Here's the view off the back side of the mountain as we were leaving. The Cajon Pass was fogged in - but just above the highway. It looked really neat and made for a coolish travel through the area.

And the temperature if you don't believe me:

I took a shot into the back of the Explorer. Leo hates hates hates traveling. He only does it because he knows he gets to one-two-three-zoom once we get whereever it is we are going. Lucky for him, we made a lot of stops.

I didn't get a picture of it - so you'll just have to take my word for it. As we left Hwy 15 and entered Hwy 40 inside Barstow there was a sign on the side that said mileage to different places. Like Needles 130 miles or whatever it was. There are usually three of four places listed. The furtherest mileage said "Wilmington, NC 2554 mi" lol

About 1/2 way there we passed the Pisgah Crater off Hwy 40. Yes Usti. Not only do deserts have trees - they have volcanoes too

We traveled a bit of the old Route 66. It was the crappiest road ever. Even worse than our mtn roads. The asphalt was all eaten up by the desert heat.

We stopped at Lavic Road to look for gem stones. I found a bunch of really pretty rocks while there. I also called my mom on the cell phone to wish her a happy birthday and get her uber jealous I was out playing in the geology :D Yes, my family is strange.

We stopped in Ludlow for gas. At this site there is a ghost town. So I got a few pictures of the abandoned buildings there.

Ludlow Garage

Ludlow Diner

Ludlow Home

Ludlow Motel

We stayed on old Rt 66 and our next stop was at the Amboy Crater.

The Crater

It was super hot at the crater so we didn't stay long. It was almost a bit much for Solo. Even Leo sought shelter from the sun under this picnic area.

"Maahhhhh, it's HOT!"

You'll notice that Solo looks nice and cool. He's hogging the A/C.

I put away the camera for a bit. We stayed on Rt 66 then went north on Kelbaker Road. Before getting into the National Preserve - we took a side detour onto a dirt road. It quickly became a SAND trap. Thank GOD we didn't get stuck! Scared me half to death. Not so much the getting stuck part. That's the one thing that truely frightens me. Probably because we got sand trapped once already. But Sean aired down the tires and we made a hasty retreat.

Our next stop was the Kelso Dunes (piccy above). It was very neat but we didn't stay long. Sean and Leo ran the trail while I stayed back at the car with Solo (too hot for him). Here are some pics that Sean took for me:

One view:

Another view:

Leo

And tracks in the sand: