California 2006 : High desert

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Monday, April 03, 2006

High desert

Today was a day of driving through deserts. Just as you became impressed by how massive one endless plain of sand and scrub was, another even larger one came along.

The day started the same as last week, with a trip to Albertsons to stock up on junk. This time Twinkies were purchased, with 50c off thanks to Gen's incredible coupon collection. We then headed up the windy mountain route 79, before hitting the Interstate and bidding LA's smog-covered valley goodbye. The land got less irrigated and grass gave way to sand.

We stopped for lunch at "In 'N' Out" burger. This is the fast food joint that McDonalds wishes it was. All the fries are made on the premises from REAL potatoes!

We then broke the journey at Calico Ghost Town. The guides describe it as "unsympathetically restored", which is being kind. The place was an old mining town, you have to pay $6 for the privilege of going in, and it turns out to be little more than a themed shopping mall with every other wooden shack housing a tacky tourist shop. The best bit was the "ATM Inside" sign carved in wood.

After that we turned off the main road and drove straight into the Mojave Desert. I've never been anywhere so quiet! There's a lot of flat barren ground, and then plateaus of black volcanic rock (complete with the bubbles left in when it cooled). There are meant to be wild tortoises that live there, but we weren't lucky enough to see any.

We drove from the edge of nowhere to the absolute middle of nowhere, which is a place called Shoshone. It's a genuine one-street town, but it does have a swimming pool fed by a natural hot spring that rises here. The motel has only four channels on TV and no wireless Internet access! I've grown accustomed to Orange County living standards...