Journey of living life with joy, gratitude and adventure: Day 5 and 6 Quartzsite to Payson

Day 5 and 6 Quartzsite to Payson.

As I am writing this I am sitting in the air conditioned Library in Payson, Arizona. Feels refreshing.

Before I start to tell you about day 5 and 6 I would like to share our story of Phil our angel who showed up at Redlands and stayed with us till we left Desert Centre for Payson. When Phil Quist arrived at Arrowhead Christian Academy in Redlands, Phil Ewalt was there to greet him. He had been following the tour on line and was looking forward to meeting up with us. Apparently is a member of the Reformed Church in Redlands and would have loved to do the ride but it did not work out for him to cycle it. However he did want to volunteer to do some work for us and he helped Phil mark the route going out or Redlands to Coachella. He also volunteered to be the Sweep team going from desert Center to Quartzsite which was a huge benefit to us as cyclists did not need to be the last and pushing people up the route. Cyclists are encouraged to get out very early and try to be in by 1. A number did not make it the day before and getting in at 3 when temps are 113 is very draining and dangerous for people’s health. Thank you angel Phil for you passion and love for Sea to Sea.

I was up at 4 am Friday morning trying to blog and upload pics which is a very slow tedious process along our route. Something I could get done in an hour or less at home takes several hours on the road. While we were waiting for the large tour bus to arrive that would take cyclists up to Payson, many cyclists entertained themselves by playing various games.

Jane Brouwer not happy she had a flat tire caused by picking up a wire from truck tire threads along the highway.

Bev helping me put on a sling for my hand so I can keep it up to reduce swelling

Christy Statemire balancing chair on her nose.

We got on the road about 11 to head up to Payson. We had a good trip up and stopped to get lunch at a Wendy’s I thought I would be smart and try to get a picture of one of the huge cactus we saw along the road. As I stepped into the dirt I felt I was attacked by a thistle like plant. They were very nasty and I had to use tweezers to pull them out as they stuck to my fingers as I was pulling them off my feet and skirt. I yelled to Ruth Heeringa who was going to take my picture not to come into the dirt as this thistle like plants were very nasty. Apparently they are called teddy bear thistles I think. I will be more careful. Barb Mellema says she wants to stay away from me as I seem to be accident pronged right now.

As we were riding up highway 87 which is the road we would have ridden, I realized I could not have done this ride. We hit 6 % grades and 118 degrees and the climb up and down was 60 miles. I could not have done it. It is a blessing that we have suspended the ride for 3 days. God may be telling us you were a little crazy to think you could do it In the first place. These extreme temps are a blessing in disguise.

When we arrived at our new campsite the men from the school and Parks service were very helpful and pleased they could help us. As it was unexpected we are very thankful we have what we have and are making the best of our accommodation. As we were at higher elevation sitting outside in the sun is not as difficult as when we were at sea level. Our current elevation is 5000 feet.

Our gear trailer arrived at 830 and we all scrambled to set up our tents in the dark as it gets lighter much earlier here 5 AM but the sun sets sooner as well. I did not get to sleep till 11 as all the remaining vehicles were arriving including our kitchen trailer and our bunk house/camp HQ trailer.

This morning I was wide awake again at 4 AM. I knew it would be a long time till breakfast so I went out to MacDonald’s for a coffee and to try to get Internet. Unfortunately they did not have electrical plug Ins and my computer ran out of charge. Ugh. I thought I had it plugged in in the gear trailer but the plug I was using was not working and I was not aware of that. Frustration.

Since we were not biking for several days, Barb Mellema did an amazing job of organizing a service project for the cyclists with Habitat to paint a home today. We had over 40 cyclists volunteer. We managed to get old shirts donated from the Humane Society for the cyclists to use so they would not get paint on the good clothes they had along. We managed to get one coat of fresh paint on the home in addition to cleaning up the yard. The home owner was very pleased and we felt blesse as well as being a blessing. Although we could not bike, God used us in an unexpected way to be a blessing and to be blessed. Thank you God for opening our eyes to how you use adversity to show us your grace and love.