Road Trip!

Yesterday, I had to deliver some stuff to a crew we have at a remote location... Emphasis on the word "remote".

I had to check out a van, drive down to Murrieta (near Temecula -- Gee, I'm getting really familiar with that area!), pick up some equipment, then deliver it to Desert Center. There, I was met by the crew's supervisor (a guy named Al), who then delivered the equipment to Copper Basin.

I still don't know where Copper Basin is (stay tuned, I'm sure I will know sooner than I think), but I can show you Desert Center.

As you can see by this Google Earth image, Desert Center is one of the most remote towns (and I use that word loosely) in the country; Indio is 46 miles to the west, and Blythe is 47 miles to the east. Indio comprises the easternmost portion of the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area, while Blythe sits on the Colorado River, with Arizona just beyond. The big dark spot in this image is the Salton Sea.

.

If you've traveled eastbound on I-10 through the California desert, you have encountered the Chiriaco Incline. It's that 10-mile long uphill climb, preceded by posted warnings that you turn off your car's AC so that you don't overheat, complete with no less than ten pull-offs with radiator water! It's located east of Indio, making it one of more challenging stretches of roadway anywhere in the country.

.

About eight more miles after the incline is Chiriaco Summit, home of one of the oldest surviving desert cafés in the country (opened 1933), as well as the George S. Patton Museum (Wouldn't you know it? Now I actually have a place that I want to go to in the middle of the desert! Perhaps, one day, I will make it out there). Drive another 20 miles, and you reach Desert Center, the very definition of "wide spot in the road".

.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you downtown Desert Center, California, population: 125. And yes, that gas price was $3.99/gallon! Suffice it to say that I garnered a little overtime yesterday; I didn't get back to the Lake until well after 6:30pm. Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to go to work...