It was originally formed on a convenient crossing point for the Colorado River and was called Colorado City and then Arizona City before becoming Yuma in 1873. For me the town is only familiar because of the 2007 film 3:10 to Yuma with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale (yes, I know that’s the remake, but that’s the one I’ve seen). We crossed from California into Arizona just before Yuma. Obviously they don’t ride Harleys though as we were waved straight through. Somewhere along that stretch of road we came upon a checkpoint, presumably checking for illegal immigrants. I hadn’t been enthusiastic about the prospect of interstates, but if the I8 is anything to go by maybe they won’t be that bad: it is mostly just dual carriageway and the views are spectacular. It was still quite some miles before we finally joined the I8 running east just a stone’s throw from the Mexican border, following the Colorado River. Finally we came upon a diner called the Buckshot, where they assured us that there was a filling station not 5 minutes away, so we were able to fuel ourselves and then our bikes. For mile after mile we went with no sign of a fuel station. The lake’s surface is 226ft (69m) below sea level.Īs we travelled, making good progress, things started to become desperate on the fuel front, especially for Andy’s Fat Boy which was on reserve. It is huge and a beautiful deep blue colour, you could easily convince yourself you were on a coast road. The 111 runs along the east side of the Salton Sea: a shallow saline endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault. It was also very windy, which is hard on the neck muscles over long periods, but at least it was a nice warm wind. Well, yes they are, but when the scenery is this impressive straight roads certainly have their place. Henry Cole always waxes lyrical about arrow straight roads, and I never really got it: surely the best roads for motorcycling are twisty. This is a superb road despite running arrow-straight for long stretches. Leaving the park we crossed the I10 and continued on through a stunning landscape.įollowing some complex navigation through a small place called Mecca, we joined Route 111. With the GoPro taking pictures every 5 seconds for much of the journey, plus stopping to take snaps along the way, it is difficult to choose just the best few, but here’s a selection:Īn obliging tarantula in the visitor car park The park was superb, with not only the eponymous trees, but also interesting rock formations popular with climbers looking to do some bouldering. The park is named for the native trees, which are a type of yucca immortalised in the fifth studio album by U2, released in 1987. It covers an area of 790,636 acres (1,235 Sq miles), the higher and cooler part being in the Mojave Desert and the eastern part being in the Colorado Desert. Joshua Tree only became a National Park in 1994 – it was previously a US National Monument. We split up to go through at our own pace with plans to meet up at Cottonwood Visitor Centre at the far side of the park ready to leave at 1130, giving plenty of time to enjoy the scenery and take pictures. We retraced our steps from last night for a few miles, then set off south through the middle of Joshua Tree National Park. All trace of yesterday’s rain had vanished the sky was clear and blue, the sun was shining and it was already getting pleasantly warm.
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