FULLY CHARGED
Southwestern Winter Deserts
Valley of Fire State Park
With a long drive before us, we bid Zion a fond farewell. Our hearts were heavy as this was the beginning of the end of our 5,500-mile drive through the western high deserts of the USA.
We’d planned the trip so long ago the anticipation of it had grown like a seed within us. Then we unexpectedly traveled to New Zealand and Australia and our road trip seemed distant. Yet soon we were gliding on an electromagnetic wave through the remote sandy and snowy plains of these magnificent landscapes of America. However, on this day we seemed to have finished our travels, yet there were still many miles between us and home.
As we drove to our overnight stay in Las Vegas we could not resist visiting the Valley of Fire State Park. It was only slightly out of our way and its red-rock beauty is irresistible. We ate lunch at a random stop in the beautiful park and to our surprise there were more petroglyphs there.
Las Vegas, NV
What can one say about Las Vegas? In some ways it is the worst place on Earth. It seems to concentrate human bad behavior: consumerism and excess. On the other hand, it is surrounded with the same amazing landscapes we’d spent the last month traveling through. But regardless of how you feel about this place, when traveling through the deserts it is almost impossible to avoid Sin City because of its centrality.
We have discovered that in the old part of town there is a very delicious vegan restaurant, which is a short walk from a Tesla Supercharger. So, we ate dinner there and filled our bellies with excellent plant-based food while Tess filled her belly with electrons. A win, win situation.
Pismo Beach, CA
The next day was the longest day of driving on the entire trip. We drove all day from Las Vegas to Pismo Beach. The reasons for this are: there really are very few options on places to overnight and two we were now definitely in return-home mode. Home was all we could think about.
Travel is great. It exposes you to people, places, cultures, and experiences you can not get any other way. But travel is demanding. It can be very exhausting. And it can make you long for home.
At this point we were both ready to get back home. However, we stopped for the last time on this amazing journey at a wonderful resort in Pismo Beach.
Our accommodations on this trip, like so many other journeys, had been very mixed. Some were luxurious and others were hovels. Pismo Beach was opulent and really helped us recharge our batteries, both for the car and for us.
Seeing the Pacific Ocean again after deserts was so refreshing there are no words to describe the feeling. Perhaps the best word I can think of is home.