Mel & Trinity

I had an early start on Friday. I saw that the temperature in Phoenix would be around 45 degrees, so I thought that I better get to my cousins as soon as possible. I stopped off in Sedona for breakfast, which is a really cute little town. I ended up meeting two couples from New Zealand who are also travelling around the U.S. The one couple is from Aukland and the other couple from Christchurch. The latter made me think of my family in Christchurch which made me very happy.

The temperature was in the late 20 degrees Celsius in Sedona so very pleasant. It was a little overcast so I didn’t get photos but trust me when I say it’s lovely!

An hour south of Sedona I started looking at my temperature gauge on my bike. The temperature had steadily climbed into the 40s. Phew, it was getting hot! By the time I was in Phoenix the temperate range was between 44-46.5 degrees. I could feel the heat from the engine burning my calves, so I opened my legs every once in a while to cool my legs down. This is what the heat did to my legs.

I don’t have a SatNav on Trinity so I had to pull off the road a few times to check if I was still on the right road. I did go wrong once so my punishment was an extra 20 minutes in the heat. This is the first time it was cooler to ride with my visor down than with it up (the air was actually burning my face with my visor up). I was travelling on highway 202 or Santan Highway to get to my cousins. I have renamed the road Satan’s Highway, as no human being should be on this road in this heat.

Needless to say I was extremely happy when I got to my cousins. I was drenched in sweat, which was not a pretty sight, but I certainly made the most of my cold shower after a few glasses of water.

The slightly traumatic arrival into Phoenix was quickly eased by the setting sun. I have never seen a more amazing sunset. The photo below does not do the skyline justice but will give you a feel for it.

Nico, my cousin’s eldest son, is starting his studies at Arizona State University this week, so the weekend has partly been dedicated to getting Nico settled in. He had a party at their home on Friday night and then we took him to move into his residence on Saturday. Two things stood out for me about these events. Firstly, a bunch of 19 year olds having a party and there was no alcohol seemed completely out of place. I hadn’t appreciated that you can’t drink in the U.S. until you’re 21. Secondly, the heat really caught up with me on Saturday. I was not feeling great for nearly half the day. Dehydration is really scary!

I took the photo below just before we took Nico off to ASU. I love this photo!

Below are a few more photos that I took that morning. One of the photos was the ‘meat lovers’ for two people that Izaan and I decided to share. This plate could feed me for days. We barely put a dent in it. I don’t think I will ever get used to some of the portions in the U.S.

The evening’s activity was brilliant! We went to play Topgolf. It’s basically a driving range but has these circles that you want to hit your balls into as it gives you points. This place is huge! It reminds me of going bowling. It has the same type of social feel. It was so much fun! It also made me realise I need to take up golf (actually doing it and not just talking about it).

We had an early start this morning. I didn’t get to speak to my mom yesterday so that was my top priority. Following a quick stop at ASU to drop some things off with Nico, we headed north for the mountains. My cousins thought I’d enjoy the break from the city and the heat. They were right.

The landscape was so different along our route. The first section was rolling mountains covered by cacti. It’s the first time I’ve seen this many cacti. You can’t really see the cacti in the photo below but they must be around 3m tall. It’s so impressive to see.

Another 20 minutes drive north and the cacti disappeared to give way to low lying shrubs and then conifers. All in all it was a lovely drive!

The one thing I realised again this weekend is that when you love the company you’re in, it doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re doing, you’re just so happy that you are there. I’m so happy to have had the company of my family twice during my U.S. trip. It’s been such a blessing! I’m going to really miss you guys.