537 Miles Across 4 States and 3 Deserts in 1 Day
Bryce, UT - Saturday, 5 Sep 2020, 11pm
Today has been a long day. We've driven a total of 537 miles from Bakersfield, CA to Bryce, UT. Along the way we made several stops, including one to hike at higher than 10,000' (3km) elevation!
Buh-Bye, Bakersfield
Our day started in Bakersfield, where we arrived last night at midnight. Even as I settled down to sleep (see blog) I was already planning for how soon we could leave Bakersfield. The answer turned out to be 8 hours. We rolled from the parking lot about 8 hours after we arrived. I often refer to basic hotels and hotel stays as "8 hours and a shower"; this was 8 hours including the shower.
No Time for Mask Refusers
One of our favorite fast food restaurants had a store near our hotel. And it was open 24 hours and had great reviews online. We were totally ready to have breakfast there. But when we entered the restaurant we saw multiple employees in the kitchen not wearing masks, including the man who looked like the manager who was talking to customers and serving food. Masks are required state-wide in California in places of business. Not only is it the law, it's an important element of health and safety. We noped out of there figuring we'd tie ourselves over with protein bars from our stash in the car until we could get a safer breakfast or lunch elsewhere.
Rising Above the Smoke
The Bakersfield area was gross with smoke. It didn't smell particularly bad, not like burning wood like last week with the wildfires near our home, but it was very thick. Bakersfield is at the foot of the enormous Sierra Nevada mountains.... Even the foothills were barely visible as ghosts through the haze.
As we climbed the mountains to the Tehachapi Pass to the east of Bakersfield the air cleared a bit. We could see the mountains and even faint blue sky beyond them. We stopped briefly in the town of Tehachapi for another stab at breakfast (the restaurant was drive-thru only and we decided not to bother) and gas. Then we headed out across the Mojave Desert.
Across the Mojave to Del Taco Number 3
The leg from Tehachapi to Barstow, 91 miles, was the first time today I felt like we were making great progress. Traffic was light on this stretch of highway, CA-58, so we made great time. We stopped for lunch at a Del Taco in Barstow. It turned out it was the chain's third restaurant ever. Staff inside were all taking COVID-19 precautions seriously, so we felt comfortable ordering there. We ate lunch outside at a picnic table in scant shade.
Barstow is a crossroads town in the desert north of the Los Angeles basin. It's where the very, very far-flung suburbs of LA end and... well, desert... takes over. As a crossroads town it's where CA-58 ends and Interstate 40 begins. Today we're not taking I-40, though; we're headed north on I-15, which passes through Barstow on its way to Las Vegas and beyond.
World's Tallest Thermometer Reads 113°! (But Wait, It Gets Worse!)
The leg from Barstow to Vegas is another run across the Mojave Desert. Along the stretch we pass by Baker, CA, a rest stop town known for a kitschy roadside attraction, The World's Tallest Themometer (Wikipedia link). It's 134 feet (41 m) tall.
Today it read 113° F (45° C) as we passed. Yes, that's accurate! California is in a record-setting heat wave. I spotted news articles later in the day that even hotter temperatures were recorded in various southern California cities.
Update: new stories indicate that Baker's world-tallest thermometer read 118° F (48° C) just after 2pm (e.g., this L.A. Times article 5 Sep 2020) and that a highest-ever-for-all-of-Southern-California temperature of 121° F (49.5° C) was recorded in Woodland Hills (see CNN.com article 5 Sep 2020). Woodland Hills, BTW, is part of Los Angeles. This isn't some crazy temperature reading way out in the desert; this is in an urban neighborhood where lots of people live!
Out of the Smoke, Through the Fire!
As we drove northeast across the Mojave Desert the air continued to clear from its smokiness further west in California. Ahead at the top of a long pass leaving Baker, though, we saw a plume of dark smoke. Dark smoke usually means fire. As in, the fire is burning right there. As we neared the top of the mountain pass we saw an actual fire. It looked as though a vehicle pulled over to the shoulder and ignited a fire that spread to the brush on the roadside. By the time we passed the vehicle was engulfed in flames. The occupants had already been rushed away by ambulances.
🎵 I Can't Drive... 75 🎵
As I-15 crossed into Nevada I saw two things I normally don't see elsewhere. The first is a big casino. Along I-15 there's a casino literally on the state line, in the town of Primm. The other thing is a "SPEED LIMIT 75" sign. Woohoo! I still sped, though. Apparently I can't drive 75. 😏
Further up I-15 we passed through Las Vegas. Yes, we passed through it. We did not stop. We do not care about Las Vegas. It ceased being interesting to us years ago.
I Can't Drive... 80?
Heading north from Las Vegas, I-15 traverses the edge of the Great Basin desert. It nicks through the northeastern corner of Arizona for 30 miles between Nevada and Utah. Shortly after that you hit red rocks country at the city of St. George. You know it's red rocks country because the rocky cliffs beyond town are literally red. And beyond St. George another odd thing appears... a "SPEED LIMIT 80" sign! I haven't seen a limit that high in 6 years.
Speed limit 80.... That's basically, "We don't want to waste cops on writing tickets." Because 80's so high most people aren't actually going to go that fast anyway. The road's not even in good enough condition to hit that speed, safely, very frequently. Though I made sure to drive about 83mph when I could a few times just to prove that I. Can't. Drive. 80.
Taking a Break at Cedar Breaks
At the town of Cedar City, UT along I-15 we turned east to climb high into the mountains. Here we leave the edge of the Great Basin desert and ascend the Colorado Plateau. Cedar City is below 6,000' elevation. The top of the plateau is over 10,000'. Cedar Basin National Monument is home to a sandstone amphitheater similar to Bryce Canyon's. We stopped and hiked for a few hours. I'll post pictures soon! Update: Cedar Breaks hiking pictures in next entry.
Pizza Dinner, Checking in after 10pm
We enjoyed Cedar Breaks for 2 hours before sunset then left the park. It was still a signicant drive before we could stop for the night.... We first headed 40 miles northeast to the town of Panguitch, where we stopped for dinner as it was already 8:30. Then, after dinner, it was another 20 miles or so to Bryce. We arrived in Bryce just after 10pm.
What's on tap for tomorrow? Hiking Bryce Canyon! We're hoping to make it another early day. Though this time without driving 537 miles!
Today has been a long day. We've driven a total of 537 miles from Bakersfield, CA to Bryce, UT. Along the way we made several stops, including one to hike at higher than 10,000' (3km) elevation!
Buh-Bye, Bakersfield
Our day started in Bakersfield, where we arrived last night at midnight. Even as I settled down to sleep (see blog) I was already planning for how soon we could leave Bakersfield. The answer turned out to be 8 hours. We rolled from the parking lot about 8 hours after we arrived. I often refer to basic hotels and hotel stays as "8 hours and a shower"; this was 8 hours including the shower.
No Time for Mask Refusers
One of our favorite fast food restaurants had a store near our hotel. And it was open 24 hours and had great reviews online. We were totally ready to have breakfast there. But when we entered the restaurant we saw multiple employees in the kitchen not wearing masks, including the man who looked like the manager who was talking to customers and serving food. Masks are required state-wide in California in places of business. Not only is it the law, it's an important element of health and safety. We noped out of there figuring we'd tie ourselves over with protein bars from our stash in the car until we could get a safer breakfast or lunch elsewhere.
Rising Above the Smoke
The Bakersfield area was gross with smoke. It didn't smell particularly bad, not like burning wood like last week with the wildfires near our home, but it was very thick. Bakersfield is at the foot of the enormous Sierra Nevada mountains.... Even the foothills were barely visible as ghosts through the haze.
As we climbed the mountains to the Tehachapi Pass to the east of Bakersfield the air cleared a bit. We could see the mountains and even faint blue sky beyond them. We stopped briefly in the town of Tehachapi for another stab at breakfast (the restaurant was drive-thru only and we decided not to bother) and gas. Then we headed out across the Mojave Desert.
Across the Mojave to Del Taco Number 3
The leg from Tehachapi to Barstow, 91 miles, was the first time today I felt like we were making great progress. Traffic was light on this stretch of highway, CA-58, so we made great time. We stopped for lunch at a Del Taco in Barstow. It turned out it was the chain's third restaurant ever. Staff inside were all taking COVID-19 precautions seriously, so we felt comfortable ordering there. We ate lunch outside at a picnic table in scant shade.
Barstow is a crossroads town in the desert north of the Los Angeles basin. It's where the very, very far-flung suburbs of LA end and... well, desert... takes over. As a crossroads town it's where CA-58 ends and Interstate 40 begins. Today we're not taking I-40, though; we're headed north on I-15, which passes through Barstow on its way to Las Vegas and beyond.
World's Tallest Thermometer Reads 113°! (But Wait, It Gets Worse!)
The leg from Barstow to Vegas is another run across the Mojave Desert. Along the stretch we pass by Baker, CA, a rest stop town known for a kitschy roadside attraction, The World's Tallest Themometer (Wikipedia link). It's 134 feet (41 m) tall.
Today it read 113° F (45° C) as we passed. Yes, that's accurate! California is in a record-setting heat wave. I spotted news articles later in the day that even hotter temperatures were recorded in various southern California cities.
Update: new stories indicate that Baker's world-tallest thermometer read 118° F (48° C) just after 2pm (e.g., this L.A. Times article 5 Sep 2020) and that a highest-ever-for-all-of-Southern-California temperature of 121° F (49.5° C) was recorded in Woodland Hills (see CNN.com article 5 Sep 2020). Woodland Hills, BTW, is part of Los Angeles. This isn't some crazy temperature reading way out in the desert; this is in an urban neighborhood where lots of people live!
Out of the Smoke, Through the Fire!
As we drove northeast across the Mojave Desert the air continued to clear from its smokiness further west in California. Ahead at the top of a long pass leaving Baker, though, we saw a plume of dark smoke. Dark smoke usually means fire. As in, the fire is burning right there. As we neared the top of the mountain pass we saw an actual fire. It looked as though a vehicle pulled over to the shoulder and ignited a fire that spread to the brush on the roadside. By the time we passed the vehicle was engulfed in flames. The occupants had already been rushed away by ambulances.
🎵 I Can't Drive... 75 🎵
As I-15 crossed into Nevada I saw two things I normally don't see elsewhere. The first is a big casino. Along I-15 there's a casino literally on the state line, in the town of Primm. The other thing is a "SPEED LIMIT 75" sign. Woohoo! I still sped, though. Apparently I can't drive 75. 😏
Further up I-15 we passed through Las Vegas. Yes, we passed through it. We did not stop. We do not care about Las Vegas. It ceased being interesting to us years ago.
I Can't Drive... 80?
Heading north from Las Vegas, I-15 traverses the edge of the Great Basin desert. It nicks through the northeastern corner of Arizona for 30 miles between Nevada and Utah. Shortly after that you hit red rocks country at the city of St. George. You know it's red rocks country because the rocky cliffs beyond town are literally red. And beyond St. George another odd thing appears... a "SPEED LIMIT 80" sign! I haven't seen a limit that high in 6 years.
Speed limit 80.... That's basically, "We don't want to waste cops on writing tickets." Because 80's so high most people aren't actually going to go that fast anyway. The road's not even in good enough condition to hit that speed, safely, very frequently. Though I made sure to drive about 83mph when I could a few times just to prove that I. Can't. Drive. 80.
Taking a Break at Cedar Breaks
At the town of Cedar City, UT along I-15 we turned east to climb high into the mountains. Here we leave the edge of the Great Basin desert and ascend the Colorado Plateau. Cedar City is below 6,000' elevation. The top of the plateau is over 10,000'. Cedar Basin National Monument is home to a sandstone amphitheater similar to Bryce Canyon's. We stopped and hiked for a few hours. I'll post pictures soon! Update: Cedar Breaks hiking pictures in next entry.
Pizza Dinner, Checking in after 10pm
We enjoyed Cedar Breaks for 2 hours before sunset then left the park. It was still a signicant drive before we could stop for the night.... We first headed 40 miles northeast to the town of Panguitch, where we stopped for dinner as it was already 8:30. Then, after dinner, it was another 20 miles or so to Bryce. We arrived in Bryce just after 10pm.
What's on tap for tomorrow? Hiking Bryce Canyon! We're hoping to make it another early day. Though this time without driving 537 miles!