Sleepless in Arizona
On the way back to Fresno from the Grand Canyon we spent the night in a truck stop called Kingman (population: 20,069). I apologise in advance to the good people of Kingman and freely admit that my limited exposure to the town consisted of driving down about 3 miles of the main road, staying in a cheap motel and eating at a steakhouse. Kingman is one of the towns on historic Route 66 and I'm sure it has many charms. I just didn't happen to experience any of them.
This is the view from my motel room door. The trucks ran all night. I can testify on their behalf because I was awake all night listening to them. I don't really blame the trucks. The freight trains rumbling past behind them were much worse.
Adding to the road transport theme was the Laughlin River Run, an annual motorcycle rally that attracts over 60,000 riders. The only reason we spent the night in Kingman at all is because the first 399 hotels we tried to book a room in were packed to the rafters with motorcyclists. For the most part they were not motorcyclists of the big hairy, scary variety. Most of the ones I saw were middle aged, middle class weekend warriors who roared into the carpark, stepped off their hogs, swaggered into the restaurant and ordered a soy caramel latte and a green salad.
The machines themselves reveal the nature of most of the riders. These are heavily customised, dearly loved, lightly ridden motorcycles with all the bells and whistles. Note the drink holder on the middle bike in the row below. My car should be that luxurious.
2 comments:
Heather, congrats for surviving in defiance of Arizona's efforts to prove you really CAN fry tourists on the pavement by simply using the sun and windshield glass.
Hope you had a chance to meet some of those truck drivers as many of them are fine ambassadors of the road and they do love to tell stories. Next trip tell Dad to put a CB radio in the car,come up with a nice handle (radio name)and hit the air waves, letting them know you're road-tripping the US on a visit from Oz. They will delight in entertaining you during those detours. They know all the best places to eat and time will fly.
Happy trails!!
what a great idea!! i wonder what your call sign would sound like..."rodger dodger this is little kangaroo callin to say hows it hangin, where do i throw down my swag, what a shiela got to do to get a tinny round here and where do i drop a load".....theres a aussie in all of us.
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