November 12 - We drove 503 miles today - 36.6mpg
Left the hotel at 9am in 75 degree weather - people are in the pool 🏊🏼 looks so inviting! Our GPS says we have 444 miles ahead of us to get to our next hotel in Bakersfield. We ended up driving a few more thanks to a situation described in a photo caption below.
First pit stop after leaving Phoenix - Quartzite is located on I-10 in Arizona, near the California border. We stopped here to change drivers and get a coke at McDonalds. Also set the time back an hour in preparation for entering Pacific Standard Time.
Nice sign for a one-street town.
Across the street from McDonald's are these 2 enticing stores. Did we succumb? We'll never tell. Although we do say, "And why not?".
At 10:35, we passed into California - and our last time zone change.
Ride 'em cowboy! We also saw this type of sign with "Bing Crosby" and "Bob Hope" street names but cranking up the cell phone to take a photo is a challenge when the phone needs to be shaken awake from its "sleep" mode with a 6 character password and various fiddling. And all this happening at 80 mph.
These windmills look like aliens along I-10. So many of them - looks we're being invaded! It's apparent that Roswell has shaken us to the core!
Nice scenery and at times we had the road to ourselves....something we had begun to assume was our right. We don't have to cherry pick for photos like this, either.
And then we hit civilization...this is a Saturday afternoon. Hate to see what it's like on a weekday. It's 91 degrees outside - middle of November. Yes, there is global warming!
This all happened because we were inadvertently diverted from I-10 near L.A. due to the pilot's very momentary distraction by some idiot driver next to him. Getting back to I-10 involved pooping about on three other highways, this one being Highway 71. How do you have gridlock on a Saturday at 2pm on a five lane road? No accident, just a mass of cars with many drivers desperately in need of anger management therapy. On top of it, our witch of a GPS kept saying a strident voice "2 minutes have been added to your driving time", then "3 minutes have been added to your driving time"...and more. Serenity now, serenity now!
When we drove on I-5 down the mountain from the Angeles National Forest, we came across this smoggy sight. It looks like fog but it's horrible smog with a nasty smell. Peeuww - how can anyone live in this?
It show up well in black & white.
We arrived at our hotel, just off I-5 outside Bakersfield, at 4:15pm. Weather is 78 degrees - time for a beer!
Tomorrow, our last day on the road, we shall savor every mile as we head back to the Promised Land and good friends....and a washing machine of our own.
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