kevin_standlee (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kevin_standlee) wrote2017-07-04 08:23 pm
kevin_standlee) wrote2017-07-04 08:23 pm
Westercon 2017 Road Trip Day 4: Nothing to See Here
I'm not counting the days spent in Tempe at Westercon toward the count of days on the road trip, so this was Day 4 on the road. We're on our way home, but it will take longer than on the way out because I need to be work at the Day Jobbe for the next three days in order to save vacation needed for other trips.
Our goal was to be out of the hotel and on the road by Noon today. It took a few minutes longer than that, and we had our first stop only a short distance away, where we had lunch at Waffle House. I indulged myself considerably, primarily because I know it will be a long time before I get another chance.
Our planned line of march was along US-60 to Wickenburg, then north on US-93 to Kingman. Somehow, shortly after we got off I-17 onto US-60, we missed a turn and ended up way off course, although we got back on the beam at AZ-101. We should have taken that right turn at Peoria, I guess.
It was very hot. The minvan's air conditioning, when we could use it (that is, when the engine temperature didn't go too high) could blunt the edge of the heat but could not keep it totally at bay. On the other hand, as we went higher and further north, things got slightly better.
We stopped at Nothing, Arizona, population formerly 4 but now down to zero. But there was Nothing to see here, so we moved along.
US-93 has large amounts of Joshua trees here, and they're much bigger and bushier than those along US-95 in Nevada.
There are also splendid stretches of saguaro cactus.
Not pictured because I couldn't get the camera deployed fast enough are some impressive canyons and lots of high desert geology on display.
Wikieup is the only place to stop with any services north of Wickenburg. There's not a whole lot here, but there were convenience stores, restrooms, and cold drinks. The last time we stopped here, we bought a kit to grow our own Joshua trees, but never got around to trying to plant the seeds. Maybe we should. There are a couple of Joshua trees growing in Fallon, 30 miles or so east of Fernley.
About 6:30 PM, roughly eight hours and 200 miles after we left Tempe, we pulled into the Holiday Inn Express in Kingman on Andy Devine Blvd (historic Route 66), which is a pretty typical HIX. The Ramada across the street is far more interesting looking.
We checked into the hotel and got the latest checkout I could get with my Spire class membership (1 PM), which I hope will be sufficient. I did a bit of work earlier in the week while I was nominally on vacation, which I hope I can offset sufficiently so I can work from the room tomorrow until 1 PM, after which we will drive to Las Vegas. That should be a relatively easy trip as it's only about 100 miles.
I'm pleased to find that this HIX has wired internet access, and glad I brought my small router. After a bit of fuss to get it connected, I tested speeds. While nowhere near the 999 mbps we once got at the Pallazo (one of the only good reasons I could think of for staying there, actually), it was still twice the speed of their wireless connection.
Now I need to start winding myself back onto my Central Time-based Day Jobbe schedule.
Our goal was to be out of the hotel and on the road by Noon today. It took a few minutes longer than that, and we had our first stop only a short distance away, where we had lunch at Waffle House. I indulged myself considerably, primarily because I know it will be a long time before I get another chance.
Our planned line of march was along US-60 to Wickenburg, then north on US-93 to Kingman. Somehow, shortly after we got off I-17 onto US-60, we missed a turn and ended up way off course, although we got back on the beam at AZ-101. We should have taken that right turn at Peoria, I guess.
It was very hot. The minvan's air conditioning, when we could use it (that is, when the engine temperature didn't go too high) could blunt the edge of the heat but could not keep it totally at bay. On the other hand, as we went higher and further north, things got slightly better.
We stopped at Nothing, Arizona, population formerly 4 but now down to zero. But there was Nothing to see here, so we moved along.
US-93 has large amounts of Joshua trees here, and they're much bigger and bushier than those along US-95 in Nevada.
There are also splendid stretches of saguaro cactus.
Not pictured because I couldn't get the camera deployed fast enough are some impressive canyons and lots of high desert geology on display.
Wikieup is the only place to stop with any services north of Wickenburg. There's not a whole lot here, but there were convenience stores, restrooms, and cold drinks. The last time we stopped here, we bought a kit to grow our own Joshua trees, but never got around to trying to plant the seeds. Maybe we should. There are a couple of Joshua trees growing in Fallon, 30 miles or so east of Fernley.
About 6:30 PM, roughly eight hours and 200 miles after we left Tempe, we pulled into the Holiday Inn Express in Kingman on Andy Devine Blvd (historic Route 66), which is a pretty typical HIX. The Ramada across the street is far more interesting looking.
We checked into the hotel and got the latest checkout I could get with my Spire class membership (1 PM), which I hope will be sufficient. I did a bit of work earlier in the week while I was nominally on vacation, which I hope I can offset sufficiently so I can work from the room tomorrow until 1 PM, after which we will drive to Las Vegas. That should be a relatively easy trip as it's only about 100 miles.
I'm pleased to find that this HIX has wired internet access, and glad I brought my small router. After a bit of fuss to get it connected, I tested speeds. While nowhere near the 999 mbps we once got at the Pallazo (one of the only good reasons I could think of for staying there, actually), it was still twice the speed of their wireless connection.
Now I need to start winding myself back onto my Central Time-based Day Jobbe schedule.
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