The road to Nowhere

I now know where the road to nowhere is and where it actually leads to!

Greg had come for a quick visit this weekend, he came to pick up his computer. Well, he needed to get back to his barracks at 29 Palms. When someone tells you they live out in the middle of nowhere, unless they live at 29 Palms, they are living near somewhere. The drive is about four hours long, not to bad really. From Phoenix to Parker, there are the usual little towns and homesteads, places to stop, sights to see, things of that nature. Parker is a little town just inside the Arizona-California border. Once you cross the border into California there is an Agriculture check point, this is where you stop and are asked if you have any fresh fruits or live plants that you are bringing with you, they also ask where you are coming from.

Across the state highway from that is a gas station/convenience store, with a sign near it that states that there are no more services for 100 miles. Even when you see a sign like that you think that there should be homes, farms or some sign of civilization along those miles even if you can't get gas or something to eat. Most of the vehicles that have crossed the state line are either turning left or right to other towns, few keep going straight. The state highway that goes straight leads to the highway that leads to 29 Palms, it goes through the high desert. There is absolutely nothing on this road. There are no houses, no farms, no signs of civilization of any kind, the only other sign that it isn't totally empty are the railroad tracks. There weren't any trains either. There aren't even any billboards, no advertising of any kind for anything.

As you keep driving down this road, you have to marvel at the number of people that are also travelling down the road. After quite some time, you finally arrive at another road, this is the road that you have to turn down. This is the only turnoff since leaving the little gas station that there is, no other roads or driveways were passed along the way. Once you turn down this road, there is still nothing to indicate that you are anywhere that people have been or could be other that the road you are on. After a while you begin to wonder if you missed a turn or if you are really going to see a town or any kind of civilization ever again. Then just as you think that you're lost, you go around the last foothill and you finally see in the distance a few man made structures.

Then as you get closer, there are a few abandoned homes, some homes that are actually being lived in, a sign that says you are entering the Joshua Tree National Forest. When you finally get to the town that is next to the base, it is actually a very busy little town. A lot busier than the surrounding desert would lead you to believe.

This is truly the road to nowhere, and it leads to 29 Palms. Yes, there are palm trees there, there are none anywhere else, just there. I drove this road on Sunday, I will be driving it again on Friday when I go to pick Greg up for the three day weekend. It is roads like this when a car that can drive itself would be really great.

Live fully.....