Back on land

April 1 … being back on land does seem like a sorry April Fool’s Day joke.  But it’s time to get my land legs back on, and swing one of them over the saddle of a motorcycle.  It’s time to ride, baby.

I relaxed at Verlie and Joe’s house for a few days as I wasn’t meeting up with Jaz until Friday, April 3.

 

Making home-made lemonade was one of my ways of relaxing.  It tasted so good.  Lemons right off the tree rock. 

 I also spent time walking.

There are flowers everywhere making for a wonderful walk.

Then there are the other little things that make a walk fun.

My motorcycle, Harlow, needed a little attention as she was feeling neglected and needed to be out on the road to feel good again.  Check.  Done.  She runs right. 

 

I went through my gear, checked my low bag to be sure I had my warm gear, my electrics, my hydration vest, just in case.  The same things always go in the bags, but I like to double check it all.  Then I washed clothes from the trip, and packed the bag to take on the motorcycle.  That’s all different clothes I have at their house, but I go through everything.

Puttering around the house, I was talking on the phone when Jazzie, the Yorkie, began barking.  I looked out the window but saw nothing.  She kept barking.  I looked out again.  What?  There was a goat in the cul de sac.  No way.  It was black and white, and I was thinking I was hallucinating.  I hurriedly told my friend I had to go see a goat.  I know she didn’t believe me.  I grabbed my camera and out I went.

This billy goat became gruff.

 Yep, it was a goat.  What was he doing there?  I went back to the house and found a nylon strap and went out and caught the goat.  I walked it by a few houses and knocked on doors.  No one answered.  So I took the goat and tied it up to some mining equipment in the yard since I figured it couldn’t drag that off.  Then I called Joe.  He said it belonged next door and to let it roam the yard.  Okay.  I let it loose and it found its way to the garage door that wasn’t totally closed and out it went. 

I grabbed the strap and went after the goat again.  It was way more wary of me than before and I had a hard time catching it.  But I was more persistent and stubborn than a silly goat.  It was reunited with its owner.

The next day, Thursday, April 2, was another strange day.  This time it was what I believe to be a lizard in the house.  Joe must think I’m some kind of nut case as we never did find the lizard.

This visit with my friends was coming to a close, and I’d be off again for a few weeks of wind therapy.

Friday morning, April 3, I loaded the bike and headed down the road to Barstow, California, to meet Jaz who was coming from the San Francisco area.  Friend Dewey, from the Yukon, was down south with friend Chuck and he decided to come meet Jaz and me.  Yahoo.  He arrived in Barstow before we did, and decided to ride a bit further to meet me. 

It took some doing, and it sure is nice to be able to text and find out where someone is.  I passed him parked alongside the Interstate and stopped to text him.  He said not to get in a rush as a grass fire had traffic backed up.  Yep.  Sure did.  He got to where I was and we joined the queue of vehicles slowly moving.  It was probably 10 miles of traffic, but we got through and got to our motel in Barstow to find Jaz there waiting for us.  We were together so let the adventures begin.

We got up Saturday, April 4, and decided to do some roaming around in Barstow.  There are some neat things to see, so we headed to a location that houses the historic Harvey House, the Route 66 Mother Road Museum and the Western America Railroad Museum.  Who knew?

Harvey House, a vision of eras past.

Harvey House and Railroad Depot was originally known as the Casa del Desierto (house of the desert) station and hotel and replaced an earlier one built in 1885 that burned in 1908.  It opened in 1911 and was one of the Fred Harvey Company hotels that played a part in improving the quality and service of food along the railroad lines.  It’s a beautiful building that now hosts events, including ghost tours.  It is considered to be active with spiritual and paranormal activity, with three well-known spirits.

I love roadside attractions.

The Route 66 Museum has an extensive collection of Route 66 history including development, pioneer trails, railroads.  But I found something of much more interest to me … a police motorcycle.  Yahoo. 

Let's turn on the lights.

Route 66 has never been that big a deal for me, probably because I wasn’t raised in this area, but I can certainly appreciate the history.  And move on to something else … like police car toys, or the Duke.

The coolest toy ever.

Give me a little kiss, will ya, huh?

It was fun.

While 1926 was the year a new numbered highway system was instituted, and U.S. Highway 66, also known as the “Mother Road,” the “Main Street of America,” and the “Will Rogers Highway,” came into being, next door to the museum commemorating its history was the Railroad Museum.  There were engines and railcars on display outside, and inside were other smaller rail machines. 

This GM diesel locomotive was built in 1967.  It was originally a passenger train engine, but ended its service in 1998 as an AMTRAK back-up engine. 

This little gem was a narrow gauge and carried in a box car in the 1930s.  It was used by the Santa Fe to fight brush fires along the tracks.  It was built in 1917 and dubbed "Lil Red."

 

The museum features a number of things, including a model railroad, railway pins, silverware, pens and so much more.  But there was something that I found fascinating, “date nails.”  The museum houses one of the largest collections of these nails in the country. 

There was a whole room dedicated to the date nails.  A photo didn't turn out due to the reflection, but there were rows of cases that covered every available space on the walls.

A date nail is a nail with a date stamped on its head.  They are usually 2-1/2 inches long and were driven into railroad ties, bridge timbers, utility poles, mine props and other wooden structures for record-keeping purposes.  They can be round, square, diamond, pentagon and other shapes as well.  More than 2,000 different date nails were used by North American railroads that showed the year.  Date nails were used to determine the date of installation, the wood, treatment and other information, making the total number of different nails more than 3,500.  It’s no wonder there are so many and they are of interest.  Some railroads did not use them; others used them for a short time, or a long time.  I just thought they were very interesting and a cool piece of information.

 

Atlantic City -- electric company.

 From Barstow we headed kind of easterly, following a portion of Route 66, and even stopped to take photos.  It was great as there wasn’t much traffic, probably because the road is rougher than the Interstate.  Not an issue for us. 

And there we are ... Route 66, the Mother Road.

We stopped at an old café, Roy's, that isn't open as a motel or café.  But the buildings have some interesting things.

We stopped at an old building and I found this written in the rocks ... my mom's name.

We followed 66 to the Kelso Railroad Depot, an incredible structure and an oasis in the Mojave Desert.  Palm trees added to the idea of a resort, until the chugging of a train engine spoiled the quiet air.  It was beautiful, and the train made you think of going back to a time when rail travel was elegant and the only way to travel, rather than packed into an airplane by companies that make you feel like cattle packed into a cattle car.  The good old days???

The depot is beautiful.

And this is from the side with the tracks.

A train even came through. 

The jail ... strap iron, two cells.  Can you see Jaz on the right?

Beautiful country.

We ended the day in Baker, California, on the north side of the Mojave.  It was a good run, not too hot, and filled with fun things to photograph.  Even Baker had something … world’s largest thermometer.  It was a great day. 

We were told they recently got the lights working again.  This was early evening as we walked to dinner.

The Mad Greek was the place to eat, a jewel among a row of fast-food joints.  A walk up and down the main street finished off the evening … and then blissful sleep.