August 13th, 2007 (pm)

After a great start to the day I had to begin my journey east.  I knew I would have to cross the desert AGAIN – making this the third and last time.  I never imagined that this country had so much “waste land” — hundreds of miles of open…nothing-ness.  This was the worst – much worse than Death Valley…. It destroyed me.. chewed me up, spit me out – and left me on the side of the road to rot…

116 to 118 while riding – 120+ when standing still.  It’s not just unpleasant or uncomfortable – it Hurts!!  I had to wear my gloves because my grips and the wind coming across the tops of my hand were too hot to tolerate.

This isn’t the beach… miles and miles of sand dunes and sand storms… They have signs posted “Warning: Possible ZERO Visibility” “Use Extreme Caution”

Border Patrols and Checkpoints were everywhere (I went through 2 checkpoints myself).  This was taken while I was still in CA.

I was literally suffering from heat exhaustion.  I knew that if I didn’t get somewhere to cool down my core temperature then I would be in serious trouble.  Fortunately for me, I found this motel in Tacna, AZ.  Its no MGM Grand, but it was a paradise to me.  I check in (almost passing out) made it to the room and forced myself to take a cold shower.  Afterwards, I dropped on the bed and don’t remember falling asleep.  I was the only guest… it was a very desolate town. 

The homes:

My motel:

The roads: