Driving Home: Sierra Nevada and Mojave Desert

If you know me, you know I'll never miss a chance to see a part of the country that I haven't seen before. I took this Christmas break as an opportunity to see a little bit of America---specifically, the southwest.

I set out from Palo Alto at 7 AM. My truck was laden with Eucalyptus firewood, which I was assured is a natural mosquito repellent, aside from smelling nice when it burns.

My planned route took me down I-5, then east through the Sierra Nevada, to Bakersfield (of Merle Haggard fame) and Barstow where I picked up I-40. Then I turned south at Needles and traveled through the Mojave Desert on US 95 (which follows partly old US 66) to Blythe, where I picked up I-10 (for 1200 miles or so) into Houston.

Things were pretty uninteresting until I hit I-5, where I followed the Santa Cruz mountains south (just to my west).

At Bakersfield, I turned more eastward, and came across the southern reaches of the Sierra Nevada.

There was snow, in places, and the temperature dropped to the mid 20's as I made the ascent.

A vicious cross wind powered wind turbines at the pass:

Once I was trough the mountains, I pulled off the road to take in some of the scenery, and stretch my legs...

The weather was still a bit chilly, with a stiff west wind.

And, of course, I found some random poop:

The Sierra Nevada separate the fertile San Joaquin Valley from the Mojave Dessert---the mountains gave way to the vast flat, which stretched out for miles in front of me:


The road was straight and flat into Barstow...

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold... Suddenly, there was a terrible roar all around us, and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, and a voice was screaming "Holy Jesus. What are these goddamn animals?" (from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)

Once I made it to Needles, it was time to turn south, along the eastern edge of the Mojave Dessert.

By this time, it was about 4 pm, and the sun was beginning to set over the desert.

There were several dirt roads off into the desert---most likely service roads for the utility lines which ran alongside the highway---and around 4:45 or so I pulled onto one and drove about a mile or so off road. I hiked up a small rise about a quarter of a mile or so, and got comfortable for the sunset.

The sky exploded into oranges and reds, and my camera afforded me many different shutter speed and aperture settings. I got several nice shots as I watched the sun sink over the San Bernadino Mountains in the west.


Of course, then I had to find my way back to the road...

The rest of the drive into Texas was more or less uneventful. I got food poisoning from a Subway somewhere in Arizona, so I was in no mood to take many more pictures, however, the desert sunset more than made up for the explosive gastrointestinal blight, and I got some nice pictures on the return trip.