Subes for life!

Had a good run in the desert, but my camping permit was running low and my supplies were running even lower. My plans to head for Mexico* were put on hold: It was officially time to bail out and head back to civilization!

And thusly, I did a 500 mile driving day from Quartzsite all the way to Los Banos.** And now my sore butt and stiff back and the haggard rest of me officially feel sorry for my kids — Kai and Cameron — who endured dozens of long driving days on our way back and forth to visit family or explore the west. That 8-10 hours is a really long time to be sitting still. They were (always/mostly) good sports about it, but the zinger is that there’s so much cool stuff to explore that just doesn’t fit in an itinerary like that. Methinks they got ripped off in that sense — no time to dawdle, gotta get where we’re going so we can then commence to have fun once we’re there. [No having fun until then!]

I’m still a little bit tethered to SC to keep tabs on family drama and visit mom and such, but I heard about an app which might be worth looking into: Roadside America. Also, one you’ve all probably already heard of: Atlas Obscura. Both of which have mention of the Hi Jolly memorial in Quartzsite. One of the RTR speakers joked about it — “You go there, and it’s a monument to a camel!” — but it’s so much more than that. Like the world’s largest ball of twine, or the world’s largest Paul Bunyan … they are silly and meaningless and sometimes just an eye roll or a LOL, but they all add flavor and character and make the trip all that much more memorable.

Alas, I opted out of visiting Mark Twain’s house*** on Hwy 49 when Kai and I drove by a few years ago. Partly because I was (and usually still am) in a hurry to get somewhere, but also the reviews were a lot of Meh (and meth) and it didn’t seem like taking a short detour was in order. But now, I’m kinda kicking myself.

Gotta take the time to stop and smell the roses.

See you on the road!

*I was only a hundred miles away, and the rule of thumb for VLers is that if you’re in striking distance of tacos epicos y autenticos then you are obligated to go. Alas, I didn’t have time to look up vegan options and people “in the know” said it was a few hours wait to get back through customs, so I put this one in the “next time” category.

**Which may seem to be a random and weird destination, but it was my hub for the SC <–> Yosemite travels over the summer and there is a really good/new Planet Fitness there and I got my first real shower with running hot water in two weeks. Bucket showers and sink sponge baths and wet-wipe cleanups and 91% alcohol wipedowns are OK, but man oh man nothing beats a long hot shower in a real shower. And now I know why some of those rubber-trampers have thousand-gallon water tanks! /envy

***(?) Was it his house? Just a writing studio? I don’t even remember now.