Arizona to California

Wednesday, June 16

From the Grand Canyon, we headed for our motel in Kingman, AZ. Since it was too early to check in, we decided to go have a look at the Hoover Dam first. We had a cold lunch along the way. 

Isaac: Simply getting into the Hoover Dam was interesting. We had to go through security, where they asked us questions and then had us pull over, so they could take a look inside the carrier on the top of our van. The guards were dressed in black and wearing masks; I didn't envy them -- it was 113° outside! 

We stopped at an overlook and got out; it felt like you'd just stepped into an oven. Easily the hottest I've ever felt. The only other thing we did was take a walk to a bridge a couple hundred feet higher than the dam to get an even better look. Jasmine, dad and I were the only ones to go on the walk, the rest stayed in the van. 

The Hoover Dam is truly an engineering marvel, one of those "must see" things if you are in the area. All tours were closed, so I didn't learn a lot about it but here are some things I know:

• It was built from 1931 to 1936 during the Great Depression 

• It was built before computers

• A concrete structure this big had never been attempted before

• There's enough concrete in it to pave a two lane road from Seattle to Miami

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Thursday, June 17

For breakfast, dad cooked sausage links and scrambled eggs on our electric burner in our motel. We were out of there by 9:30, and we headed towards Bakersfield, CA. It would just be a day of driving, so we settled in for the ride. 

Jennifer: I was calmly reading a book, when I looked up and noticed that we were pulling into a tire shop. Confused, I turned my attention from my book to what was going on around me. Dad was asking the attendant to check the air in the tires, since he thought they were a little low. My immediate thoughts were, "Good, this won't take long." I turned back to my book but before I knew it, we were filing into the tire shop and preparing to wait forty five minutes for new shocks to be put on our van. Surprised, but not worried, I (in typical Jennifer fashion) simply buried myself in my book, emerging a few times to play the ABC game in the waiting room and send some messages to our cousins. 

Around an hour later, we were back on the road. Nothing very traumatic had happened, but that turned out to be the least of our worries. 

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We headed off once more for the aforementioned Bakersfield. We continued our audiobook "From the White House to the Amish". It was a nice ride, and we were all engrossed in our story when dad suddenly hit the breaks and the van began slowing down abruptly. Everyone's basic thought was "Uh oh" but it was not nearly a strong enough interjection, as we soon discovered. 

We made a quick exit down an entrance ramp, which happened to be right close to where our gas light came on, and the GPS said it was 55 miles to the next gas station. (Dad was sure he had allowed enough gas to get to the next station but now things weren't adding up.) Turning around, we headed back to the gas station we had apparently passed 37 miles earlier, praying as we went. Dad did everything he could to stretch the gas as far as possible -- drove slowly, turned off the a/c, coasted down several long grades... Just as the gas station sign popped into view, we found ourselves stranded on the side of the interstate. 

The gas station in the distance...

Lillian: I felt disgusted at the thought -- stranded, with no a/c. I hate being hot; I get overheated and sick. I hate the feeling of fear, not knowing for sure what will happen. With no gas in the tank, being stuck 1.5 miles from the gas station, I felt both things. 

Jasmine: "Well, there she went," (that was dad). 

I'm not the pessimistic type when it comes to things like this. I kept thinking to myself, "I mean, we're still driving. Surely we'll make it, but even if we don't, we may as well not worry until we run out of gas."

When we coasted to a stop along the freeway, I knew that if I had the option, I'd be among the "doers" rather than the "sitters". Do I enjoy walking through the blaze of 113° desert wilderness? Nope. I like it a whole heap better than sitting in it though! I was more than happy to accompany dad on the rescue mission. I hopped out into the wilderness oven, water bottle in hand.

The rescue ended up looking like a $24.99 one gallon gas can filled with fuel at a similarly exorbitant price. It also included a kind couple who offered us a ride to the gas station, saving us about a mile of walking. God bless them (and their dog).

Here come our heroes with the precious gas can! The couple picked them up after they had walked all the way up the road and off the exit and then brought them back to the exit to walk back to the van. 

We were certainly glad to see them!

We later discovered that our GPS was spitting out incorrect information, and we actually could have made it to the next gas station, instead of turning around!! I suppose if the GPS was always right, we'd never have any stories to pass on to our children...

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All's well that ends well, as Ma Ingalls would say. And Charles, with his ever present legos, would agree.