He camped out
near Mayhill. The temperature was 38 degrees, a welcome relief from the
oppressive desert heat of the past month.
Oct 1
Although the temperature was 38 degrees in
the morning, it was back to 100 when he reached Artesia, 75 miles later.
The ride was downhill. This daily narrative often mentions the incredible
effort Joe makes to conquer his mountain climbs. Maybe we should take a
minute to enjoy the sheer exhilaration of coasting on a bicycle (can you
remember the feeling?) for 75 miles- starting on a mountain top and ending
in a desert. As Joe would say, "That's awesome!"
Oct 2
Joe is almost across New Mexico, "Land
of Enchantment." He pedaled 80 miles to Hobbs and is only a few miles
from the Texas border. He is now in oil and gas country. He passed two
refineries and at one point stopped his bicycle and counted the oil wells
he could see around him. 128.
Oil.
next stage: Texas,
Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri
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