Hope you get to make the trip. Let me know if you make it to the Galveston area or through there, could meet for a beer. My sis lives in Woodford, I only got to visit her few years ago in Hallum, but am planning to come down in a few years and hope to be able to ride down under. Good luck.

 

I rode from San Diego to Palm Springs over to Scottsdale and up to the Grand Canyon in August. It was 114 in the dessert but it was not as bad as I expected. 92 when I came out of the hotel in Scottsdale at 9am and it felt like 70 east coast temp.

 

My Harley trip planner the Big USA ride

 

Trip all booked and paid for fly in to Phoenix 5th October, picking up a Road King from Buddy Stubbs on the 6th October and off I go first stop is Green Valley AZ then Pima Air Musuem stay over Tombstone. Will post pics and vids on the trip

 

Head East from PHX, once you're up in the mountains it cools down. Payson, Mogollon Rim country and up to Alpine, AZ at 9,000 feet. Lots of great riding in Eastern AZ. Stay hydrated and use cooling towels. Rent an almost new machine from a Harley dealer. My experience with Eagle Rider bikes is they're rode hard and put away wet (to use a cowboy term). I grew up in AZ, when crossing the desert to L.A. or San Diego we always went at night. Pick a full moon night, if you can schedule it. It's magic.