Crossing the DESERT!

New Horizons

The Great Basin–Mojave Desert region. 

It's still a mystery to me, what this vast area we call "the desert" is, and how the various areas of it hang together. Before we came to Boulder City, Allan would say, "We are going to be living in the middle of a desert," so I took to saying that, as well. But how would it pan out? We landed first in Southern California, which itself is in the middle of a drought, and it looked pretty fried (crispy and brown). From that day on Venice Beach forward, I started cultivating the brown tone that characterizes my skin at present (in mid-September). So I was still in a state of suspense on the morning of Thursday, Aug. 13, when we would finally "cross the desert." 

Definitions:

A desert is a barren area of land where little precipitation occurs and consequently living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. ~Wikipedia.org
A large, dry, barren region, usually having sandy or rocky soil and little or no vegetation. Water lost to evaporation and transpiration in a desert exceeds the amount of precipitation; most deserts average less than 25 cm (9.75 inches) of precipitation each year, concentrated in short local bursts. ~ Dictionary.com

Beginner Blogger

Eagerly, we pack up, after our fourth 'Days' Inn' breakfast (which by now has lost its freshness), and it proves a breeze to stow our luggage in the new-to-us minivan. We are off to a early start for our 5:30 pm appointment in our reserved condo in "The Spanish Steps".  No wonder it's early: At around 6 am Allan's cell phone rang, from an unfamiliar Nevada number, and he assumed it was yet another call from yet another insurance company. Having already decided to risk driving today's stretch uninsured, and wait until in Boulder City to sign up, he refused the call. But at around 7 am the phone rang again -- this time from Seattle, WA, whilst in the shower and we thought it best to answer -- just in case it be some sort of family emergency. However, the caller was the so-called "property manager" for the condo-owner; the latter in a panic about whether we were still coming as planned, because we'd been out of touch for a day or two. 

Is this dream-spot for real?

A word about the condo is in order here: we had been on the lookout for months when this one showed up on Craigslist, and it had been a somewhat bumpy road towards where we were now: with no formal signed agreement, and no deposit paid, but a promise on both sides. So both parties were equally "sold" and "invested" in the virtual deal, and both a bit nervous about the other backing out. What prevented an exchange of actual funds was the multiple warnings we'd received about scams that made us skeptical.  At this point, we reassured "the other" that we would appear on time, and close the deal, as promised. I admit to sweating it a bit as we set out to cross the desert: a) unfamiliar car b) no insurance c) the suspense of a 'blind date.' 

First Draft of First Blogpost.

At any rate... I was eager to begin my blog, and this was the first stretch of time I had available for the task. Aha! The Blank Space ;). Optimally situated in my bucket seat behind the driver, I commanded a bird's eye perspective upon both the interior and the exterior of the vehicle as it rolled towards Las Vegas. I observed the conspicuously spacious, "deserted" world around me, musing and filling a couple of 'pages,' from which the following is an excerpt (may it also serve as a summary of previous blogposts):

Clean slate in the desert. 

Inspiration comes easily in a new place.

Here we are, at long last, cruising at 60 mph through Southern California towards Las Vegas. Allan is driving, Max is drawing, and I am dreaming. Outside it is 44 C./112 F. but inside we are nice and comfy with the air conditioning on in our new-to-us ’99 Dodge Grand Caravan. It has four captain’s seats, two in front and two in the mid section, and we have folded down the bench seat behind me, to store our luggage. As Max and Allan venture outside to pee, I tease them that it will evaporate before it touches the ground. We have been hydrating on Max’s root beer from Walmart in Fullerton, poured into plastic cups full of ice purchased for 30 cents at a refueling station along the way. Max claims "I have become Mom!" as he surpasses me in demand for pit stops! 

Baggage stowed neatly--
preserving rear view ("hindsight").

The vast fields of clean light sand flecked with tumbleweed are quite a contrast to the tangle of clutter we left behind in Norway. Though we used our full baggage allowance of two 22-1/2 kg. pieces each plus 10 kg. hand baggage and one personal item each on the flight over, it all tucks nicely behind us leaving a clear view through the back window, unlike previous trips with four or five kids filling all the seats of our previous Ford Aerostars and baggage stacked up to the roof! Our current conditions seem modern and spacious! 

Trigger finger lagging behind sudden flashes of lightning ;)

Three cracks of lightning. An hour later we have experienced a brief and welcome downpour that rapidly cooled the air to a record-breaking minimum of 24 C. We were going over a pass, and in accordance with the warning signs, we turned off the air conditioning to avoid overheating the motor -- and passed a number of vehicles stopped on the shoulder with hoods open. Max jokes, "Sucker!" but we all realize that it is a dangerous situation to overheat your engine and stall when it's well over 40 C. outside. 

Max just now opened his iphone to read us an “emergency alert” about flash floods in this area. The sky is threateningly dark, with big vertical streaks of rain surging downward here and there! [pic] It’s quite an exciting drive and I am perfectly content with my second row seat. How cool is it that we get to experience the rare drama of rain and lightning in the desert? More and more lightning sparks the question from Max, “What would happen if we got struck by lightning?” 

Our sun-peeled work-horse, wet 'n' shiny. 

Well, the tires prevent the lightning from even striking automobiles, Allan says, and volunteers his opinion that  "this car was a steal" what with brand new tires, clean motor, no oil burning, no overheating... The only minus is cosmetic: the finish is flakey from steady, intense sun rays over the years. This is the fourth vehicle we viewed in our search for one that would satisfy us all. Allan wanted a mini-van: reliability, good gas mileage, only one owner, and low price were his main criteria. Max wanted an SUV: a cool car he wouldn’t be embarrassed to be picked up or dropped off at school was his demand. As for me, I wanted a clean and comfortable interior and a quiet ride. (Guess for yourselves what quality we lack in our recent experience with the minibus in Trondheim? I’ll tell you: the stiffly upright seats and the engine noise are insufferable!) Despite the damage to the outermost finish, there are no signs of rust. And I’d rather be comfortable inside than focused on the appearance from the outside. Allan hopes to wax the dull spots and make it more even...  (This, I shall peremptorily inform you, did not work out. Nor did we even try Max's suggestion of spray paint, seeing how his gold scooter already has scratch marks ;).)

A sparkling view through the rain spattered windshield.

OK, that's that. The rest I wrote at the time, is too repetitive to paste in here, since I have already covered the car purchase in a previous post. The upshot of it all is that each of us enjoyed the ride and appreciated the advantages and amenities of the minivan. Statistics add up to suggest that SUV's are not such safe cars to ride in as they are constructed for off-road use and not for freeway driving where they can lose their grip and roll due to a lack of stability. Max, advantageously sitting in the front seat, reconciled himself to appearances for the time being. So this is how the rest of the trip unfolded: 

More and more lightning, too many flashes to count! Fascinated by the show in the sky, we missed the turn-off to Boulder City and wound up in central Las Vegas in stand-still rush hour traffic, windshield wipers swishing frantically to clear our view of the gutters full of gushing and gurgling rainwater. Later we are told that this is the result of monsoon activity in the area. Monsoon? 

"July and August can also be marked by "monsoon season", when moist winds from the Gulf of California soak much of the Southwestern United States. While not only raising humidity levels, these winds develop into dramatic desert thunderstorms that can sometimes cause flash flooding." ~ Wikipedia.org

When two and two are put together regarding prevalent desert dryness and infrequency of downpours, how likely is it that we should arrive with all this flash, boom and fanfare? It was truly a memorable entree to the drama of the desert area we were committed to inhabit for the next 10 months. What's more, the next days and weeks would be as dry as bones and as hot as a Finnish sauna. When informing local people as to when we arrived, we can merely say: "The day it rained -- remember?" And of course, they do. How cool is that?

Looking ahead: The desert offers, in its own way, a unique opportunity for experiencing catharsis. For one thing, there are the extremes: scorching heat vs. crisp cold fronts, stillness vs. howling winds, drought vs. flash floods. A heat wave feels like being in a sauna constantly -- and that is rumored to be cleansing and detoxifying (one of the touted benefits of hot-yoga). Also, the desert offers subtle moments of stimulation such as lizards darting here or there unexpectedly, quails strutting about, dragonflies, desert rats,  hidden snakes and sneaky spiders, and now (in September), gorgeous yellow butterflies flitting about. In other words, there is more than meets the unaccustomed eye, if one but fine-tunes one's senses (ears, eyes and nose). 

This is a colorful mural in downtown Boulder City. The artist depicts the bio-diversity of the area symbolically:
A ring of dry mountains surrounding Lake Mead, desert wildlife including big-horned sheep, snakes, birds, and cactus...

Interested to learn more? Here's a link: http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/sandt/Great-bn.pdf