Into the Desert

Day 26:

The next day, we readied the motor home to be back on the road.  Having a week-long rest from driving, we pulled out of the parking lot and drove to the rental dealer, where we waited for about thirty minutes for him to show up, after calling the two numbers on the door.  Finally getting that accomplished, we were able to get on the road, taking the 91 up through Riverside to the I-10, where we began across the desert.

The kids watched movies in the cabin while we crossed the desert.

Our first stop was at Joshua Tree National Park, after a large ascent along the highway.  The engine was burning hot and it needed a break, but the road to Joshua Tree was closed due to dust storms in the area.  So we continued on.

Unusual foliage in the desert.

At the next exit, we found the General Patton Museum and decided to go after getting gas at the Chevron station.  I swiped my card and it did not work, so I went inside and asked the attendant to charge me for $40.  

Before I'd finished filling up with gas, the fraud department of Alaska USA was on the line asking if all my recent charges were valid.  The one I couldn't recall was the $126 charge to Chevron.  After talking to them for almost half an hour, I found what the charge came from.  When you swipe your card at the pump, most gas stations run a one dollar transaction, just to make sure you're not overdrawn on your account before you pump.  I'm fine with that.   Apparently, in March 2011, Chevron decided to change it from a one dollar charge to a $126 charge, more than it will let you pay at the pump for either a debit or credit transaction.  I decided not to shop at Chevron again.

Moving on, we crossed into Arizona and aside from the engine running hot and the cabin being hot, it was a relatively uneventful day.  Jenny wanted to show us Glendale, where she grew up as a kid, but we decided to save that for tomorrow, stopping in Buckeye, a western-most outskirt of the Phoenix area.

Jonathan, outside the pizza-joint in Buckeye, Arizona.

We checked into an RV park just minutes before they were about to close the office, stopped by a pizza-joint and let the kids swim in the pool until it closed at 10pm.