8-17-97
| The desert heat was getting to me so I drove late into the night trying
to avoid the worst of it. I wasn't very successful. Even after
dark, the heat was oppressive. I ended up in Yuma, Arizona where
I woke up to even more heat. I decided to visit the Yuma Territorial
Prison State Historic Park on my way out of town and found some remarkably
preserved cells.
The prison was in use from 1876 to 1909 and housed a total of 3,069 prisoners including 29 women. When you watch an old western movie, someone is either on his way to Yuma Prison or just getting out. It was greatly feared and after my visit, I understand why. IT'S HOT! That alone would be enough to keep me on the straight and narrow. |
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Speaking of hot, southern California is hot and dry. There's miles and miles of sand and sun but no beaches in sight. I drove for hours in landscape like this. I was pretty excited to see the ocean after that. |
| 55 miles east of San Diego on old highway 8 is the Boulder Oaks Resort. I stopped for gas and found an interesting story. Boulder Oaks was started in 1919 to service a rural area in the Laguna Mountains. For 75 years, it served the traveling public. Then in 1994, the U.S. Forest Service decided it was no longer needed and served the residents with eviction notices. The residents don't want to leave. Only time will tell who will eventually win the battle but I vote for the residents. |
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You'll never know how great the ocean breeze felt when I got to San Diego. I pulled over at the first beach I saw just to enjoy the moment and I found a stranded biker. Gordon Wright had driven down from Oceanside for a day at the beach when his Sportster developed an electrical problem. I think the coil was gone so a roadside repair wasn't going to happen. I gave Gordon a lift home so he could drive his truck back to the beached bike. I wished him good luck and headed north to the L.A. suburb of Canoga Park. I have a Works Performance shock on the back of the BMW that need to be rebuilt and Canoga Park is the home of WP. I'll call them in the morning to se if they can squeeze me in. |
