Day 7 of riding, a day of climbing

We have been on the road for a full week and have covered about 450 miles! After breakfast, left the Quality Inn in Kingman, AZ just before 7 am.  We drove east 20+ miles on I-40 to the US 93 south exit where we left off yesterday.  Russ was on the road pedalling under clear skies, 76 degrees and no wind before 7:30.  It was a beautiful day!  This part of I-40 had a great shoulder with plenty of room and light traffic.
Changes occured today in elevation, topography and vegetation. Russ did great with the upward climb, in fact, he accomplished 3917 feet of climbing today!

These particular signs show some of the change in elevation.  The lower picture shows some of the time we spent on the actual road. (right lane of three lanes - for slow traffic in the climb) You might be able to see that this section of the shoulder was ROUGH! You can also see a small amount of tire debris.  It is really unbelievable how many tires and pieces thereof are on the shoulder of this particular road.  We are VERY thankful, however, that we have just seen the pieces that have landed on the road, we have not witnessed any of them flying off vehicles!

 We watched for elk...we didn't see any.  We did see some cattle though, the first on the bike trip!

 Pretty hills, we are seeing more types of vegetation, it's a little greener and not so hot.

 Once again, our breaks were taken under overpasses.  Anything for shade!!

 Headed downhill, beautiful mountains ahead.

 Again today, some interesting names of roads.  I'd like to live on Jolly Road...you'd have to smile!

 More beautiful scenery.

The last few miles were on a VERY rough shoulder once again.  We stayed on it because of the heavy traffic, it would have been too dangerous on the road.  Russ got jarred around a lot, but we made it!  Interestingly, even though we had to ride on the road for a bit and the traffic was heavy, I had such a sense of security and peace.  I have a feeling that has to do with all of your prayers for us.  The song that kept running through my head today was one that Danny and Leta Hollis would sing in the praise band.  Danny, I'm not sure if you wrote it, but the words spoke to me today!  Some of the lyrics I remembered were:

Oh Lord, you have been good, you have been faithful to all generations

 But by your hand, we have been fed, and by your Spirit we have been led.

 We arrived in Saligman, AZ at 12:20 after 52 miles of riding. Unfortunately, we ate a Subway sandwich before we came upon this restaurant:

We drove to Peach Springs where we are spending the night at the Hualapai Lodge.  We've alreay enjoyed the pool and hot tub and are enjoying some relaxation.
Once again, thank you for your prayers!  We can feel them and appreciate you lifting us up.
Until tomorrow,
Russ & Carol