Saturday, May 24, 2003
Thursday
After checking out of my hotel room I drove in a big rectangle so I could see The Strip in Las Vegas. Although it was daytime and I missed the effect of the neon, I did get some idea of the mood of the place. Then I got back on The 15 and headed towards San Diego.
The drive was HOT, HOT, HOT. It entailed crossing the Mojave Desert. The temp was 101 F, possibly higher in some places. There were delays due to road construction. I discovered that indeed my car temperature gauge can move above “normal,” something I’ve never seen it do in 12 years. When it started to creep up, I turned off the AC, so then I was really hot. BabyCar’s glass t-tops function the same way as the glass in a green house. And I was one cooked and wilted rose! I had a bottle of Pepsi which I’d bought on the way out of Las Vegas, icy cold at the beginning of the drive. Partway into the desert I took a swig of it and almost spit it out, it had gotten so hot. I’ve drunk lots of cups of coffee that were cooler. Occasionally I’d spritz some water on my arms to help cool them off, until my water bottle got too hot
Folks have asked for my impressions of Las Vegas. My first impression is of heat rising off the sidewalks and streets. The second is a feeling of pity for the mamy folks who live there who fall prey to gambling addictively. There are slot machines and poker machines everywhere, not just in casinos. It must be a very easy pit to fall into. I went in a grocery store to buy some sundries, and there was a row of video poker machines and slots beyond the cash registers, with women playing them, at 11 a.m. Women who didn’t look like they had much extra money. As I traveled through Las Vegas and the surrounding areas, I realized that I’m pretty much opposed to large-scale legalized gambling. I went in one casino south of Vegas, in search of the Burger King advertised on the large sign in the parking lot—turns out the BK was simply their snack bar. I hurried past all the machines, partly on principle, and partly out of a desire to get out of the cigarette smoke as quickly as possible. Found the restroom (which had been my real objective) and decided to wait til the next stop to get a Coke, rather than linger any longer in the smoke.
After what seemed like a long time of driving through the desert and baking, the road finally entered more temperate climes around San Bernadino, and from there it was an easy drive. In total, it took me about 5-1/2 hrs to drive from Las Vegas to my aunt and uncle’s house in Rancho Bernardo, which is north of San Diego proper. Arrived just after 5 p.m. on Thursday, my westward trek complete.
Saturday
I’m still pondering what were my favorite parts of the trip, and working on editing more photos to post. Particularly I’m trying to articulate to myself what I found so captivating about Utah’s canyon country—what is it that made me fall in love with that region? When I can put it into words I’ll post them here.
After checking out of my hotel room I drove in a big rectangle so I could see The Strip in Las Vegas. Although it was daytime and I missed the effect of the neon, I did get some idea of the mood of the place. Then I got back on The 15 and headed towards San Diego.
The drive was HOT, HOT, HOT. It entailed crossing the Mojave Desert. The temp was 101 F, possibly higher in some places. There were delays due to road construction. I discovered that indeed my car temperature gauge can move above “normal,” something I’ve never seen it do in 12 years. When it started to creep up, I turned off the AC, so then I was really hot. BabyCar’s glass t-tops function the same way as the glass in a green house. And I was one cooked and wilted rose! I had a bottle of Pepsi which I’d bought on the way out of Las Vegas, icy cold at the beginning of the drive. Partway into the desert I took a swig of it and almost spit it out, it had gotten so hot. I’ve drunk lots of cups of coffee that were cooler. Occasionally I’d spritz some water on my arms to help cool them off, until my water bottle got too hot
Folks have asked for my impressions of Las Vegas. My first impression is of heat rising off the sidewalks and streets. The second is a feeling of pity for the mamy folks who live there who fall prey to gambling addictively. There are slot machines and poker machines everywhere, not just in casinos. It must be a very easy pit to fall into. I went in a grocery store to buy some sundries, and there was a row of video poker machines and slots beyond the cash registers, with women playing them, at 11 a.m. Women who didn’t look like they had much extra money. As I traveled through Las Vegas and the surrounding areas, I realized that I’m pretty much opposed to large-scale legalized gambling. I went in one casino south of Vegas, in search of the Burger King advertised on the large sign in the parking lot—turns out the BK was simply their snack bar. I hurried past all the machines, partly on principle, and partly out of a desire to get out of the cigarette smoke as quickly as possible. Found the restroom (which had been my real objective) and decided to wait til the next stop to get a Coke, rather than linger any longer in the smoke.
After what seemed like a long time of driving through the desert and baking, the road finally entered more temperate climes around San Bernadino, and from there it was an easy drive. In total, it took me about 5-1/2 hrs to drive from Las Vegas to my aunt and uncle’s house in Rancho Bernardo, which is north of San Diego proper. Arrived just after 5 p.m. on Thursday, my westward trek complete.
Saturday
I’m still pondering what were my favorite parts of the trip, and working on editing more photos to post. Particularly I’m trying to articulate to myself what I found so captivating about Utah’s canyon country—what is it that made me fall in love with that region? When I can put it into words I’ll post them here.
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