After waking up rested from a good night of sleep, I proceeded to pack and load the stuff on the bike for the 34th time on my trip, did the usual check around the motel room to ensure I was not leaving a camera, my backup disk, or even a simple charging cable behind me; and I then headed on the bike to the reception to check out. Had a quick standing coffee in the reception (by default of not having any breakfast room or tables), which is still better than no coffee at all, and then left for the highway.
Entering the highway, I felt the cool wind on my neck and realized I didn’t have my neck buff on. It had probably fallen on the floor somewhere in the bedroom or in the parking lot. I debated with myself for a few minutes, while riding on the highway, whether it was really worth going back at the next exit or whether I should just let it go since it was not an expensive garment and I could always buy another one later. The cold sensation on my neck, along with the fact I may have a hard time to find another buff as good and as comfortable, finally convinced me to go back.
Back to the motel, I checked the parking lot and couldn’t find it so I went back to the reception and asked for a key to the bedroom (which they gave me without any question) to check if it was there, but the buff was nowhere to be found. I handed the key back to the motel attendant and went back to my bike. While adjusting the straps on the duffel bag, the buff suddenly appeared between that bag and my sleeping bag. The thing was me the whole time.
Half an hour “late” on my no-schedule plans, I was back on the highway, passed Las Cruces, and only stopped again around 10:40am at a Petro station some 100 miles away in Deming, where I also had my morning Starbucks Latte. 100 kilometers and an hour later, I decided to make another stop in a Love’s Travel Shop for lunch, where an employee (unfriendly, as far as I recall) prepared my sandwich.
I stopped again at Texas Canyon “Dragoon Rocks” where the landscape is pretty impressive and took a few pictures.
After 30 km riding further west, I stopped again, but this time to refill my tank at another Love’s Travel Shop. Apart from the Dragoon Rocks, most of the landscape has been relatively flat and semi-desert-like, kilometers of roads with little interest. At least temperatures are still nice. Why complain, right…?
I finally reached Tucson (for the note, it’s pronounced “Too-son”, not “tuk-son”… took me a while to get used to that) around 3pm and rode around the city center to find a coffee. That’s when I realized it was Thanksgiving day – lots of stores were closed and the city center looked abandoned. I finally reached a Starbucks in a mall that was probably open because of the presence of a Walmart. Started a conversation with a group of students from Iran, who warned me that Thanksgiving in Tucson was even more depressing than Christmas.
After locating a Motel 6 not far from the highway on Expedia, I quickly booked it and went there to unpack my stuff. After a quick shower, I spent some time looking for a Couchsurfing host in Yuma, my next stop, sent a few requests, started the usual video cam transfers and backup, and finally went out for dinner. I think I must have ridden around for half an hour, not being able to find a single open place for even a quick fast food dinner (even MacDonald’s was closed!) until I ended at a Carl’s Jr, where I could not stay but at least I could get food to go.
So Tucson, as a city, didn’t really leave me with a huge impression. Hopefully, the visit to Sabino Canyon in the morning would give me some better memories.
