Leg 7

At 466 miles, today hits the high water mark so far for miles in a day.

A day full of ambition, but perhaps the appetizer for tomorrows ambitious entree.

It suprised me how quickly I exited the greater metropolitan Phoenix area. In a short 25 mins, I was off the major interstate and northbound on Highway 87 towards Mount Ord, and eventually Payson, AZ. the climb out of the low desert and into the high desert brought not only cooler temperatures, but also a windy, twisty, mountain pass that was both refreshing and challenging.

Much like the ambition of the mileage for today, my mind can't help but associate if I'm simply priming myself for the million dollar highway tomorrow.

As I wound into Payson, I fought the urge to make a quick detour west so that I could stand on a corner in Winslow, Arizona. Unlike The Dude, I had a great night and don't mind the Eagles, but the push to make it to Cortez tonight means sacrifices need to be made, and this photo op is one of those decisions.

I did, however, make the pit stop at Petrified Forest/Painted Desert National Park. To be honest, a bit of a let down. It's beautiful, don't get me wrong, but this was the first NP I've been to that felt more like a roadside tourist attraction rather than a national treasure meant to be preserved and protected. That said, I also offer this review with the full disclosure that I didn't truly tour the park, but rather a few miles in, the visitor center, and the entrance sign. Maybe next time I'll give it more justice.

A few quick miles later and my first, and only, road through New Mexico came up and I turned from heading North East, to true North up the 491 towards Shiprock and through the heart of Navajo Nation. Much like my southbound trip through this spectacular land, I was inundated with dramatic spires, red earth, and miles of absolute emptiness.

I did make the 45 min detour out to Four Corners landmark and learned three interesting facts. First, this is a Navajo Nation Landmark and not operated by the Federal or any State Park System, which I found interesting because it's a destination explicitly created to mark four US State borders that happen to fall in the middle of their land. Irony, I suppose. Second, cremation is considered sacrilege in the Navajo culture so there are many, and very large, signs posted that you are not allowed to scatter ashes at the site due to it being a major disrespect of the land and their culture. And third, you can get your passport stamped at the site. I did circle the landmark twice looking at each of the stands selling souvenirs and trinkets, but it was only after I was exiting that I realized that because I had walked through Arizona twice, and they don't observe DST, I had essentially changed time zones 4 times in 20 mins. Weird.

After another 45 mins, I arrived into Cortez, a bit ragged from all the miles, but generally upbeat and still feeling refreshed from the 4 days prior with plenty of rest.

I use the word ambition a lot today because I am feeling a bit aware of the ambition of this trip. I've only ever done one overnight motorcycle trip, and that was a single camping night. It's hitting me that this trip, from the miles, the length, the attractions (both landmarks AND roads), and the balance between planned and unplanned was incredibly ambitious. I'm thankful that nothing thus far has gone off track; I'm unsure how I would have managed that stress on top of the scale of this trip. I suppose, though, that when I think about all of the good stories I've ever heard or told, from career changes, romance, road trips, or learning something new, they all germinate out of ambition. Ambition to try something that could just as easily fail as it could succeed. I suppose that's what makes this trip worth it, the risk and the ambition that it could be terrible or it could be what it has been, dynamite.