Today we took off south of Vegas en route to Joshua Tree National Park but were quickly detoured when we discovered that the Hoover Dam Bypass had just opened. We decided to drive across the bridge but were disappointed to find that there was nowhere to stop and the railing was high enough that you couldn't see that you were several hundred feet over the Colorado River. Because Mary had never seen the Dam before we backtracked and gave her the quick free tour. Also I received a warning whistle from a police officer and a 'use your head' when I jumped on a garbage can to take a photo (totally worth it).
After that we headed south for a while through a torrential downpour of a thunderstorm on highway 95. We survived that and the general flooding that occurs whenever it rains in the desert. Next on our strange oddessy was a 40 mile drive down historic Route 66, which revealed to us that most of the towns on that highway have been deserted. At our turn off to go south there also happened to be a massive crater and lava flows. Random.
Next up for us, after a stop for food in Twentynine Palms, was Joshua Tree National Park. The park was fairly mediocre but did have a few surprises for us, including the Cholla Gardens and a random coyote.
Then we headed even further down the road to the nearest major location with a hotel which happened to be Palm Springs. The highlight here so far has been getting into a hot tub for the first time on this trip. The most interesting part of being in PS is that it is going to be the southernmost point of our trip. For fun I put my point of origin (Saskatoon) and southernmost destination (Palm Springs) into Google to see how far they are apart. Then I put in the directions I took to get here. Have a look at the difference for a good laugh.
Saskatoon to Palm Springs Direct
Saskatoon to Palm Springs Indirect
Oh Gibby,
ReplyDeleteIf only I'd know you were driving, I'd have recommended this alteration (Jackson, WY to Moab, UT).
http://www.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Saskatoon,+Saskatchewan,+Canada&daddr=53.57051,-112.97624+to:53.00441,-113.63954+to:50.07538,-114.16903+to:48.66051,-114.74781+to:45.66296,-111.1858+to:44.652409,-110.7718101+to:44.6745899,-110.4807121+to:44.45905,-110.84144+to:44.31709,-110.59938+to:41.66545,-109.22946+to:38.71838,-109.36559+to:38.5963068,-109.5700302+to:38.14642,-109.37297+to:37.1014918,-109.9907359+to:35.2312,-111.57755+to:36.00241,-111.92294+to:36.16796,-115.12059+to:36.063,-115.15135+to:36.01418,-114.75481+to:35.8302931,-114.9370557+to:34.6586201,-115.3567121+to:33.80664,-115.77501+to:Palm+Springs,+CA&geocode=FeKBGwMdmK-k-Skrme1Hv_YEUzGQJneVMp4EBQ%3BFc5rMQMdkB5E-SmVVYpf1WugUzHk6i4tslaDYQ%3BFXrIKAMdjP85-Skp5nCV71t1UzHguIYMcwiZuA%3BFfQW_AIdOusx-SkpReh5nNZvUzH6_Oxi2iHbVw%3BFR6A5gIdXhYp-Sn_hTYsZNZlUzFS2FtCcbVpHA%3BFfDCuAIdeHBf-SnjxUGw6k5FUzH_2qaJnhJ8Lw%3BFXlXqQIdnsFl-Skz3hspvNxRUzEJW3NCBNPJhQ%3BFR2uqQIduDJq-SmPJVX4miFOUzHI2xGuRLedVQ%3BFSpkpgIdoLFk-Sk_SH1AIu1RUzEUNszTMvU9AQ%3BFaI5pAIdLGNo-SkHhrWWKfZRUzEEgZHFTTOwcg%3BFarDewIdbEp9-SlVsq4PymdahzEZ0luii1sDGg%3BFazLTgIdqjZ7-SlpClueJMNHhzGJOVy5vqlgMQ%3BFdLuTAIdEhh4-Sl9W78BgQpIhzHuoDiX2FFN2Q%3BFXQRRgId1hl7-SlvY84BdxA4hzG6E1Df0HX7tg%3BFbMfNgIdsaxx-SnhzyQVLDg3hzElTzlyJimaKA%3BFeCVGQIdMnZZ-Sl7Bd_3U4kthzEjvqUl2IqL0g%3BFWpaJQIdBDFU-SkJCQ35LgczhzEdsDZaR2jm2A%3BFRjhJwIdMmYj-Sl1dBMuaMPIgDFubMMgm-xjsA%3BFRhHJgIdCu4i-SnHkWweY8_IgDGbtypeP1ZGtg%3BFWSIJQIdBvso-SlRzXXOHi3JgDHo8auEBIlk7A%3BFRW6IgIdITMm-Sk7-HcKuinPgDEbt2qEhcDpWg%3BFTzZEAId2Msf-SnfBe5K9ubPgDErk1loJiUtfQ%3BFTDZAwId3mkZ-SljJSQXP4fagDEpFLXv-pG6Sw%3BFZg1BAId9KgN-Smz5dv_1BrbgDF8ee3Ch2nloQ&hl=en&mra=ls&via=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22&sll=38.453589,-106.776123&sspn=7.680359,11.140137&ie=UTF8&z=5
Next time.