Mill Valley, CA (9:30AM) to Golden Valley, AZ (9:10 PM). 623 miles.
Tunes: The California Mix (Eagles, Linda Ronstadt & Jackson Browne)
Audiobook: The Number One Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
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I forgot that today was going to be my longest day on the road, so I really kicked myself for getting a late start. I texted my host in Golden Valley along the way to update her on my ETA. Unlike other AirBNB hosts, she was totally cool with a late arrival. So, then, I just relaxed into the day.
John navigated us smoothly through the Bay area snarl (maybe it was a good thing to have missed rush hour) and got us headed in the direction of Stockton. This excited me to no end as visions of Jared, Nick, Heath and Audra danced like sugar plum fairies in my memory. The Big Valley (or The Pig Valley, as I called it, starring Miss Barbara Stan-pig) played a seminal role in developing my fan-girl. What is it about middle-school girls and horses?
However, we turned south towards L.A. before getting to Stockton. Sigh. I tipped my proverbial hat in the Barkleys’ direction.
Freeway signs warned that the ticket for texting while driving was $161. As I am now a reformed seatbelt-wearer, I kept my phone in my purse and hoped fiddling with my GPS didn’t count.
The highlight of yesterdays trek down most of California was entering the Mojave desert at dusk. The mountains there were a completely different kind of animal as compared to their cousins up north; bare, tumbled rock stacked like the spines of prehistoric lizards. At first the landscape seemed stark, but it owned every color of brown (slate, white sand, bloody rust). Sage, scrub and Joshua trees dotted the sear plains. I rolled down my window in the 93° heat to get a whiff of the parched, pure air. And as darkness crept out from the rocky shadows, the thrill of it–me in the desert with nothing but stars and a few trucks trundling beside me–snapped me awake with joy.
To get to Melanie and Mel’s place, I had to take a twisty, two-lane highway through a tip of Nevada (instant Casino-land) and into Arizona. We didn’t get lost once. Melanie ran out of the house with her arms wide in greeting. How lovely to have this funny, caring stranger waiting for me!I got a big basement room, complete with kitchenette and composting toilet, with a walk-out onto a fabulous garden, where you have another composter (I start checking the composter reviews myself, this thing is quite a nice one). Very cool art on the walls, too.
I’m sorry I can’t stay and enjoy the desert ambiance. It’s 7:14 and I’ve got to shower and get going. Today I go to Durango and meet another bloggy friend, Robert.
And I shant be late.
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Apr 07, 2016 @ 12:21:24
Oh what I’d give to blaze through the land of inferno heat and lizards!! Durango will be a treat for sure. Your nephew would love the beautiful cowboy country. 🙂
Apr 07, 2016 @ 21:43:35
It’s a different breed of cowboy than the Okies, right?
Apr 09, 2016 @ 11:40:02
Indeed… Though I think the rugged life of living on the plains and mountain valley are probably much the same. I would make a terrible cowgirl. No sleeping under the stars with the risk of a snake curling up beside me! GADS!!! 😀
Apr 09, 2016 @ 18:49:40
Wow, and I’m a MUCH bigger weenie than you are, Lori. I’ll just wave at the cattle as I drive by.
Apr 07, 2016 @ 13:23:26
MARVELOUS! SandySue I did not know (or don’t remember) that you were going that far! I guess I thought you were dipping into Oregon and maybe a wee bit of northern Ca, but this is Fantastic. I got to spend 17 days in Arizona 2 yrs ago: from her home in Phoenix my cousin and I drove to the canyons, the petrified, the painted… with a few comfortable hotel stays. Love your writing about it, your writing, prehistoric spines…
Apr 07, 2016 @ 21:40:33
The place really is magic.
Apr 07, 2016 @ 14:18:12
Sounds fantastic!!! I love your descriptions of the desert.
Apr 07, 2016 @ 21:38:51
Alien landscape.
Apr 07, 2016 @ 16:16:12
I lived in Stockton for 2 very long years. You didn’t miss much. 🙂
Apr 07, 2016 @ 21:38:14
*chortle* I’m not really surprised.