Made it to the 3rd State - AZ

Well everyone I have finally made it out of Nevada and into Arizona!!! We had some really long hot days and ended up in towns that I am pretty sure are not even on a map. In Fallon, NV we had a great friendship visit with Fallon Industries, another organization that works with people with disabilities. We had a pirate themed party and dinner! There was a ton of amazing food, music, dancing, and singing. I sat at a table with an older couple, Norma and John, and their son, Dennis, who had a disability. They were the nicest people. We sat and chatted about everything, actually it was mostly me asking about Nevada and stuff about their family. It was great getting to know them and they loved what we were doing. They kept telling me that Journey of Hope was such an amazing thing and they told me they were going to pray for me the rest of the summer. The rest of the small towns we stayed in, we just had advocacy dinners sponsored by Lion’s and Elks Clubs in those towns.
All the other towns we went to had a population of about 10 and were in the middle of the desert! There was not very much. In Tonopah, NV there were a lot of closed silver and gold mines that a lot people struck it rich. But I really did think that I am from a small place in West Virginia. Now that I have experience very very small town USA, I am happy to be from where I am.
In my pace line we have also had a couple big wrecks. That has not been too much fun. Luckily, I have not been involved and some how escaped the bikes and bodies. Seeing the wrecks though, I have realized how easy it is to go down and how I need to ride as safe as possible. The main problem though was the wind. A big cross wind blew the cyclist in front of me down and somehow and swerved to miss him and the guy behind me hit me in the back and flew off his bike. His handle bars got stuck in my back spokes. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt. Just a couple bloody knees and arms.
Finally after riding all the way down through Nevada we made it to Las Vegas. I have never been here so this was quite an experience. We were here about a day and a half and really busy so we didn’t get too much free time. Vegas was definitely the best arrival so far! We rode up to the Las Vegas Leisure Service Center greeted by a summer camp full of kids holding Push America signs, the mayor of Las Vegas, and a city councilmen! The mayor and councilmen dedicated June 25, 2009 Push America Day in the city of Las Vegas!!! There were news stations there and a ton of people. It was amazing. I love it when stuff like this happens because it reminds people of the good still in the world. But at the center we played wheelchair basketball against a real wheelchair basketball team. We lost terribly though. That night we had a sponsored dinner at Harrah’s Casino which is right on the strip! This was by far the best buffet I have ever eaten! I stuffed myself, especially knowing that we had the day off from cycling the next day. That night I walked around the strip with a few guys seeing all the sites. And Vegas is pretty much how it is on TV. All lights, glamour, and tacky decorations. I don’t gamble, but it is a neat place to visit so I think I will come back. The Fountain Show outside of the Bellagio and Caesar’s Palace were my favorite places I went to. The next day we had a 8 am wake up and from then on out we were busy until about 8 that evening. Our visit was with Adaptive Recreation. A city ran organization for people with disabilities. We went to Preserve Springs, a nature preserve and museum in the middle of Vegas, with them and we were all assigned a buddy. My buddy for the day was Danielle. She was a lot of fun, although I don’t think she was too interested in the museum. We found a sandbox and she really enjoyed that! I met her parents later that night at the dinner at the Adaptive Rec. Center. They were great people. On a quick side note and fun fact-I did not meet any natives from Vegas. Everyone had moved here.
Today, we rode in the scorching sun to Bullhead Arizona. We dropped about 2500 feet in elevation in about 15 miles, but the temperature rose about 15 degrees. When we arrived at lodging it was about 118 degrees. We have a sponsored advocacy dinner tonight, which I can’t wait because I am starving. Tomorrow we have a 4:30 am wake up to beat the heat! As soon as I find internet connection fast enough to put more pics up I will and there are a few videos that I want to get up as well. So be looking out for them.
By the way, J.J. did great today biking and Max is the best Crew Chief.
-Joey H.