THE UPPER MOJAVE

We woke up on Buck Owens Boulevard. With the Bakersfield Sound on the radio, I gassed up our Ford and left Kern County. Heading east on Route 178, strip malls gave way to oil fields. Pumps resembling dinosaurs lined the road. The ever changing topography beckoned. As the Telecasters faded, the road stretched quietly into the distance. Pat knitted mechanically while I repeatedly pulled over onto the dusty shoulder. After all, the new camera I swore never to buy was incapable of wasting film. Fewer vehicles passed as we leisurely cruised east towards the rising desert sun. Our plan was to spend a night in Ridgecrest before heading on to explore Death Valley from our cabin in Furnace Creek. I looked forward to galloping on horseback through dry gulches and shaded ravines…