PARKER, ARIZONA: Where Nothing At All Had to Be Accomplished

March 8, 2019

I wanted to stay at Buckskin Mountain another night, but I was also anxious to see what the road ahead had in store for me. Such a dilemma. As a compromise, I hung around the park all morning. I lounged in my cabana and drank coffee and watched the river flow and admired the rock wall on the other side of the river. I took a walk through the RV parking lot. I talked to a couple of my neighbors--one from Pueblo, CO and one from Bend, OR. Best of all, I got up into the mountains for a little hiking and trail running.

The hiking trail climbed quickly and steeply to this overlook of the campground. The cabanas are along the river on the center-left part of the picture.

"G-2, how many times do I have to tell you to stay on the trail?"

"Oh man, I have some choice words for this cholla."

I like the dry desert mountains better than the alpine splendor of Colorado or Switzerland. Seriously . . . I do.

The trail to the top of Buckskin Mountain was maintained well enough that I felt comfortable running on it, yet still rugged enough to give it somewhat of a wilderness feel. I saw many of the same great desert plants I've been seeing all week, plus I saw my first saguaros off in the distance. Aside from a couple of vultures, there were no wildlife sightings.

The sky was sunny and clear and the air was wonderfully warm. Can you blame me for hanging out here until the early afternoon hours? And once I did get on the road, I enjoyed riding in short sleeves for the first time on this trip. I think it was close to 80-degrees.

As a result of my late start, it was a short biking day. I rode a whopping 12 miles to Parker, AZ. I did a little additional riding in town to see the sights and pick up supplies, but that was it. The mileage was so lame that I guess you could call it a rest day.

Today's ride: 15 miles (24 km)
Total: 290 miles (467 km)

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