Betsy didn't sleep well last night, but I slept well. We ate a breakfast of dry granola and rolled out of Palo Verde heading north on Hwy 78. A moderate tail wind helped propel us past fields of planted grass, probably waiting to cut for cattle feed. Irrigated agriculture extended for 20 miles to Interstate 10. We turned East on Hobson Way and rode four miles to Blythe and ate a huge breakfast at the Quality Cafe. We crossed the Colorado River on a pedestrian bridge into Arizona. In a few miles we stopped at a rest stop on I-8 and got COLD water! Onward and upward on I-8 over the Dome Rock Mountains, gaining 1000 ft of elevation. The dominant Mojave Desert plants were shrubs, including olive-green creosote bush, palo verde, and occasional sugaro cacti. We left busy I-8 for quiet Dome Rock Road. More great scenery with chocolate brown, orange-ish, and light brown rocks on the hillsides (see photo). In Quartzite, we lunched inside a convenience store for the AC and the shade. Back on I-8 for 10 miles to US Hwy 60. We sped downhill for four miles to the hamlet of Brenda, seemingly in the middle of nowhere but with a small grocery store. After polishing off two quarts of Gatorade, we hit the road for 15 lonely miles to Hope and the Rambling Roads RV Resort. We got a shaded camp site under a metal A-frame for $12.50. Heavenly showers then dinner in the shade in front of the club house. A great place to spend the night. 76 miles today.
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