May 13, 2017 - Day 4 to CA - We made it to Ontario

YEAH!!  We made it to Ontario about 6:30 PM local time.  We traveled about 12 hours today.

This morning Larry got up and said it was going to be a great day.  Check out the sunrise.

 Here we go. Beautiful blue skies

 Thru New Mexico and Arizona you see lots of trains. The cool thing is you can see the all the cars at once. So if you are like me, sometimes when I am sitting at a railroad crossing waiting for it to pass, I count the cars. As we ride, I was trying to count them also.  No need to wait for them to cross are the crossing gate.  2 times counted today. One had about, 110 the other 125.   I could not get a pic of  a full train gut this give you an idea.

Trivia: Ever notice that some will have multiple engines?
How many engines are needed depends on the interaction between how much of a load you need to pull, and what the grade is up which you need to pull it. If you're taking a train over the Rockies on a steep grade, you might require a helper engine to be added to even a short train. But if you're pulling a load of empty flatcars on a straight and level track, you might get away with only a single engine, even though the train is longer. A long, heavy freight train on a steep grade can require eight engines—or even more!


First stop, Winslow AZ.  Larry has been wanting to stop there since last year.  Many remember the song:
"Take it Easy'".
Standin' on the Corner Park  is a public park, commemorating the song "Take It Easy", written by Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey, and, most famously, recorded by the Eagles. The song includes the verse "Well, I'm a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and such a fine sight to see. It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford slowin' down to take a look at me". 

My daughter and nieces have no clue of the song.  Hope you do.  Enjoy the pics.

 Even have a "flatbed Ford"

Just outside of town there is a small Memorial:

After we left Winslow the wind was really strong.  Kansas has nothing on Arizona.  

Look at the lean on everyone.  If was like this about 75% of the day.

As we are riding across NM and AZ, there is nothing for miles and miles.  Then all of a sudden you see a house.  Think about all the conveniences we have close to us.  Even the grocery store is probably an hour away. Better have a list and not for get anything.  Even gas stations could be 50 miles apart.  Better know how far you can go on that gas tank you have.

 At a gas stop today, Jenny pointed this out.  It is on the side of a Semi truck.  Pretty cool.

 As we head to Flagstaff , you can see the terrain changes and you see  snow covered mountains.  Ron was ready to go snow skiing

As we head towards Williams, there are pine trees.  You can sometimes smell them.

 As we arrive in William, I see this painted on the front of a building.  Pretty amazing.

I see this as we leave, this reminds me of why we are on this ride.  For all those that server.

Head out of William and towards the desert.

 With the wind being sooo strong, these little cuts in a hill gave us a few seconds of relief.  Again my neck is getting a work out. Larry has even made a comment that the wind gets under his helmet and feels like whip lash.

 Larry is geared up.  With no sheild, this mask helps with the dust and dryness.

This is what you see for miles.

 Heading our of desert as we head into CA.  YEAH almost there!!

 This is a DQ in Ludlow, by Jenny's law, we have to stop here and get an ice cream no matter what time of the day.  Even if it is 10:00 AM .  So we stopped.  I tasted great!!!  Nice break on a long day.

Look how many lanes on the highway.  We are almost in Ontario.

Summary: 
Temps = 48-95
Total Miles = 624
Total Loveland, OH to Ontario CA = 2294
Route = I40- I 15