Two parking structures, each six stories tall, quarter mile wide and half mile long. Plenty of additional parking next to street.
I had been On The Road for One Hundred Days. During that time I had driven almost exactly Nineteen Thousand miles.
The longest detour of my trip (from Saint Louis to Minneapolis via New Orleans) would be over today. Back to the daily routine of seein' the sights of America.
I checked out of the motel at the usual time and started driving towards the capital of Minnesota.
When the sun was directly overhead, I crossed the Mississippi River and entered the city limits of Saint Paul. Then drove through Minneapolis, driving by the airport, and arrived at a mall in Bloomington, MN.
This was the only mall in my "Sights to See" list. This is not an ordinary mall. It is the largest mall in the country. It is called "Mall of America".
Two parking structures, each six stories tall, quarter mile wide and half mile long. Plenty of additional parking next to street.
And that's just the parking!
Four stories of shopping.
Thousands of stores (literally).
Several miles of hallways between stores.
18-Screen movie theater.
The largest completely-enclosed theme park in the country (including an indoor roller coaster).
The largest indoor Ferris wheel in the world.
Three-stories tall LEGO and DUPLO-combination structure, including a miniature space shuttle model that was taller than me!
.
First impression of the mall:
HUGE!!!
Went to a 1950's-style cafeteria for lunch. Ate a "Big Burger" and drank a "Lemon Coke". Developed my film rolls at one of two "Ritz Camera" stores in this mall. Withdrew some more cash, then went to see a movie called "Nine Months". An O.K. movie.
Excerpt from postcard sent to Perry:
"One could get lost in a place like this. In fact, one DID get lost in this place -- several times. One could go on and on describing this mall, but one has a lot of driving to do today, so one will stop."
I mailed the postcard and left the mall and the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area when the sun was almost down. Started driving towards South Dakota.
Even later at night, I checked in at Empire Inn in Sioux Falls, SD.
And thus ended Day #100.
Miscellaneous:
Late at night, I entered Dakota the South; 149810 miles. (This picture was obviously taken at another time!)
Town:
Jordan, MN
Town:
New Prague, MN
Town:
Winnebago, MN
License Plates:
CHIRP
MO
Dodge Neon
CSM MAD
MN
Pontiac Grand Am -- He cut me off while driving, which made ME mad!
FLYBOY 1
MN
Ford Escort
I HURT
MN
Plymouth Voyager
MUSIC 7
WI
Plymouth Reliant
Expenses:
$42.90
Chase
Days Inn
Rochester, MN
$4
Cash
Two Quarts Oil -- SuperAmerica gas station
Zumbrota, MN
$7
Cash
Lunch -- Johnny Rockets -- Mall of America
Bloomington, MN
$32.30
Discover
Film developing -- Ritz Camera -- Mall of America
Bloomington, MN
$1
Cash
Postcard -- Mall of America
Bloomington, MN
$80
Discover
Cash withdrawal -- Mall of America
Bloomington, MN
$4
Cash
Movie -- Mall of America
Bloomington, MN
Saw a lot of corn farms.
I came to some town called Mitchell, then parked at some place called "Corn Palace".
Corn Palace is the largest bird-feeder in the world. It is a large building with ears of corn stapled on the walls. The corn is colored and the colors form designs on the walls. Each year, the theme of the artwork is different. The theme this year was "Salute To Rodeo". The corn was colored and arranged to form designs of cowboys, bulls and horses. I took their tour. .
In the gift shop, I bought fifty-one bumper stickers for my car.
I still have two of them today.
The other forty-nine are on the car.
I hope.
My postcard-stamps were finished, so I went to the Mitchell Post Office next and bought some more stamp books. Then went to lunch at McDonalds.
I started driving back Eastward towards Sioux Falls, repeating the same "Interstate 90" that I had come from; then another road called "Interstate 29" South towards Omaha.
Saw Personalized License Plate #400 on this trip.
5:09 PM 150,000 Miles on car's odometer. Learning the words to my trip's national anthem by playing the song on the tape again and again and again and again and again and again. I had nothing else to do! Nothing to see on the road. Nothing to see for miles into the horizon. Not even a beautiful sunset or nutin!!!
Entered Iowa; 150053 miles. Made U-turn.
Entered South Dakota; 150058 miles. Took picture. Made U-turn.
Entered Iowa; 150061 miles. Took picture. Continued driving South.
Went to three different shopping centers in Sioux City, IA to find postcard. Did not find any card.
Crossed Missouri River and entered the state of Nebraska and the city of Omaha; 150155 miles. Did not take picture. Continued driving towards home.
Late at night: Checked in at Budgetel Inn in Omaha, NE. Went to Hardees for dinner.
Miscellaneous:
| County: | Minnehaha County, SD |
| MRS K | SC | Honda |
| PLM CRZ | IA | Challenger -- License Plate #400 |
| RYNS MOM | NE | Dodge |
| RU CAR | NE | Chevrolet -- "No, IM ISH. HU R U?" |
| THUD | ME | Audi |
| $32.99 | Chase | Empire Inn | Sioux Falls, SD |
| $48 | CB | Two South Dakota postcards and fifty-one bumper stickers -- Corn Palace | Mitchell, SD |
| $4 | Cash | Two books of postcard-rate stamps -- Mitchell post office | Mitchell, SD |
| $3 | Cash | Lunch -- McDonalds | Mitchell, SD |
| $12 | CB | Gas | Elk Point, SD |
| $4 | Cash | Dinner -- Hardees | Omaha, NE |
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Go to start of this section
After eating a free breakfast, I checked out at the usual time, then went to Iowa to buy a postcard. I still did not have one yet!
Entered Iowa; 150178 miles.
Fifteen minutes later, I parked at a mall in the city of Council Bluffs, IA. This was my last chance to get an Iowa postcard. I had gone through a lot of trouble trying to find a postcard in Sioux City the previous evening. This time, I made up my mind that if I did not find a postcard store within twenty minutes, I would leave the mall, leave Council Bluffs, and leave Iowa, never intending to return again.
Found a shop that sold postcards!!! Bought two of them.
This shop also had Nebraska postcards, so I bought one of those as well. I went back to the car and wrote all three cards, then dropped off the Iowa postcards in a mailbox nearby. I had no trouble finding a mailbox in Iowa.
Back to Nebraska; 150192 miles.
I drove to the town of Bellevue, which is a suburb of Omaha. Went to the "United States Air Force Strategic Air Command Museum" (The USAFSACM). Bought another Nebraska postcard at the gift shop. Then saw the place. Same ol' stuff, but still nice because of my personal interests. .
I wrote and mailed both Nebraska cards, then started driving homeward on I-80.
5:31 PM Arrived at AAA office in the capital city of Lincoln, NE. I wanted to get more city maps, but the office had closed at 5:30 PM. "Oh, well, maybe the next AAA office in the next major city!".
8:45 PM - 9:30 PM A beautiful golden sunset in Nebraska. Since I was driving West and there was nothing else to see along the road, I was looking at the beautiful sunset continuously for those forty-five minutes. I don't recall any cars on that road either, but there might have been a few!
In the middle of this sunset, another of my trip's "landmark numbers" had been achieved:
A half hour later, I checked in at a Days Inn in North Platte, NE. I was less than a day away from Denver, and I had a mission to accomplish there -- something I had been waiting to see for almost a hundred days...
Miscellaneous:
9:23 PM The car's odometer changed from "150449" to "150450" miles. This was at I-80 Mile Marker 215 in Nebraska. I had now driven 20,000 miles on this trip. The car would go for another 5,015 miles before the inevitable happened...
Town:
Friend, NE
License Plates:
GO RED
IA
Isuzu Trooper
MAC ONE
NE
Ford Bronco
BOTZIE
IA
Honda CRX
TUNZ
IA
Pontiac Grandam
TNKRTOY
IA
Toyota truck
KATS RUS
NE
Dodge Caravan
PSYCHO
NE
Nissan truck -- Imagine my reaction when I saw this one driving in the lane next to mine!
Expenses:
$46.78
Chase
Budgetel Inn
Omaha, NE
$1
Cash
Lunch to-go -- Taco Bell
Omaha, NE
$1
Cash
Postcards -- Mall of the Bluffs
Council Bluffs, IA
$2
Cash
10-color pen -- Mall of the Bluffs
Council Bluffs, IA
$4
Cash
Admission -- United States Air Force Strategic Air Command Museum
Bellevue, NE
$1
Cash
Postcard -- United States Air Force Strategic Air Command Museum
Bellevue, NE
$13.50
Discover
Gas -- Bosselman Truck Plaza
Grand Island, NE
$1
Cash
Postcard & bumper sticker -- Bosselman Truck Plaza
Grand Island, NE
$2
Cash
Dinner to-go -- Burger King
Kearney, NE
Before I left home, I had prioritized my attractions list. One of the "Priority #1" items was "Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado". I was supposed to see this park on Day #5 (April 12). Unfortunately, the park was closed then due to the recent heavy snowfall. Since this was a "Priority #1" attraction, I had to go there, at all costs. My intention today was to drive as close as possible to this park, then see it tomorrow, then drive North towards Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. That was my INTENTION. Things don't always work out as hoped!
I am going to start entering the times again, since they are extremely significant for this day:
9:50 AM [Central Time] Checked out of motel. Started driving West towards Denver. I crossed the time-zone boundary and gained an hour -- very helpful later in the day.
9:55 AM [Mountain Time] At "Welcome to Colorado" sign; 150562 miles. I took a picture of the Colorado sign and the "Welcome to Nebraska" sign on the other side of the freeway. As I was about to leave, a van pulled over behind me and four Indians stepped out to take a picture of the "Colorado" sign. Their car had Iowa license plates. Immediately, I did not like them!!! One of them asked me if I could take their picture in front of the sign. I took their picture, then asked them to take my picture as well! They took my picture and we left.
10:50 AM - 11:05 AM An idiotic detour through the town of Sterling, CO. The freeway exit sign said "McDonalds & Taco Bell -- this exit", so I exited. I did not find a McDonalds. I did not find a Taco Bell. I did not find a Dennys, Carls Jr., Burger King, Hardees, Stuckeys, Black Angus, Cocos, Sizzler, or ANY OTHER RESTAURANT in Sterling!!!
11:35 AM - 12:00 PM At Fort Morgan, CO: Bought the first lunch of the day at McDonalds. Also bought gasoline and Colorado postcard. The postcard had a picture of a snow-capped mountain rising high above the plains of Eastern Colorado. I had been driving through the Great Plains states for the last few days, and I was looking forward to seeing the first mountain in Colorado.
After Fort Morgan, the road gradually starts to rise. I started to feel a little light-headed and dizzy. The bumps in the road weren't helping much either!
12:52 PM First view of:
MOUNTAINS!!!
150726 miles.
They were huge! They were impressive! They were fantastic! They were a welcome sight!!!
1:00 PM Entered Denver metropolitan area.
Rain cometh and goeth away, but clouds stayeth.
1:30 PM I stopped at a familiar place in the town of Littleton. This was the same shopping plaza I where I had developed the first few rolls of film on this trip. When I was writing the descriptions on the back of the pictures, the car was facing west -- with a spectacular view of the Rocky Mountains. When I came here today, I parked the car facing West, remembering how magnificent the view was. Unfortunately, the view on this day was not so nice. There were a lot of clouds in the sky, and it was raining in several areas. It was then that I decided to go back home.
Rocky Mountain National Park was a Priority 1 attraction. I was not going to let my sightseeing day in Rocky Mountain National Park be ruined by bad weather. I had waited for a hundred days, so I decided to wait a few more days for the clouds to clear up. In the mean time, I would stop by in Mission Viejo.
I canceled the motel reservations I had made for the next few nights, then called home to tell whoever picked up the phone about my sudden decision to come back home. Nobody picked up the phone, so I left a message on the answering machine and started driving West.
2:45 PM Entered I-70 West and immediately started climbing the Rockies.
The following is a direct copy of my notes, which were originally jotted down during my drive. Nothing that I can think of now could better describe my emotions or feelings than what I wrote in my notebook at that time. All spellings, punctuations, and cases of letters (upper case/lower case) have been preserved from the original notes. [Some of these notes were written while driving, and are therefore as accurate as ANYTHING I CAN RECALL NOW can get!]:
Goin' home!
Car having difficulty climbing.
2:50 PM Finished first climb successfully to reveal the Grandeur of the Rockies at eye level!
3:15 PM - 3:20 PM Second climb = successful!
HEILIG 1 (CA R.V.)
Some peaks are snow-topped, even in July!
Ears popping.
3:25 PM Third climb = thru Loveland Pass -- 11,992 feet -- more snow, but none on the road. Ah, the memories while driving east thru here in April!!!
3:30 PM Parked @ Parking area @ Loveland Pass (still on 3rd climb) to rest car. Feeling lightheaded again (climbed 12000 miles today!)
3:50 PM Left parking area.
3:50 PM Eisenhower Tunnel; (level) -- end of 3rd climb = No problems!
4:05 PM Dillon, CO: (I-70 exit 205) $4(Cash) -- 2nd lunch @ B.King
BAGYPNT (CO Chevrolet)
SLOVESM (KS Dodge Caravan)
4:40 PM Left Dillon, raining cats & dogs! (and water too)
<1000 miles from home!
4:45 PM 4th climb to Vail Pass = 10,603 feet
4:55 PM down again; successful
5:00 PM Down to town of Vail, CO (8150 feet) Ears popping -- again!
down, down, down
5:15 PM Avon (7430 ft.)
Bumper Sticker: "Go ahead. Hit me. I need the money." (CO Chevrolet van)
5:30 PM Eagle (6600)
6:00 PM - 6:15 PM No Name Rest area (I-70 exit 119) took 2 pictures of myself
Now back to the "normal" format...
"No Name" rest area is after the end of the last drop from Vail Pass. When I had driven through here in April, I had stopped in this rest area because the sign said "No Name", so I took the exit! I would be back here again a few days later...
7:30 PM - 8:10 PM Bought gasoline at "66" station and dinner to-go at Wendys in Grand Junction, CO. Ate dinner while driving.
8:35 PM During another beautiful golden sunset (second night in a row), I entered Utah; 151041 miles.
8:37 PM Broke previous record of most miles traveled in one day. Odometer = 151043 [556 miles today]. The old record was 555 miles.
9:00 PM Driving in two lanes; 151070 miles.
Then it started to rain.
Then it rained even more.
Then the rain suddenly stopped.
9:40 PM Arrived at the town of Green River, UT. I knew this area well. Just before entering Green River from the East, there are several signs next to the freeway that say,"No services for next 108 miles", or "Want gas, food, lodging or restrooms? Exit NOW or forever hold your silence for the next 108 miles", or "WE'RE NOT KIDDING!!! For the next 108 miles, it is just the sun, the Utah desert, and YOU!!!"
Some of the signs are very serious; others are so ridiculous that they make you laugh out loud!
Since they were not kidding, I stopped in Green River to buy some Coke and go to the restroom one last time before the final stretch of 108 miles to Richfield, UT.
10:00 PM Left Green River.
11:55 PM FINALLY arrived at Romanico Inn in Richfield, Utah. It had been a long day. In fact, it had been the LONGEST day[51]. The odometer reading was 151231 miles. I had driven 744 miles today across three states and one mountain range, including the entire length of Colorado. Since I arrived in Richfield before midnight, this qualifies as the "Longest Day" [in terms of miles driven].
Miscellaneous:
| Bumper Sticker: | "Go Ahead. Hit me. I need the money." |
| Town: | No Name, CO |
| Town: | Silt, CO |
| Town: | Parachute, CO |
| NOPLATE | CO | Subaru -- And I had thought these kinds of plates were not allowed!!! |
| HEILIG 1 | CA | R.V. |
| BAGYPNT | CO | Chevrolet |
| SLOVES M | KS | Dodge Caravan |
| $43.45 | Chase | Days Inn | North Platte, NE |
| $5 | Cash | First lunch -- McDonalds | Fort Morgan, CO |
| $14.26 | CB | Gas & Postcard | Fort Morgan, CO |
| $4 | Cash | Second lunch -- Burger King | Dillon, CO |
| $14 | CB | Gas -- 66 | Grand Junction, CO |
| $3 | Cash | Dinner -- Wendys | Grand Junction, CO |
| $6 | Cash | Snacks-n-stuff | Green River, UT |
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Go to start of this section
I woke up early in the morning, knowing I had a long drive ahead.
After getting ready, I spent one hour sticking the bumper stickers bought in Mitchell, SD on my car. The stickers were of all fifty states and Washington, DC. I put the stickers of all the states I had been to so far on this trip. There were three states -- Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming -- that I had been to before, but not on this trip. I did not put those on the car yet. As for the others, I was undecided about the order of the stickers. "Should I stick them on to the car in the order I went to those states or the order in which I liked them?" Finally, I decided to stick them on randomly. There were only two stickers -- California and Washington DC -- whose positions were chosen deliberately. California because it was my home state and Washington DC because it was Washington DC. The other motel guests were checking out at this time and some of them started asking me about the stickers and the story behind them. "Are these all the states you want to go to or are these the states that you have been to?"
I had been asked these questions before, and I had always thought that these people should mind their own business! This time, however, I realized that if I were in their position, I would probably ask the same questions!!! For the first time, I was actually flattered by their interest in my trip. I was enjoying all the attention!
I took a picture of the 47 bumper stickers[52] on the car. One of the people who was asking me about my trip offered to take my picture with the car. I considered it, but finally decided not to. This trip was as much the car's trip as mine, and there were enough pictures of me. The car deserved to be in the spotlight in some pictures as well! After I refused to have my picture taken with my camera, the lady asked me if she could take my picture with the car with her camera. I had no objections to that. Somewhere out there, there is a picture of me with my car and forty-seven bumper stickers.
I went to a McDonalds nearby to pick up my breakfast, then,
9:29 AM On The Road Again.
I drove to the "end/start" of I-70 in Utah. I had already been there before, so this was nothing "extra".
I stopped in the town of Beaver, UT to fill gas. When I started driving again, one of the attendants at the gas station started running towards my moving car and waved to me to stop. When I stopped, he came up to me and told me that the left rear tire was possibly punctured. I liked that word, "possibly", and started laughing. Either it was flat or it wasn't! He told me to pull over so I could step out and take a look at it. I pulled over next to a Wendys in the same gas-station plaza and stepped out to look at the tire. I did not see anything wrong with it, and assumed this was just a way of cheating me out of my money. I thanked the attendant for doing his job, then left Beaver, fully confident that all of the car's tires were perfect.
I arrived in Saint George, UT at noon, then pulled over in another gas station and filled air in the rear tires -- just in case. I had originally intended to eat in Las Vegas because the food is very cheap there, but now I was getting very hungry and Las Vegas was a two-hour drive from Saint George. I went to a Taco Bell in Saint George for lunch.
Again, a direct copy of the notes I had written while driving, in an attempt to best describe the remainder of this unforgettable day: [Again, all spellings, punctuations, etc. are exactly how I wrote them then, except whatever is in italics:]
12:50 PM Left St. George
1:00 PM [Mountain Time] Arizona; 151397 (first state to border CA!)
12:25 PM [Pacific Time] Nevada; 151425
12:44 PM 100 miles from California! Odometer = 151448
12:54 PM Saw & photographed 1st "Los Angeles" sign: "Los Angeles 336"
1:50 PM Circus Circus casino, Las Vegas.
Won $9 (-$1 souvenir $1 coin); was up by $20 at one point!
This was playing Blackjack only -- no slots.
Saw circus acts.
I knew it would be hot -- very hot -- driving through California's Mojave Desert, so I bought a cold six-pack of Coke before leaving the casino.
3:30 PM back to car
Home ETA = 8 PM
4:16 PM - 4:22 PM The Golden State!!!!!! 151547 odometer
21,097 trip miles!!!
5:10 PM Baker, CA: $10 (cash) gas @ ARCO (7 gall. => $1.42/gall. = cheapest station)
6:15 PM - 6:30 PM Hopefully the last stop @ McD's just outside Barstow (called home -- no answer, no answering machine!)
Listening to HITS 6 audio tape on car radio, then...
7:12 PM Picked up radio stations from...
LOS ANGELES
7:15 PM I-15/I-215 JCT 151711 miles
Soon after, saw the ORANGE air of the Los Angeles metropolitan area!!!
7:38 PM Entered Highway 91. 151737 miles
7:45 PM ORANGE COUNTY; 151745 miles
7:54 PM Entered Highway 55 151754 miles
8:00 PM Passed home expected TA; new ETA = 8:30 PM (provided there aint not no traffic jams nowhere!)
8:01 PM Entered I-5! 151761 miles
[55-5 on-ramp completed!)[53]
8:12 PM EL TORO RD (exit); 151772 miles
8:17 PM LOS ALISOS RD; 151772 miles
8:25 PM HOME; 151777 miles
"Normal" format again, temporarily:
I had not turned off the engine yet...
I wrote the time and mileage in my notebook. I finished the coke that I had been drinking.
I turned off the car engine.
I opened the car door and stepped out.
I noticed there were no other cars outside the house.
I walked to the door and saw a note inserted the crack -- everyone was in Diamond Bar at a dinner party at Dhan Uncle's house!!!
I unlocked the door and opened it, without entering the house.
I looked inside. I stretched my hand inside and turned on the dining room light. I was still standing outside the doorway.
I look down at my feet. They had come a long way, and after 104 days, they were back where they had started! Then I looked at the carpet immediately inside the doorway.
I picked up my right foot and stepped inside. Then the left foot.
I was home.
Everything had changed since I had left. My room was actually clean! I never remembered it that way! I ran up the stairs, then slid down. Then ran up again.
I was home.
Some time later, I called Dhan Uncle's house, and was invited to go up there -- tonight -- NOW.
9:03 PM On The Road Again.
9:40 PM Arrived at a party in Diamond Bar. Saw a lot of familiar faces. Answered more questions. Ate dinner. Answered more questions. Showed everyone the bumper stickers on the back of the car.
11:15 PM Left Diamond Bar, going home for the second time today.
12:02 AM Mission Viejo, CA (again).
Went to sleep -- in my room -- on my bed.
Miscellaneous:
| Town: | Browse, UT |
| Town: | Hurricane, UT |
| Town: | Washington, UT |
| Town: | Searchlight, CA |
| Road: | Zzyzx Road, CA |
| MI-CADI | UT | Cadillac |
| USMC | NV | Chevrolet Beretta |
| OUR VEE | CA | R.V. |
| YOKOTOC | CA | Honda Civic |
| KRAZI E | CA | Honda |
| $1 | Cash | Breakfast -- McDonalds | Richfield, UT |
| $34.96 | Chase | Romanico Inn -- Paid in advance last night upon check-in | Richfield, UT |
| $3 | Cash | Lunch -- Taco Bell | Saint George, UT |
| -$9 | Cash | Won in blackjack -- Circus Circus | Las Vegas, NV |
| $1 | Cash | Souvenir $1 coin from Circus Circus casino | Las Vegas, NV |
| $4 | Cash | Coke -- Circus Circus | Las Vegas, NV |
| $10 | Cash | Gas -- ARCO | Baker, CA |
| $11 | ATM | Gas -- ARCO | Diamond Bar, CA |
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License Plates:
| I MRCOPY | CA | Jeep Cherokee |
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In the morning, I checked the newspaper for the weather in Colorado. It was still raining, but the forecast said it would clear up in the next couple of days.
I left home, wanting to get an oil change for the car. When I entered the garage, I noticed the left-side rear tire was flat. The attendant in the gas station in Beaver, UT was not doing his job -- he actually told me the truth! I replaced the flat tire with the spare tire and drove to a tire store (Big O Tires) to put in a brand new tire.
After the tire was replaced, I told them to change the oil in the car. After a quick inspection of the car, the mechanic told me he could not change the oil in my car because the thread on the screw at the bottom of the oil gasket was out of alignment. He said that if he took out the screw, there was no guarantee that he would be able to put it back in. The only option was to replace the entire oil gasket -- a four hundred dollar job!
I told him I would like to get a second opinion before spending four hundred dollars, and left the store, a little worried that I may have to spend so much more money -- money that I did not have anymore.
After my car got a new tire, I got five photo albums and a 4-color pen from Longs Drugs -- each album could hold 208 photographs. I thought a capacity of 1000 photographs would be enough. I was wrong.
I dropped off my last roll of undeveloped film at a Ritz Camera store in Mission Viejo Mall, then came back home to put the developed photos from the entire trip in the albums.
I was doing that for an hour, and I still wasn't finished. I had to go back to the mall to pick up my pictures. When I got to the mall, I found out my photos were not developed yet -- they would be ready in another twenty minutes. I walked around, trying to find a store that sold postcards! Parixit had told me to mail him a postcard from EVERY state. He may not have meant California, but it is a state, so I would mail him a postcard from here as well! I bought a postcard that said "MISSION VIEJO" and yet another bumper sticker at a store in Mission Viejo Mall. I had no trouble finding a postcard for California!!! The bumper sticker that I bought said "ENJOY LIFE. THIS IS NOT A DRESS REHEARSAL." I did not put that sticker on the car yet[54].
After picking up the pictures and coming back home, I wrote the descriptions on the back sides, then put all photographs from the trip in four albums -- I had taken almost 800 photographs on this trip so far.
Miscellaneous:
| Bumper Sticker: | "ENJOY LIFE. THIS IS NOT A DRESS REHEARSAL." |
| SOKR PRO | CA | BMW |
| COUGS 76 | CA | Chevrolet van |
| 1NX2RUN | CA | Infinity NX 2000 |
| FSHN4FN | CA | Mitsubishi Diamante |
| POLITCS | CA | Acura |
| T SCOPES | CA | Chevrolet van |
| IM PESKI | CA | Chevrolet |
| IHARLY | CA | Honda (car, not motorcycle) |
| X CONNS | CA | GMC van -- is that something you want to brag about??? |
| SUMR CAR | CA | (red) BMW Convertible -- "Ah! To be back home again!!!" |
| ONUTMEG | CA | Volkswagon Cabriolet |
| $2 | Cash | Large Coke -- Carls Jr. | Lake Forest, CA |
| $86.07 | CB | New Tire -- Big O Tires | Lake Forest, CA |
| $58.12 | CB | Five photo albums & One 4-color pen -- Longs Drugs | Mission Viejo, CA |
| $3 | Cash | "MISSION VIEJO" postcard & bumper sticker -- Mission Viejo Mall | Mission Viejo, CA |
| $10.20 | CB | Film Developing -- RITZ Camera -- Mission Viejo mall | Mission Viejo, CA |
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When I got to the repair shop, I told the mechanic to change the oil in the car. I did not tell him about any possible problem -- I wanted to see if he would tell me the same thing.
The mechanic told me he could not change the oil in my car because the thread on the screw at the bottom of the oil gasket was out of alignment. He said that if he took out the screw, there was no guarantee that he would be able to put it back in. The only option was to replace the entire oil gasket -- a four hundred dollar job!
He told me the same thing.
I had put the car through a lot of hardship during this trip, so I told the mechanic to go ahead and replace the gasket -- a fatal mistake on my part... (if only I knew!!!)
The repair work would take a couple of days. I was expecting to leave Mission Viejo and go to Colorado tomorrow morning. That was impossible now.
I was stuck in Mission Viejo, with no car and nowhere to go!
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I finally got the car back in the afternoon. I immediately drove to the barber's and got me-self another o' them haircuts. Next, I went to one o' them car wash places and got the car washed. I bought more postage stamps at one o' them postage stamp places, then bought food stuff at one o' them food places, then came back home.
I had two choices in my route up to Rocky Mountain National Park. One was the way I came -- I-15 North and I-70 East. The other was via Albuquerque, on I-40 East and I-25 North. Since I knew that I-70 is a highly scenic road, I chose that way.
The weather in Colorado was "Sunny and pleasant". The weather in the California was "Sunny and very, very hot". I could have left California the next morning, but I was not very keen on driving across California's Mojave Desert under a hot afternoon desert sun. Instead of driving to Colorado the next morning, I chose to leave immediately -- tonight. I had to reach Rocky Mountain National Park as soon as possible to enjoy the magnificent weather up there, and that was another reason for my early departure from California.
8:31 PM Left Mission Viejo, CA -- again. 151918 Miles.
9:17 PM Entered I-15; 151959 miles.
There was an accident in front, so,
9:40 PM Full stop! 151982 miles. The last thing I wanted now was to be stuck in traffic!
10:00 PM Back to freeway speed; 151988 miles.
I started crossing the Mojave desert. Theoretically, a "DESERT" is supposed to be hot in the daytime and cold in the nighttime. At 11:45 PM, I had rolled down both windows of the car and was driving at about 70 miles per hour. With both windows rolled down and a wind velocity of 70 miles per hour, I estimated the temperature that night to be in the range of 85deg. - 90deg. Fahrenheit! That was only my estimate, and I would soon find out what the actual temperature was...
The town of Baker, California contains the World's Largest Thermometer. I passed by Baker at 12:20 AM. At that time at night, the thermometer showed a temperature of 106deg. Fahrenheit -- my estimate was too low!
12:45 AM At the second rest area between Los Angeles and Las Vegas on I-15. Went to sleep. Still hot.
License Plates:
| RAYDER2 | CA | Nissan Pathfinder |
| RAZY EV | CA | Plymouth |
| WV ROCK | CA | Honda |
| FJS FUN | CA | Toyota |
| IOMMCPP | CA | Nissan Pathfinder |
| $384.15 | Chase | Car repairs -- Golden Wrench Automotive Shop | Mission Viejo, CA |
| $5 | Cash | Haircut | El Toro, CA |
| $13.95 | CB | Lake Forest Car Wash -- "Super Deluxe Wash" | Lake Forest, CA |
| $1 | Cash | Lake Forest Car Wash | Lake Forest, CA |
| $6 | Cash | Three books of postcard-rate stamps -- MAIL BOXES ETC. | Mission Viejo, CA |
| $10.88 | ATM | Six packs of SLICE -- Ralphs | Mission Viejo, CA |
| $40 | ATM | Cash Withdrawal -- Ralphs (with above purchase) | Mission Viejo, CA |
| $10 | Discover | Gas -- Chevron | Barstow, CA |
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Continue on to July 27
[51]In terms of the number of miles driven; not the number of hours.
[52]Forty-three stickers for the forty-two states and one district I had visited on this trip; one sticker of the American flag; one sticker that said "This Car Climbed Mt. Washington"; one sticker that said "Just Visiting This Planet"; and one more sticker that showed the "AAA" logo -- that last one was stuck there by the previous owner of the car.
[53]When I had left home in April, the exit ramp from 55 Freeway to 5 Freeway was under construction and closed to traffic. When I came back in July, this ramp was completed! I would soon notice several other changes in the Los Angeles metropolitan area during my stop-over here. There is nothing quite like coming back home after being away for almost four months!
[54]I never did put this sticker on the Toyota. I now have it on my current car -- 1993 Nissan Sentra.