Arizona & Nevada

On Our Way

Well friends,
We are finally on our way to Central America. I am currently in Chandler, AZ staying at my uncle's house before departing in the morning for the border at Douglas. We started the trip off right with a nice little 700-mile jaunt yesterday from Boise to just south of Las Vegas. It rained, it snowed, it sleeted, there were dirty little animals in the road, and our final decent into the Las Vegas area was complimented by a ferocious dust storm. We rode nearly 5-hours through sub-30 degree weather @ 80MPH... All that aside, I am very happy to be out of what was sure to be the worst weather/longest day of the trip. This morning we fought traffic over Hoover Dam, and the greater Phoenix bubble... It was windy and rainy again, but not even close to as bad as yesterday. Tomorrow things transition to more of a subdued rural setting... Highway 10 south... I am very excited for the pace to slow and the mileage to shrink. Pics up soon...
-AjM-

Zen...

"You see things vacationing on a motorcycle in a way that is completely different from any other. In a car you're always in a compartment, and because you're used to it you don't realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You're a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame.

On a cycle the frame is gone. You're completely in contact with it all. You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming. That concrete whizzing by five inches below your foot is the real thing, the same stuff you walk on, it's right there, so blurred you can't focus on it, yet you can put your foot down and touch it anytime, and the whole thing, the whole experience, is never removed from immediate consciousness."

Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance- Robert M. Pirsig

Rough Itinerary

Rough Itinerary: Central America/Mexico 2008

The following is the minimal tour, which may be adapted depending on weather...

Day 1: Boise, ID to Las Vegas/Lake Havasu, NV-625 miles
Day 2: Las Vegas/Havasu to Douglas, AZ-525 miles
Day 3: Douglas to Creel, MEX-390 miles
Day 4 & 5: Copper Canyon/Creel/Batopilas
Day 6: Creel to Los Mochis/El Fuerte, MEX-250 miles
Day 7: Los Mochis to Mazatlan, MEX-262 miles
Day 8: Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta, MEX-272 miles
Day 9: Puerto Vallarta to Playa Azul/Zihautanejo, MEX-372 miles
Day 10: Playa Azul/Zihuatanejo to Acapulco, MEX-200 miles
Day 11: Acapulco to Puerto Angel/Zipolite beaches, MEX-300 miles
Day 12: Puerto Angel/Zipolite to San Cristobal de las Casas, MEX- 360 miles
Day 13: San Cristobal to Antigua, GMA-270 miles
Day 14 & 15: Greater Antigua treks
Day 16: Antigua to La Costa del Balsamo/Montecristo, SAL-245 miles
Day 17/18: Montecristo to Copan Ruinas/Cortes, HON-270 miles
Day 19: Cortes to Punta Gorda or Placencia BEL- TBD (ferry or ride???)
Day 20: Punta Gorda/Placencia to Corozal Town, BEL-220 miles
Day 21: Corozal Town to Tulum, MEX-175 miles
Day 22: Tulum & Chichen Itza Ruins
Day 23 & 24: Cancun, MEX
Day 25: Cancun to Palenque, MEX-525 miles
Day 26: Palenque to Veracruz-375 miles
Day 27: Veracraz to Tampico- 294 miles
Day 28:Tampico to Monterrey OR Matamoros???-325 miles
Day 29: Monterrey to Laredo, TX, USA-140 miles
Day 30: Laredo to Roswell, NM-580 miles
Day 31: Roswell to Durango, CO-411 miles
Day 32: Durango to Boise, ID-730 miles

TOTAL: 8,116 miles/254 miles per day