Okay, all the lists and the rushing around and packing are done. We hit the road at 7:57 AM. On time and ready to roll for the next 41 days.
As is typical, our first and last days driving on one of these trips are our longest days. Today we would leave Oceanside, drive through some very cloudy, foggy spaces going up Highways 15 and 215 until nearly 2 hours on the road.
Then we suddenly burst through all of the clouds and fog as we got to the high desert. Then it is sunny and blue sky. We are driving through the California desert seeing the Joshua tree desert plants pop up for the first time and lots of just low desert scrub and sandy soil.
Taking a road trip after a couple years break we have to get our selves back into the routine. We pack things in our minivan with the storage shelf that Dick constructed that goes over half of the side in the back. This allows us to put all kinds of gear, food and suitcases up above. And then, we also have a very nice napping area set up with foam rubber and pillows. Any time especially on these long days that one of us needs a nap, it is ready for resting.
One of the things that always happens on the first day or two is we take stock to see what we have forgotten on this trip. One year it was the camera battery charger. Last year when we were in Europe Dick forgot to bring his favorite pair of blue jeans along. So far we figure it out. No swimsuit for Dick. We’re hoping that’ll be a fairly easy thing to replace. These things happen… It’s part of the journey.
For people who wonder, Dick does more of the driving. However, he is very disciplined about noting when he is too tired or needs a break and always taps Patti to take her turn. This works out really well for us both.
We were able to do one of our favorite stops at Main Street Station Casino in Las Vegas for a hearty buffet lunch. That would give us enough energy to continue on because today’s drive would be 675 miles, about 11 hours.
We hit rain as we drove through southern Utah, a very hard shower and then a wonderful full rainbow. We felt this was a very good sign for our trip.
We would end the night in Provo, Utah really ready for a good nights sleep, but grateful that we had put a lot of miles behind us as we had off on this fabulous adventure. One of our favorite favorite areas on this drive is going through the Virgin River Gorge as we cut through the corner of Arizona. The canyon walls are majestic and make for beautiful drive. No matter how many times we do it, we are always impressed.
Dick shifted over into passenger mode and then took part in on online US Servas board meeting for two hours. Another of his fellow board members called in while camping in West Virginia. We noted that this was how board meetings often happen in the 21st century.
We were glad to check into our hotel, and decided to just eat out of our cooler and food boxes after the long drive. Time to sleep getting ready for our next day’s drive.
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