A two-day drive back to the desert. We are heading to Lost Wages π€© to meet up with old friends Dan and Maggie Matheson. They got me into RV’ing several years ago and it will be our second meet-up on the road!
Jake and I drove the same route I took when visiting my parents and brother Dave in Lancaster from 1975-1978. The first part of the drive opened up after a mountain pass to a vast agricultural vista. Acre after acre of growing operations. Of particular interest were the Orange groves. Many of the trees were covered with a gauze-like fabric. This apparently keeps bees out when you are growing seedless fruit. I passed one vineyard that seemed to go on for several miles.
After that, it was back to the desert. I stopped for the evening in Boron, just east of Mojave. As I dropped into Mojave there was another very large wind farm. Some of the windmills were smaller, something I had not seen before. There was also a large ‘boneyard’ for jet airliners. Where aircraft go to die β οΈ.
Boron is home to the company Borax. I remember that name from my young childhood. They were sponsors of a TV program called Death Valley Days. Their tagline and mascots were Twenty Mule Team Borax. The plant sits right outside town and offers tours. They basically mine soap π€£. Maybe next time!
Other than that Boron looked very lowkey. Edwards Airforce Base is also nearby more jobs. The trailer next to me had a multitude of cables running into their trailer and my phone was a full-tilt 5G hotspot. Wired β‘οΈat least.
The second day was an easy – and interesting – one on the way to Vegas. I noticed a section of Route 66 that runs through Barstow and a Route 66 Museum! We stopped to take a look and pick up some merch! There were several museums there including one for Trains and even a NASA exhibition.
Back on the road, the traffic picked up, cars whizzing past me on some crazed mission. Everyone from SoCal was headed to Vegas for the Memorial Day weekend! Big Fun! I saw some near misses as people lost their tiny minds and drove like they were being driven by the Hounds Of Hell!
As we approved the state line I saw one of the most incredible sights of my life.
This is a solar power generating station. I had seen pictures of it in the past but seeing it close up like this was breathtaking. The air around the mirrors and central collector (where it is turned into steam to run a turbine) was like something out of a science fiction movie. Boy, do I love science!
We pulled into Las Vegas KOA at Sam’s Town midafternoon to find out friends were already there and set up. The campground sits next to a standalone Casino & Hotel with a movie theater and bowling alley. Everything you need to keep everyone in the family entertained!
