The scenery continued to be amazing, with rock formations and gorgeous blue skies. The road, however, was in such incredibly poor shape that almost constant weaving was necessary to avoid huge pot-holes, and rocks that had tumbled onto the road.

A blazing sun and a tall rock formation.

More rocks, and trees.

After a few hours of very curvy road, I was beginning to get a little concerned that if we couldn't pick up the pace, we weren't going to make it to Hermosillo by nightfall. We crested a hill and all I could see to the horizon was hills and mountains. At any other time this would have been a welcome sight. Twisty roads galore. But being in the middle of nowhere with the sun going down wasn't a thrilling idea.

It continued to be beautiful, though.

As the sun began to set, I scoured the map for a town we could pull into for the night.

The sun was really going down, and we were still a few miles from Tecoripa, our destination.

Tecoripa
We pulled into a Pemex in Tecoripa right as the sun was going down. I asked the attendant if he knew of a hotel in town. He pointed behind me and sure enough, there was a hotel. Conveniently owned by his father, who also ran the gas station. Not wanting to hassle with searching around, I asked to check the room, agreed on a price, and we unloaded our gear.

We next went down the road to find some food. The guy as the Pemex said there was a taco stand at the main crossroads, so we went there. The fellow at the taco stand was grilling up rez (beef) tacos on a grill in front of his house. They smelled amazing, so we ordered up some. Absolutely delicious. He brought over some grilled onions, with the green stalk still attached, which were also delicious. What a simple way to cook, with such amazing results.

We finished our food, then I inquired as to where we could get breakfast. "Right here" was his answer. His wife came out and asked us when we wanted breakfast, and what we wanted. "Huevos con frijoles y tortillas, por favor." We made a date for 7:30 AM.

We went back to the hotel, which also had a convenience store next to it. I wanted to try to call Lisa, since I'd been out of touch for a few days while we were in the Copper Canyon, so I went to the store looking for a phone. I asked a group of guys hanging out in front of the store if there was a phone around. They said there was one back in town. I decided I would find a phone the next day. They asked if I wanted a beer. I certainly did. We ended up hanging out with these guys all night. Well, Doug only hung out for a little while. Not being able to speak Spanish is a definitely handicap when traveling in Mexico.

What a great group of guys. They were working on a road crew fixing the highway we had just come down from Chihuahua. I told them it definitely needed some help. We hung out talking of the differences between the cultures of the U.S. and Mexico, how Mexicans are treated in the U.S., what life is like there vs. here, etc, etc, etc. They were very nice guys, and continued to buy beer even though I protested and offered to buy. They wouldn't have it.

These guys traveled all around the country fixing roads. It doesn't seem like a practical way to do things, but maybe it works for Mexico. I finally had to break away, drunk, and needing sleep. I should have tried to go earlier, since we were getting up early, but I was having a great time talking with these guys. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of them. I need to get better at that.

November 14 - 327 miles

We got up early, my brain not feeling too good, packed up and made our way to the people's house who have the taco stand.

The wife was waiting outside as we pulled up, and ushered us into their humble, yet functional, kitchen. She began putting beans, eggs, and tortillas into hot pans on the stove, and poured us a tall glass of Nescafe with warm milk. When the food was ready we both dug in heartily. It was delicious.

Another shot of their kitchen.

Luckily the road from Tecoripa to Hermosillo was straight so we could make some time. Doug needed to get back to San Francisco in order to start a freelance job at Apple.

The border crossing at Nogales.

There were a lot of people waiting to get across the border, but once we hit the actual checkpoint it was smooth sailing.

Back in the U.S. and the highways are immaculate. It also felt kind of nice not worrying about arriving before the sun went down, or whether a burro was going to jump in front of you. It also felt kind of antiseptic and seeing my first strip-mall after one month was a little depressing.

Our destination was Tucson, where I had made an appointment at Iron Horse Motorcycles to get the fluids changed and a new set of tires installed.

We rode around a little and decided to stay at the Flamingo Hotel, based partly on it's proximity to the bike shop, and that it had a cool '50s era sign. It was where a lot of the stars from western films shot in the area stayed, including John Wayne. There were tons of posters and photos on the walls of the halls and rooms.

November 15 - 227 miles

The next day Doug and I split up. He called around to find a rental truck to take him and his bike back to San Francisco. He needed to get back in a hurry and driving is definitely quicker (and more comfortable for people over 40. HA!).

My appointment with Iron Horse Motorcycles was for the following day, but they agreed to get me in a day early. Very accommodating.

As a courtesy, I wanted to clean the bike before bringing it to the shop. It was pretty filthy, and it's no fun working on a filthy bike.

Right next to the do-it-yourself car wash was Don's Hot Rod Shop. I popped in for some de-greaser.

One month of Mexican dirt ready to be blasted into the sewers of Tucson. I felt proud of the dirt I had collected. It was hard-earned dirt.

After getting the fluids changed and tires installed I hit the road. I wanted to get back to New York by Thanksgiving, and had about 2500 miles to cover. I was giving myself a week.

As the sun began to set, the temperature started to drop.

The moon-rise was spectacular, though. This doesn't really capture the colors well. It was purple to red to orange to yellow to blue... with this huge moon rising over the hills on the horizon. I haven't spent much time in the southwest, but after crossing Arizona and New Mexico I know I have to go back and explore.

Another shot of the sky and that moon. This is an undoctored photo. Can you believe those colors?!

About an hour after I took this photo I pulled into a rest stop. The temperature had dropped precipitously after the sun set. I decided that it was time to put on the long underwear. An hour after that, I stopped to put on my rain gear. It was down to about 40° F. Add that to a 75 mile per hour blast of air. Chilly!

Deming, New Mexico
It was about 9 PM and I was freezing, and hungry. I decided that Deming was going to be my stopping point. As I was arriving on the highway I was almost side-swiped by some ass-hole merging onto the highway. He merged right into the passing lane. Nice. After getting off the highway I realized that there was some problem with the drivers in Deming. They ran red lights and like pulling out in front of other people. Needless to say, I didn't feel very safe in Deming.

I found a Mexican restaurant and had some tacos. Not bad, but still meant for a gringo's palate.

I got a room at the Mirador Hotel. What a total pile of crap. It wasn't that cheap, either, at $32. There were cigarette burns on the carpet, hair on the bedspread, dirt around the doorknob and boot marks on the door. It was crap. So I put my Thermarest and sleeping bag on top, and slept.

November 16 - 395 miles

Boy oh boy, west Texas is flat and boring. And depressed, too. I guess during the oil-rich days it would have been a little more exciting, but now it's just plain-old depressing. I can't even remember where this is, but I think I took it to show what this part of the country looked like, in general. I'm sure there are some nice places, but I didn't see any. I did pass the turn-off for Marfa, a quaint town with a large population of artists. It was about 70 miles away from the highway so I didn't investigate. This is the problem with having a deadline: not being able to explore sufficiently. Crap!

Odessa, Texas
Ok, so West Texas is boring as hell, but the sunsets are spectacular.

I stayed the night in Odessa, at the Best Western. Off the scale for my budget, the Best Western is usually around $75 a night, but I wanted to be comfortable and in a clean room. After the dump I stayed in in Deming, I felt I deserved it.

I went to the steak house in the hotel, and had... steak. Then went back to my room and watched some TV.

Arlington, Texas

November 17 - 335 miles
This photo was taken before arriving in the Dallas area. I didn't take any photos of Dallas or Arlington. I was cold, tired and cranky, and not interested in taking photos.

I stayed the night in Arlington, which is between Dallas and Fort Worth, right next to Six Flags over Texas. I was sick of the monotony of riding on the freeway, and it was getting even colder, and I didn't think it was going to get better the farther north I went, so I decided that when I hit Dallas I would rent a truck.

Arlington, Texas

November 18 - 50 miles by bike, 344 by truck
"Whadda ya gonna do?"

I called around and found a van, for a reasonable price. It didn't have a ramp, but I figured I could get the guys working at the Budget to give a hand. When I showed up in the morning, the manager, a bile-filled woman, told me that "there was no way that motorcycle is going in that van." She was very unpleasant. Something about it being dangerous. So I called Rob, my old friend from Ann Arbor who lives just north of Dallas in Denton. I explained my predicament and he agreed to help me out. He's the best.

Well, I called around and found a Pensky truck with a ramp. It was definitely more expensive than the Budget van, but I was in a pinch. The problem was that the truck was in Fort Worth, about a 40 minute drive away. Luckily Rob didn't have anything going on that day and was able to help me out. We drove there and picked up the truck, me telling them that I was hauling "household good" to New York. I was not going to get denied again.

After getting back to his place in Denton and loading up the bike I hit the road, wanting to make time after spending the entire day trying to secure the truck.

Little Rock, Arkansas

November 19 - 882 miles by truck
Boy oh boy, you sure can make some time in a truck. Nothing interesting to report, though it was nice to drive instead of ride. Stayed at a Red Roof Inn.

Knoxville, Tennessee

November 20 - 712 miles by truck
Stayed in a Motel 6. Ate a bad sandwich at a Cracker Barrel somewhere. Definitely feel "repatriated" by now. A little depressing.

I was thinking I'd stay again with Patricia and David in Virginia, but by the time I reach the highway turnoff to their place, it was only 5pm. I figured I could keep going and get to New York early in the morning. When I was in Pennsylvania I passed a sign that said 120 miles to New York City. I didn't know I was that close. So I called Lisa and asked her what she was doing, and if she wanted to hang out that night. She flipped.

I passed through the Lincoln Tunnel, picked her up, and drove out to New Jersey. I didn't want to have to deal with parking the truck, with bike, somewhere in Manhattan, so we stayed in a hotel.

The next day we drove to Matt's place and dropped off the bike, then the truck, then took the train back to the city.

Whew!!! What a story!

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