October 2010
12 posts
October 15, 2010 Newport Beach*
The adventure continues ! Night before last we spent at the John Wayne airport , the planes were so close it looked like you could reach out and touch them. Practically shook the whole RV. It was pretty cool to see over 20 planes landing in one night !!
Then the next day (oct. 14) we went to Newport Vent. where everyone was welcoming us with open arms. We got a behind the scenes tour...
October 9, 2010 LONG BEACH CALIFORNIA !
Wow , what a feeling, like no other. There is no other joy like victory except when your dirty feet are covered in blisters, your calves are burning, and in the longest four miles of your life, you cross the finish line. Not just any finish line THE FINISH LINE. It gave me goosebumps to see all the people cheering and clapping for Matt (and crew).
A BIG THANKS to everyone who was present to...
October 8, 2010
After driving down a one way street the wrong way, loosing Moms credit card in Michaels Arts and Crafts and staying up til the a — crack of dawn making t-shirts tommarow cant come soon enough. Now only if I dont fall asleep…
October 7, 2010 Chino Hills Area to Anaheim Area?
Its the Journey of a Million Smiles. So smile to a complete stranger today. Hopefully they return the favor to someone else. Pass it on.
12.7 miles today.
October 6, 2010 chino to chino hills area
16 miles today. last super big hill ( i hope ) . almost to the finish line. staying with the momma tongiht. i left my bathing suit in the rv so we bought a budget one for 6 dollars. i have nothing positive to say about this suit and my mother keeps telling me i look like a taxi cab.
October 5,2010 riverside to chino
Four months with no mommadukes… I’m so excited to see her tommarow !!
15 miles give or take, currently we are a little lost, went to pick matts dad up at lax turns out he’s at the long beach airport, it’s gonna b a long night.
October 4, 2010 Moreno Valley to Riverside
It was a rainy day in California. We got to see planes taking off overhead. Rons breaks gave out and then we had like 3 hills to go down. Matt has this monkey named Timmy and we take pictures with it everyday where we end for the day with a Matts Place Sign. Today we got all ready to take the picture, set up the sign, got out the camera, and ..
Timmy is missing !!!!! M.I.A. Thats what...
October 3, 2010 Lakeview to Moreno Valley
California is so gorgeous. The sidewalks are even nice here , except for the ones that just lead to a dead end. Summertime and the livin’s easy. 13 miles again today since we are so close to Long Beach . Stayed at the same campground again - Anaheim RV Village. We went to El Pollo Loco after, I was a first timer. Let me tell you it was damn good especially the horchata <3 I have not have...
October 2, 2010 Hemet to Lakeview
I am so excited to see my momma ! 3 days 3 days ! Danielle got us a table, tickets, and booth stand at the Aquarium of the Pacific and hopefully some special guests will be there. Matt did 13 miles today since we are getting so close. It is official I did get my first flat tire but making it all the way to Cali without one flat is not so bad ! We stayed at this campground called off...
Dear San Jacinto California ,
Please do not give me my first flat or the tri. Not officially a flat tire but it was the first time I needed to stop to put air in my front tire.everyone cross your fingers it just needed air and is not a flat.
October 1, 2010 Mountain center to Hemet
I found a new place to live, to be continued..
September 2010
37 posts
September 30,2010 top of mountain to mountain...
Surrounded by gigantic Ponderosa Pines, log cabins, horses, chickens, and cows. The San Bernadino National Forest is full of gorgeous warm colors with all kinds of trees. Mostly downhill today but we did hit one little hill at the end. The pinecones here are larger than life, they look fake they are so big. They make great fire starters though.
Last night we made a fire while a woodpecker hung...
September 29,2010 Palm Desert to top of the...
Big mountain. Big big mountain.hot.thin air. Matt did 15 miles. Camping at lake Hemet for the next two days. The mountain is still going up
September 28, 2010 Cathedral City to (just past)...
Apparently my great uncle went here when he was my age, to the Palm Desert and never left. I can see why, beautiful Palm Trees, sunshine , and the mountains right next door. I do not think I could take the heat though . I found a little black bow tie barrette and I am keeping it as a reminder of him . I could tell we where getting to someplace nice when the street names began to change to places...
September 27, 2010 Desert Hot Springs to Cathedral...
We are staying at the Palm Springs Oasis RV Resort. It is not really an oasis but it does have beautiful palm trees. It was a nice bike ride today besides the one biggie hill at the begining. It is never fun to start on a hill. Matt did 15 miles. Then we laid by the pool and went out for mexican. good day.
September 26,2010 Yucca Valley to Desert Hot...
Desert Hot Springs reach 109 today ! It was HOT HOT HOT. Luckily the campground we stayed at made it totally worth it . For starters, the folks remembered us from last time and gave us a nice discount. Always helps :) They are one of the few RV Parks that has mineral springs water in their pool and hot tub ! After 4-5 hours it the pool we were full out prunes. They say the water heals...
September 25, 2010 29 Palms to Yucca Valley
Ok where do I begin? First the basics, Matt pumped out a fabulous 20 miles. Now for some side notes, luckily by serendipity we came across a wonderful man who was filling in for some people at the RV park we stayed at. Before we known it we are learning one of the most unique life stories of the century, his mother was a mathematician for NASA , and his father a photographer for them. His fathers...
September 24, 2010 Route 62 to 29 Palms
Alright so we are finally 2 miles away from outside of town. There are all these small houses/huts along the side here , FINALLY we can see clues of life. Some guy told Ron that squatters live in them and that they were built as part of the railroad workers back in the day and they just never tore them down. We saw two wild coyotes today and one cool plane taking off from this tiny tinny airport....
September 23, 2010 The Split to somewhere on 62 (...
Alright so we are still in the middle of no where in the desert. It was a mellow night, we are all ready to be done with the desert. 93 miles of jack shitt. literally , no telephone poles in sight nothing. on a side note i did make it to california without one flat tire.
September 22, 2010 Vidal to 177 and 62 Split
The desert again. Drove 57 miles to stay at a campground in 29 Palms because the generator was acting funny so Ron did not want to take any chances. 27 miles Matt rode today. Watched the rest of the documentary Babies today, beautifully shot . The campground we are staying at got robbed before we got there. Saw a dead scorpion today!
September 21,2010 Big River to Vidal California
We had to wait 30 minutes for the agriculture check point at Vidal. One of the check ladys was new and she was wearing way to loose shorts to be sliding around doing a 360 underneath the RV. Then it was under the trailer and in the rv. Apparently they were looking for Bew England gypsy moths- how exciting! Currently we are on the road to Twentynine Palms, it’s only 93 miles away. No people,...
September 20,2010 Parker to Big River
Well who knows where we will be tommarow because we are LOCKED IN THE RV. This is what we all get for slamming the door. Currently Ron and David are attempting to fix it ( making loud noises with tools that dont look like they work) It is rather amusing but of course it has to happen when we actually want to get up early tommarow ! Today we called it quits at 109 degrees. 17 miles but hey...
September 19,2010 Bouse to Parker Arizona
It was 111 degrees today. Matt cut it short at 23 miles since the camera only is physically suppose to last up to 104 degreees ! The team went grocery shopping , Ron grabbed some uber cheesy movies, and now we are headed to a campground in Caifornia. Technically we have not rode thru California yet so I am not counting us as officially in it yet, tommarow for sure. It is National Talk Like a...
September 18,2010 Wenden to Bouse
The desert roads are so straight and long. It does not feel as hot with the humidity. You know it is a bad sign when there are cactus dying here. We went to stay at asshole George’s, where the fellas stayed last time on the trip. Unfortunatly he does not make his world famous beef jerky anymore and was actually no where to be found, he works at a casino now. Times change, I guess. His wife...
September 17,2010 Aguila to Wenden
It was very hot in the desert today, over 100. We ended in the same town that we stayed in the night before, which was covered in snake holes. I am completely convinced if I fell in one of those holes it would of gone up to my knee. Luckily we didn’t see any snakes though just a fat toad. A crazy day today , mango chili lolipops, our first few tumbleweeds, and a duststorm. The boys just...
September 16,2010 Congress to Aguila Arizona
So we are finally in the desert , or at least what feels like the desert. Side note: we did walk in a place selling desert tea and very loudly I yelled look guys free samples of dessert tea, way to go me. So Agulia is infested with flies , they just harvested their cantelope so they would literally swarm us when we stopped on the side of the road. It’s a dry heat but it’s still hot as...
September 15,2010 Kirkland to ....
25 miles again . We are getting so close to California ! Finally have seen the long awaited Salerno cactus ( the crazy one with the arms) .Matt tells me these guys take 70 years to grow one arm and then live for about 200 years. Amazing. Tons of other speices as well. I will have to take some pictures. Stayed at Horsepatality for the night, get it horspatality hahaa.
September 14, 2010 Prescott to Kirkland
Tonight was a quiet night, another 25 miles. No place to came so we stayed in a beautiful open field. Called it an early night and we all caught up on some much needed rest.
Side Note :
So for the Guinness Book of World Records we need two official time keepers. To start off we had the mayor of Lynn Massachusetts and Jay Duchin . I ask all of you to put the word out , if you or anyone you do know has connections in Long Beach California we need someone for October 9, 2010 at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Let the people (hopefully) start flying in with names , the more the...
The Palace on historic Whiskey Row →
September 13, 2010 (just outside) Jerome to...
We started the day still going thorugh the forest. David and Matt did another 6 miles up hill . Ron and I got to go on one of the few freeways that you are legally aloud on in Arizona. It was not so bad . Donations were around 40 - 50 bucks. 26 miles today and perfect timing , we ended at Points of Rock which is the camp ground we have been crashing at for the past couple days . Then at night we...
September 12, 2010 Sedona to (just outside) Jerome
Sure enough we got stuck with second shift of bike riding 7 miles uphill. Jerome is a town set literally on a mountain overlooking a huge valley and all of Sedona. It was so steep we put the bikes away at one point and walked the rest. Then all of the sudden a Jerome cop pulled us over. He said it was illegal for us to walk there and if we were going to be walking we should of been facing...
September 11, 2010 Flagstaff to Sedona
So today was a beautiful ride. We went from seeing rocks of earth hues to the bright red rocks of Sedona. Mostly downhill, windy roads in the forest of Cococino National Forest.
Sight: Beautiful red rocks, cliffs, and mountains, thick trees.
Sound: My squeaky bike ! It only have one gear left , 7. Little critters scampering, and the bubblings of a flowing river.
Taste: Fresh water from ...
September 10, 2010 Coconino National Forest to...
Matt did 25 miles again. It was kind of nice going through civilization since it has been a while and Flagstaff seems to be such an eco-friendly place full of nice faces. We actually met someone at the campsite, from the U.K. who said she had talked to us (when we were lost ) about directions at the Grand Canyon. She was really nice, gave us ten dollars, and her husband pulled up and said ”...
September 9, 2010 Gray Mountain to Coconino...
Words that come to mind about todays ride… grueling, gruesome, and windy. The rest of the words are to inappropriate to write. So lets see where to begin… David and Matt rode like champs in the wind. Matt wore his awesome banditio ( a wind cover thing for his face) thanks to Mama Shirtcliff. It was so windy I actually wore one too. Matt calls us the banditos because it actually look...
September 8,2010
went to the south view of the grand canyon
went up in the watchtower
drank desert tea( soo good)
hiked part of the canyon with the girls so Ron could let out Andrews ashes
went to our campsight in the grand canyon area
got way to close to an elk
walked the trail from camp all the way to the rim with Matt and Ron- gorgeous
got cocktails at the swanky hotel over Navajo nachos
*watched the...
september 7, 2010 Tuba City to Gray Mountain
So I just wrote this whole post and lost it but anyways…. We got to see the beautiful painted desert and traditional Navajo Wigwam houses. It rained off and on today. Poor Matty, his wheelchair kept reclining by itself. On Ron and I’s biking shift we got to see a rainbow after the rain . At the end of the day we ended in Cameron and as we where waiting for the RV to come ( which took...
September 6, 2010 Red Lake to Tuba City
Another 30 miles ! We ended the day with Matt and Ron sprinkling Andrew’s ashes over a spot in the painted desert. I drove down on my bike and took pictures. A laundry day for us after, ate at the Quality Inn RV Park in Tuba City. Then we just hung out and watched the stars while we waited for our laundry. All of the sudden, out of no where , Matt noticed a spider. Not just any spider...
September 5,2010 Shonto to Red Lake
It was so windy I thought I was in the Wizard of Oz. Some big wheel speed up so close to us today beeping his horn all the long while. Lots of stray dogs here, just looking for a bit to eat. Baby mamas dogs. Ended the night in Tuba City , a good while ahead of where we ended. The street lights ruin the stars tonight, I actually preferef it more on the side of the road. We did get to see Jupiter to...
September 4,2010 Baby Rocks to route 160 near...
Matt did 30 miles again today , it was a hot one. Stayed in the side of the road across from a motel. Starry night!
September 3, 2010 Mexican Water to Baby Rocks
Matt did thirty miles today.
the town names are getting weirder and weirder
We crossed over into Utah
We went to see Monument Valley
We camped there for the night
We saw the sunset
I got up early and watched the sunrise
Now off to go to Mexican Hat because which is 21 miles North because other then that the Navajo Reservation is 150 miles of no alcohol.
Is up way to early to watch a sunrise in Monument Valley , geez I must be crazy
September 2, 2010 Tee Nos Pos to Mexican Water Gas...
Did a backbend across Arizona, New Mexico,Colorado, and Utah ,four corners for the morning!
Oh yeah and my bike made it to Arizona not one flat! Stayed at the Mexican Water Gas Station/RV Park. Woke up all I could smell was gasoline but it was perfect because it was right next to where Matt ended for the day.Met some stray dogs , stupid moochers. Matt did 30 fabulous miles though!
September 1, 2010 kirtland new Mexico to Tee Nos...
That’s right folks , the moment you’ve all been waiting for finally hit Arizona!!!!! Tee Nos Pos has an authentic Native American trading post with woven rugs, hand painted stuff, and turquoise . Couldn’t find a campground in the area though , so we had to go to Colorado haha , don’t ask. Stayed at a Ute Campground right next to a casino bit we were good and did not gamble....
August 31,2010 .... Farmington NM to Kirtland NM
David went to go back to the RV place to wait for the wheelchair tires, Matt’s third set! We got to stop on the side of the green Walmart (the only one in the country I think) to get some green chilies. They roast them right there in front of you for about 20 minutes. You can only buy them in a monster box for $16 so some nice family let us take some of there’s. We also got a half...
August 2010
42 posts
P.S. Day before we got a 100 from a nice lady , said she was perfectly heathly so if anything should happen to Matt she wanted us to have that money handy. So far Native Americans have been the most helpful, nicest, and interesting people on the trip !