The trip has its moments, as all do: the ups and the downs; the wins and the losses. Some elements are going smoothly on this second cross-country haul with two dogs in the back seat of an SUV that can pull a 20-foot Base Camp Airstream trailer.
Michael can hook up the rig and attach the ball to the cup, engage the brakes thru a Bluetooth connection and complete the hitch. I know the way to store food in the small frig and lower compartments. I anchor the pots and pans in dish towels and prep everything in the camper kitchen for the rock n roll of the rig on the road.
What’s new on this return route? It is April, not December. We have light until 6:30 or 7:00 pm. And we have warm days. On the first and second day, we find ourselves crossing the California desert in 98-degree seriously rigorous conditions. Evenings are dry and cool, but mid-day takes endurance at Joshua Tree National Park where dogs are not allowed on the trails and we can’t leave them in the car. The trails are busy with eager hikers. The park rangers are able to be cheerful and helpful in spite of so many visitors. We arrive mid-afternoon in a place called Salome AZ, a second flat land, sparse desert stop where ATVs cruise through sagebrush along miles of dirt trails. We could press on, but decide to wait it out through the afternoon hours, test the AC in the camper, use the Rv site’s swimming pool, and clean shower. Everything, including poodles, gets really dusty from the 25 – 35 mph winds that are a welcome buffer to this heat.
Our morning departure takes a bit of self-negotiation. On the one hand, the WiFi and cell service are strong enough to sit in the coolness of the quiet desert and catch up on the world. On the other, the quicker we get out of this place, the better because the heat is coming. Get going!
Good-bye Salome, Arizona. Note: we were here! We did not see a soul driving through the town on Rte 60. Gotta love Rte 60. It is in great condition, even though Rte 66 gets all the attention. Empty desert. Beautiful in its subtle undergrowth, but scary and dry. I expect that life is lean for people who live here. But I don’t know. I don’t meet them.
We are avoiding the I-15 traverse from Barstow to Las Vegas. It would be more direct, To reach our cross-country interstate route I 40, we make the diagonal traverse through Prescott National Forest of Arizona to Flagstaff for another 2-night stop.
Weather will dictate whether we make the trip straight across or turn north sooner onto I 70 – that would take us through Kansas City and St. Louis.
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