On reflection, the elevator doors have probably seen a lot of interesting characters. These selfies may not be of any interest.
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Laughlin River Lodge. I snap a shot of the sign as I wait for Karen to retrieve the car from the garage.
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High desert highways. I-40 in eastern California.
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There are no proper rest areas up here. But a gravel pull-out is used by truckers to rest, and folks like us to clean the windshield and switch drivers.
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The Pisgah rest area is nestled between lava floes (the dark ridges).
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Flip flops may not be appropriate for most volcanies. But Pisgah has been quiet since palefaces set foot here.
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Parked under a California shade tree in a rest area in the Mojave desert amid the lava flows of the Pisgah volcano. Warm, dry, windy, dusty. A pleasant change from shivering at 9100 feet in all my layers a couple of days ago. — at Desert Oasis Safety Rest Area.
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Karen sitting on the picnic bench (left) here in the Mojave desert on the flanks of the Pisgah volcano. Plus our car and the "shade" tree under which we parked.
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I like old cars, and appreciate those who take care of them.
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Even better, someone whose old car is actually used.
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The smog lets you know that Los Angeles reaches quite far up into the mountains.
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Slighly surreal: I take a sort of selfie through my window at the reflective hub of the adjacent truck.
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Leaving the interstate
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Our motel is getting ready for Dio de los Muertos. Restroom sign: "Enter if you Dare." Plus an artful skeleton hanging.
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We check in to the Quality Inn in Cortana, CA. Our nominal goal for this trip was to have Sunday dinner with Karen's mom and cousin and her new babies. But I have been banished because of my green phlegm. Cough.
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Jade and John pick up Karen and haul her off to dinner with Amy, Marc, and their family, leavin gme behind to fend for myself.
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Left behind, I unpack the power supply that Jade did receive, so we can use the laptop again. I also repair the clip on my phone using materials we have along, just in case. Restful things.
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Karen stacking spare pillows after her return from the family dinner. Once upon a time, motels just provided two pillows per bed. Now, there are usually four, and sometimes more.
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While sitting in the Colton California hotel as Karen was away for dinner with her cousin, I did a first approximation of our trip back home. Spoiler: There will be variations.
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