Desert stopover

We are on some BLM land across the freeway from Ford's Dry Lake (map). This was a natural stopping place after about a four hour drive from north Phoenix

We found the new location of the consignment shop with no trouble, and the Metropolitan was indeed still there and mostly intact. (Inexplicably, one of the rear view mirrors is missing; the shop owner could not explain it other than to speculate that someone helped themselves to it while it was on display in the parking lot.)

After chatting with the owner for a while, we made an effort to squeeze the Metro into the bay with the other two scooters, on the theory that we might have an easier time selling it in California. It would just fit, but with only millimeters to spare, we were certain there would be damage to one, two, or all three bikes by the time we got to the bay area. We decided to leave it with him, drop the price, and help market it ourselves (look for a separate post here soon). The good news is the new shop is right next door to the motorcycle training contractor, so there will be some exposure to new riders, for whom a 49cc Metro might be the perfect bike.

It was well past noon by the time we left the shop and headed out onto the road. With only three and a half days to get all the way to the bay area, we stayed on I-10 the whole way, stopping at the Flying-J on the west end of Phoenix to fill the tank first. Fuel in California is a good deal more expensive, and Flying-J had about the best price in town, at $2.689 with our RV discount. While we were there we also dumped the tanks, since dumps in the bay area are few; this location has two dumps which are still free, although we've heard Flying-J is starting to charge for dumping at many of its locations.

We wanted to be all the way out of Arizona before stopping for the night, which meant either a parking lot behind a restaurant in Blythe, or this desert boondocking. With the weather absolutely perfect yesterday evening, I wanted to relax outside and grill a steak, so we stocked up at the Albertson's in Blythe and came here. We only rolled far enough from the freeway to be legal and have a little separation from it. It was dark and quiet here last night, other than the freeway itself, and the lights of the nearby prison in the distance.

We'll get an early start today, as driving west too late in the afternoon is brutal. I'm not sure where we will end up tonight.