I surfed washboard to the Salome highway, then headed into the town of Salome, where I picked up some pizza for next to nothing. From there I headed south through RV land down to the interstate.

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57 km/35 mi

I went again to the restaurant this morning, to get breakfast but also to take advantage of the free internet. See, I realized there was a bit of a problem with my planning: I was looking at going through Parker to Twenty Nine Palms, but that meant 110 miles and 1500 feet of elevation gain with no services and the possibility of nowhere to stay along the way. It might be that's no big deal, but I'm not really interested in risking it.

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69 km/43 mi

The day started in a desert dreamland: I left the campsite and headed to the village of Estrella, not even on the maps yet it is so new. It's a sort of purpose-built cookie cutter city, premade with golf course, fast food joints and familiar grocery, in the hills far enough away from the angst and trouble of Phoenix.

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101 km/63 mi

I found out early Saturday that my friend Carrie's parents had moved to Mesa, not far from Fountain Hills, just the month before! She set me up with them, and I headed the twelve miles to their house.

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101 km/63 mi

The day started with rain, then some freak hail. Finally got a chance to try my rain gear: worked pretty well.

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