Gophers and Cheese

On my way back to the campground, I stopped briefly in Twentynine Palms to get the latest weather and forecast and it wasn't good.  There was now a 40% change of rain that evening and a low of 40 F.  Friday's forecast (which recently only showed a 30% chance of rain) now showed a 60% chance of rain with a high of 50 F and near-freezing low of 35 F.  Faced with a very strong chance of spending a lot of time in a cold wet tent and packing up cold wet gear, I sadly and reluctantly made the decision to pack up 2 days early and leave while everything was still dry. The winds and storms were coming from the southwest so my decision was to head east.  However, I had not yet even seen Joshua Tree National Park and did not want to miss it.  My campground was on the north side of the park so, in spite of the weather coming from the south, I headed into the park towards the rain.   If you've never seen one, Joshua trees are really cool.  They're tech...

I woke up in my tent on Thursday as the sun was beginning to rise in Joshua Tree National Park .  My plan for the day was to ride curvy mountain roads to the northwest and southwest all day.  The plan for the following day (the only day that I thought had a 30% chance of rain) was to stay closer to the campground and spend the day exploring the park. I had bought two bundles of firewood the day before and used one for dinner so I used the second bundle for breakfast.  I boiled water and made myself coffee and 2 packets of instant oatmeal.  I think I ended up having 4 cups of coffee.  I picked up a great little collapsible plastic setup at REI for making the coffee.  It was so tasty. After a leisurely fireside breakfast, the sun was up so I suited up, loaded my saddlebags with extra layers, and headed out towards the San Bernardino Mountains and San Bernardino National Forest .  On the way, I stopped for gas and had an ominous run-in ...

This winter has been dragging on way too long and I couldn't take it any longer.  I booked a 6 day, 5-night trip to Arizona to get out of the snow and into the wind.  I chose Arizona because: It's a hell of a lot warmer than Minnesota (usually) I had never been there The Grand Canyon is there Southwest flies direct from Minneapolis to Phoenix Lots of options to rent bikes My original plan was to fly into Phoenix and ride a loop around the Grand Canyon while camping most nights and getting a hotel the last 1-2 nights.  I booked the flight first (arrive Wednesday 3/6 and depart Monday 3/11). As the trip got closer, the weather forecast was looking like it would be awfully cold (20s-30s F for lows) and possibly snowy north of the Canyon so I modified my plan a few times, settling on a path that would keep me south of the Canyon.  I would fly into Phoenix, ride west and camp in Joshua Tree National Park for 3 nights, ride north through the Mojave Desert and th...