Today, we cycled past the Sonoran National Monument and the South Maricopa Mountains, and began to see quite a few Saguaro Cactus and a wide variety of cactus types. The first part of this 73 mile ride into Casa Grande was on I-8, with a fairly smooth shoulder a traffic that was relatively light. We climbed almost 1,700 feet before our first stop, but the climb was relatively gradual, which made the task relatively easy.
We also passed a few feed lots, which was something I haven’t seen on a routine basis. From what I understand, (based on a few impromptu interviews I conducted with some cattle that were willing to talk “off the record”), they take animals that weigh somewhere between 300 – 600 pounds, and ship them to these feed lots to fatten before they are sent to meet their demise. They spend no more than 200 days in these farms in very crowded pens, were they are fed a steady diet of milkshakes, (vanilla is preferred) and Whoopie Pies, and are forced to sit on couches and watch re-runs of the Jerry Springer Show. After these 200 days, most of the cattle have doubled their weight, and are considered “ready for prime time”. Sounds like a pretty tough deal, unless you are a big fan of ice cream and are a fan of McDonald’s Happy Meals.
We had our first “re-route” of the tour, as one road we were planning on riding through was flooded and/or closed for construction. Word got out pretty quickly, and all of the group found their way without too much trouble. We passed through Stanfield, Arizona and parts of the Sonoran Desert before arriving at our evening’s accommodations, the High Chapparal RV campground, which boasts a few pickle ball courts and shuffleboard. The temperatures are a little higher, and we were told that they lows would only be in the low 50’s, which should make for relatively comfortable sleeping, (assuming I have packed the right clothing and sleeping bag).
Tomorrow, we leave bright and early for Catalina State Park, just outside of Tucson. The next day, (Sunday), will be our first “off day”, so we will get a chance to heal a little, and perhaps attend church and then visit the local REI, for any last minute parts needed for our next legs of our tour. Overall, it has been a really interesting experience, and certainly challenging. More to come!
The Walking Machine 
I’ve just discovered where you can put your pictures! In edit mode, at the bottom of each post, you’ll see a plus sign on the right. Click on that and there you will see “Gallery.” Click on that and then you can select the pictures you want to put with each post. You can go back and do this with each day’s post. Just call me if you need me to walk you through it.
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