I’m sitting in the Arizona tourist information center in Lake Havasu, about 30 yards from the London Bridge.  Yesterday was the Festival of Lights.  

 I should back up.

I started out from San Diego and head out first to Anza-Borrego about a week ago.  I made it as far as Julian before it got dark, .  Had there been space for it, the eleventh commandment would have been “Thou Shalt Not Pass Through Julian, California Without Purchasing An Apple-Pastry Product.”

 So I got an Apple turnover and headed on to Anza-Borrego in the dark. 

 Anza-Borrego is the largest state park in California and I believe the largest in the continental states.  

 Turns out the desert is hot.  Even in mid November.  And it’s even hotter when you’re pushing your bike back to the visitor center because you’ve gotten a flat less than 2 miles out on the first bike ride of your big trip. 

 Alas.  At least I hadn’t gotten very far.  I had a repair kit with me, but since I was so close just headed back to the car, and reflected on what it would have been like to cross this area with Jaun Bautista de Anza in the 1700s, and the solitude of the desert, (in between turning down offers of help). 

 That night I fixed the flat, promptly pinched the tube and flattened it again and decided I would until I made it to a bike shop for a new tube and a new set of tire levers since the plastic ones I had tended to bend more than actually pry.  As it turned out I needed a new tire as well.  All that was finally accomplished here in Lake Havasu yesterday. 

 Not having a bike has put a bit of a damper on the first couple towns of my trip, but now that it’s up and running, (with hopefully no more flats for a while), I’m looking forward to seeing how my back reacts to a biking. 

 My back continues to hurt, alternating between extreme pain and general annoyance.  I’ve found that if I sleep on my back it seems to help, as does walking around for a while, but those first 20 yards are a very slow shuffle.  At some points I’m almost afraid to sit down for fear that I won’t be able to stand back up. 

 I discovered yesterday that Advil helps.  I always forget about things like that.  Still I’d rather figure out what caused it to start in the first place.  It’s been over two weeks now and I’d like to be back to normal. 

After Anza-Borrego I spent a day at the Southern end of the Salton Sea.  Both are places I’ll probably go back and explore a bit more, but the heat, (and lack of a bike) spurred me on.  Also I hadn’t quite gotten used to the fact that this is not a normal road trip.  hadn’t quite figured out how to slow down yet, (actually, I’m still working on this).  Spending my third night at a proper campground next to the Salton Sea helped with this.  (One of the great things about Anza-Borrego is that the entire park is open for boondocking.)  If I’m going to pay $17 for a campground I’m going to take advantage of it.  So I enjoyed the minor luxury of having a little plot of land all to myself and spent the evening and next morning reading and relaxing.  

The next two nights were spend outside of Quartzsite, AZ, the winter mecca of snowbirds.  In January and February it swells to nearly a million RVs in town and on the BLM lands around town.  It is a ghost of that now, but fun to wander around for a bit.  I’ll also probably be going back there at some point, but on Thursday, (Thanksgiving), I was going a bit stir crazy because nothing was happening and nothing was open.  Damn holiday!  So I headed north and ended up here in Lake Havasu. 

There is more, of course, but this is a public computer and I’ve monopolized it for long enough.  I’m going to attempt to stand up and hobble down to the London town shops to walk around for a bit and loosen my back before getting back in the car and heading out to Kingman.

Categories: Travel
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