Pearls On Wheels

Something wonderful happens when we sing. Joy, freedom and peace. Singing a Capella liberates the soul. Introspection and over thinking disappear. I forget I am on a motorbike and the wonder that is under my helmet is free to listen and to create. For the first hour or so I became very aware of the wind as we rode along. Wind, wind blow on me... It did, songs came... about reconciliation. We stopped for coffee and this tiny stone in a dish peeped out from beside the muffin basket. We were at Lee Vining near Lake Mono where the third and fourth generations are working on water conservation. Water rom Lake Mono goes to Los Angeles in underground aqueducts. The lake is much smaller now. Water conservation projects and restoration of the lake environment have been underway for years. Then on the road through Yosemite National Park. Yosemite is a very large stone - 80 x 40 miles of granite shaped by glaciers. The grandeur of this huge stone made my heart sing. ...

...and my fears were washed away. I confess I wasn't looking forward to the forecast 116degF(45degC) in Death Valley. As it turned out I had false expectations about the day. That's the way fear operates... False Expectations Appearing Real. We left Las Vegas at 5.45am so that we could ride through the cooler part of the day. As we rode through Pahrump the sky had an eerie glow. By the time we entered Death Valley National Park, the temperature was a cool 28degC There were flooding road signs And some surface flooding The mountains were multihued.. Lightening bolts danced from hill top to hill top and began to dance down to the desert. Thunder rolled and the rain, gentle rain, fell and cooled us. I have never seen such a spectacular lightening display. At Badwater -268' below sea level (85.8m) the rain drops cooled us. These salt flats reminded me of Bonneville and the clever kiwis who created a new land speed reco...

Here's a man attempting a serious challenge. My breakfast bacon has similar colouration and striations to the geologic strata of the Grand Canyon . Note the absence of hash browns and toast. They would have reinforced the analogy. On one side of this narrow path And on the other... In the far distance he can see the runway at South Rim. You can too, if you look to centre left - in the distance. Location: North rim to Las Vegas. 479km, 16,921km so far

Tree seedlings find crevices in rocks where water collects. They grow. When the drought comes part of the tree may die and this allows the remnant to survive. Tree roots work their way along to other crevices where water collects. This enables their survival. A metaphor for those who find themselves in dry places. Sometimes lightening may strike. This is a natural event. The ensuing forest fire clears the debris and allows new life to begin. Location: North Rim, Grand Canyon