Day 73, October 13th 2007 (Desert View,AZ to Bacavi,AZ)

I had the luxury of waking up warm rather than cold this morning. It was something that I had not been used to at this elevation so far on the trip. I went outside and was very surprised to feel how cold it was because I was practically sweating inside of my tent. I had the great experience of meeting two great people last night in this area of the country and it made for a great rest. When I was awake in the morning and out of my tent, Joe and Lilly were also getting up for the morning. We both commented on the elk that had come through the campground last night and then the coyotes that we woke up to in the morning. Even though it was light out, the coyotes were still howling in the distance and it seemed like they were out fairly late today. Joe and Lilly started off the morning by telling me that I wasn't going to make it through the High Sierras without a warmer sleeping bag and they would rather that I take their 0 degree bag compared to my 40 degree bag. It was the best news that I had heard since on the road and I knew that I was going to make it safely across the mountains at this point. We exchanged sleeping bags and at the end of my journey we would mail each others bags back to each other. I was so happy to have a warm sleeping bag by my side for the rest of the journey and couldn't wait to rest in the outdoors at this point. Before when I had experienced the cold weather I was up at Tioga Pass and I woke up wearing every piece of clothing that I had brought with me, but now things had taken a new turn. As if that wasn't enough great news to have for the morning, Joe and Lilly proceeded to fill up a picnic table full of food and say,"take anything you want with you." It was unbelievable. They said it was their last day on their journey and they had no use for any of this anymore so whatever I wanted to take with me was mine. I only had enough room for a few of the many items they had placed in front of me, but it was enough food to probably last a week. They had some hot oatmeal that they prepared for the morning and accompanied that with a hot cup of coffee. By the time I set my parting ways with this amazing couple, I was on cloud 9. Everything had been taken care of for me from the very small things I needed to even the very large things that I needed on my trip. I couldn't have been more thankful to have run into this family and I was really feeling great about the ride ahead. When I started out of the campground I almost instantly started to fly downhill. With some great shots of the canyon on side, I flew down from 7,400 feet to probably about 5,000 feet. It was an incredible drop and I couldn't have started it in any other of a greater fashion. With so much energy, I was able to store it for the ride ahead. I had gone about 30 miles to start the morning before I switched on to another road that was a little busier. I didn't mind the traffic, but I think the traffic was a little annoyed with me. It seemed obvious after the first couple of honks of horns that I received from other drivers, but after a few miles I was on a more less traveled route and the scenery was much better. I was able to see so many red rocks that had some incredible features to them and I was surprised that I wasn't staring at desert like I had expected. It was a very scenic ride and with the traffic being very minimal I was able to enjoy it even more. I didn't stop for my first break until I reached a town called Tuba City and it was about 60 miles into my ride. Besides the incredible drop that I had experienced to start my ride, it was a very flat ride that I had been dealing with all day and it seemed to good to be true. I had some lunch in Tuba City and as I was leaving the town I realized that they had a huge country festival that was going on. Cars were parked everywhere on the sides of the road and people were out and about enjoying the weekend. If I was more of a country fan I might have stayed, but seeing as how I wasn't and still had a lot of daylight ahead of me, I pressed forward. I must have dealt with one of the easier rides of Arizona for the past couple of days because as soon as I left the city I was back to the mountains. Tuba City was at about5,200 feet and upon leaving the town it wasn't long before i read a sign that said "Elevation 6000 feet." Then I was back downhill and then uphill and then downhill and it seemed like that was the course for the rest of the day. Being at the elevation I was at, the temperature was very cool and the sun didn't do too much damage to me on my ride. The wind was changing from a cross wind to a tail wind and I was happy that it wasn't in my face. When I was coming to the end of my ride, the sun was starting to go down and since it was a Saturday I was looking for a church that I could attend the following morning. I pulled off into a small town called Bacavi and saw a large cross on a white building in the distance. I took a dirt road that took me to the doors and it felt great to be in such a secluded area of the village. I thought that this was going to make for a great place to set up camp and as I was circling the building to look for a sign of when the service started, a man came out of his house and asked if he could help me. His name was Jim and he was the assistant pastor of the church. I asked him what time the service started and then if it was okay to put my tent up in the area. He was very helpful and told me to put my tent up anywhere in the area that I would like. It was nice to be able to have someone in the area say it was okay to set up my tent and then after I set up my tent he came out of his house and invited me in for dinner. I couldn't say no to a warm meal and was grateful that he had opened his door up for me. It was a great hot stew and was perfect after I had finished my ride in the cold to get to where i was. Bacavi was at about 6,400 feet and with the sun going down at around 6:15, the cold weather followed shortly after. Jim introduced me to his wife Roxane and I was able to meet the rest of his family as well. He had two girls and two boys and they all seemed to be very well mannered and were great to be able to get to know. Jim and his family had been from Indiana and had just moved to Arizona a little over a year ago. It was a big transition to move to where they were because not only did he and his family move, but he had changed jobs. From a heating and cooling repair man to an assistant pastor, it was something that he felt very strongly in that seemed to me to be working out very well. I found out that I was in the Hopi Tribe's area of Arizona and couldn't wait to experience some of the culture that came with the area. I went to bed on a full stomach and in a warm sleeping bag.
Daily mileage: 103.3 miles
Average speed: 13.9 mph
Total mileage: 4,326.8 miles