Day 7
4-27-10, Tuesday
Peach Springs to Seligman
I woke up refreshed after a nice sleep on a soft bed. I quickly showered and dressed in my riding clothes in a hurry to have a warm meal in the Lodge Restaurant. Eggs, sausage, potatoes, cottage cheese and to top it off a bowl of oatmeal with raisins, brown sugar and peaches. The coffee was excellent. I am looking at my maps and see that it is only 36 miles to Seligman. The maps don’t tell you how many miles of upgrade, nor direction of the wind. In either case, I must forge on. I leave with a few compliments from passing tourists, and from their accents I assume they are not from the USA. A few comments of some hills coming my way tells me they are going the opposite direction. But they’re happy and so am I. A good day to ride.
The weather appears to be in my favor with a light wind from the south. No more than 400 feet from the Lodge I begin a climb, one of many that will take me to altitude of 5460 some feet. I immediately feel my legs burning, and I wonder if I should turn back and spend one more day in luxury. The rest would do me good and allow me to catch up on my journal the past couple of days. But the Mother Road calls me, and on I go. I reach a point after two miles of climbing and see, once again, the change of the surrounding land. There are pine trees standing no more than 14 feet in height, bushes that looked like junipers with branches that are loosely spread out, small cacti and rocks in various sizes from a basketball to a huge beach ball spread about. The railroad is in the distance, and as it approaches you hear a roar of thunder, and then a blast from its horn which breaks the silence and the whistling sound the wind makes as it passes through the branches of the brush and miniature trees. It’s strange to be looking out into the open plains over the tops of this vegetation, yet there is a beauty to it, with the various coordinating colors of green, red, and brown with the occasional accent of the desert wildflowers. The sky is clear at this moment and the road stretches out as far as my eyes can see. I fix my eyes on the horizon where the road disappears, and mentally adjust for what I am to encounter. I see great walls of mountain sides with crevaces surely made from the wind and the rain. I dare to say their height of 1500 to 2000 feet would be an accurate guess of the elevation. They are running southwest and northeast and appear to taper and fade into the level plains. As I descend for several miles the brush disappears to sporadic bush and mounds that are the homes of the prarie dog. I only get a glimpse of a few, for they are a private critter. I pass a couple of antelope that I thought were deer at first, and then realize that’s where the song “Where the Buffalo Roam” comes from. You remember….’Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play’….uh oh, I am doing it again. But there they were grazing with some cattle in the distance. It was a sight, and I was not alone. The wind kicks up and for a short time it’s a tailwind, and then shifts with a vengeance blowing my front wheel off course. It’s like that feeling you get in a car when a gust of wind hits it from the side, was my first thought. I pulled to the right and find myself teetering with my handlebars to keep my bike in line. I didn’t like it, but was thankful it wasn’t a headwind. At that moment I started singing yet another song….They Call The Wind Mariah. I must have appeased the Gods of the Wind, because after the second verse the winds changed in my favor – the blessed tailwind. It was strange to have been traveling downhill, and then to take a short uphill climb and find myself at the 5420 feet elevation. There’s only a few miles left and I thank the heavens it’s all downhill.
I got into Seligman at 3:30 pm, take a picture of the Welcome sign and find a place to settle in. The clouds have built up and the forecast is winds up to 35 mph tomorrow and a possible chance of rain Friday. My next stop is Williams, 40 miles up the road.
Note: The travelers in both directions along this route have been very courteous in driving their vehicles in a safe manner for my benefit, passing me with a wide berth. I received many waves of approval and an occasional arm out with thumbs up. One gentleman and his wife stopped coming from the opposite direction and asked if I had enough water or needed anything. He stated, “I road this route a long time ago.” When I thanked him for his generous offer, he replied, “No problem. Get there safe.” Smiled, and drove off. These gestures from the people today, in my opinion, reflect the same gestures of kindness not spoken of enough that were given to the many tired individuals traveling this road in its heyday. The spirit of humanity lives and had I been in that state of fatigue or in need, my soul is inspired and content knowing a helping hand is not far.
There no communities between Peach Springs and Seligman, so I can’t elaborate on any history. I can only say this stretch is very beautiful, and I’m sure unchanged from the beginning of Route 66passing through. I will end this for now. Will get with you tomorrow with hopefully some tidbits of history of Seligman.
Tomorrow, Seligman to Williams.
Love ya all,
Old Man Still Very Alive
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