Trip Day 2

We woke up relatively early (for vacation) on Saturday. We cleaned up and picked up Mom and Dad from their hotel and headed to the Eureka! to get breakfast. Matt’s dad had recommended that we join the player’s club and get a discount on the buffet. So Matt and I went through the process of joining that (and got a nice free coffee mug). We had the buffet for breakfast, and I tried to be good and not eat too much – but it was a buffet! What was I supposed to do? So we ate for a while and then we were on the road.

There are different ways to get from Mesquite to Palm Springs. There is the easy, classic route via the freeway, and there is the scenic route through the Mojave National Preserve. (there is a third way – via Searchlight Nevada, but it is not recommended).

Prior to leaving we decided to take the route through the Mojave Preserve. I looked up information online and it seemed like it would be scenic. Also, after the night of freeway traffic Matt was ready for a drive with very few other cars to bother him.

We made a quick stop on our way through Las Vegas. My parents have never seen the fountains at the Bellagio. We pulled off the freeway, parked at the hotel/casino and made our way to the fountains. We stood there for a while, just waiting. I knew they would go any minute! There were quite a few people coming and going, some stopping for a few minutes, other walking right on by. Finally we went to one of the nearby shops and asked them about the show times. We were informed that the fountains don’t start until noon. It was only 11. We had already been there a half an hour, so we sadly left without seeing the show. I guess Las Vegas isn’t worried about keeping morning people happy.

Back in the car and on the way we headed down the freeway and then made our turn onto the small road that would take us through Cima and Kelso. The GPS unit we had with us was a little concerned about our plan – he didn’t really like it. He really wanted us to get back on the freeway. At one point he tried to send us down a little dirt road that he thought went back to the freeway. I now understand how people can get lost in the wilderness with these GPS units. You still have to know where you are going.

Luckily we did know where we were going and we were going to Kelso Station. It is actually a really cool old rail road station in the Middle of Nowhere. We stopped to stretch and look around for a moment. We were on a schedule, since we needed to be to Palm Springs before 4:00 to pick up our race packets. So we didn’t stay long at Kelso and soon we were back on the road.
The road from Kelso to Amboy (the next sign of civilization) takes you past a really large sand dune area and some awesome mountains. It was a very pretty ride. I didn’t get to look around much, because I accidentally packed my motion sickness pills, and I was not doing well at this point in the ride.

The ride continued through Amboy, 29 Palms and then finally into Palm Springs. We reached the city at about 3:30. I was feeling good that we would make it to the store in time to get our packets. I plugged the address of the running store in the GPS and we were set. Unfortunatly the route we took through Palm Springs took us right down the main road, which is CRAZY on a Saturday afternoon. It took us about 15 minutes to get the 2 miles down that road. Finally we reached the store and picked up our packets. Now we were official and ready for the race!

We dropped my mom and dad off at their hotel and then drove to Matt’s Grandparent’s house. At this point I was DONE being in the car! I did not feel good and I was a bummer and took a nap. Matt and Ray (his Grandpa) went to pick us up some food while I slept. They brought back some pizza and we ate that while we watched the U of U lose a basketball game. I went to bed early and got ready for the next day.

Coming soon: Race Day