Bakersfield, California

No, not Barstow. Bakersfield. When it came down to the actual driving, Barstow was a pretty lame goal for the day. We left Bullhead City at 9:15 this morning, after a farewell coffee with Jane and Franco, and by 2:00 o'clock this afternoon, we had already gone through Barstow. So we aimed for Bakersfield, and when we got here, we found a great place called Bakersfield Travel Park. We are only a block from the freeway, but somehow we are comfortable, and the noise level isn't too bad. The cable TV works, the internet connection is okay, the manager is friendly - landed on our feet, we did. One reason we are so pleased is our memory of how hard it was to find River Run RV Park, where we stayed on our last visit to Bakersfield.

There were no official Sights on our route today, but there was one sight that surprised me. I had forgotten about Tejon Ranch, the fabulous landscape that fascinated me on the outward trip. This time, I didn't see the Tejon Ranch sign, I just saw the place itself, near Tehachapi, and recognized it immediately. A few minutes later, the gentle hills and trees of the ranch gave way to more hills, these covered with green grass and wildflowers the orange of California poppies. It's the wrong season for the poppies, so I don't know what these blossoms were - or for that matter, what the blue flowers that followed were. It's hard to identify flora at 60 miles an hour! I do know that they were beautiful, and that the burst of colour after months in the desert was intoxicating.

Upon arrival in Bakersfield, we set up house for the night, and I dove into the computer while Robin went for a bike ride. He got some exercise, but I got an idea - or an idea got me. It's an idea that has been niggling at my head for months now, and the time has come to put my mouth where my head is. So: I hereby declare my intention to participate in NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month event this coming November. There. I've said it. Now I have to go register. Scary.