I-8 through the Sonoran Desert.
 

So, I just realized today, that the city of Phoenix is right in the Sonoran Desert. Which is probably why I got “stuck” there so long (just kidding). 😉

Anyways, I’ve decided to go further West after all, aiming for San Diego, then points North. Along the way, on Interstate 8, I’m finding some pretty cool stuff. Like a gigantic solar collection facility, probably covering a couple square miles. 😲

I’m taking a break now in Sentinel, which as you can see, is in the Middle Of Nowhere!!! 😁

And in stark contrast to the Agua Fria River, back in Phoenix, there’s a town near here called Agua Caliente, which translates to Hot Water. You just know, when the nearest town is called Hot Water, you really are in hot water. Right? 🤔😁
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Doh, confused myself already. That first pic is a big ole citrus farm, just outside of Gila Bend, which is where I slept last night. There’s a little restaurant there called Humberto’s, with excellent enchiladas, if you ever get there. 👌

Well, I’m not in Yuma the city yet, but at least I’m in the right county. 😁

It gets a good bit tougher, when you’re not allowed to use your legs. 🤔🙄😉

I see some mountains trying to creep up on me, too.
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Have you seen much in the way of debris on the shoulders of I-8? Shredded tires or those nasty little wires?

This past Christmas I cycled from Tucson to El Paso and the year before from El Paso to Austin. The next obvious trek for upcoming Christmas break would be San Diego to Tucson I know I can take the Adventure Cycling route via Tempe/Phoenix and mostly avoid too much interstate cycling. However, I'm tempted to either take I-8 for a bit or MX-2 (if things settle down) to go via Organ Pipe National Monument and then if allowed the Tohono O'Ooham reservation to Tucson - rather than going as far north.

When I was on I-8 between Tucson/Benson last year there was a fair amount of debris on the road - so I'm curious what you see in more remote places.

There are definitely a few “gators” here & there, and an occasional stick or board, but overall I think it’s very good, for road debris. 👍 And the condition of the pavement is good too. A little bumpy in sections, but mostly very decent for bicycling. 😎

I’m having to adjust to the temps though, it got up to 77 F here in Dateland today. 🙄 Good thing they have Date Shakes (milkshakes) here, off the ramp. 😁😉

I was amazed at the debris on the shoulder of US60 east of Apache Junction to AZ79, and following that south to Florence. Very sparkly from all of the broken bottles. Lots of steel-belted radial wires, too! Not enough rain to wash the debris off the shoulder either. I thought that I was lucky that I experienced no flats in the 300+ miles of riding I did there two years ago...

Yeah, I’ve definitely seen some broken glass though, especially back in Phoenix. I hope this doesn’t sound racist, cause I’m not, but a lot of Mexicans like to break bottles, when they get drunk. I’ve seen it a few times, and I don’t even drink. 🤔😉

I’m having a big cup of Kona coffee now, in Dateland. These are some of the trees I slept near. I think they cultivate the ground enevenly, intentionally, right under those trees, to keep certain bicycle bums out of there. 🙄😁
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What route you planning to get to San Diego?

Well, I made it to the Mohawk Rest Area. 11 whole miles, so far today. 🙄😁 I thought I passed those mountains once, but here they are again.
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What's it like riding on an Interstate? I know it's permitted out west, I suppose because in many places, particularly mountain passes, the interstate may be the only route available, but here in the east it's pretty much verbotten.

I hardly even notice it anymore, been doing it for so long now. You just want to use VERY good judgment, about respecting the road and traffic. Always defer to vehicles, they’re much bigger than you. 😉

That said, most drivers are pretty cool, about giving bicycles a wide berth. But it’s that other minority, that can kill ya. 🙁

Like anywhere though, good manners goes a long ways, and always make sure people can see you. 😎

I made it to Tacna awhile ago now, 26 miles for the day. That doesn’t sound like much, but some miles are tougher than others. 🤔 Plus it hit 79 F today, and I’m used to maybe 60-65 F.

There’s a place here called Gonzo’s, that has an old fashioned convenience store, plus an old-timey Mexican restaurant, in half of it. There’s an older Mexican woman who cooks, and I just missed dinner, she closes up around 3:00, but I got a couple burritos, from the leftovers warmer. I could only eat one after all, but that was one of the best burritos I’ve ever had. 😍😘😍 And I obviously have one for later. 😎

While I was there, 2 semi trucks and 3 different buses full of field workers stopped there too. I figure I was just lucky finding this place, but those other folks KNOW a good thing when they find it. 👌

How about another pic or two, some trees & some desert flowers? 🙂
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Well, well, well, I made it to Wellton. Sorry, I couldn’t help it. 🙄😉

Here’s a pic of the Wellton Canal, dry as a bone, practically, and the much wetter Mohawk Canal, about halfways between Tacna & Wellton. And some more mountains, as seen from the same guardrail I sat on for the Mohawk Canal pic.

It’s only about 29 miles to Yuma now, but I’m gonna take a little break here. Maybe an hour, maybe a week. 🤔😁
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Greetings from Fortuna Foothills, on the far side of Telegraph Pass. 🙂 I found this wooden Indian this morning, back in Wellton, plus a cool sign right by it. 😁
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There are plenty of mountains here, obviously, but Telegraph Pass is the only tough part, where you actually have to work up a good sweat. About a mile or two from the top, you’ll find this motivational mileage sign. 😁
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Just as you crest the top, and can see Fortuna Foothills (that’s the name of a town, I guess), one of the saints leaves lettuce & broccoli, for the good kids. Probably St. Valentine or St. Patrick, or someone. It’s too early for the Easter Bunny. 🤔
I didn’t have any salad dressing or cheese sauce, so I just left it. 😁😉


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Later that same day, I found Yuma, the city, which strangely enough, is still in Yuma, the county. 🤔😉

There’s no telling how long I could get stuck here. They don’t seem to have any sidewalks. At least I’ll be able to wash my feet, in the Colorado River again. 🙄😁
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I am enjoying following your travels. Thanks for taking time out to share.

No problem. 🙂 As long as my batteries can keep up with me. 😁

It all depends. I have ridden on I-90 in SD and MT (several stretches in the latter), I-80 in WY, I-84 in OR and I-94 in ND.

The worst was the three or so miles of I-90 west to Clinton, MT. Loud and busy. There is no through frontage road so you have to ride the highway. Almost no traffic early in the morning on I-94 heading east from Steele, ND, for about 7 miles. The 7 or so miles I rode on I-90 in SD looked safer than the available frontage road, which had no shoulder and moderate traffic. A couple of times I have sat under an I-15 overpass in Melrose, MT, to put on sun screen before heading out on a 23 mile stretch of hilly dirt road with no shade. There were often several minutes between vehicles.

Had a nice Interstate experience last June in MT. Two of the three westbound stretches I had to ride over two days were closed to traffic due to upcoming bridge work. I had both stretches all to my little self. Don't know if I was supposed to be there, but the alternative would have been horrible: Riding west on the shoulder of the eastbound side.

Road construction and narrow bridges are definitely a hazard to watch out for - and why I'm still wary of interstates in general. That and shredded truck tires that emit tiny wires and increase likelihood of flats. Otherwise one has a wide lane with 70/80/90+ mph traffic - and once or twice rumble strips.

This past December, I was on I-10 in AZ. In the past I've also done short bits of I-8 in CA (few narrow bridges ;(), I-84 on OR (watch the tunnels), I-15 in UT, I-15 in NV, I-70 and I-25 in CO, I-25 and I-80 in WY, I-15 and I-94 in MT, I-25 in NM and I-10 in TX. I don't specifically go out to ride interstates, but in some western states they are the most direct route. In other cases such as the Columbia River Gorge one has choice of narrower WA-2 on Washington side with occasional log trucks and little bits of I-84 on the Oregon side with gentler grades and wider shoulders.

Good point. I should have mentioned that I check for no/narrow shoulder bridges using Google Maps satellite view. My last two trips out west have used the same three sections of I-90 in MT. (There are no through frontage road options for those stretches.) There is one bridge that, for all intents and purposes, has no shoulder. Fortunately, it's only two tenths of a mile long. Crossed it the first time on a Sunday, when traffic has been light. Sometimes you have to have faith that things will work out for the best. :D Last year, that section was one that was closed to traffic, so I did not have to worry.

Interesting follow up. You can see the bridge here:

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It's the one at the top of the photo. As you can see, there is not shoulder. If you look at the bridge for the eastbound lanes, you can see that it does have a shoulder. I remember several years ago hearing that they were doing bridge replacements on the eastbound lanes of I-90 in that area. My campground host the first night mentioned preparation for "ripping out of bridges." I'll bet they were preparing to do work on the bridges on the westbound lanes.

Well, right after I posted yesterday, I found the Marine Corps Air Division. I probably said that wrong, but some of you military guys know what I mean. ✌️

Then not much later, these three paragliders (?) flew directly above me, but approached from the rear, and moved pretty fast, so I barely got a pic. Still pretty cool to see. 😎
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Early this afternoon, I found the Colorado River again (no pics yet, lol), and right by it is this here old-timey territorial prison. According to the internet, the prison itself is one of the most haunted places in the country. 😲

I didn’t go inside the prison or the museum, but I found something even better, while looking for the bathrooms. The Prison Cemetery!!! 😲😲😲

The pics are almost perfect, so I’ll let them talk now. 😉 I did get a weird vibe, walking through to that plaque, but it was possibly cannabis-related. 😁😉
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After you cross the Imperial Sand Dunes west of Yuma in CA, I-8 crosses over the All-American Canal shortly before Holtville. There is an artesian hot well there with a pool and BLM undeveloped camping area:

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