The Mojave Road

Back in October, Lonnie and Zander came down from Merced and went with Fred and I to go four-wheeling on the historic Mojave Road. Stephanie had planned on going in her jeep with her friends, but she caught a bad cold and didn't go. So I went instead and drove with Fred - it was quite an adventure. We met their Dad, Jim, in Laughlin, which is exactly where the Mojave Road begins or ends, depending on your point of view.

Edited to add: Forgot I posted these on picasa.com...way more over there, so have a look if you didn't already.  http://picasaweb.google.com/jojomcjodie/TheMojaveRoad?authkey=Gv1sRgCPGy3ZjY0MegUA&feat=email#5532135493464703682

Zander and the binoculars.  This is not posed. He never had them farther than a foot away so he could scan the area for bobcats and snakes.

But I'm the one who saw the snake. And the tarantulas. One the first day, one the second day. Too many spiders and snakes.

We looked at lots of ruins. Please notice the binocular case he kept on the whole time.

More ruins.

 But then we found ourselves driving on a long stretch of road, very smoothly graded and a very good opportunity for Zander to take the wheel.

 Along the road someone has put up a mailbox with a flag pole.  Inside the mailbox is a guest book, so we all signed our names.  That's Jim in the background watching some four-wheelers pass by.

 Then it was time to set up camp.  Fred and I slept on an air mattress in the back of our car, Jim, Lonnie and Zander slept in the tent.  They are hardier than us.

 Zander kept his eyes peeled for any kind of intruders. "I have to scan the area."

 There were times when we had to crawl around the back and look out the windows to help Fred drive...and to look for stuff.

The next night it was lemon pepper popcorn time.  We made Jiffy Pop!