Every trip is different, you would think after a whole year of going back and forth I would be fed up but the truth is that I make them as enjoyable as I possibly can. I wanted an early departure going to Cali but the best I could do was 10:00 am. This is including a stop at Costco for gas.
I got on the freeway and headed towards California, forty five minutes later I stopped in Tonopah to top off the gas tank again. Here a poor lady was getting frustrated because her poodle got off her SUV and was running all over the gas station, luckily it wasn't a very busy gas station.
She asked a young kid for help but he was on the phone so she asked me, so we started chasing the poodle around, the kid got off the phone and joined us. At this point the poodle is like what the heck, who are these two fools trying to get me so he sheltered himself behind the lady. What frustrated the lady was that because she was old she couldn't just bend down and scoop the dog up, eventually the poodle chose her over us and finally got in front of her and did not move anymore. She then gently picked him or her up and back in the car he went. Then as I left I noticed she now was fighting with the gas pump, but I was already saying sayonara and was on my way again.
Second stop was right before the California border. I once again put filled my gas tanks and then I noticed this wall that to me screamed photo up. So, I put my bike right in front of it and captured these two images. I really like them.
This shinny wall was a great place to photograph the bike and then I took the opportunity and got a shot of my reflection as well.I guess by now you already realized that my Fatboy is the star during this trip right? I few miles up the road is a very small town if you can even call it that. The name of the town is Desert Center and it's a middle point for trucker to exchange trailers between Los Angeles and Phoenix. There's an empty gas station, an old abandoned house, a train wagon, and a few other interesting things. I once again liked the setting for some more photo shots. I had been here before so this time I placed the bike exactly where I wanted it.
This is truly a ghost town, even in the daylight it's a bit eerie. Right away you find this gas station which has now been closed for at least three years, but even when it was opened it was a freaky place to stop. We pretty much never stop here as 25 miles up the road there's a more enjoyable stop in Chiriaco Summit. So as I took this picture a heavily tattooed young man came over and asked me if I wanted a picture on the bike all the while I kept thinking if he so wants he can just run with my camera and I have no chance of catching him. Well, he didn't but he did ask me for money and better yet a ride to the next town as supposedly he needed gas. What? A guy on the back of my seat heck no.
Then I rode to the train wagon and was taking more bike shots when another random kid came to me with a very similar story as tattoo guy. And he also wanted to ride on the back of my bike, what? Are you guys nuts, this I took as my clue to leave Desert Center behind and move on.
After the second intruder came around my inspiration was gone. I took captured this image real quick and just rode off into the sunset.Twenty five mile up the road you find another Chiriaco Summit. This is a very nice and safe stop for travelers complete with a nice restaurant, a store, gas station, The George Patton museum is there too as well as the West Coast Vietnam Wall. There's even an airport for Cessna's. I have already posted lots of images from this place but I will post a few more today.
At The Patton Museum there are lots of tanks on exhibition, so I chose them as background for some more Fatboy photo shoots.
One more gas stop in Coachella and the next stop would have been La Puente but as I came down the hill before Coachella I knew that for at least the next hour and a half it was going to be a bumpy ride because the wind was really blowing making my bike in a not so straight line.
It got even worse when I crossed the Palm Springs area, I think I was riding against the wind because the bike's engine was really pushing and I was only doing 60 miles per hour. That one and a half hours got me more tired than the whole trip, when riding in high wind the body tenses up and the mind becomes very aware that the wind can make you change lanes even when you are not planning on making them.
I had already ridden in high wind so I knew exactly what to expect. The last leg of the trip the sun got covered by clouds and the temperature dropped by at least 10 degrees to where I was getting very cold, so I stopped as soon as I could and bunddle up. Once my sweat shirt went on under my leather jacket I was fine the rest of the way.
All this things I endured during the trip were totally worth it because my sweetheart was supposed to meet me there the next day but instead she surprised me by being in La Puente a day in advance so needless to say that made me very very happy.
