channels or ‘Hobbit-vision’, as it should have been called.
We rose the next day with the prospect of another mammoth drive ahead of
us. We were due in LA in a day's time and wanted to spend some time in
Joshua Tree National Park before arriving in 'smog central'. With this in mind I
aimed for a campsite east and slightly south of the national park. During the
day however we changed our minds, decided to travel further and headed for
29 Palms golf and RV resort. Were we enticed by the thought of playing a
round? No, but we had seen that the camp had a pool and spa - both heated -
according to Woodall's at least....
The long drive was filled with more wide, open spaces, not much to
see, so we soon broke it up with a food stop. We quickly filled up with Denny's
breakfast - a fast growing institution on long-drive days. As well as good food
this Little Chef type chain always provided entertaining staff experiences. On
this occasion we confused our waitress when Emma asked for extra bacon
instead of pancakes, the only part of the request she seemed able to deal with
was 'no pancakes'. Perhaps this was because she was dealing - successfully
- with a neighbouring table's request for no oil to be used during the cooking.
This food stop, and a subsequent search for somewhere to have the oil
changed, were the only breaks we took en route to 29 Palms – a journey of
around 350 miles. Otherwise the only diversions from the very empty scenery
were huge trains with 100+ coaches, two trees adorned with trainers in a
creepy style, and strange graffiti composed of small stones arranged beside
the road. The act of driving did not even provide exciting diversions from the
view, as the roads were straight and flat most of the time. To pass the time we
chatted and actually found out more - too much more - about each other. You