Desert

The western half of the route was largely desert. West Texas to the Rockies is the Chihuahuan Desert. West of the Rockies is the Sonoran Desert. Typical are the bare landscapes and dry arroyos. There's no shade for the cyclist.

By the time we reached California's Chocolate Mountains and Algodones Dunes, the temperature was in the 100s. We got up at dawn to avoid riding in the heat of the day.