The ride to Gila Bend was very pretty; mild headwind but made good time. I cycled on hwy 84 out of Casa Grande, going through Stanfield--which appears to be cow country, both for beef and dairy. Everything is self-contained, ie, the ranchers and dairy farmers grow their own hay and even sell cow manure to hopeful gardeners. The scenery was really lovely---heart of the Sonoran Desert coming out from Casa Grande. I saw some old, decaying adobe buildings; this is becoming a common sight through the southwest. I stopped to refill my water bottles near the I-8 jct with hwy 84. There is a gas station there. And don’t forget the Dairy Queen. That is also another common sight---you can’t hit a gas station in the desert without a Dairy Queen nearby. I must admit, a Blizzard has been sounding very tempting, but I don’t need the extra weight! When you exercise to this level every day, what you eat becomes very important. Each thing needs to have serious nutritional value---whether it be fructose and mega vitamins from the fruits, to protein and fats from the nuts, to electrolytes from the seaweed. And don’t forget the water. Sometimes I crave Perrier---naturally sparkling water. I think it’s due to the electrolytes, like sodium. It is also a nice tummy tamer (naturally occurring bicarbonate of soda).
After turning onto I-8 and heading uphill, a very nice lady stopped to offer water. She had seen me on the road a bit earlier refilling my bottles; she must’ve stopped at the gas station. Her name was (is!) Sharon and she is from Oregon. She had just finished visiting her sister in CG. She does not really enjoy travel, but feels the trip was worth it. I think she was alarmed by the dry heat, being from the Pacific Northwest. She teaches college classes: CPR and dental assistant coursework. She enjoys the teaching! And I think she was ready to go home!
Again, great scenery in the hills. Buckhorn, or it may have been Staghorn, Cholla is just beginning to flower: red or yellow. My Lord, it is lovely. Wild flowers border the interstates and highways here. The Jumping Cholla, also called Teddybear Cholla, is a lovely cactus. It looks soft and fuzzy. But it isn’t. I’m wondering why “Jumping Cholla”?The Teddybear name I can understand. It looks cuddly, but I refrained...
Some of the Saguaro cacti grow arms that wrap around itself. Quite comical, as if protecting itself from the heat and the cold and holding its water.
I understand the holding water part. I am frequently on the lookout for a bush big enough to hide my bare bottom when the urge to go, comes!
I pulled into Gila Bend about the same time as my daughter, actually, I beat her by about 15 minutes. A windstorm was forecast for the next day (Monday, April 8th) so I thought we should stay in a motel in town. They were quite pricey so Shannon wanted to stay the night at Augie’s RV & Campground and pick up the next day to move into town. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but I met some fascinating people at the campground, living in RV’s, so it was definitely worth the trouble. The next morning, we picked up our camp by about 8:30, with the winds kicking up a bit earlier than the weather reports suggested. Shannon went to MacDonalds and I followed slowly---building headwinds were kicking up dirt and dust by the time I made it to Mickey’s. We checked the local motels via Internet and phone---all filled. But I tried again around 11:30 am and found one at the PayLess Inn. We grabbed it. The sky was now brown and dirty and the wind was raging outside. Around 1 pm, we braved the storm and went to the motel. Luckily for me, the wind was now at my back, so it was a quick 1 mile trip!
The PayLess Inn is an old, decaying motel, pretty dirty, no ice. However, there was plenty of hot water and the floor was tiled. And the room was fairly sizable so I was able to pull Henry David inside and service him. He was covered in dirt. It took a few hours just to clean him up and clean and lube his chains. The tire pressure has remained excellent!
I made a trip outside in Shannon’s car to look for some groceries. There is no grocery store in Gila Bend. Locals shop in Buckeye, about a 40-45 minute drive away. The dollar stores have a limited grocery, so I checked out the Dollar General and found what I needed. While there, I ran into the fireman we had met the night before at the campground and we talked for about an hour! More on the people in a sec.
That night, we watched the final Netflix episodes of Bomb Girls. Apparently, there is a season 2, but it is very recent, so it’s not available on Netflix. We enjoyed discussing the era, the changing of womens’ roles, WWII, etc. We like every single character, except maybe the head boss of the bomb factory. But, I also understand that we are products of our own culture, so I can rustle up compassion for him. Sometimes we struggle so...
I did not sleep well at the PayLess Inn. I kept wondering if cockroaches would come pouring out of the walls and crevices and crawl on my face. So, I kept the bathrooom light on and slept lightly. Shannon slept soundly. So did LouDog. It was probably also the fact that I knew I had a very long ride the next day and the winds were going to be a challenge. The storm was over, but the leftover winds were still substantial.
The people at Augie’s RV and Campground:
The lady at the desk was most helpful; she was concerned we would get caught in the storm. She was from San Francisco and moved to Gila Bend for her husband’s health--cardiac issues. She said she would go wherever he wanted; wherever he would be happy. Wow! From San Francisco to Gila Bend. Now, THAT is love!!
Craig Liddle is a special ed teacher for the GB school system. He is retired from the military; specialized in artillery. He then got his Education degree and has been doing consultant work with the Arizona schools for several years. He has his fingers in a lot of pies and his mind never stops planning, working, dreaming. He owns a small pig farm near Sholo, AZ. For 6 months, before funding went dry, he had several troubled young men, who were failing the school systems and getting in trouble, live on the farm and learn discipline and responsibility by taking care of the pigs. Craig enjoyed this “work” but says it wasn’t much work at all. I think his idea of work may be different than most.
Craig raises pigs to order; whatever you want in your pig, you tell him and he provides it. If you want your pig raised on a specific diet, he follows it to the tee. Right now, he has about 10 pigs, raising them for 10 different people. You can even tell him exactly how you want “their life terminated”. This is a great service for those carnivores out there who want their food raised well and in a humane way. As humane as possible, anyway. Isn’t it funny when we use the word “humane” when we are gonna take someone’s life?
He also raises cage free chickens and sells the eggs. Or the chickens. He plans on adding goats to the farm, to sell goat milk.
His home is available as a vacation spot. If you want him to cook for you, there is a small added price for that. If you want to help with the pig feeding, the cost is reduced. He also has a fishing boat and says he will take people on fishing expeditions for lake fishing. You just tell him what you want to catch, and he knows where to go.
He is working on a website. When that is up and running, he hopes to stay busy, doing what he enjoys.
So, what does he enjoy? Pig farming, fishing, being outdoors, problem solving of any kind, working with kids. What gives him joy? Avoiding untrustworthy or “false” people.
That is the first time someone told me that gave him or her joy. That may mean that, if you work it right with WHOM you work, you may have joy all the time. At least, that’s my take.
For now, Craig lives in an RV at Augie’s during the week and goes home or to see his mom on the weekends. He is 50 yr old and hopes to be financially set in 5 yrs so he can sit back and drink beer and manage his businesses, maybe from afar. Like from a tropical beach!
Now, for Michael White. He is a former Marine, currently working as a fireman in Gila Bend. He is from the East coast originally and has stories that he does not divulge from his military time. Suffice it to say that he has been dealing with a serious history. My heart goes out to him. He is a young, attractive man who absolutely loves people. He is a real conversationalist, and quite interesting. He is the kind of young man you could chat with for hours and wonder where the time went. That happened repeatedly. We met him within minutes of our arrival when he came over to meet LouDog. Personally, I think Shannon may have been part of the attraction. I’m just sayin’...
That being said, he apparently is just a friendly guy overall. Out here in Gila Bend, he works as a fireman but also does some inadvertent first responder work when needed. He is interested in going back to school to become an EMT. He would like most to work on a flight line saving lives. I wish you well, Michael!
What does he enjoy? People, helping young people, especially those in whom he sees a “spark”. People are just drawn to him, it seems. He has the kind of demeanor that will make you feel safe and cared for, should he come to your door on a 911 call. He likes to encourage young folks. He enjoys a good story and listening to people. He loves his dogs. He has a rescue dog that is currently living with his East Coast mom. He has an energetic chihuahua here in GB.
We met an “interesting” older fella in MacDonalds. We didn’t try to meet him; he just walked up to our booth and leaned way into Shannon’s personal space, asking her to basically justify her existence in the GB MacDonalds. When she said she was working, he suggested she go on unemployment because the Prez is just giving the money away. Then he wanted to know why she was in the restaurant, using up the electricity that he is paying for. I didn’t note that he had bought anything, and we had---so I’m not sure how he was paying for the electricity and we weren’t. Anyway, he was an angry, half crazy guy and we were taken aback by his vehemence that maybe we skedaddle along. We didn’t stay much longer---we were very grateful for the PayLess Inn!!
For the most part, I am meeting the most interesting, kind people. And we all need blessings--the angry ones as well as the joyful ones.
I need to do a blog soon just focusing on the truths of the day...I have so much time to think out there on the road. This is a great blessing. I am very grateful for this incredible opportunity; this incredible moment in time.
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