Apache Junction, Arizona

Our goal today was to reach the east side of the Phoenix conglomeration. Tomorrow, Sunday, we would ride through Mesa and Tempe and Phoenix and out of the metropolis. Although we tactically planned a weekend crossing, we were expecting bad traffic and a poor route.

The ride today took us through the rest of Globe, which had nearly no redeeming qualities except that it eventually ended and we were able to resume travel along the highway. I did enjoy the ruins at the park we stayed in last night. A series of stone houses built by native Americans. I toured the historic site alone in the morning before we left.

Amy got a ride at some point in the day. We found her in Apache junction. She was trying to get another ride across the city because she was not comfortable riding the busy streets. We parted with her at a grocery store and headed off route about six miles to our camp. Hours later, she stopped by our camp site to let us know that she was staying in the same campground.

The place was very nice. Usery Mountain. There were birds making homes in the massive cactus. The sun turned the sky pink, then orange. We enjoyed the scenery, keeping in mind the cloud of smog hovering over a section of the horizon we guessed to be Phoenix. It was a reminder of tomorrow’s ride. We hoped for the best.