RV Fun Trips ---

A Trip to the Southwest and the Plains
November 2007
The Southwest — Page 1

The First Day — Saturday
We got underway a few minutes after 10 o'clock this morning with a plan to get to Barstow for our first stop. It took a bit longer to get ready this morning as this is the first time to tow our Saturn VUE. With the towed-vehicle hooked up our trip began by heading southbound on highway 85 to US-101. The weather was sunny and cool which made for easier driving conditions.

The drive down to the Pacheco Pass Road (highway 152) was routine with light traffic. This would be the case all day. We normally travel closer to a holiday when highway traffic is considerably heavier. The cruise control kept a steady pace along most of the way with me taking over when there was a transition from one roadway to another.

It has been quite awhile since our last trip on 152 and I-5. There have been a lot of changes especially along highway 152. Road construction is underway to widen 152 and to build a freeway type interchange to connect the Hollister highway to 152. Then as we passed the Santa Nella RV Park we saw a new housing development next door where an open field was located the last time we came this way.

The scenes along I-5 looked very familiar with more and more land being turned into vineyards and orchards. The feed lot that is several miles north of Kettleman City was preceded by its smell. The lots seem to be larger than when we last passed this way.

I was looking down the road at the orchard on the other side of the freeway. Suddenly, across the freeway I saw a car that looked as if the driver lost control for a brief time. A big cloud of dust rose over the oncoming traffic as the vehicle was brought back into control. The situation unfolding ahead of us was far enough away from us that I had no concern for our safety, however, it was interesting to watch it play out. The car was finally back on the Interstate as if nothing happened, except for the large dust cloud.

A dust cloud kicked up by a car that nearly lost it

Most of the cotton fields appeared to have been harvested not long ago. Only one field still had cotton to be harvested and one field had huge bales of cotton lined up around the perimeter. Occasionally a field full of grazing sheep with a lot of new little lambs would appear to pass by. It occurred to me that the area was the source of a lot of raw material for cloth — cotton and wool.

This was the only field that still contained unharvested cotton

Bales of cotton ready to go to market

A flock of wool sweaters on the hoof

Our first stop for fuel was at the Flying J truck stop a few miles north of Bakersfield. Like many fuel stops, the fuel prices are displayed in two columns — one showed the cash price while the other displayed the credit card price. The difference was six cents per gallon. Now I like the convenience of using a credit card to keep track of my travel expenses. As it turned out, I was able to use my credit card and I still get the cash price. This is the result of using a Flying J Frequent Fueler Card; also know as the Loyal Customer Rewards Card.

A task I would repeat many times on this trip

Again I noticed how light the traffic was while refueling. I pulled into the RV fuel island behind a motorhome and rental truck that were pulling out. During the time it took me to fill the tank, no motorhomes lined up behind our rig. Usually there is a wait behind a couple of vehicles with a line forming behind us while topping off the tank. I really like have so few vehicles on the road. Kay suggested that it might be an indicator of an effect of high fuel prices.

From Bakersfield, our route moved over to highway 58 heading for Barstow. Our motorhome performed very well as we climbed up toward Tehachapi. I had been concerned about the possibility of the engine running a bit hot going up the long incline with our Saturn VUE in tow. As it turned out, the engine temperature ran about halfway between normal and the red zone which I was glad to see.

Late afternoon sun creates nice lighting effect as we travel to Tehachapi

The sun set behind the mountains as we passed through the town of Tehachapi. As we descended from Tehachepi, I noticed a lot of new wind-powered generators. There are a few new ones on the west side of town now as well as a few more east of town where most are located. As usual, the image of spinning flowers come to mind when I see this particular field of generators.

The lights of the town of Mojave glistened in the distance as our route took us past Joshua trees that seemed to be lesser in number each time we come this way. The bypass around the town of Mojave cuts the amount of time it takes to get to the other side of town.

More wind powered generators are located on two sides of Tehachepi

By the time Mojave was behind us, the sky had darkened completely. Even so, the roadway seemed familiar as we approached Barstow. The roadway is quite different from our earlier treks this way. The transition from highway 58 to I-15 was smooth and without incident. It was a few minutes before 7PM when we settled into our campsite at the Barstow/Calico KOA.

Tomorrow we head to Las Vegas to visit with a friend and to see Vegas for the first time.