Bicyclistic

And then dunes. Gravel dunes. Close up not at all pretty. More like a building site. The mountains were red, brown, black, grey, blue. It was impossible to capture them through the camera. Then the mountains turned to a beautiful shade of golden red. This was an old pre-Colombian Indian trail from the Colorado River towards the coast. The vultures circling overhead had now disappeared. Time was against me and I was thinking I’d be spending the night outdoors in the desert. Then the road dropped.

I had passed between Black Mountain (and it is) and Imperial Gables. On my right hand side was an enormous mine. The Mesquite Gold Mine. Downhill all the way to Glamis on a shoulder I didn’t have for the previous 20 miles. After going up and down the dunes for so long this was a welcome break.

To my right for the 10 miles down was a fence saying it was a tortoise habitat and that they should not be harassed. You’d have to climb the 8 foot barbed wire fence and find them first. I saw none.

This is an excerpt from Algodones Dunes - Part 79 of the journal of my cycle across America, posted on IrishKC.

More Bicycle Touring Notes
   • A Lot Less Scenic (Part 78)
   • Beyond Hope (Part 77)
   • Dust Devils (Part 76)
   • A Frog (Part 75)
   • Left Leg (Part 74)
   • A Superior Cycle (Part 73)
   • Photo: Arizona