Through the Windshield Clearly...

...except for a few bug splats here and there. (The white splotch at the top of the picture is the moon.) The best way to experience the Mojave Desert in mid to late June is from the comfort of an air-conditioned car. I know those of you back in Missouri are experiencing the usual dog days of a mid-western summer. If you look at our pictures of South Dakota, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, and the California coast, you'll notice us wearing jackets. Sometimes because of the northern latitudes, sometimes because of the altitudes, we wore jackets for the better part of the day. Yesterday was the transition day--the mountains early in the day, inland southern California in the evening. By the evening, it was a little warm. But today--oh. The bank time and temperature displayed 115 degrees. I don't doubt it.

The National Parks Service literature about the Mojave Desert is written to convince the reader that the desert is a great place to visit--alive and vibrant. In one word, it's brown. All different shades of brown, mind you, but brown none the less. Okay, there are a few dull greens and reds, but from interstate 15, it's mostly brown. The one stand out in the desert is the Joshua Tree. It can live to be hundreds of years old, but botanist can't tell exactly how old one is because it doesn't have the traditional rings used to determine a tree's age. It's a curious looking tree with branches growing every which way. It looks like it's straight out of a Dr. Seuss illustration. (See pictures)

I have grown up with the heat and humidity of St. Louis. This heat really couldn't be any different. It's like opening a preheated oven door and being hit with that first blast of heat--dry and overwhelming. It is actually cooler when there is no breeze. The breeze is hot--not warm--hot. I've never felt anything like it.

We literally did a "drive-by" of Las Vegas. We drove the strip, looked left, looked right, looked left, looked right, then exited--that was enough for both of us.

I have to say, the Hoover Dam seemed a whole lot bigger when I looked at pictures. I know it's big, but when I was standing at the top looking down, I expected to have that nervous feeling in my stomach. I didn't. It is an engineering marvel though.

Tonight, we are staying in Kingsman, AZ. Tomorrow we will see the Grand Canyon.