Distance to Date: 17,465 km / 10,825 mi

We are excited to be so close to home: Phoenix, AZ! It's been 13 months of adventures filled with people's kindness. We are currently in Tucson, Arizona (110 miles south of Phoenix) for a couple of days. We have some neat activities scheduled before we continue northward. Phoenix, we'll be there next week!

fter we left our last place of update, Los Mochis, the road became difficult. Road construction provided the first set of challenges. When the difference between dirt and pavement, debris and shadows, potholes and varying dirt colorations, and a whole slew of other things blend together, riding becomes a constant stop-n-go filled with frustration and foul language. Then the wide shoulder disappears and we're now battling with massive, long-haul trucks for space. Well, you know who wins in that situation. So eventually, we decided to go for safety and get on a bus for border.

In Nogales, Mexico, we are invited to a lavish taco meal. Taco this complex? All kinds of sauces, toppings and things you can add to personalize your own taco experience! Thanks, Martin, for the awesome meal! Mexico has been great -- hospitality, kindness and generosity. Onward we go. Getting closer. Just follow the arrows. A sad sight. We took down the Iron Curtain in Europe only to erect it up here. The final push to the border! Yes, Tauru is wearing a down jacket. It was COLD!! Okay, enough, let's get to the border! We cross without issues. Arizona! A moment to remember the journey thus far. Yes, there's still 6,000 miles to go, but no need to think about that at the moment. We take a lunch break with Mt. Wrightson in the background. It's winter in Arizona -- crisp, cool air with lots of sun. We stay in Green Valley with Mark and Laura -- thanks for hosting us! Mark is an avid cyclist who holds the world time record for cycling around the perimeter of Arizona. Can you imagine cycling nearly 200 miles a day for 8 days in a row? 200 miles for us... well, that's 4 (if not 5) days! We visit San Xavier Mission just 8 miles south of Tucson. We took our postcard moment before riding the rest of the way into Tucson. Yay, Tucson!