We arrived in Phoenix on March 4th in mid afternoon after staying at a Methodist church outside Apache Junction. The Junction, at the edge of the suburbs, was still 55 miles from Arne’s house in North Phoenix by Shaw Bluff! We were excited to see bikeways everywhere leading into the city, canal trails, and a aside from a few honks (and okay…a car that ran a red light and skidded to a stop at the edge of our front tires) we made it unscathed.
We made a necessary stop at Trader Joe’s and Arne met us there and rode the rest of the way to his house. Ahh…relaxation! It was decided that 12 days of riding was enough, and a rest day was in order. Conversation was had, stories told, and much lounging in the sun, hammock, and hot tub was had. (in addition to lots of tasty quesadillas, something Arne had been missing since leaving for Spain) Arne also has an amazing rope swing which I will miss dearly!
We headed out to downtown at the end of the day and went straight to the library. Wow…truly unique, beautiful, and probably my favorite this far (maybe more so than the Seattle library!) 
Afterwards we set out to the arts district to find some interesting niches, and stumbled upon what looked identical to Alberta st’s Last Thursday! It was First Friday in Phoenix and Roosevelt St was closed, and filled with artists, galleries, food stands, live music, free hugs. It was both elating, and moving, and made me want to be back in Portland.
Afterwards we enjoyed a nice night ride back to Arne’s, more quesadillas, and a good night’s rest. Today we head for California.
Arizona plantlife…
Arizona is the greenest it’s been in years! There had been incredible droughts, and nearly all the time it’s brown and tan.
All the rain (and snow) has brought the wild flowers out.
The cacti are full and happy, and the grasses are swaying happily in the breeze. 
We traveled through a mountain pass to cross into Arizona
and were shocked when we woke up, still 6 miles from the top, to the tent caving in under the weight of snow! After some deliberation such as…
Will we be stuck up here?
Should we wait it out until it stops?
Maybe there’s a plow on Monday…
Oh boy….that would be a lot of time in the tent.
Frick. I hate snow.
Oh but it’s so pretty!
We could die out here…(okay not really)
It’s going to ice over.
I think it’s melting…okay let’s go!
As we traveled up, the snow on the road increased and we were in a complete white out! It was amazing, and challenging, Collin’s tires were slipping, I was riding the brakes on the downhill, hoping not to slip off. We made it down, and there at the bottom was a rancher, Erik, who had seen us on the mountain and was headed back up in his truck to find us. We ended up going to his ranch in a beautiful canyon.
We warmed up by the fire, drank hot chocolate and tequila, ate bowls of hot homemade soup, and learned about ranch life, building straw bale houses, solar power, Arizona frost, foreign policy and other interesting tidbits from the family.
Joe gave us a lift back up the road in the morning (the drive way was 1.5 miles of thick mud!) and were back on the road and witnessing Arizona’s crazy terrain, mining towns, and crazy drivers. Steep inclines, and fast descents pushing 35 mph…
New Mexico was my favorite place to ride thus far. It really and truly captured my heart and I would like to move there at some point, it’s now part of the 10 year Smashley plan. Our first night coming in from El Paso, TX was spent in Mesilla, NM a small town community south of Las Cruces. We met “Wild” Bill Towers, John, and Scotty outside of gas station and quickly got to talking.
It was decided that we’d camp in his backyard, with loads of wild growing mustard greens, and a large garden. His adobe house was in the midst of repairs, and dated back to the 1850’s. We talked about the up and downs of life, the shitty times, the lost times, the finding your way times. In the morning we visited the town square, and ate the tastiest cheddar chili scones we’d ever tasted.
Flat tires…Collin had had 5 flat tires our first day in NM. It was decided we’d procure some ‘thorn resistant’ tires which could withstand the numerous goat heads. (plus according to Collin’s ‘philosophy’ the other person was to own a beer for the net difference in flat tires. He’d had 29 at this point, and I 5, which meant I owed him a 24 pack…interesting no??? I fail to see how this is fair at all!) I also procured a new helmet after an incident involving a slide at the park and some bad decision making on my part…anyway. We traveled on.
Passing the Rio Grande several times (where I collected many rocks), rolling hills, desert, beautiful.
We passed giant cottonwood trees with bright chartreuse mistletoe, which I would later learn is an invasive species, and you’d better cut it out of the tree (by limb) or else suffer the trees disastrous fate.
It seems comical that the misteltoed cottonwoods were the subjects of so many desert photos displaying NM’s beauty!
After Caballo Lake we started heading up towards the mountains. After a hard ride we stopped in Hillsboro, NM and ate at the only open café, the General Store. We met a collection of locals, including Embry, born and raised in Hillsboro, a photographer of pictographs, and teller of stories about traveling through Israel. There we also met Brian and Bob who both had owned bike shops I California. Bob invited us to stay at his house in Kingston, another 9 miles up, and encouraged us to do the 8,100 ft climb to Emory Pass in the morning. After a giant bowl of green chili con carne, we decided to stay. The ride up was remarkably breathtaking, and Bob’s house a pleasant treat.
A large back yard along a creek, a iron work cow named Freewheel, one of who’s eyes I noted was a Suntour Winner freewheel.
We set up camp and then were treated to a tasty dinner with salmon and chicken, salad, wine…oh my! We met Mark, their friend, who introduced us to the album, ‘The Traveling Wilburys’ created at Roy Orbison’s house, with Tom Petty, George Harrison, Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne- and a bootleg copy of the home movies of its creation. We talked bikes, rocks, local shenanigans. Bob sent me rolling on with a square tapered nail, a rock, and a broken axel (French threaded he thinks) in need of a replacement. It will make for a fun search back in Portland!
Emory Pass...
Was no small feet…but it was incredible. And peculiar to be sweating up it in shorts and a t-shirt with snow piling up on all sides! We climbed and climbed and reached the top! The descents came in waves, some a bit hard to enjoy in the cold, but fun nonetheless. We traveled on giddy, and a bit out of sorts. Up and down, in and out of the mountains we went. In Hatch, NM (the Chili Capital of the World) we bought some green and red chilis.
In Silver City we ran into Bernie,
a season traveler, who we heard would be traveling through back in Louisiana, from our random encounter with Hilary who introduced us to Hog Cracklin’. We were not expecting to see him roll up at a Wal-mart two states over!Texas...
East Texas was amazing! The San Houston National Forest lends itself to rolling hills and tall pines. We met four people on horse back, which I’m sure most of you have heard by now, treated us to cold beers from their saddle bags, and jello shots. We stayed at several Baptist churches, notably one in Silsbee with soulful gospel singing to fall asleep to, an outdoor and kind-of creepy church outside Cold Spring, and on Valentine’s day, a Baptist church in Burton, TX where we went to the service and then out to Dairy Queen with the whole congregation! We made it to Austin, exhausted after 25 days in the saddle.
We were greeted by wonderful care packages! Thank you soooo much!!! (you know who you are!) and Mike, Collin’s friend who introduced us to Michelada, a spicy beer beverage.
El Paso...
I left the following day for Bulverde to see my Birthdad, Diane, and my brother and sisters. It was my longest day of riding, just shy of 85 miles through Texas Hill County, beautiful, and my most favorite stretch being on Purgatory Rd, which runs alongside Canyon Lake. Collin rode down a couple days later and we traveled to El Paso, TX the next day, passing numerous wind power generators,
and watching the terrain change to desert as we flew by. We stayed the night in El Paso and Dave took us to an Indian Casino (I’ve never been to a casino) and introduced us to the penny and nickel slots (Dave gave us some ‘fun‘ money), and buffet dinner. I can’t say I’m a fan of casinos, I much prefer arcade games where I’m guaranteed happiness and joy as opposed to losing money! We rode one the next morning passing through amazing highway intersections, old cemeteries underneath them, and watching Mexico's flag billow in the wind in Juarez.
The border is a strange place. I can’t wrap my brain around the large fence, the vehicles, the coyote runners, border patrol. It’s the same land, but you cannot enter here, and you’d better know what you’re doing if you head there. It felt wrong, and I longed for a day of difference.
And now...the best thing I've found for $2 that I love unconditionally...
-Smash
Since the prevailing winds aren’t in our favor, we’ve had words and long wrestling matches. I hate to admit that each time the wind’s come out on top. Me and the sun, however, are good buddies. I never knew how much I could miss the warming beams of the sunshine, or been so happy for them to return. It’s been an unusually cold winter for the south, and it’s impeded our progress in ways I hadn’t anticipated. Rain, sleet, and snow have been a mix of irritating, painful, and magical, depending on the situation. A recent tent collapse under the weight of snow, however, produced a brief “Shit - we could die out here” moment.
Even though we’re at the mercy of whatever mother nature throws at us, we have all sorts of fancy, high-tech gear does a pretty good job keeping us warm and dry. Sure, we have to be deliberate and methodical about our systems or risk being unpleasantly cold, sun burnt, wind chapped or soaked, but we’re well equipped.
You know who were really badass? Eskimos.
-Collin
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