Ten East Travel Observations

1) I think it's swell and understandable that the State of California rest stops have a separate depository for cigarettes and cigars (safety's sake with the fire and such if these were deposited in trash containers) but why does it need a lock? Is there a risk of thievery?

2) Ate in Bakersfield at Salty's BBQ (can't imagine they used consultants to get a name that would appeal to the health conscious). Just as the honkytonk in "The Blues Brothers" had both kinds of music (country and western), Salty's has the best of both worlds - smokin' and grillin'.

3) Our daughter has quite the fondness for trains, exclaiming "Amtrak, Amtrak" when they pass (you may think our nonexistent four year old son would do this, but Jill is in college). She would have had plenty of opportunities for excitement as we headed into the high desert country, seeing plenty of trains, stationary and chugging along.

 

4) In Barstow, you can see one of the original Harvey Houses (the 19th century fast food oasis for the locomotive set, and landmark for fans of a certain Judy Garland musical western Judy Garland "The Harvey Girls" ). There you'll find a Railroad Museum and a Route 66 Museum (either one could both double for Ramshackle Museums).

5) For cheap travelers, have we got exciting news for you! Motel 6 now has a high speed Wi-Fi option! (It's extra, of course, but then so is the slower Wi-Fi option)

6) In Needles, we asked about the front desk clerk about the Wagon Wheel restaurant because we're suckers for anything involving wagon wheels. She told us it wasn't exactly a "refined" dining experience, more Southern country cooking. Yes, we ate there. Bonus: the place is located on Route 66.

7) Those of you who are fans of the comic strip Peanuts will be happy to hear there is a dog park in Needles named in honor of Snoopy's skinny, mangy brother.

8) Kind of cool to see the netting covering this bee transport truck. I suppose crashing into a hazardous waste truck would be worse, but this is one of those vehicles you want to give a lot of space on the highway. We wondered if the bee that attached itself to our car between Needles and Big River had escaped from here.

9) Driving along in the desert, we began to notice a number of bridges over washes (areas subject to flash flooding) with a great variety of names. Here are names of the washes bridged between Barstow and Needles: Iron, Ogata, Astrid, Hawes, Turtle, Ambose, Marble, Willow Springs, Macdonald, Haller, Hoff, Rojo, Neprud, Mustang, Clipper Valley, Fortress, Providence Mountains, Blind Hollow, Halfway Hills, Black Canyon, Newton, Southfork Piute, McGinley, Crestview, Woods, Homer, Watson, Fox, Lemming, Buzzard, but our favorite was the Chuckwalla Wash Bridge. (Wash bridges are not to be confused with the ditch bridges such as Ardis, Tank Tower and Arbol.)

10) Driving through the high desert, every turn is likely to present mountains or a rock formation presented in light and color with fierce, gob-smacking beauty. To our friends who believe that all nature is a product of random chance, as is our perception of it...well...let's say we just don't see it that way.

-- Dean and Mindy

Ten Far North California Travel Observations

This month, we're traveling to the farthest North, South, East and West churches we can find in California. Each week, in addition to church reports, we'll be reporting about our travels.

 1) As Jesus said, "This wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign." Well, we found one shortly after we got on I-5 North. A large home-made sign posted on a trailer truck read, "Saturday is the Sabbath; Sunday is the Mark of the Beast." Recently we visited some good folks at the Seventh Day Adventist church, and they didn't let us know about Sunday being evil. I'm curious whether it is best to skip Saturday to Monday (playing heck with the calendar) or do Saturdays twice.

2) Last week we were in Chicago for a late Christmas with our daughter and son-in-law and in Indiana for a wedding. We had snow expectations for the Midwest (like Cosby and Kaye in "White Christmas") but were disappointed. California came through with the holiday white; first with lots on Mount Shasta and more by the road along the way.

 3) The scenery was gorgeous, even with the bleakness of the desert (high desert -- low precipitation every year, but plenty of vegetation). Mountains covered with evergreens were all around, and snowy Mount Shasta dominated much of the time. A full moon shining on the Butte Valley would have been beautiful (sadly, it was cloudy the night we were there). In addition, Dorris boasts the highest flagpole west of the Mississippi.

4) I turned on the TV at the motel to see a couple engaged in activities that I would hope were a part of a loving marriage, but I have my doubts. I quickly changed channels but you'd think they'd understand we're on a church field trip. Otherwise, a nice room, a comfortable bed and clean.

5) There was a Mexican restaurant a short walk from the motel. The dining room seemed to be the living room for the family that ran the place -- kids watching Animal Planet on the TV and a treadmill as part of the decor. But the food was good, so all was well.

6) Train whistles! Amtrak's Coast Starlight and several freight trains come through the area every day.

7) The full moon rose above the mountains as we drove home. Wow. Sadly, no photo.

8) The motel offered a continental breakfast. I (Mindy) appreciated the hot coffee, and Dean had a pastry. We could have had oatmeal if we'd wanted it. The vending machine seemed to be in a midwinter slump, though.

9) We both had colds, so this was good practice travelling while ill. It will probably happen again this year. You don't want a picture of the mountain of used tissues, so here's another photo of Mount Shasta instead.

10) We paid $3.99 a gallon for gas on Sunday in Dorris after paying $1.79 a gallon for gas on Thursday in West Lafayette, Indiana.  In a Dorris market, a sixteen ounce jar of Jif Peanut Butter was almost $5, a couple of dollars more than you'd pay in most of the state. This is the price to be paid for living in the high country.

--Dean and Mindy