Ramblings from the Road: In Williams, AZ

Today I passed a sign on the road that had an arrow pointing to Los Angeles. That was a completely surreal moment. We're not going there, but this is the closest I've ever been to LA in my life and I got here via bike. Seeing this sign gave me a real thrill. I can't wait till San Diego.

Since I last blogged we've been to Tuba City, camped in the Grand Canyon (this picture), and we biked out of the Grand Canyon to arrive in Williams, AZ today. The riding between these cities has been pretty desolate and a lot of desert. We're literally in the middle of nowhere sometimes. But we still manage to have some interesting things happen. Here are some of the happenings:

Dog

The vote was unanimous - 31 people voted and we had 36 "yes"s (hmmm...?) to keep the dog. Beth is the caretaker of the dog and she will keep it once the trip ends. Her name is Tess, named after part of a town where we found her. She is very quiet, calm, and a good dog. We like having this dog. Our own personal mascot.

Pinata

Beth received a pinata as part of her birthday gift about a week ago, and we finally got around to whacking it open. Here, Ben holds it above our trailer as Beth whacks it in Kayenta. Immediately followed by a game of whiffle ball.

Bubble Gum Off

Somehow, an intense competition between Amanda and Gabe came about involving a bunch of Double Bubble BubbleGum. We had a bunch of candy lying around - I don't remember how we got it. I think it was left over from prom - and they started stuffing the gum in their mouth's in Tuba City. I think Gabe ended up winning, only because the gum ran out, but they both had at least 20 pieces of bubble gum in there mouth by the end. Look at the intense concentration (Gabe is in red, Amanda has a hand over her mouth). It was intense. And well documented... there will be a video floating around in YouTube land someday

Grand Canyon BABY!

There wasn't much in Tuba City, except some restaurants (which we somehow got food donations from - Nhan and Drew were able to get free food for McDonalds, Taco Bell, and some other places by giving them the Bike and Build spiel - awesome) and friendly locals. We had an unexpectedly long day going from Tuba City to the Grand Canyon - it was 80 miles, but a lot of climbing and A LOT of intense wind. I think it took close to 10 hours for us to get in to our camp site at the Grand Canyon, but man, once we got there it was surreal. I have never been to the Canyon before and if you haven't - pictures don't even begin to do it justice. It is ENORMOUS. And it looks like your looking at a painting. Definitely a highlight. We camped out and ate hobo dinners (chopped up veggies and meats, throw it in aluminum foil, and stick it in the fire. Like a hobo, no?). Anyway, the Grand Canyon is awesome and I can't believe I biked to it (I keep saying this over and over again because the fact that I have biked this far is a constant recurring thought).

A (blurry) picture of our campground area

Williams, AZ

Today we didn't have too bad of a ride, it was only 60 or so miles, but quite windy. I have come to enjoy rolling hills though (or as cyclists call it (or maybe its just Bike and Builders), "rollers"). Sad to leave the Grand Canyon, but thrilled to see the biggest tourist thing you could imagine - Bedrock City. We're talking Fred Flintstone. Came across Bedrock City coming down 64 out of the Canyon about 30 miles out and decided to stop at Fred's Diner. It had 5 cent coffee! It was good. And we got a picture with Fred