One ought never hope for perfectly executed plans, as there is so much more room for perfection in the unplanned.
And so our road trip began, with perfect planning, all in order, and smooth execution. Well, except for the smooth execution part. See, I carefully packed away all of our road trip things two years ago when we arrived home. All utensils, bins, trash bags, chairs, organizers, etc. washed and wiped and placed neatest into the right bin. Each bin was placed nicely on its shelf in storage. All was ready to pull out for easy use the next time. That next time is now. The bins were hauled out and opened, and apparently I was not the only one who appreciated the tidy contents inside. I took the silverware container off the top and – WHAT IS THAT???? Not one mouse, not two mice, but THREE mice stared up at me out of the soup pot, which not only contained the mouse family, but also an assortment of acorns and fluff! Kiara was delighted. I screamed. Kiara laughed at my scream. “Are you seriously not afraid of spiders but you are afraid of a MOUSE?” Hush, child, and get those mice out of there! And then came the juveniles, I afraid of us and staring up with big eyes under those enormous ears. Cute. Get out of my camping gear!
An hour and two bottles of disinfectant later, and a water bucket trap set in the cargo container, and we were ready to pack for the trip.
That was two days ago. We have been packed for two days. This means that we were only 2 hours behind schedule as we drove down the driveway.
We try to avoid freeways, which meant that our way wound through Ranchita and down into Borrego Springs. Unks hauled a load of kids down to Borrego. “You know that straight part near the lake? Unks went 100 there!” Um, Unks? You’ve officially been tattled on. These kids are living.
Breakfast in Borrego was a grand affair, complete with drill sergeant waitress who kept us all in line, and cute little assistant who was flirted with by Unks. When you eat at a cafe right next to Dazzels, well, how can you go wrong?
Ok, enough messing around.
Our rout went straight out to the lovely resort area of the Salton Sea, featuring less stench, thanks to recent clean-up efforts. We saw no dead birds or dead fish, a marked improvement. Such beautiful scenery. We had to stop for some pictures. Maybe we should move here.
Hey, Popi! Should we move here?
When you think of the dates and citrus and veggies you enjoy, think of this place, because a lot of produce in your store comes from this stinky little bit of Hades.
Getting gas with barefoot boys who have just earned serious cash weed whipping on ranches means that these sweet flip flops have been added to the contents of our Suburban. Dollar Store flip flops that simulate walking barefoot. Genius. That smile is the smile of a man who has made the best purchase of his life.
It’s hot and dry, and the only thing that changes is the temperature and how dry the landscape is. Sometimes there are lava beds, and you really cannot get hotter or drier than that.
We took the rout through Joshua Tree, and suddenly things get beautiful. Joshua Tree is vast, varied, colorful, hot. We have camped here several times over the years and it’s always a winner with kids and adults alike. But our last camping trip here was when Sweet Baby Sunshine was 9 months old. She ate a stink bug. Atticus has never camped here. We will need to fix that problem next spring.
“What art Thou then, my God? what, but the Lord God? For who is Lord but the Lord? or who is God save our God? Most highest, most good, most potent, most omnipotent; most merciful, yet most just; most hidden, yet most present; most beautiful, yet most strong, stable, yet incomprehensible; unchangeable, yet all-changing; never new, never old; all-re- newing, and bringing age upon the proud, and they know it not; ever working, ever at rest; still gathering, yet nothing lacking; supporting, filling, and overspreading; creating, nourish- ing, and maturing; seeking, yet having all things. Thou lovest, without passion; art jealous, without anxiety; repentest, yet grievest not; art angry, yet serene; changest Thy works, Thy purpose unchanged; receivest again what Thou findest, yet didst never lose; never in need, yet rejoicing in gains; never covetous, yet exacting usury. Thou receivest over and above, that Thou mayest owe; and who hath aught that is not Thine? Thou payest debts, owing nothing; remittest debts, losing nothing.” – St. Augustine
That is what I am listening to on this stretch of road. What better place to ponder the nature of God but Joshua Tree, where all good things rest forever?
We left Joshua Tree in the afternoon, out a Northern entrance manned by a bored young person who obviously made it clear that his vocation was not his passion. I resisted the urge to lecture him. He may just have had a bad day.
The desert back country between Joshua Tree and Prim, Nevada, is vast and interesting. Tiny towns with planted trees, small settlements of people who thought they’d have a go at it, and then realized that the desert is hot, trains and tracks that disappear into mountains one only walks into to die – that is the Mojave in Southern California. There is a lot of good, clean sand to lay down on, if it is January. Otherwise, you’d better drive on. 113 degrees is too hot for bare skin.
In Kelso we hit traffic, strange because you see very few people, much less a line of traffic, in that part of the dessert. Then we noticed that everyone was stopped at the train track. What luck! The train was at a dead stop across the road and looked quite comfortable as it remained that way for many minutes. Another train eventually passed, and then stopped, and hitched up to the first train, then the whole train slowly started and headed out West. Maybe that garlic made it onto that train.
I don’t find the 15 freeway to be particularly interesting, so after waving to the train, I took a nap, and I couldn’t begin to guess what happened until we got to Prim, Nevada. The kids were properly both in awe and horrified by all the worldly world has to offer between Prim and Los Vegas. Maybe I’ve driven that road too many times, but I considered that time a great time to work and skip the sights.
I 15 does have its merits, though. There’s the go cart raceway just outside of Los Vegas.
There are the bright green grasses and shrubs that tell the world they are open for cattle grazing.
There are the dramatic cliffs that welcome folks to the St. George area. And that is where we were headed.
There is dispersed camping at Red Cliffs just outside of St. George. A long, sandy, red road lead into the wilderness, and as we drove, our tires sunk and struggled, but that is why one has a hefty vehicle that can handle most conditions. We didn’t get stuck.
Everyone was tired and grumpy by the time we piled out of the car. It was a long, hot day. The last thing anyone wanted to do was put up a new, enormous tent, cook dinner, and heard grumpy kids into bed. Bright, red cliffs reflecting the sunset cheered us a bit, and gave us the energy we needed.
In case anyone needs further proof that I should never cook anything, here it is. While the kids and Brandon got the tent up, I cooked dinner. After all, we were having baked beans and ham. How can that go wrong? I am not skilled at staying by the stove while cooking. Instead, I generally get sidetracked by kittens, laundry, children who need a thing, more kittens, wondering whether the eggs have been gathered, and then going outside to check, catching a duck and snuggling for a minute, going to visit my little runt chicken and then noticing her water is low, finding my old farm cat Chase and having a heart-to-heart with him, suddenly realizing that lunch is on the stove, dashing to the house, tripping over Chase Cat, smelling smoke, putting the smoking, charred lunch out on the deck, opening all the windows, and deciding that salad is perfectly fine for lunch.
I had dinner on the stove, and was lining up tooth brushes and pajamas, when Atticus calmly said, “Oh, look! ”The table is on fire!”
Now, I have learned a thing or two from my father, particularly about listening to children and not tuning them out. The day he listened to Kiki yelling that Sunshine was drowning, and he was the only one who heard her, and then jumped in to save her with all of his clothes on, was the day I learned this lesson.
So I heard him and looked. The table was, indeed, on fire, the dinner appeared to be ablaze, and a dried out desert bush leaning in as the breeze blew hard. We were about to be “those people” who light the desert on fire! Shoot. What have I always said? I SHOULD NEVER BE ENTRUSTED WITH COOKING!!!!! I’ll burn the state to the ground!
What we all discovered was this: In a crisis, such as a potential wild fire, Sunshine remains level headed and grabs the water jug to fight the fire. Brandon grows bucket hands and deposits a sandcastle on the fire within seconds. I run around yelling and running into everyone.
So, just so you all know, St. George and surrounding communities, 2 kids and a dad saved you all from a mom who should never cook anything.
Should you ask me to cook?
Never.
Well, it’s been a good day. Nobody died, everyone is healthy, and we are in need of nothing. The nature of God has been pondered, we got to see a train for longer than a few seconds, and we can stream Johnny Cash because we have amazing internet here.
And then we were visited by this sweet guy. He really wanted to snuggle with us. We held him and hung out for a bit before he hopped off for further adventures.
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