Oatman, Arizona and Los Angeles, California

Since October 24, 2010, we have been lazy and not keeping our daily notes uptodate. We have decided today on November 1, 2010 to head to Phoenix, AZ, which means taking the freeway again and driving through Palm Springs again. Palm Springs is a town located in the middle of the desert for rich people who live on fenced-in grounds with a private entrance. Weird feeling where the out-of-towner feels like an outcast. Not really exciting city where we spent only one night. In the campground, the only worry of the Park Ranger was to ensure we were paying our $ 15.00 night fee. With a temperature close to 35 degrees celsius at times, we have driven about 350 kilometers today. At that temperature, as there is absolutely no humidity, and with the wind blowing, your lips, mouth and throat become dry like sand paper after about 5 minutes. We try to stop as often as possible to ensure not to dehydrate. Another curiosity about Palm Springs is that it seems to be in a wind corridor, hence the dozens, maybe hundreds of windmills along the highway 10. Needless to say that when we drive the motorcycle, it is like receiving a free massage, you are shaken from the front to the back and you better hold on to stay in your lane. We wish we could have stopped to make some pictures there, but could not.


We have stopped tonight in a Motel 6 at 50$ a night in Blythe as we have dropped off our camping gear at TheMIGroup's Los Angeles office. We had contacted Tom Grohmann a few days ago as we were looking at giving up on our project to go to Mexico and were looking at spending maybe two months in Hawaii, then fly to Argentina and Chile to spend another couple of months there, which meant storing the motorcycles in Los Angeles. Great to see my former colleagues and visit the office. Good memories surface, but am glad to be away, for the time being, from the work environment.

In the end, we are going to check the ambiance in Mexico and see how it goes. If we run into issues, we will turn around and go back to L.A. to opt for the above mentioned option.

So in the last week, after leaving Vegas, stopping for half an hour at the Hoover Dam, we started by visiting a cowboy town, Oatman, close to what was a gold mine. This town should have become a ghost town like many in North America, but its inhabitants have decided otherwise and want to keep the soul of this town alive. It has also been able to keep its originality as it cannot grow. There is an Indian reserve on one side and a protected wilderness area on the other. This town has been used in the past for the making of some movies and even welcomed some movie stars like Clark Gable. Here everything is a reminder of the old good times : the sidewalks are in wood, and the inhabitants will dress up as cowboys every week-end and will impersonate cowboys fightin together. Another curiosity is the presence in the streets of burros, free to wander around. The visit of the unique hotel was fun, not because it is beautiful, but rather due to its originality. Most of the walls are covered with a real one dollar bills : the Bank Bar ! Again, a unique American way to decorate !

We had the opportunity to discuss with the owner of one store. Sitting on his chair, his reading glasses on his nose and a book in one hand, he does not really care about his potential customers, nor does he get stressed by a sale. He sells cowboy hats, leather belts and revolver holders, in short the basics for the perfect cowboy. He took the time to chit chat with us about his arthritis that has now disappeared. He is relaxed, interesting, and not concentrated by the width of his wallet. Just a pleasant time for us ! In short, a town to discover on Route 66 ! Ladies, beware of the burros !

and when Alain wants to adopt one, I veto it !

Los Angeles or the tentacular : We had seen Houston with its stressed drivers, in a rush, ready to drive over you to get to work or whereever. Las Vegas was interesting too with its continuous activity, his flow of tourists, of players, of dreamers and its noisy night life. Los Angeles is not deceiving : Hundreds of kilometers of intertwined freeways, in cement, with 4, 5 or even 6 lanes on each side, a plethora of trucks, cars, 4X4, RVs and a few motorcycles who zip between each lane. Scary at times !

We found a RV campground about half a mile from Disneyland. Again, an extremely noisy environment which makes us wonder how people can live in this constant noise. We will confess that thanks to the use of ear-plugs, we survived ! and after a few days, we almost got used to the noise too.

We had seen Disneyland 24 years ago and could not leave Anaheim without going there again, to visit what had enchanted us so much ! We are there again. Not much seems to have changed and our memories come back to the surface. It may be less crowded than before though, but let's not forget it is the end of October. The Indiana Jones attractions is the one we enjoyed the most this time with the roller coaster in the dark in the sky with the stars. We are big kids !

We were there at the opening and left at the closure after the Halloween Parade. Although the magic may not have been there this time, we had a great day!

Our stay in Los Angeles had to include going back to Hollywood and see the houses of the Stars. We went there incognito and nobody recognized us this time. We went back to Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard, Mulholland Drive and so forth. The houses on the hills are for some of them on pilotis and don't have much land. Really, we are still in Los Angeles and therefore it is still noisy.

We could not be in California without spending a couple of days on the beach, in the State Park close to Laguna Beach to be more precise, called Chrystal Cove. It is a protected area from developpers. This place has also been used several times for the shooting of some movies, like the Pirats of the Carribeans. Alain enjoyed the sea (isn't he handsome when he works on an ad for a new shower gel ?)

and the second time we went, we took a nap on the beach...

Here are the maps of where we have been so far.