Holiday Inn Express Suites Barstow

We headed out about 630 in the morning. Jono, Michael, Steve and I met a the Chevron down the street from my house. We decided to go north through Pearblossom and the Mohave Deseret.

Headed north on the 15 toward Las Vegas and stopped here in Barstow for breakfest.

We'll see how exciting the freeway is and how far I get. Not my favorite kind of road but I am kinda looking forward to reaching AZ sooner rather than later. Not a California person I guess.
The freeway was the usual semis, motor homes and lots of gusty wind. Rte 99 is not a well-groomed highway but gutted it thru until Bakersfield to stop for rest and gas. Then it was out into the Mojave, love those joshua trees. A little further out into the desert ...

... to it, and they do nickel and dime you there. But, hey, it was something to do.

They used to mine silver there, and the 20-mule Borax team was a regular in town mining borate. To learn more you can go to the website: http://www.calicotown.com/index.php .

We stopped for a sarsparilla break at one of the cafes, and since we had Pasha with us, had to sit outdoors where it was 100 deg F in ...

... the Dam was built. It actually was really good especially as there are 29 Dams across the Colorado Basin managing water supply and energy needs. Then it was yes, you guessed it another Casino Special Buffet meal at a Casino!! !Meal was fab. All you could eat and drink for £20. Ribs were excellent. Tonight in Barstow, tomorrow LA.

The Kinseys

... an all-right guy and gave us directions down to the springs and some water for the Van.

The hike was a half hour down and a hour back, which was pretty beautiful. The springs were like an oasis in the desert and they were hot. Besides the random dudes walking around naked I would have to say it was a great place to stop for the afternoon.  Our evening was great spending quality time with Brook underneath the amazing desert stars.

In the 100s it was hot and arid and we had a fascinating drive for nearly 2 days crossing the famous agricultural lands growing oranges grapes for the famous raisins almonds grapefruit lemons and then changing to cross the mojave desert driving across arid parched lands spotting yucca plants, joshua trees and desert grasses. Flat with dry rocky mountians in the distance we really felt we ...

... snowblowers horoscope love match michelle baena at freeones futons at target one ass to ...

... ride took over and I stopped. Sadly the Motel 6's do not have artwork; but like the one in St. Geo this one had a pool and while I was flushed and ready for a plunge, it was surprisingly cold and I made it to 3/4 submersion and then just laid out on the lounger feeling content. A bit of a walk to the library for this entry (that's right, another disappointment with Sprint). Tomorrow I hope to be closer to the coast and fabled Rte 1. YAY!

... turn is now. And of course there was no guard rail, she had some tense moments then. It took us right into the fantastic town of Oatman. Oatman is patrolled by wild burros...aka jackasses. They roam free throughout the block-long town, watching stores like the Classy Ass, Outlaw Willie's, and Jackass Ron's. About 2 miles out of town we were approached by a stampeding, stomping, possibly rabid jackass. I guess he ...

... was quite amusing. Yes, we looked ridiculous taking pictures inside an IHOP but really, who cares? Back in the car, replaying "Pour Some Sugar on Me" which became our road trip theme song, we were quickly approaching Ghost Town (as I drive about 90miles per hour when it's night time and I can-HA HA!) We arrived at a true ghost town of a campground. Pickles had read on the website that there were camping cabins and that the grounds were open 24 hours...well, I ...