no more bedhead

My plan was to wake up this morning, drive the few miles from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon, and introduce my kids to the most breathtaking place I've ever been. Early in the morning, free from distractions, they would have an experience that they would remember for the rest of their lives.

Alas, my car had other ideas.

We left Anaheim, after four great days at the Disney theme parks, and headed out on the 57, the 60, and the 15. As we passed through Rancho Cucamonga we noted that the largest tortilla chip factory in North America is located there. (We discovered that on our Mission tortilla chip factory tour at California Adventure.) The next town was Ontario. All I know of Ontario is that it is the location where “Dave” films his “There Goes A ...” kids video series. It looked like an interesting town, and I remarked that I would like to know more about what happens there. We stopped for gas, and then continued on.

In Barstow, we picked up I-40 and headed east toward Flagstaff. About an hour later, and just 9 miles past Ludlow, according to the California Highway Patrol Officer (who looked more like Jon than Ponch, and was actually from Indiana), the car started shuddering like we were riding over rumble strips. Except we weren't. So we pulled over to the side of the road in the middle of the Mojave desert.

I recalled that we had Volkswagen Roadside Assistance when we bought the car, so I called them. They told me that it expired in 2006, but they would be happy to tow me to the nearest VW dealer (at my own cost) in Henderson, NV (almost 200 miles). Then she determined that we could go to San Jose instead as that would be closer (430 miles). Closer, yeah, you do the math.

We ended up using the call box, waiting two and a half hours and getting a tow back to Barstow. Spent the night there, and was pleased to discover that everyone was very very nice. Our hotel was right on Route 66, and it turns out that the next burg over, Newberry Springs, was the inspiration for Radiator Springs in the movie Cars. The lady at the garage gave me a map (that she ripped out of her phone book) of Newberry Springs for me to give to Jamie.

There's not much in Barstow, but a big railyard, and a couple of military installations. The Marine Corps have a big base there, and the Army has a training center, too (Fort Irwin). In Fort Irwin is the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Network Center, one of three such complexes in the world, spaced at 120 degrees around the globe. There is also a Harvey House and a Route 66 museum, neither of which was open, not that we had the time to go, but still... There is also the largest runway I've seen at an airport of just a couple of buildings. Turns out it is just a military airport. I remarked that it looked like you could land a 747 there, and was told that it was mostly used for Blackhawks (although they wouldn't need a runway, but I didn't get into that).

And a weird story. I was looking through the information at the Holiday Inn Express, and found a list of Episcopal churches in the “high desert” area. There were none listed for Barstow. This morning I was driving around looking for a garage, and I was going around the block to head back to one I had seen. I was going to turn right, but something told me to turn left, and I ended up smack in front of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Weird.

The people at the garage confirmed that there was a problem with the cooling fan, but it would take them up to 5 days to get the part. His suggestion – we take the car to the VW garage in Ontario. Now, when I said I wanted to know more about Ontario, this wasn't what I meant. Be careful what you wish for.

So, we limped our way to Ontario. And here we are, 33 miles from Anaheim.