Stuart Day 3

Helping to regenerate the desert

Burger Bliss

Faded glory of the Mother Road

The calorie count (and no, I didn't have one)

We decided to make an early start to avoid SF traffic and were on the road by 6am. Forgot to mention that the 2-door economy car that we pre-ordered eventually turned into a Dodge SUV! Very large and very comfortable. Anyway, we headed out over the Bay Bridge just as the rising sun was hitting central SF - some stunning views behind us. There followed a long flog down the San Joaquin Valley to Bakersfield and then past Edwards Air Force Base (home of shuttle landings) to our destination Barstow, our first stop on R66. Lots of roadside placards on the way down about Congress creating another dust bowl - not sure what that is all about! As a result of our early start, we covered the 400 miles by 1 o clock, so we had my first experience of In-n-Out Burger, a chain found only on the West Coast. Good food, but talk about a feeding frenzy! This is obviously what the good people of Barstow do on Sundays. Hundreds of punters milling around and about 30 people cooking the burgers, fries etc with breakneck dedication. A masterpiece of organisation and logistics. With time in hand, we decided to go to Calico, a silver mining ghost town. Mainly a recreation of the original buildings to create selling opportunities but interesting, nevertheless as an indication of where and how people had to work and live not all that long ago. Onto Barstow Main Street and our motel. Sad place (Barstow, that is). Once a thriving rail town of 20,000 but now a long strip of closed down and boarded up retail outlets. The El Rancho Hotel, once a landmark R66 motel, now seems to be a squatters' haven and we were told has had drug and prostitution problems. Dinner and the final realisation that we will have to resign ourselves to the fact that healthy eating is not option on this trip! Restaurants are now obliged to print calorie counts on menus but it doesn't seem to make any difference to anyone.