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Tales From the Trip (Part 2 – Somewhere around Barstow)

July 4, 2014 By Deanna Piercy Leave a Comment

Thirty eight years ago David and I met on a bus as it passed this sign. What a long, strange trip it's been.
“We were somewhere around Barstow 
on the edge of the desert 
when the drugs began to take hold.”
(Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson)
David and I both grew up in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. And we are both so happy we no longer live there. If you love the desert I hope you won’t take that personally. In many ways it wasn’t a bad place to grow up but I just cannot imagine living there anymore. Even as a young child I wasn’t happy about how brown it was. Our family would go “down below” (honestly, that’s how everyone in the desert referred to going to the L.A. area – which, now that I think about it…oh, never mind) to visit relatives or to the beach or to our cabin in Big Bear and I’d be so disappointed when we came home to all those shades of brown. After all these years of living in Southeastern Oklahoma which is lush and green a good portion of the year it’s all the more difficult to return. 
But we didn’t go for the sightseeing. We went to see David’s mom. She lives in Idaho but when we found out she and David’s sister were planning a visit to the desert we decided this was the perfect opportunity for a visit. Both of David’s brothers live there, as well as two of our nieces, and it was good to see all of them. 
Both of our families originally lived in Victorville before later moving to Apple Valley, a neighboring town. Route 66 runs through Victorville which is kind of cool. I took this picture from a moving car at night but this is a pretty great sign over 7th Street, the town’s main street and where David I used to cruise our Mustangs back in high school. 

Victorville, California
We picked up David’s mom and sister from the Ontario airport and took them to the desert. We did a bit of driving around through David’s old neighborhood before going to his brother, Chris’ house. Our sister-in-law, Roberta, had a nice dinner ready for us and then we all sat around their pool visiting for a couple of hours. Our niece, Mandy, and her two adorable little girls were there, too. We all enjoyed watching the kids swimming and playing in the pool. And then the three year old said, “Mommy, I’m sorry but I pooped in the pool.” Ha! That’s one of those situations when I am reminded that, however much I adored raising my kids, I’m kind of glad that phase is over. 
Here is a picture of David’s mom laughing at something his brother, Rick was saying. I have no idea what, although it might have been when he was trying to convince her she had another son, Bobby. 
David's mom, Pat
I don’t know when we will all be together again so family photos were taken. Mandy had her camera with a timer so we got some of the entire family but I haven’t seen those yet. I snapped a few with my phone, though. 
David and his siblings
David, Rick, Laurie, Chris

upload
Don’t they look almost normal?

Our last night there, as we were heading back to our hotel, I noticed a car ahead of us driving a bit erratically. I made the comment that I hoped he wasn’t getting on the freeway with us. But of course, he did. He barely negotiated the onramp and then drove along the freeway at widely varying speeds and crossing over two lanes of traffic and back again. David had me call 911 to report it. They patched me through to the Highway Patrol dispatcher and I gave them running commentary on the car’s location and activity until they got an officer to pull him over. 
They asked if we’d be willing to wait in case they needed a statement. Here’s David waiting in front of our rental car. 
Adventures in #Victorville
We had assumed it was a drunk driver but it turned out to be an elderly man who had either taken some medication or was having some sort of health problem. They called an ambulance and took him to the hospital. We had been a bit nervous about following him through Victorville late at night since David’s brothers had both said they NEVER go there after dark. At one point the driver had pulled over and got out of his car. At that point we had no idea who was in the car or if he’d noticed us following him or if he had a gun. We held back a safe distance just in case and after a couple of minutes he got back in his car and continued down 7th Street. Whew.

I’m sure some who live in the area would think we were crazy but I’m glad we were able to help get him off the road before he caused an accident. Besides, a good story is worth it, right?

#California smog #drought
Taking off from Ontario, California 
Good to be back in #Oklahoma
Back in the land of green grass, very little traffic and good iced tea…

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: adventure, Apple Valley, Family, Mojave Desert, Route 66, vacation, Victorville

Dee’s Excellent Adventure

May 7, 2013 By Deanna Piercy 4 Comments

I’m not entirely certain what possessed me. It wasn’t boredom – I’m not sure I’ve ever been truly bored in my whole life. I wasn’t upset and running away from anything. I’m alone a lot so it wasn’t the need for space or privacy.

Perhaps I needed to do something unexpected…unpredictable. Something that was just for me and didn’t take anyone else into consideration first. If David is home I don’t even step outside for a moment without telling him, just out of simple courtesy.

Whatever the motivation (and I’m still pondering that), yesterday I took a little road trip and I didn’t tell anyone. It wasn’t a major trip like when Roz and I took our “Thelma and Louise” trip to New Orleans. I was gone less than three hours and back home finishing up my usual Monday household chores and preparing dinner long before David got home. In fact, if I hadn’t told him he never would have known. Well, until he read this blog post.

So where did I go? Well, Sunday morning during the announcement time at the beginning of our church worship service, amidst all the usual reminders of upcoming events, a woman got up to say that if we wanted a chance to see God’s handiwork we should take a drive to Turner Falls because it was absolutely gorgeous right now. I love scenic drives and murmured to David that we ought to do that. He was rather non-committal and I suppose that’s when my plan began to take shape.

I could have talked David into taking the drive with me. He’ll do most anything I ask but for that very reason I try not to take advantage of his good nature. I thought about asking my daughter or my parents if they’d like to go along but ultimately I decided to go alone and not to tell anyone until afterwards.

Turner Falls is only about 40 miles away. It was an absolutely perfect day. Warm and sunny with a light breeze. I enjoy listening to audio books in the car and had recently started Pat Conroy’s “South of Broad”. As I listened to the narrator’s gentle Southern cadence, I took careful notice of the beauty I was driving through.

Spring has taken her own sweet time this year but was an absolute showoff yesterday. Thick, green grass blanketed the roadside and bright patches of wildflowers almost took my breath away. Queen Anne’s Lace, Black-eyed Susans, and Indian Paintbrush, plus many more I cannot name. More than once the beauty I beheld nearly brought me to tears.

I didn’t actually enter the Turner Falls park because of the $12 admission fee. I was only planning to stay a short time and not utilize any of the facilities. But I drove on past the entrance and stopped at a point which overlooks the falls. This is the sight which greeted me:

Dee's Excellent Adventure
I was alone at first and took a few pictures. Soon, other cars pulled into the lookout area and the moment was over. I got back in my car and headed back. I stopped for lunch at the Sonic drive-in in Davis and then drove home.
As soon as David got home I told him of my little adventure. He was rather surprised. He wasn’t upset but he did voice his concern that if something had happened to me no one knew where I was. I suppose that’s a valid point, although I did have my cell phone with me. It’s not something I’m likely to ever do again without telling him first but I can’t honestly say I regret it. Maybe someday I’ll figure out what truly prompted this act…or maybe it will always be a bit of a mystery. Regardless, it was a special day and not something I’m likely to forget any time soon.

Filed Under: Dee's Life Tagged With: adventure, road trip, springtime, Turner Falls

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I’m Dee, a Francophile with a hippie heart, trying to create a beautiful life in the country while dreaming of Paris. Click here to read more.

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