Why is it that every time I do something quasi-adventurous, it involves nearly losing my life?
Sorry. Let me backtrack.
I made it to LA yesterday afternoon (Saturday the 12th) one day eariler than I expected, after making an unexpected 700+ mile drive from Van Horn, Texas to the Arizona/California border in one long, exhausting and inevitably terrifying day.
After leaving Van Horn, I planned on staying in a campground in between Tucson and Phoenix, where I could launch my final 250+ mile push into LA. That all changed when I saw a sign for the "Casa Grande Ruins Historical Site." I had never seen Native American ruins before, so I stopped off and saw some of the most amazing ruins that exist in North America. Casa Grande is a 14th-century set of ruins which is remarkably well preserved. The centerpiece is a 3-story house (hence the name, Casa Grande) that has stood for over 700 years now. This building is now covered by an ugly metal roof to protect it from the elements. Evidently this was among the latest of the Natives' buildings, as their history can be traced back to 300 AD. That these Natives lived in the middle of the desert for 1000 years (take that, Moses) simply boggles my mind, especially considering it was so friggin hot when I was there that the Park Ranger tied an oven mit to the door so people could open it without getting burned.
So, in an attempt to get back onto the highway, I went past my exit for my campground. I called my brother Jon so he can help me find a campground anywhere in the Phoenix area, but we could not find one that accepted tents.
And that is when things got scary.
Heading toward the California border, I saw a beautiful lightning storm in the distance. I pulled off the side of the road and took some short movies with my digital camera, which I will upload as soon as I figure out how.
As I approached this massive storm, I was suddenly engulfed in solid black storm clouds and was completely surrounded by lightning. I put my flashers on and slowed down to 40 mph. The lightning was ferocious and blindingly close, striking not 2000 feet from my car in terrifying succession. I was afraid to pull off the side of the road for fear of being struck by said lightning bolts. I turned off my cellphone and unplugged my computer just in case.
Then, it got worse.
It started raining, horribly, from out of nowhere. Without exaggeration, Itt was as if I had suddenly driven under a waterfall, a really huge waterfall that was about 1 mile thick. The road ahead was flooding quickly, and I found it hard to keep my car straight. It got so bad so quickly I was certain I'd have to be rescued from the roof of my car. Things were not helped by the trucks flying by me on the left which nearly pushed the trailer I was towing off the road. And, where the trailer went, I was going too.
Worse still, the only thing on the radio was country music.
Life could not get any worse.
After about an hour of this, I finally made my way out of the storm, and found a campground on Exit 1 on the highway, right on the AZ/CA border. I tried to sleep but the wind was pushing my tent around, not letting that happen easily.
All in all, I drove about 700 miles yesterday. On the upside, I now know that "I love her, she hates me and I drink," courtesy of Country music star Darryl Worley.
The next morning I got up, made some appointments to view apartments, and made it to LA in the afternoon.
I think I found an apartment in Pasadena, which is not far from school. I'll let you know details as they arise.
Meanwhile, I hope all is well with you. Please feel free to drop me an email. I'll check it when I can.
Take care,
Sorry. Let me backtrack.
I made it to LA yesterday afternoon (Saturday the 12th) one day eariler than I expected, after making an unexpected 700+ mile drive from Van Horn, Texas to the Arizona/California border in one long, exhausting and inevitably terrifying day.
After leaving Van Horn, I planned on staying in a campground in between Tucson and Phoenix, where I could launch my final 250+ mile push into LA. That all changed when I saw a sign for the "Casa Grande Ruins Historical Site." I had never seen Native American ruins before, so I stopped off and saw some of the most amazing ruins that exist in North America. Casa Grande is a 14th-century set of ruins which is remarkably well preserved. The centerpiece is a 3-story house (hence the name, Casa Grande) that has stood for over 700 years now. This building is now covered by an ugly metal roof to protect it from the elements. Evidently this was among the latest of the Natives' buildings, as their history can be traced back to 300 AD. That these Natives lived in the middle of the desert for 1000 years (take that, Moses) simply boggles my mind, especially considering it was so friggin hot when I was there that the Park Ranger tied an oven mit to the door so people could open it without getting burned.
So, in an attempt to get back onto the highway, I went past my exit for my campground. I called my brother Jon so he can help me find a campground anywhere in the Phoenix area, but we could not find one that accepted tents.
And that is when things got scary.
Heading toward the California border, I saw a beautiful lightning storm in the distance. I pulled off the side of the road and took some short movies with my digital camera, which I will upload as soon as I figure out how.
As I approached this massive storm, I was suddenly engulfed in solid black storm clouds and was completely surrounded by lightning. I put my flashers on and slowed down to 40 mph. The lightning was ferocious and blindingly close, striking not 2000 feet from my car in terrifying succession. I was afraid to pull off the side of the road for fear of being struck by said lightning bolts. I turned off my cellphone and unplugged my computer just in case.
Then, it got worse.
It started raining, horribly, from out of nowhere. Without exaggeration, Itt was as if I had suddenly driven under a waterfall, a really huge waterfall that was about 1 mile thick. The road ahead was flooding quickly, and I found it hard to keep my car straight. It got so bad so quickly I was certain I'd have to be rescued from the roof of my car. Things were not helped by the trucks flying by me on the left which nearly pushed the trailer I was towing off the road. And, where the trailer went, I was going too.
Worse still, the only thing on the radio was country music.
Life could not get any worse.
After about an hour of this, I finally made my way out of the storm, and found a campground on Exit 1 on the highway, right on the AZ/CA border. I tried to sleep but the wind was pushing my tent around, not letting that happen easily.
All in all, I drove about 700 miles yesterday. On the upside, I now know that "I love her, she hates me and I drink," courtesy of Country music star Darryl Worley.
The next morning I got up, made some appointments to view apartments, and made it to LA in the afternoon.
I think I found an apartment in Pasadena, which is not far from school. I'll let you know details as they arise.
Meanwhile, I hope all is well with you. Please feel free to drop me an email. I'll check it when I can.
Take care,
posted by David Deutsch at 7:51 AM
1 Comments:
I think I may have mentioned that the summer is the rainy season in the desert. Now you know why everything was so unexpectedly green when you were driving through!
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