GO AZ Motorcycles Peoria
We are rolling west from our sponsor Goaz Motorcycles of Peoria. It’s a nice morning , warming up nicely from a cold start. El Presidente has just given our ride meeting for the 2023 Joshua Tree Tour Ride. Our trip will take us West to the Joshua Tree National park in the Yucca Valley/Twenty Nine Palms area of California. Day one is to get to Yucca Valley, have lunch, look around and have dinner. Rolling west felt good, temperatures were rising and the pace was good. El President was out front keeping up a steady pace. Riding thru Wickenburg our first stop was gas in Parker, a favorite stop at Terrible Herbst Chevron provided a nice break for all. Next will be Yucca Valley but probably not in time to make the lunch stop, but we will stop there anyway and check it. Arriving in Twenty Nine Palms there was lotta activity, looked like a flea market with street vendors. El Presidente, Victor Castaneda had to try the restaurant on the main street called Castanenda’s ( a local chain in the area), Others went on their hotels to check in and other activities..
Joshua Tree Nat park is the big attraction of this area but there are some other local attractions. The first is Pioneertown a restaurant /music venue close to town. The other is the INTEGRATRON (https://www.integratron.com), famous for Sound Baths, officially in Landers, CA. One of our riders had an appointment that day for a bath. Others found local eateries, while some went to Pioneertown (https://visitpioneertown.com/visitors-guide-2), for dinner. Food at Pioneertown is always know as good. A number of us waited awhile to get in to sample the foods.
Day2 we would meet up at John’s breakfast joint (https://www.johnsplaces.com) a real bargain breakfast joint with great food and plenty of hot coffee. It was 35 degrees overnight. After breakfast we met up at the local Super 8 and a rolled out for the EAST entrance to Joshua Tree National Park. We rolled into the park and was treated to amazing scenery, vistas and rock formations. We were heading to the south exit and stopped for a break along the road for some views and wildflowers/ We were very lucky that park traffic was very light this day. Rolling out of the South entrance across the I-10 we are now heading toward the Salton Sea on the Cotton Spring/Box Canyon Rd. A nice change on this trip was the little bit of curvy road were had and a few jaunts through the citrus/date groves near the Salton Sea before getting on CA Hwy 111.
We are riding south along the east coast of the Salton Sea… This rd crosses close to the shores of the sea offering a nice view of the past history of the area. Once upon a time the Salton Sea was a playground for Hollywood and was considered the place to be. Over the years of draught and other changes to the area it had become pretty run down and ignored. This year the water levels are way up changing the landscape drastically from the views of years past. I still would not put my skin in the water even though the pullout from the road says BEACH.
We arrive in the sleepy town Niland at the well known(maybe only known) Buckshot Deli & Diner(facebook.com/Buckshotdelidiner) for some much appreciated lunch. Some southern cal friends met us at the restaurant for a visit. The food was great. It’s getting time to go home. El President and I decided to take a quick look at this place called SLAB CITY near Niland. Slab City is an off-the-grid alternative lifestyle community consisting largely of snowbirds in the Salton area. It is Dubbed “the last free place” by its residents, the infamous encampment is holding on to its anarchic roots. (https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/slab-city-california-desert/). It was a quirky place, well worth a look and maybe a stop next time this way… From here its home, we selected I-10 and went via CA Hwy 78 through the Glamis/imperial Sand Dunes. On the way we encountered some of our riders having a meet and greet with an Imperial County Sherif, fortunately no performance awards were granted. Hwy 78 can at times be a motorhome showroom but was amazingly quiet for a Sunday afternoon.
Thanks for coming out for a nice weekend on the bike. Thanks for our Southern California Motorcycle brothers for coming over to ride with us. It was a good weekend of sharing miles, friends and some good motorcycle therapy.. It’s now the countdown to the 20th Anniversary ride. Make your plans and get your hotel arrangements made. Make sure you sign up for the ride !!! We look forward to seeing you again soon !!