So far so good

Woke up at the Amboy Crater, which sits on Bureau of Land Management land off old Route 66 in California side of the Mohave Desert. Three days since we left Pasadena. (BLM land has been an instrumental resource in our attempt to safely isolate.)

After driving through the vast Mohave National Monument (Thank you Obama!) we had hiked for a sunset dinner of tofu on baguettes, overlooking an extinct volcano. 

As we hiked back, we imagined trying to outrun a lava flow, coming up with a strategy in case we heard rumbling. Pro Tip: make sure you know where the keys are before getting back to the van. 

When we reached the parking lot, the last light was slipping from the desert and the first stars were registering their appearance for the record. Another van was parked a short distance away.

We eyed the BLM bathroom facilities  - a pit toilet with no lights inside a concrete structure, (And cellular service too!) - and decided it was a luxuries we could ill afford to pass up. After charging our cell phones for a while, we cast our eyes around the crowded van, triying to come up with ideas to entertain ourselves. We got nothing! “Why didn’t you bring a deck of cards!”  We called it a night and crawled into bed at 6:30.

 I tried to read the news of the days attempted coup in D.C., but my hands were freezing. The temperature would drop to 47 degrees. I tried reading with my head under the blankets until the stale air put me to sleep.

In the morning, after squabbling over who would climb out from under the warm blankets and start the van (Me), we used the bathroom and started driving at 5 am. (As of this writing, it’s 2:30 in the afternoon and I have still not yet brushed my teeth.) Sunrise was still two hours away and we watched as light revealed the silhouette shapes of the mountains around us. 

I’m torn between loving the moments of sweetness - sharing a sandwich alone with my husband on the lip of a 10000 year-old volcano - and this waking up cold and grumpy every morning, unable to take a shower.

Still, our plan is working so far. Fourteen days on the road and no symptoms of Covid. Most promisingly, it’s been 10 days since our altercation with Trooper Anti-Mask - our likeliest exposure on the trip. 

So, I guess, so far so good. For that, I am grateful. 

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