Day 19: It's a Milestone... For The Lovely Nono Nanette

Twentynine Palms, California

Distance for the day: 86.7 km

Cumulative distance: 4,010.1 km

Top speed: 115 kph

Moving average: 56 kph

Temperature: 22.0 - 33.8 (during the ride)

We had a stellar morning, up about 5:20 am and got up, dressed and jumped on the bike. It was 22 degrees, so a perfect start to the day temperature-wise for riding. Official sunrise was 5:32, so we knew we weren't going to catch the sunrise but as we headed to Joshua Tree National Park, the sun was peaking up over the horizon and by the time we were entering the park at about 6:00 am, the sun was high enough to be casting long shadows and made for great, spectacular views of the terrain. 

It is desolate; arid, dry, cactus, boulders, sand, Joshua trees and wild flowers. I think there have been mishaps in the park where people have strayed off the trail and paid for it with their lives. The heat is unrelenting, there is virtually no water to be had and there is little opportunity for shelter unless a person is hiking in amongst the boulders. I was somewhat stunned to see at least one of the campgrounds with a "full" sign on the road. Online soures indicate that the campgrounds are often full but in this heat? That's whack.

The other thing that is the park is that it is incredibly beautiful. Sadly, we didn't do it justice by riding through and getting off the bike only to take some pictures. In our room here at the 29 Palms Inn, there is a cooler with a message to go to the kitchen to fill it with ice and have an enjoyable picnic in the park. That sounds like a great experience, under other circumstances. The park is scattered with hiking trails but they would not be for the faint of heart at this time of year. Also, most of the side roads off the main road are sand so ok for a vehicle with air conditioning but not so good for a street motorcycle. A few of the roads were marked "4 wheel drive only".

We had a discussion about whether we should go back to the park to watch the sunset but ultimately decided against it because today is litereally a record hot day and we didn't relish the idea of getting on the bike and going for a ride.  Here at the hotel, they have a garden where they grow some of their own things for the restaurant and the barteneder, Jess, suggestted a reasonable compromise would be to go to the garden at sunset... with a cold beer.

Speaking of which, the restaurant is a happening place. Here we are, in the off season, not too many guests in the hotel so we thought we would saunter into the dining room when we felt like having dinner and the place was packed. EVERY seat, including at the bar. Even the entertainment (folk guitar player) was standing. They said they would serve us dinner outside on the pool deck but there was no way, Jose - it was way too hot for that, even at 6:00 pm. 

By now you have probably heard that there is a heat dome going on here. We hadn't seen it in the news till today but we have been experiencing it first hand so were somewhat aware that there was something going on. Check this out: https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/05/weather/california-heat-dome-west-climate/index.html On our way over to the pool this afternoon, I checked the thermometer on the bike, which has been parked in the shade since we came back from the park, (so no engine heat by this time) and it indicated a temperature of 43.2. I don't count that as an "official" temperature reading for the record because we weren't riding in it but you should know that we are down here taking one for the team to bring you this blog. By the time we got back to the hotel at 8:00 am. it was 33 degrees already.

And about that milestone. This, being day 19, is a personal best for Nan on a motorcycle trip. Her previous record for the most number of days was the The Great American Total Solar Eclipse Squiggle Tour of 2017 which was a total of 18 days. In addition, we have camped about half the days on this trip, which would represent a pretty significant milestone for my rockstar wife. Despite the fact that my best riding buddies, Stan and Iron Butt Bruce both, separately implied I was being too hard on her for camping at our advanced ages.

This is the parking lot where we stayed.

We are in the yellow adobe hut.

The hotel sign and resident coyote, Wile E.