Last night, when I started the dryer, I thought I heard something clomping about inside. I stopped it, felt around and found nothing. This morning when I folded my clothes, I found the culprit in the side pocket of my shorts: my spare cell phone. Oh well... No great loss, it's an old Cingular phone I plucked out of a re-cycling bin, paid eight bucks to get it unlocked an bought a T-Mobile pre-paid sim card. I opened it up, and it looked OK but wouldn't power on. After an hour on the charger, it fired right up. Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.
I re-packed, lightened my load, said goodbye to Josh, my roomie from the last week. Since he was staying in Vegas for a few days, he offered to drop my extra bag and un-needed items at a UPS store to ship back home. I took a detour to snap a pic at the famous 'Welcome to Las Vegas' sign. It sure looks out of place now that the strip has spread so far south.
Last night, as I was drifting off to sleep, I realized that today I would be totally on my own. A bit daunting, but not 10 minutes outside of Vegas, I realized the sense of freedom setting my own pace. Up until now, I've been with a group of others, and I felt the need to keep up the pace.
Last night too, there was some weirdness with my coolant temp gauge. Not sure what the problem was, but in the extreme heat and WOT, it gave me some odd readings on the bar graph. Everything seems OK for now.
The heat in the desert is oppressive. It just sucks the life and water right out of oneself. The outside air temp gauge tells me it 116 degrees. More frequent stops for cool water were in order. The water I'm carrying with me is hot, and really doesn't quench my thirst. Dotted along the side of I-15 there are skeletal remains of cafes, gas stations, homes, and motels that have long since succumbed to the arid desert.
A sign for Peggy Sue's Diner 10 miles away in Yearmo got my attention. It was late in the afternoon and I didn't realize how hungry I was. Truly a blast from the past, the original nine stools and three booths have been added to and added to over the years. It's even got a tiny outdoor stage and water park out back. Dinosaurs gaze over the water park.Linda and Kevyn are two of the nicest scooter pals you could meet. They offered me a place to stay tonight. Linda suggested I take the scenic Lone Pine Canyon Road to her house. What a gorgeous surprise. A twistie turning road up a green canyon with a sea of blooming yuccas as far as the eye could see. Miles and miles of fragrant beauty.
Wrightwood, CA is a sleepy town with a highland sort of atmosphere. Homes and cottages dotted all along the hills. Four happy dogs greeted me, and the two older ones slipped out the door and ran off up the street. Linda grabbed the leashes and off we went after them. I'm thinking they are old and hard of hearing. Linda says they're just ignoring us.
Kevyn and Linda treated me to a grand dinner at a local Mexican eatery. Thanks for dinner! The Huevos Rancheros and Negra Modelo hit the spot. We're all tired, Kevin and Linda both have to leave a o'dark thirty for work tomorrow. They have a garage full of scooters and each have an hour or two commute. The scooter is saving Kevin a bundle in gas money alone.
Lily, one of the pooches, I'm warned will be sleeping with me tonight. Here's a few pics from today:
1 comment:
Great to meet you yesterday! It was just yesterday wasn't it?? Starr, I love your sense of adventure. I guess we'll be seeing you at Amerivespa. We'll keep in touch and try to hook up on the East coast first. Enjoy the view and continue to have a safe ride!
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