The drive down 247 towards Twenty-Nine Palms was one of the loneliest drives I had on the entire trip. I hit the road around 9am on that Sunday morning and I think perhaps ten cars passed me going the other direction. It was spooky and I was so very glad I didn't do the drive the previous night.
Two hours later, I paid the $15 entrance fee into Joshua Tree and started driving the loop around the park. I stopped to do the Hidden Valley Trail loop, but got spooked by being out there alone without a lot of other people around - and very conscious that my computer and ALL my drives were locked up in my car. I did take some photos, though, and lamented the fact that I couldn't linger over the wonderfully soft, broken rock surrounded by all those weird-looking trees.
I headed out of the park - wondering how long ago that fire had raged through the flats - and headed found Amboy Road north in the ultimate direction of Flagstaff, AZ.
I took some wrong turns getting out of Twenty-Nine Palms - btw - I was so glad I didn't stay there! There aint much to choose from! - and eventually ended up merging onto historic Route 66. I passed some pretty lonely scenery - even a dried up lakebed with gigantic, honeycomb-shaped dry pattern!
I felt saddened by all the abandoned way-side businesses along that historic route. I40 really did create the preserved wasteland of a historic era.
Seligman, AZ. The birthplace of Route 66?
Once I hit I40, it was stunning, gorgeous driving for the next six hours. I'll never forget the pass where the rocks looked like giant ice cream sandwiches.
I made it to Flagstaff before dark and checked into a Radisson. While it was plenty nice, my bathroom had been used after it had been cleaned and there was hair inside the sheets on both beds. Yuk.
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