Once down in the desert again, the temperature skyrocketed. Highway 89 ended at the town of Congress where I switched to Highway 71. The temperature now was 100 degrees F. In the high plateaus at least it was bearable. Now it was just freakin� hot! 71 was flat and featureless for the next 24 miles. There was nobody else there but me and one or two cagers going the other direction. I stopped right in the middle of the road to take a pic just to see if any cars would pass me by. None did. The whole place looked so desolate. 71 ended without drama at the town of Aguila where I filled up my tank in the only gas station in town. The owner and operator was very pleasant. There were a few Mexican men standing around outside doing nothing. There were a few other cowboys across the road doing their daily thing, whatever that may have been. At least none of them even noticed me in my all black outfit.
The next leg was 66 miles of nothing along State Highway 60 until I reached the small town of Quartzsite. It felt like I would never get there though as I cruised along at high speed across that empty desert road. I had to sing to myself to stay awake. At Quartzsite, I filled up my tank again. Out in the open desert, it�s wise to fill up the tank at most every opportunity as it�s hard to tell if the next town will have a gas station open. The person manning the Chevron station at Quartzsite was extremely nice and helpful. I stayed at his station for 20 minutes as I filled my water bottles, and stomach with granola bars, and drank an ice cold soda under the shade of a desert tree. Hey! I�ll take any semblance of comfort I can get! |
