A Change of Scenery

Sorry to be out of touch. Three posts below.



Las Vegas makes me feel weird. As you know, the name is Spanish for “I just lost my life savings in a building that looks like a cartoon.” Although some translate it as “We have no natural water source, but the ribeye’s only $6.99!” It just doesn’t seem to belong, like a big, civilization-sized Oops.

We left Kings Canyon at a brisk 36 degrees and very light snow flurries. Elise and I went to the visitor center to collect her nine hundred and fifth junior ranger badge. I was marveling at the number of folks who had rolled into the campground on Thursday. Then Danine reminded me it was Memorial Day weekend. Huh, weekenders.

The descent on Highway 180 wasn’t bad at all in second gear, unless you were in a hurry and behind me. I pulled off when it was reasonable and let folks by, of course. By the time we got to Fresno it was 71 degrees and dusty, dusty everywhere. We felt good and kept at it, cruising down Highway 99 and thinking we’d stop overnight in Bakersfield. But once we arrived, we still felt good so we started heading East, this time, more or less, for good.



The green conifers had turned to orchards and vineyards and vast stretches of farmland. We pointed to it and told Elise, “This is where much of the fruits and vegetables we eat come from.” “Cool,” she said. The strip malls and freeway ramps in Bakersfield broke up the transition to the desert. As we left it behind, we looked out on an endlessly fascinating landscape of tan, rolling hills and surprisingly colorful stony mountains in the distance. Here, the sky becomes part of the view again and the clouds were busy: we seemed to be following a modest rainstorm as drove.



As we crossed the southern tip of the Sierra Nevadas, the road climbed and the tan hills became dotted with live oaks. At the top of the pass, we looked out onto the Mojave. Not since Anza-Borrego had we seen it and now it was everywhere again: creosote. Our goal was to get to Barstow and stop for the night before heading to Las Vegas and the Hoover Dam.



Still feeling good, we passed Barstow and stopped at the rest area 35 miles farther on. Not much to recommend about the rest area, but it was a convenient place for the night. We slept a little fitfully, but still restfully and always with the sound of diesel engines thrumming nearby. It rained a long time, off and on, during the night and early morning — and it isn’t hot, it’s around 60.

Friday’s long drive made today’s pretty short. We met Las Vegas in the morning, shining absurdly in the brown desert waste. That’s why it makes me feel weird. The waste was much more pleasing to the eye. Elise was impressed though, particularly by Excalibur (cartoony castle) and New York, New York (cartoony New York skyline). She also said they looked, “Cheesy.”

We’re staying at an RV park in the southeast of town, for convenience. We are hoping to go to the Ethel M chocolate factory, Lake Mead, and the Hoover Dam.