Day 9: Las Vegas to SF Bay via Mojave Desert

It was a long day again. Everyone felt that we saw enough desert for now, so we skipped our plans to drive through Death Valley, and took the interstate. The sun was shining, but it was not hot. So putting tank top on was not a good idea. Plus we drove in a nice sand storm, too.

We had 'breakfast' around noon at the Hooters Hotel & Casino, pumped some gas to fill up the tank from the cheap gas in Nevada, and off we went. We took a little detour to Mojave, CA on our way back to visit the Mojave Air and Spaceport. Home of a smaller airplane graveyard and Virgin Galactic. Unfortunately we missed the daily tour at 2pm, but as we were told, we couldn't take any pictures anyhow, since the tenants (!) living in the planes (!) don't like people taking pictures... So for compensation we had some snacks at the local Denny's and our 2nd Maple Bacon Sundae :)

After leaving Mojave we drove through some mountains. On their tops lots of windmills were planted to generate some clean energy. Well judged by the wind that blew then, the investment worth it... The view was amazing. Since I didn't stop, I didn't take any pictures. The rest of the journey was rather uneventful. We reached I-5 around 7pm and arrived at home at 10:30pm.

I was exhausted. In 9 days we travelled around 2400 miles. We saw many beautiful places, that is hard to imagine and had lots of fun! I'm back to work and I hope I can catch up to my sleeping in the next couple of days.

If you're planning to do a similar cross country road trip, one good tip: avoid interstates. You will miss everything! Driving through the countryside on other highways and freeways will give you a little taste of what Americans felt a couple of decades ago: freedom. Today everyone is flying. Interstates are occupied by trucks, and everything is about travelling fast and reaching your destination as soon as you can. And you miss the joy of travelling itself. Besides taking legendary roads like the Route 66 (or any other country road) comes with complimentary time travelling. At least 50 years back in the past. Don't forget your extra gas can at home though! :) And enjoy the view of towns/villages in the middle of nowhere... Everyone should try it at least once.

If I retire in this country, I'll definitely buy an RV, and will travel throughout the country strictly avoiding interstate highways.

Insect population of three states (CA, NV, AZ) on the grill