It has been a long time since we have felt as clean and organized as we did when we left St. George. A state that, as experience shows, never lasts long😊.

Our bags became a little more chaotic after our stop at the supermarket, where we couldn’t hold back at the bargain prices at the specialty cheese counter. Even the Swiss chocolate in this store hadn’t yet undergone the tariff-related price increase. So we went for it😊! We didn’t care at all that we had to carry a bit more weight over a small pass into the state of Nevada because of the spontaneous bulk purchase.

After a long, fantastic descent through a barren desert landscape, we reached the town of Mesquite. From here, there was soon no alternative to the wide shoulder of Interstate 15. Shortly before the interstate entrance, we met Baldur, a sympathetic cyclist from Germany. He joined us, or rather led the way, so that we covered the 30 kilometers of freeway in his slipstream in no time at all. The three of us cycled as far as Moapa Valley, where we said goodbye to Baldur again after having lunch together. We spent a break day here on the laptop while he cycled on.

Not necessarily rested but satisfied to have published the last report, we set off the next evening in the direction of Las Vegas. On the way, we visited the Valley of Fire State Park, which we remembered from our last trip as being somewhat more overwhelming. But the walk through a small slot canyon was quite nice and we were able to fill up our water at the visitor center.

The ride into Las Vegas was very relaxed on four-lane roads with little traffic. And since our Warmshower hosts lived in a nice suburb, we didn’t had to go into the city center. We felt so comfortable and welcome in their lively family home that we spent a whole four nights here instead of the planned two. This was despite the fact that the Swiss mountain dog Douglas had sneaked into the guest room and devoured the last of our cheese supplies with great gusto. Normally we would have welcomed his tummy ache, but we had been forewarned and had accidentally left the door to the room open. As a result, we felt guilty and he was plagued by his cheese belly😊.

Although we only visited the casinos on the Strip from the outside, the days in Las Vegas flew by. David had a blast playing pinball at the Pinball Hall of Fame museum and we both fed a one-armed bandit in a dark gambling den on Fremont Street in “old” Las Vegas. The machine happily swallowed our four dollars and would have given us 50 cents back if only we had found out how to redeem the winning ticket😉. The musical “Little Women”, which we attended with our host family in a library away from the hustle and bustle, also provided excellent entertainment.

After four days in Las Vegas, it was definitely time for us to leave. Our US visa was only valid for another eight days and we still had 700 kilometers and over 7,000 metres of altitude ahead of us before we reached the border with Mexico. After leaving Las Vegas and the Interstate 15 highway behind us, we cycled on small, asphalted roads across strangely sloping plains through the barren landscape of the Mojave Desert. Even from a distance, we could see the next climb approaching, which typically traversed a mountain range in a straight line for 30 kilometers. The climbs were tough and challenging, but were always rewarded with an equally straight, fast descent. It was only in the scenic surroundings of Joshua Tree National Park that the road became more winding, weaving between granite boulders and gnarled Joshua trees.

Following many recommendations, we headed for the small, tranquil border crossing at Tecate to enter Mexico. The direct route there took us over the beautiful Santa Rosa Pass and into the village of Julian, famous for its apple pie. Looking back, we cannot recommend either of these: The narrow pass road with blind bends was no joy to cycle on. No one expected obstacles such as cyclists on the road. Even with oncoming traffic, we were overtaken without slowing down and feared the hair-raising overtaking maneuvers for two hours. It’s no wonder that most bikes are taken out on the back of pickups!

The ride towards Julian wasn’t much more pleasant, but at least we were now pedaling towards the apple pie. And because we had been looking forward to our snack so much, we did what you do with tourist traps: we stepped in😉. We followed our noses into one of the many bakeries and treated ourselves to a slice of apple pie, an apple in a pastry case and a filter coffee to share. For 20 dollars plus the obligatory tip, we got cardboard dishes, plastic cutlery and not particularly tasty pastries. What a pity, but we ate it anyway😊.

Thanks to long riding days, which often ended in the dark because of nice encounters, we were well on schedule. On our last night in the USA, we camped only about 15 kilometers from the controversial border fence and rolled comfortably to the border crossing in Tecate the next morning. The atmosphere was very peaceful and relaxed and the Mexican border officer took the liberty of initially refusing to hand us the fee-based entry form. It was only when we pulled out our Swiss passports that the entry formalities were suddenly completed quickly and easily. Contrary to all warnings and fears, we felt completely safe in Tecate on the other side of the border fence. We withdrew cash with no worries and passed countless delicious-smelling food stalls on the way to our host Carlos. Mmmh…, we had been looking forward to the food in Mexico for a long time! Luckily, we can manage at taco stands, bakeries and breweries even with knowing little of the language. Unfortunately, our ambitious plans to learn Spanish had fallen short and we have to get used to not being able to talk to people again. However, we now have plenty of opportunity to practice …