Back on the bus and I’m heading for Las Vegas. I’m going to break the trip by staying two nights at Barstow, a small town on the western edge of the Mojave Desert. I want to experience some small-town desert living and I need to time my arrival in Vegas to get the cheap mid-week hotel deals. I’ve booked into several nights at a casino right on the Las Vegas strip for $25 per night. I thought it was a mistake but that is what has been billed to my credit card. I have heard that accommodation, food and drink is very cheap at these casinos, designed to get you to gamble. Well I hope to resist the temptation and just take advantage of the cheap deals.
The way continues down through California’s mid valley where irrigated agriculture dominates the scenery. This changes though as we head east from industrial Bakersfield (where Hugh lives), through the Sierras and into desert territory. Wind turbines, hundreds of them, top the ridges and hills. It is a dry time of the year, even in the valleys and the hills are brown and treeless. Moving into the desert and only the vegetation changes. The grass is gone and the hills are covered in rock and course shrubs. I had expected to see some cactus but none here! I get to Barstow at 5.30pm.
angusmccoll 