Hello from CALIFORNIA!! We’ve made it all the way to our last state!!!! But I’m getting ahead of myself….
So, after we finished our last blog entries in Sedona we went to explore the beautiful city of Sedona. We biked the Red Rock Loop, a really cool road that took us around a beautiful red rock canyon. That night, Lauren’s dad generously put us up in a comfort inn (!!!!!!!!) where we enjoyed a jacuzzi and hot chocolate with candy canes, all wonderful treats after the exceptionally chilly night we had spend camping out the evening before. The next morning we stopped at one of the several famed spiritual vortexes of Sedona. Sedona is known to be a swirling ‘vortex’ of spirituality, and their are several spots especially known for their spiritual power. We visited a rocky peak by the airport that is considered a vortex. It was GORGEOUS (as is everyplace in Sedona) and in true Sedona fashion Rica skillfully led us in guided meditation. I think she has found a hidden talent….
That day we biked on towards Jerome, a mining ‘ghost’ town that has been rejuvenated by an influx of artists. About 1953 the copper mines closed and the once large community dwindled into a measely population of 50. Now it is a quirky tourist town built right into the side of Mingus mountain. It’s so steep that they have a ‘sliding jail,’ an old building that has actually slid (intact!) down the mountain 20-40 yards since it was built! Woah!
As we pedaled into Jerome, navigating narrow switchbacks and among the steepest terrain we’ve seen yet, we met John, an 85 year old cyclist and owner of the House of Joy, a local Jerome shop. John is a fiery gentleman who regularly bikes to Sedona and back to Jerome, a 60+ mile round trip ride including the monstrous Mingus mountain! John and his wonderful wife Mary let us set up camp in their side yard right in town, which enabled us to explore this unique town that evening. We checked out a local band called Sir Harrison, King of Blues, which was AWESOMELY AMAZING!! We had a blast dancing to their incredible sound.
The next day we continued up Mingus mountain (a total of 12 miles uphill) and then down into Prescott, home of our friend Connor’s parents Dan and Barb (who are also friends of Merrowvista!). The minute we arrived we felt so at home and comfortable with this warm and friendly couple. Not only that, they actually cooked us an early thanksgiving dinner, including TURKEY, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, homemade cranberry sauce, bread, salad, two delicious pies, and MORE!!!!!!!!!! YUM!!! We all felt so incredibly grateful and just…. amazing…. that Dan and Barb (the chef) would do something like that for us. Words can not express how amazing it was…..
The next morning we had a lovely chat with Barb before heading out to visit our friend Zach from camp, who attends Prescott College. It was so good to see Zach and feel a little bit of Merrowvista on the road. ALSO, he made us homemade french fries (YUM!) and gave us honey, olive oil, and quinoa…. yessss. Thanks so much Zach!! He then gave us a tour of the college (which is awesome, by the way, the students are way empowered to work on incredible, real life applicable projects!).
When we finally tore ourselves away from Prescott in the early afternoon (it was just SO nice to see and spend time with people we know!) we made our way to Yarnell, AZ. There we were lucky enough to run into a kind gentleman by the name of Andy at a grocery store who set us up for the night in the local Lighthuose Bible Church. This was HUGELY appreciated as the nights have been getting colder and colder.
The next morning we departed early, and were lucky enough to watch a stunning mountain sunrise as we descended a couple thousand feet (thoroughly enjoying some wickedly fun switchbacks as we headed down). Ok, now this is where it gets crazy. That day, we ramped up our focus and intensity levels and managed to bike about ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FOUR miles in order to arrive in Blythe, CA, right on the border between AZ and CA!!!! This was definitely our longest days ever, and a day that marked one of our most exciting milestones: crossing into California. Nothing can describe our excitement as we approached that welcome to California sign!! It was unreal!!!! We had officially made it to our last state!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!! That night Rica’s mom put us up in a hotel to help us celebrate our achievement, which was soooo wonderful after such a long day of biking. We all very quickly fell asleep in our comfy beds, dreaming of all there was to see and do in California (:
The next day, Thanksgiving day (!), we headed for Desert Center, CA. Unfortunately, as we arrived we quickly realized that Desert Center was an almost abandoned town with few resources for bikers. Luckily, there was a sign for a town called “Lake Tamarisk,” only 2 miles away. We were all a little skeptical… Lake Tamarisk? We were in the middle of the Californian desert! What was a lake doing in the desert?? Anyway, as we biked on we could see that Lake Tamarisk was a rather strange man made rectangular oasis of green in the desert. It had palm trees and a golf course and two very perfectly shaped rectangular ponds. How the heck they can get enough water into the area to maintain ponds, palm trees, and a full golf course, we don’t know, but somehow they manage it! Anyway, we were worried as we pulled into town because it was Thanksgiving evening and we weren’t sure we would be able to find anyone to talk to or a place to camp. Luckily, we ran into a nice fellow named John who offered to let us sleep on his rooftop porch, which offered an awesome view of the stars that evening! John and his girlfriend Jan (and her mother) we’re so kind to us, and invited us in to use their kitchen, watch movies, and relax. John also showed us a crazy invention he made for the Burningman festival he regularly attends: a FLYING CARPET!! Now, this thing didn’t actually fly, but it was just as cool as if it did. It was this motorized, carpeted platform on wheels that John could drive around kind of like a remote control car. COOL!!!
From Lake Tamarisk we headed to 29 Palms CA, pedaling through the gorgeous Joshua Tree National Park on our way there. The park had all kinds of cool rocks, interesting cacti, and, of course, the famous Joshua trees. We enjoyed an orange-pink sunset in the park as we departed, and we managed to arrive successfully in 29 Palms, CA in the dark, trailing a bike with a deflated tire. The local fire department let us set up camp in their cushy back yard grass (and I mean this grass was exceptionally cushy) and we finished off the night with some pizza.
Pizza. A great way to end a day and a blog entry. (: Read on for further adventures in the next entry!!
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