From
Long beach
To
Red Rock State Park
Distance: 144
interstate and highway miles
+ ?? city streets and
sight-seeing exits and canyon road
Today
is the beginning of the next part of my adventure, the start of route 6 heading
east.
I was up fairly early but waited until the morning rush hour to taper off before heading on the road. Since I am trying to follow the original route 6 (which does not exist anymore) I chose to follow route 110 northbound through Carson and into Los Angeles. This route allowed me to see the city streets and neighbourhoods that you don’t get to see when on the major arteries.
 |
| (for more information see http://www.route6tour.com/history.htm) |
I
got to see lots of examples of the working class neighbourhoods, the shabbier
side of LA if you will. One of the
things that really struck me was the fences.
 |
| work place or prison? |
Fences and barbed wire were everywhere!
People opting to jail themselves
in order to feel protected. I think the
fences keep people in as much as they keep crime out.
For a Toronto gal like me it is a hard scene
to face. Even in our working class
neighbourhoods we don’t fence ourselves in. We create privacy fences of wooden lattice and
greenery. We create enclosed spaces
where we can connect with nature and celebrate family events. But we don’t put up 8 foot steel fences or
barbed wire. Our front yards are open
and welcoming not barred and looking like a war zone. It was a most depressing drive for me to see
the lengths that these people feel they need to go to in order to feel safe.
 |
| Garment Center |
I
also got to see a different slice of LA down town. Driving through Latino Land, the Garment
Center, Little Tokyo, the Warehouse district and Historic Filipino town was a
read educational experience.
 |
| Fountain in Echo Park |
Echo
Park was a pleasant escape from all of that and was filled with people enjoying
a warm and sunny day.
After all of this time of inner city driving I was glad to get onto the major artery to Glendale. Here you start to see the suburban life. More upscale shops and fancier homes. I continued north on 5 through miles and miles of LA suburbs one after the other looking rather cookie cutter from the freeway…shopping malls and fast food restaurants being the connecting theme.
 |
| suburb in the foreground - desert in the background |
Along the route there
is this strip of artificial greenery created by the people who live there while
the barren hills behind the developed area were grey with sparse desert
vegetation
I
stopped at the Sam’s in San Fernardo, but there were no gas pumps there, so
with a hot dog combo I
continued to the Sam’s in Santa Clarita where I was able to fill up the tank.
This
is where I connected with route 14 toward Placerita. There even was an opportunity to get off of
the big artery for a while and enjoy a trip through Soledad Canyon.
 |
| The rive creates a ribbon of green in the desert |
This section was very scenic and revealing
the scarcity of water throughout this region.
Near the river in the Solddad Canyon there is a strip of greenery and
then just a few feet beyond that the desert takes over again.
From Placerita to Palmdale and even Lancaster I felt like I was in a suburban
bedroom community where people come to spend their evenings only to leave for
work each morning on the crowded expressways to the LA hub. Each community a bit newer than the last as
the urban sprawl spreads out from the older city centre.
Now I finally hit the wide open desert and in Rosamund there was this old town
feeling like nothing has changed there in the past 50 years. The old motels the coffee shops reminiscent
of the 50’s still stand in the midst of this vast desert.
 |
| Historic building in Rosamund |
 |
| the road into Mojave |
Mojave
is clearly a pass through town where possibly you might look for a motel if you
arrived there at the end of the day.
There is nothing but desert everywhere you look. Cantile is off to the side barely visible
from the highway.
By
now it was late afternoon and I decided to stop for the night at Red Rock State
Park. There were no rangers on duty so
it was pick a site and drop your payment envelope in the deposit box. As I arrived at 5:30 PM I was the only one
there.
 |
| cliffs in shadow while the sun still shines in the distance |
The sun was setting behind the cliffs
by 6 PM and giving me the only shade available.
It was incredibly windy. I had to
really tie down the netting. I don’t know
if there will be any bugs with this dry dry air, if they are here they will
certainly come out in the evening. The
wind is howling in my ears …why am I surprised that it is so windy?
I
see two cars pull through looking…but they don’t stay. Will I be alone in the desert tonight? Will this be my chance to experience the solitude in the
desert. Well I have comforts like a nice
bed, plenty of water, food and even toilets
nearby. Not a hardship like a
right of passage in the desert but, close enough.
The
quiet has been broken – I hear the sound of voices carried on the wind…so
somewhere there is another group camping.
Then as it gets dark a few more vehicles arrive and I see a campfire off
in the distance.
 |
| the sun is behind the cliffs but out in the valley the lingering sun still shines |
When
the sun goes down behind the cliffs, the shadows lengthen but in the distance
you can still see the sun reflection off the desert sand…and then that too
becomes dark.
Time
for dinner and then get into my car bed for the night. I tuck the tent material into the doors so
that they won’t be blown off in the night.
I fall asleep to the sound of the howling wind and flapping of the
fabric of my bug tent.
Renate Dundys Marrello
2014 - 08 - 22
Photo
Link:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154694097555341.1073741932.709160340&type=1&l=882337ed0a
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