Sunday's ride starts as any other. We have some cereal and fruit, make sure the water bottles are cleaned and stocked up. We get extra fluids, as were going long distances in the desert ....Again...and don't want to be caught without fluids in case of a breakdown.

Rested and feeling ready, we're off.

First we get a treat to an early morning sunrise. Yes we're actually in the saddle before the sun breaks over the mountain. The air is crisp, cool but not cold. We both are in the habit of wearing long sleeves, everyday to save our arms from getting burnt. I'm still nursing my legs from San Clemente and a doctor visit there and also am being careful.

First thing on my mind this morning is Al. I haven't mentioned Al yet, he is a single man in Palo Verde, I got to know at midnight a couple of days back. I woke up in Palo Verde after sleeping about 5 hours, ( yes I'm asleep that night by 7-8 pm don't remember exactly, Andy says I snore loud!) When you first talk to Al, he looks about 75 and pretty bad for that age. Totally gray, morbid obese, his teeth mostly broken or gone, and his legs so swollen they are screaming diabetes or lymphoma or some other severe circulation abnormally. He is smoking a cigar, and eager to talk to anyone. So I listen as Al starts on a story of first the people I met at the saloon, and then of course himself. Al was a working class guy. He was raised in Las Vegas from the age of 14, until he retired. He worked odd jobs at the casinos, including taking care of celebrities, taking them out on the casino boats, working on the slots, and other jobs as needed. He boasts of a very large collection of signed pictures of stars, never married nor had children. Al is just a regular guy that gets caught up in the night life. Now, sadly he has an inoperable brain cancer, lymphoma, diabetes and is hanging on in Palo Verde in a small efficiency apartment for $700.00 a month, waiting to die. What got my attention was the new yellow Mustang! What would he need with that car ?

Come to find out, it was Al's lucky year...gambling that is....he won over 100K and was showing me all the 1099's to prove it. So he thought a new car was in order. So I asked Al, if he didn't mind, how old he was. He answers 54! The car was an after thought, as he has no need of doctors any more. He has no insurance anyway, and was laughing about his taxes. I really think he is afraid they will want to cut off the leg before he dies.

It really takes two days to sink in. Maybe some of it is bad luck, bad genes, bad lifestyle, I don't know, but I'm wandering down the highway, it is Sunday of course, and I'm praying for Al. I'm hoping he finds some peace as he says he has no regrets in his choice of life. I'm thanking God for the opportunity, thanking him for the pain I feel on somedays. I'm grateful for the time to spend with my son, grateful for a wife that knows I need some time to rediscover myself in a positive way. I'm thanking Al for the time he pores out his heart to me. I know for sure I've made the right choice in changing my life. This adventure I know is the beginning. No matter the result, it is becoming an adventure of a lifetime. As I write this however I'm thinking why does it have to be the only adventure? Remember Thoreau almost 150 years ago writing. and I'm paraphrasing, " Most men lead lives of quiet desperation". Barb and I have had several adventures, in fact I think today that the one that got us to Vermont might be the one that cemented our marriage.....another story anoher time.

Today I start to see the desert in a beautiful way. Today, I see the eagle chase his breakfast. I see the flowers and nature working. today I start taking more pictures.

Note the one of 453rd Ave. way out in the middle of nowhere, almost 50 miles from Phoenix, is this sign. Andy I laugh our heads off. There is nothing for miles in any direction.

In Wickenburg is a camp ground, for $15.00 we get showers, a rec room, TV, and get to pitch our tent right next to it on soft grass. 5AM will come early and an unexpected adventure into Phoenix.