The Road to Vegas

We drove to Vegas today, taking the back road as the mountains around the Cajon Pass were all snow covered and we were worried the road might be icy as it was the other day when there was a 15 car pile up.

I brought along things  to do during the drive like crocheting and magazines to read, but I as usual I ignored them, favoring to look out the window instead.  I never get tired of watching the view as the we rush  along the road.  Since we don't often go the back way, it is even more interesting to look at.

I was fascinated by how empty the brownish mountains were along the 14.  Then I'd see some houses on a ridge and would wonder what it was like to live in such an isolated place.  We crossed the aquaduct and it looked at amazement at the flow of water knowing that it was brought the water that comes out of my tap.

The Pearblossom highway seemed like a road from another time.  Two lanes for most of the way it passed through a sad area with ramshackle houses and miles and miles if desolute land with scrubby plants and weird looking joshua trees.  The flat land ended in mountains that were snow topped and shrouded in a mass of clouds that seemed to be sitting right on top of them.

I noticed three lonely looking loaf shaped mailboxes near the highway, but where were the homes they belonged to?  As far as I could see all there was was scrub covered landscape.

It was close to getting dark when we neared Victorville.  The air felt sharp  as we hurried across the parking lot to  Starbucks.  The last time we made this trip it was hotter than blazes and now the cold wind cut right though my  jacket.

We got back on the road and after the lonely highway it seemed strange to see car dealerships and strip malls filled with businesses.  Somewhere along here we rejoined the 15 which is our usual route.  We left the town and were back in empty desert, but the late afternoon shadows had thrown a blue wash over the dun colored mountains.

When it was completely dark, all I could see was a little brush that grew right along the roadway--  that is until I noticed the stars.  They were so bright they seemed to jump out of the inky sky.  I had my nose pressed against the side window trying to get a better view hoping to catch a glimpse of the milky way.

And then I noticed that the sky to the east seemed lighter and I realized it was the lights of Vegas reflecting on the clouds.  It was really an illusion as we still had many miles go before we got there.  And when we were just about to descend into all those lights, we were hit with a surprise sleet storm.

Now safely ensconced in my hotel room I have the curtains wide open so I can enjoy the view of Vegas from the 38th floor.  I can watch planes coming into the airport.  Traffic along the street and the lights of all those houses and apartments.  I wonder what all those people are doing right now.