Heading westward

I was, despite the stifling heat, sad to leave Death Valley. I found extraordinary beauty in the desolation and thought the few plants that did grow there to be hardy survivors. 

 The heat had one last laugh though. Just a mile or so along the way was a sign 'Avoid overheating - don't use air conditioning for the next 20 miles'. I figured that the sign had been put up for very good reason and duly obeyed. Within minutes the car was like an oven and I rolled the windows down in the hope the Venturi effect would kick in and cool everything down. It worked but only a little and I was sweating as if I was in a sauna. 

 The landscape during the journey was more barren hills and planes. I stopped at a sand plane to take a picture. 

I had no idea where I was heading to next other than just westwards. I had the GPS on in case I needed it. Plus it also had a function to show the current speed limit which, given the length of my journey, was needed as I wasn't paying much attention to the signs. 

 I stopped every now and again when an interesting feature appeared and took some pictures with my other camera. I found great joy in driving along the endless straight roads and the rolling planes. It's something I'd seen in films and documentaries and had always wanted to do myself. 

 400 plus miles later I ran out of roads leading west. 

So I headed north on Highway 1 with my destination still not clear. I had heard about Big Sur but didn't know anything about it other than it was a beautiful place to visit. So I decided to head there for a visit. One more item got checked off my bucket list on the way: chasing a sunset up Hwy 1.

 Soon it was dark and the 8 hours of driving were taking their toll. I was tired and needed to rest. The GPS came into its own with a list of suggestions so I headed to the nearest one. Unfortunately it was full. As were the next 3. Finally I came to Big Sur Lodge and they had a room available. It was pricey but I was tired and willing to pay whatever to get some sleep. I was also hungry but the restaurant had closed. The staff at the lodge suggested I go to an inn further up the road that might be serving food. I got there but unfortunately they had just shut. So I went back to my lodge and used the coffee maker to heat up some water and use that to rehydrate some Pad Thai rations I had bought for the trip in case I needed to camp. The food was....edible...but not the best I'd eaten. It was enough to fill my stomach though and I headed to bed soon after. 

 Laying in bed I thought about the drive during the day. It was probably the longest I'd ever driven in a single day but the scenery made it worthwhile and I'd definitely do it again. Tomorrow is finally get a good look at Big Sur.