Trip Report - Day 3

I know everyone says this and I'm going to do my best not to harp on about it, but everything people say about the weather in LA is absolutely true. If Knoxville had weather like this, my circle of friends would be the least productive people on earth as every day would be spent trying to figure out which patio to enjoy.

Today's drive was only 1/2 the distance that I covered yesterday, so I was able to sleep in a bit and take my time this morning. More on why this turned out to be important in a bit.

So my first stretch out of Flagstaff was through the Kaibab National Forest. Absolutely beautiful drive. The snow all through the trees was completely untouched. Very picturesque. The rest of Arizona was a huge span of desert surrounded by mountains, also covered in snow (the mountains, not the desert). The road was relatively empty which allowed me to zone out as much as possible while driving and enjoy the scenery. 

Pretty soon I was crossing in to California and got to experience the kind folks at the border looking through my car for any plants/produce/animals I may be bringing into the state. All they found was the banana I took from the continental breakfast, so I was on my way.

At this point I was still on I-40 and other than the new road signs and reduced speed limit, there wasn't much difference in my surroundings. This all changed once I-40 ended and I-15 began. 

Earlier when I said it was a good thing I got some good rest last night, well, the rest of the drive is the reason why. I went from enjoying the 2-lane open road, to a 4-lane plunge down from the mountains. This was like going down the plateau in East TN  on steroids. More lanes, more cars, traffic merging in, and while I was content to just coast downwards, the other cars were having none of that. Before I knew it, I was being tailgated by a semi in the SLOW lane doing 80 mph. I don't think I've ever gripped a steering wheel so hard.

The rest of my drive in required a similar level of alertness. I'm pretty sure if I was trying to find my way through the city without the benefit of GPS, I'd still be out there, hopelessly driving in circles.

Over the next hour, my iPhone more than paid for itself as it led me through the stacks upon stacks of highways/interstate/freeways towards my friends house in West LA. I have a feeling I'll be using it to get around for the next several months.

So for now, I'm at my friend's house, temporarily adding to their family.. They are truly living the dream... 2 kids, a dog, a yard, and a 27 year old Tennessee transplant sleeping on the couch.

We should all be so lucky.