Cross Country (Part Six)
It wasn’t hard to drive away from the Grand Canyon. We had seen so many fascinating less traveled places, we weren’t willing to fight the crowd to see the canyon. We did stop and take one picture. Now don’t be alarmed. I certainly would never belittle one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. After all, there aren’t many places you go and see signs that say, “Mountain Lion Crossing.” That has to count for something! The canyon is 277 miles long and averages 10 miles wide. It is definitely a wonder! I’ve been back to the Grand Canyon on other occasions. It is a magnificent canyon full of mystery and color. Every crevasse and fold of the cliff walls hold hidden secrets and are full of intrigue and adventure. That area of the country – Northern Arizona and Southern Utah with their red rimmed cliffs and canyons – is a “must see.”
The Grand Canyon
We made camp somewhere in the dark that seemed to come earlier that night. The next morning, the heat pounded down. There was no relief without clouds in the sky to block the sun’s rays. It was a hot and dusty non-eventful day headed west. We arrived at the campground in Needles, California, just over the state line. As we pulled into our camp site, we both saw blue water. The first thing we did was jump in the pool. Ahhh – what a relief. That was our first opportunity for that! Our dry flaky skin cried out, “Thank you! Thank you!” It was time to get another bottle or two of lotion! We wondered if our skin would ever be moisturized again.
One thing that amazed me in our travels was not just the changing scenery, but also the changing building materials. Adobe homes with red Spanish Tile roofs were common in the desert areas. Spacious sprawling one level adobe homes with stone floors looked inviting to offer a cool place to enter on a hot day. The yards were landscaped with plants suitable for that climate – Yucca, various cacti, succulents, drought tolerant grasses and flowers and stones, lots of stones. Those homes were gorgeous and perfectly suited for the climate and landscape.
There was more desert in front of us as we turned the car toward the Pacific Coast. We made a quick stop and took a short hike in Joshua Tree National Park. If I had expected to see trees like in the Southeast, I would have been deeply disappointed. The trees looked like something in a Dr. Seuss tale. They were scrubby and misshaped and looked like they could sure use a drink.
As we drove further west, the traffic increased. Soon there was a mass of cars filled with drivers speeding and swerving like madmen. I began to feel claustrophobic as cars surrounded us at top speeds and pushed us forward. The closer we got to Los Angeles, the more people we saw. It seemed there were as many people on the roads as there were the grains of sand we had seen in the desert. I was about to opt for the desert.
Santa Monica was our first stop to visit family. We stayed with cousins Anna and Kitty and their cat that sat in their plates on the dining room table and ate off the counter in the kitchen. They instructed us in the “proper” way to make a bed. While there, we took in some of the usual tourist highlights. We visited Universal Studios. When we went in the entrance to the studios, we were greeted by Jaws hanging by the gate. His mouth was opened wide with sharp teeth reflecting the sun. The movie had been released days before. It was interesting to see movie sets and hear how many of the special effects are created. We went to Grauman’s Chinese Theater on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame and saw handprints and footprints of some of the movie stars. There were even a few horse hoof imprints.
Cousins 
More cousins
Another cousin took us sailing on the Pacific. It was fun, but I didn’t wear that shade of green very well! It was definitely different than sailing on Lake Hartwell. One of my favorite tourist stops was the LaBrea Tar Pits. It was like stepping into the Ice Age – without the ice. There were displays of mammoths trapped in the tar and accounts of expeditions that led to the discovery. Bubbling tar spat and sputtered as it rose to the top of the ground. That took me back to when I was a kid popping tar bubbles with my bare feet on the hot road. We could have spent more time there, but our journey awaited.
Pacific Ocean
