With the frau winging it back to Asheville I got back on the bike and started my cross country trip home.  My first stop was Salvation Mountain at Slab City near Niland, CA.  I had first heard of Salvation Mountain while reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.  Christopher McCandless spent time in Slab City before heading for Alaska.

Salvation Mountain is the work of Leonard Knight.  He bagan painting the mountain with Bible verses and religious art in an effort to acquaint people with his beliefs.  The mountain is constructed of adobe and straw and thousands of gallons of paint.

From Salvation I rode on through the Imperial Dunes and the Mojave Desert.  It was HOT!!!!  While riding through Scottsdale, AZ I saw a bank sign telling me it was 113 degrees.  Later while watching the news in my motel room the weatherman announced that it was a record heat day for June 1.

Along Highway 60 I saw this giant dirt devil.

Then on the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and the famous Saguaro Cactus.

Right now I am in Bloomfield, New Mexico.  I should be home sometime this week, but I am taking the back roads and US highways.  I also do not know what kind of weather I will have to deal with while riding through the mid-west.