A rare 9am departure gave those keen to visit the local Walmart an opportunity to visit this US shopping icon - others headed around the corner to Durango Harley for another T shirt - the grandmothers in our midst can’t pass by the kid’s section without having a look.
Our first break was at the local McDonalds in Cortez - there is a lot to be said for the variety, the consistency, the toilets and the aircon at any Golden Arches, and this one was no different. Iced coffee and a cheeseburger provided something to last until lunchtime. Next stop was “four corners”, the spot where Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona all meet, and an opportunity for the local Naive Americans to charge US$8 per head for those silly enough to pay it. The “spot” is surrounded by locals peddling trinkets and Knick knacks, although the guy selling bottled water at a very reasonable $1 a pop was the busiest by far. He’d pay $6-7 for a pack of 24 bottles, so his margin is fairly significant. Most of today’s riding was in very desolate country - any who have experienced New Zealand’s Desert Road in summer might think it is hot, rugged and inhospitable- think again, today we rode through what I’d describe as the Devil’s Playground- stretching as far as the eye can see, arid, seemingly lifeless other than a few fairly skinny horses. The few buildings scattered here and there were mostly weary with age, others having succumbed to too many hard summers and even harder winters had finally collapsed with exhaustion. All that said, again the emphasis of the day was the ever increasing heat with temperatures in the mid 30’s c again causing concern (and some angst), with riders really having to pay attention to hydration. After a pretty agreeable gas station lunch, in desperation to get to the air conditioned comfort of our room, now in Utah, we took the opportunity to blast through to the final destination as quickly as we could - a few others decided to follow suit and soon we were there! Our accommodation is on Native Ameland and is by law, absolutely alcohol free. There are some in our midst who couldn’t bear that prospect and are now (I suspect) law breakers ! Comments are closed.
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Don MalcolmA perfect day involves being on my Harley with a long ride ahead.
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