As a Yankee from the New England states, I had no experience of desert terrain until a holiday to Baja California. I was surprised then to find great beauty in the desert. Furthermore, the lack of moisture in the air produced air clarity that was startling. Mountains in the far distance seemed as if one could merely reach out and touch them. At night it also seemed as if I could just reach out and touch the stars. I came to realize that advertising people were wrong. The Earth is not getting smaller. It is just as big as it ever was if we slow down life enough to see what is in front of us. I hope your experience cycling America is a as rich as my travels have been.