Today a ride through the desert west of Wickenburg.

All day was on US-60 with reasonable shoulder and a lot less traffic than yesterday. I guess more of the traffic continued on US-93 rather than west on US-60 where the interstate (I-10) otherwise provides a reasonable alternative.

First three miles were in Wickenburg city and then wide open desert. First 12 miles were a gentle climb. Still saguaro cacti here, though fewer than I had coming into Phoenix.

Just on edge of town was a monument to the Wickenburg Massacre.

Text of the plaque for closer reading.

After it was cycling through wide open country. I stopped briefly in Aguila at 26 miles.

More places here to practice Spanish.

Picture above gives reasonable view of desert landscape. Still an occasional saguaro but otherwise sparse plants, often with an area around them of bare soil. I assume the roots spread out to take in moisture from a wide area around each plant. A few spots had a low bush or two and I even came past an irrigated field, but most of the terrain looked more like above.

Wenden was 49 mile mark and while the bar above was closed.

Supermarket did have a few things for lunch. Wenden bills itself as “Gateway to Lake Alamo”. Looking at the map, this lake is ~25 miles north.

After lunch cycled the last few miles to Salome. A light breeze had picked up, but fortunately most of the ride without much difficulty from wind or heat. Above is a picture of their 9/11 monument.