New Adventures

I just returned from a 3-day, non-stop, whirlwind, go where the wind takes you kind of road-trip. So I thought I'd fill ya'll in.

We started in Palm Desert, on Wednesday evening and drove to 29 Palms that night. Apparently it's a big Marine base in the middle of the desert, so I don't suggest messing with anyone if you ever take a trip there. While driving aimlessly around that night, we stumbled upon a drive-in movie theater, a treat for me since I had never been to one. We followed all of this up by driving to a Best Western parking lot, setting up shop, and sleeping in the trunk of a Chevy Equinox all night. Now, for all of you who think this sounds like a good idea...come talk to me first. Granted, I tend to feel like a giant when it comes to small confined spaces, but honestly, it was like trying to fit a square peg in to a round hole. Needless to say I woke up early, not very rested, but excited to start the day of driving.

Leaving 29 Palms we had no real destination in mind, only that we were going to head in some general east direction. We hopped on the first small highway visible on the map, determined to get off the beaten path. What started as a bleak, rundown looking road, we soon found out was Route 66. Yes, the road the song was written about, the road that at one time supported the steady flow of cross country travelers hoping to explore our great country, but which now supports a steady flow of........nothing really. Just the occasional group of 40+ tourists riding rented Harley's in hopes of, as the song goes "get their kicks on route 66". It was exciting though, driving through deserted gas stations and hotels, trying to picture all the traffic that once traveled this route.

Continuing on, we crossed the CA-AZ border and continued to follow the old trail. We found some amazing road-side stops to make, but one that sticks out in my mind was Oatman. This town is nothing but a giant tourist trap. It is at the foothills of the mountains, and essentially consists of Burros being used as tourist magnets like Disney uses mouse ears. We were forced to sit in this town for around 20 minutes because an old-west street show was blocking the entire road, talk about corny, and yet people are drawn to this cheap masquerading of false history and crappy cowboy costumes. As we sat, burros milled around out car being fed carrots by children, and it finally came to me. No matter how corny this town may be, it doesn't make sense to seethe about how distasteful it may be, or the money wasted in this small town, what matters is that people were laughing, having a good time and enjoying the opportunity. So as the chip on my shoulder slowly filled in, I gave in to the hopelessly calm looking ass next to my door and got out to take a picture with him. And as I put my hand on his side as if to say "ya know what Mr. Burro, I don't think you're that bad after all," he promptly turned and walked away. Karma's a pain sometimes.

I'm getting a bit long-winded, so I'll continue the rest of our travels in the next blog...stay tuned.