Since last winter went so swimmingly, let's try it again! TFS has very graciously opened her home in the west San Fernando Valley to me again. This time her daughter AS (and dog and cat) are there too. Two women + two dogs + two cats = not my usual solitary winter again. Huzzah! Place name links like Los Angeles, CA go to Wikipedia. Place name links like Los Angeles use a local tourism or government website.
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| 2014.05.12 |
Leaving the Valley |
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Yesterday was Mother's Day and indirectly a chance to see TFS's family one last time.
Today it is time to do that going away part, sadly. I got up early and TFS and I had coffee and read the newspapers in the warming sun of her back yard one final time. Delaying the inevitable until we could no longer face our realities: she to go to work and me to get on the road.
I was pretty much packed from the day before, a new duffel bag added to my returning collection. Now just to zipper-up my bags and shutdown the laptop and put everything in the trunk of the car and put down the top.
And say good-bye to TFS and Jake and Tucker. Tearlessly if at all possible but that doesn't seem to work for me. I may never be here again - life throws things at a person and I know it every time I leave. |
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Here's the front of my car from a few days earlier. Covered in bug guts all the way from Galveston on the Gulf of Mexico . I was too lazy to scrub them off (they really have to be scrubbed off - they're baked on by impact and the heat), so they're coming back home with me under a layer of whatever others I collect on the way. |
Time to hit the road. Since I'm travelling alone, unlike last time, I'm going to need something to entertain me. A stack of CDs I bought at a great used CD shop in Dallas, my camera will have to suffice. I'll take snaps all the way through of interesting or pretty bits. Since I'm not stopping much all my pictures will be taken while driving, usually over the posted speed limit. I've acquired quite a knack for it.
| A warm-up trip to the 118 freeway. |
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Topanga Canyon Road |
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A large rock popular with climbers. There's usually a line of cars parked along the road. I've never seen anyone on the rock.
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The last of low-speed driving for many hours. |
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| First on the CA-118 eastbound. |
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| Split onto CA-210 eastbound. |
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| Finally north on the I-15 all the way to the border through 5 other states. I-15_CA is first. |
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A little elevation before lots of desert. |
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| Out of Los Angeles now. It's going to be brown for a while. And flat. |
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Vegas ahead! | |
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Now much to look at, but it's scenic. Now for an alien-looking set of towers rising from the desert, with lights glowing brightly even in bright sunshine. |
| It's the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility just before entering Nevada. The World's largest solar thermal farm. Unlike last year it looks to be in full operation. |
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In Nevada for a little while, on the I-15_NV .
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And through Las Vegas. See last year for Vegas pictures. |
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| Now some terrain and elevation: the Virgin River Gorge just before the Nevada-Arizona border. Fun! |
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| Into southern Utah on the I-15_UT and a highway speed limit of 80 mph (129 kph). |
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| Out of the desert. It's now mountain time. Signs of winter linger at higher elevations. |
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And I'm elevating. From burning a few hours ago, to freezing! Time for top-up in Cedar City, UT . |
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From here on, I photographed through the windows. Not a lot of bug guts to gum them up. And, for the first time in the nearly two years I've owned the car, I played CDs - from the bundle that I got in Dallas, TX .
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| Out of elevation and slightly warmer. |
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| Salt Lake City, UT , almost time to stop for the night. My hotel is actually north of Salt Lake City, in Ogden, UT so I can avoid morning commuter traffic. |
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And that's it for Day 1 of my return home. Time for a beer. 739 miles (1189 km). From 9am PDT to 10pm MDT over 4 US states. | |
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< Previous
The Nethercutt Collection |
|
Start
........................................ |
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Next >
The Home Stretch |
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