8am found us hitched up and pulling out of Pair A Dice SKP Co-Op park outside Pahrump, NV. We used NV 160 and I 215 to skirt Las Vegas, then picked up US 93 for the bulk of our 280 mile trip south and east to our next rv park. As we traveled along the mountain rocks and desert vegetation changed constantly.
As we passed the southern end of Lake Mead at Hoover Dam, we noticed a large decrease in the water level since we passed it a few years ago.
A few miles further we crossed from Mountain DST in Nevada to Mountain Standard Time in Arizona which means that the time was the same. It's confusing, but at least we didn't have to change our clocks.
In Arizona we encountered mainly basalt rocks and more bushes and grass on the desert floor.
The further south we went the greener the desert became,
and we started to see saguaro and prickly pear cactus.
As the softer rock within the basalt erodes, the mountains gradually turn into jumbles of large boulders.
Just before US 93 crosses AZ 71, 7 miles of it is designated the Joshua Tree Scenic Parkway
with hundreds of Joshua Trees (not trees but a kind of yucca) on both sides of the highway.
At AZ 71 we turned northeast toward the Weaver Mountains, and one of our favorite motorcycle rides up one peak known locally as Yarnell Hill. The roads up and down the mountain appear as faint white lines on the mountainside.
At Congress, AZ 71 connected us AZ 89 with a view of Vulture Mountain in the distance.
1:30 pm found us turning into our home for the next two weeks.
Ready for more bike rides,
Louise and Duane (and Brock and Leola)
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