ok so we were off the grid for a little while there. From Aspen we camped at the Great Sand Dunes then at the Navajo National Monument. somewhere in the Navajo Nation that “Verizon 3G network” - you know that one with “no dead zones (but the towels are kinda scratchy)” and “you can call all these rainbow sprinkles on your sundae” - went AWOL. We could make some calls sporadically but internet, emails, google maps, blog apps, were mostly dead. In fact as I write this we still dont have service… this was the first time it happened on this trip so i will cut Verizon some slack because the service really has been great. anyway, we are currently sitting on a pile of failed emails that were supposed to be photo posts, so stay tuned for a major post deluge.
last night, after crossing into California, we drove a 70 mile stretch of Route 66 in the middle of the Mojave Desert bathed in golden dusk of the setting desert sun/engulfed in the soul swallowing black of the desert night, only to find that the town of Amboy is an ACTUAL ghost town and there was most certainly no active motel there. Never have I been more in the middle of nowhere than the nowhere i was in the middle of last night. Wow. Google “Amboy, CA” and you will get the picture. After consulting with the helpful/only locals (2 handgun wearing guys locking up the gas station) we ended up spending the night at the quaint Ludlow Motel, “28 mile that way” also in the middle of the Mojave Desert. We picked up the keys from the Chevron attendant across the street and took our first showers since Aspen, CO.
After a great breakfast at Ludlow Coffee Shop, we are on our way to Pasadena to hang out with Jo’s cousins for the night.
Tomorrow, our 12th day on the road, we will arrive at our final destination of Solana Beach were we will take up temporary residence with the Pond family until we can find a more permanent place closer to the border.
This trip was just the beginning - now the next adventure starts.
