I’m traveling across southern Arizona on the second day of my 53-day BMW motorcycle ride to Canada and back and it’s really hot, making it a challenge for motorcycle filmmaking in the desert.
Riding Solo | AZ to BC | Episode 3
Details
- Distance: 303 miles
- Location: Arizona
- Start: Arivaca, Arizona
- End: Bouse, Arizona
- Roads: S. Sasabe Road, West Tucson-Ajo Highway, Ajo-Gila Bend, Old US-80, Salome Road, US-60. AZ-72
- Conditions: pavement
- Cities: Arivaca, Three Points, Gila Bend, Tonopah, Salome,
- Camping: Plomosa Road BLM
Backcountry Camping
Arivaca Lake in southern Arizona is a pleasant place to wake up. I’m carrying everything that I need for motorcycle camping and cooking in the backcountry.
Ajo, Arizona
I ride north through the small old mining town of Ajo, Arizona and the Tohono O’odham Nation before passing through Gila Bend and a stretch of old historic US Highway 80.
Great Bend of the Gila
A few months ago I made this video about the Great Bend of the Gila, a vast Sonoran Desert landscape that was a migration corridor for ancient peoples.
Motorcycle Filmmaking
My Fujifilm mirrorless camera is working like a beast and not overheating, despite temperatures that climb as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit at one point in the day.
Sonoran Desert Riding
I head northwest through the desert looking for a place to resupply and camp for the night. Fortunately, there is a lot of BLM land in the area just south of Bouse, AZ. This area is part of the Lake Havasu Special Recreation Management Area.
Motorcycle Camping in the Desert
The temperatures are still over 100 degrees Fahrenheit when I pitch my tent in the desert. It’s so hot that I don’t cook anything for dinner, but I sleep remarkably well under the vast star-filled desert sky.
