I'm sorry I'm so behind in my blogging but I got quite busy all of a sudden. I'll try to catch up as best I can. I arrived in Las Vegas just in time for dinner with Kent and Janon Wallace. I've known Kent for almost ten years but had never met him face to face. This seemed like a good time to rectify that. I'll keep trying to get them to Austin but I think they might consider it fly over country. They were dining out with friends and his buddy just happens to be a road biker who needs to get back on the bike after a bit of a hiatus. No better time than in the morning. After dinner Kent and Janon took me for a drive down the strip with a running insider's view of Vegas.
Of course the view of Vegas that I like best is the view from their house as the sun is about to rise. That's more my style.
The next morning I went for a nice bike ride with Kent's buddy John. We went out ot the red rocks area west of town and later I went and found a mountain to climb. There is some good riding around Vegas but as with all the southwest it is a challenge to find good roads to connect for a long road ride that isn't an out and back. What to do, what to do.
Janon playing with a toad with her grandson. She is great fun and Kent seems to be enjoying the antics.
The Wallaces were great hosts. Kent is famous in the Koi world for his ingenious pond and filter designs and Janon is a well known psychic with clients around the country. I had a nice time with them and hope that Kimberly will get to meet them soon.
I left the next morning to head east for someplace on the way to visit Mike and Mich in Phoenix. I wasn't sure where but Flagstaff was a possibility. I thought I would see the Hoover Dam on the way and took a few of the obligatory shots. I was interested in the way the dam was built and the concrete work that they did. I'm always on the lookout for concrete that would be perfect enough for Bill Witcher. I didn't find it at the dam but they had some Dam nice concrete (pun intended)
This is some of the best concrete I've ever seen. Just this one section of the oceans of concrete that make up the Hoover Dam is a bit better than the rest but it still wouldn't pass the Witcher test.
As it started to get dark I lucked into finding the only campground in the whole region but if I'd gotten there one day later I'd have been out of luck. The magic is holding up. I'll take it.
The next morning I got a phone call and decided that everything at home was needing a bit of attention not the least of which was the road maintenance. I decided to go ahead and see Mike and Mich Hoffner first. It was fitting as I had spent the first night of this adventure with them at Jazzfest in New Orleans. I headed into Flagstaff on the way there and stopped in at a local bike shop. As has been the case for a few states now, most of the selection was of the knobby tire persuasion. I'm starting to consider one of these blood spilling machines.
This is not what most people envision when they think of Arizona but of course nothern Arizona is mountainous and forested besides being home to the Grand Canyon and lots of old extinct volcanos.
Sedona is beautiful although it is a tourist trap.
Now this is what I'm looking for. I love Saguarro cactus and will be seeking them out as a backdrop to some great bike rides. The challenge will be to find some paved roads that aren't highways. All the backroads in this part of the county seem to be dirt or gravel.
Meet Sadie, the newest member of the Hoffner family. The Hoffners have been the best of friends or almost 20 years now. They almost always have a couple of dogs but Sadie is an only pup for now. Tomorrow we'll go to the dog park and find her some friends.
Mike showed me around some nice areas east of Phoenix. I love the desert.
The next day I headed home. It is a thousand mile drive so I had plenty of time to think. I decided on a list of things I wanted to do while I was in Austin before heading back out to finish my journey. They included spend time with Kimberly and Shadow, sell my car, buy a newer car, buy a mountain bike and a trailer suitable for pulling my camping gear down a trail, outfit the bike with all the bags and pouches for all my stuff, learn to ride the damn thing, work with the architect for a week on the upcoming project, grade the subdivision roads, and ride with my buddies on the road. It sounds like a busy schedule but on the drive home I was talking to my sister and she asked me to come see her and the girls in Crested Butte in the middle of all that. Hmmmm, stay tuned to see how I did. It could happen.
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