Alien Fresh Jerky

June 1st, 2011

We are currently in Baker, California at the Wills (not Wells) Fargo Motel. It's a tiny town right on the edge of the Mojave National Preserve. Blink and you miss it. It's a bit of an odd place. Next door is a store called Alien Fresh Jerky. Across the street is the tallest thermometer in the world, which happens to be only half functioning. Ha.

When we hit Baker at 8 pm the sun was going down. We debated for awhile... keep driving another hour or two and miss all the beautiful scenery and set up our tent at 10 pm? Or check into a motel and check out the lava flows, cinder cones, and 700 foot tall sand dunes tomorrow? We opted for the latter and I'm glad we did. Mike is reading a park brochure and just informed me that the highly venomous Mojave rattlesnake is most active at night. Wills Fargo has a bit of a no tell motel vibe, but at least I don't have to worry about a snake chomping down on my hand. We did a thorough bed bug inspection and the room appears to be clean. 

So... our day. We got a later start than I had hoped for. After my sister left early afternoon yesterday, we did laundry and grocery shopped. I got half the packing done before I went to bed. This morning we packed up our clothes, loaded up the car, and got on the highway at 10 am. I was shooting for 8:30 am, but anyone who knows us can attest to the fact that we move a little slower than most people. 

Traffic wasn't so bad. There was a storm at our backs as we drove out of the Bay Area. I felt like every time I turned around and looked out the back window, the black clouds seemed to be following us. We lost them once we hit the 5 or as the locals call it  "The Grapevine." Along 5 is miles and miles of farm fields. Occasionally we'd pass a small town or a field of oil rigs. We listened to Keith Richards audio book for entertainment. Interesting stuff.

We hit the mountains around Tehachapi. I saw a billboard proclaiming it "the wind capitol of the world" or something. I'd say that's true. There were hundreds of white wind turbines of all sizes lining the ridges of the mountains. It was hard for me to focus on my driving at this point. Watching those giant turbines spinning in unison was hypnotizing. 

We had dinner in Barstow, wondering why someone would live there... or any other tiny desert town for that matter. How do people end up in these places? For the mining jobs or something? It seems so boring. I wonder if it's the truckers that keep the economies here going since there seems to be nothing but fast food joints and truck stops. Eh, what do I know. We are just passing through, and I wouldn't be surprised if the people who live here think we're crazy for living in a place like San Francisco. 

Tomorrow we're going to check out the Mojave National Preserve and the Hoover Dam and hopefully set up camp at the Grand Canyon. Let's hope the weather is nice. This may sound odd, but it was kind of cool in the desert today. Definitely too windy. Tomorrow I want sun, temperatures in the upper 70's, and NO WIND.