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Soooooo, we drove back to 27th St. and headed south again. We went
south a few blocks and headed west again. This soon became disastrous as
well.
What did we face next as we headed west through the side streets of Phoenix? A damn construction zone, so we were in yet another backed-up traffic jam! There we sat with no way out. This was getting almost comical. Almost.
Eventually we made it out of the construction zone, out of the traffic jam, and far enough west that we were able to get back onto Interstate 10. It only caused us about a two hour delay! "OK, let's get some gas and lunch and regroup." We did, got back on the highway and were back in business.
Across Western Arizona, over the Colorado River and into the Pacific time zone and California. We were mere hours from motorcycling nirvana. Past Indio, by the world's largest collection of windmills, and we had reached Interstate 15, our path to the high desert of California.
Onward we trekked, and as we passed Glen Helen in Devore, CA the traffic began to thicken and the rain began to pour. And did I mention more road construction? Swell, we face the Cajon Pass, only the most severe grade of the trip, we've logged now close to 1500 miles, and we're going to face heavy traffic and darkness and construction and rain and...not to worry though! Lucerne Valley was less than an hour away.
We crested the Cajon Pass and were deposited in the Mojave desert. The Happiest Place on Earth, my own personal Disneyland. One year of suffering and waiting and riding on 500-acre postage stamps covered in mud and turning every 20 feet was about to end. I was free!
At 8:15 PST we arrived. I bolted from the truck, grabbed a big whiff of the creosote that was in the air, and kissed the ground. Well, not really, but I was thrilled to be there. We unloaded the trailer, set up camp, and went for a walk in the moonlight. It was so romantic...er, I mean it was pretty neat. We walked about checking out the trails and I could see that Patman was looking forward to Saturday morning almost as much as I was. Once again I was punched in the gut with the regret that Rob wasn't there to enjoy it.
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