But first, let’s get out of Yucca Valley. We are heading to Bakersfield only because there is a distinct lack of lodging on the way to Yosemite. Along the route today we will also go through Needles and Barstow. Name that tune!
To get out of Yucca valley we went over a mountain that was littered with multi-million-dollar houses. Think Tony Stark’s house, only without the ocean view. As soon as you pass through the gap and start down the mountain the entire landscape changes to communities of travel trailers and dry, desert-looking areas that stretch for miles. Can’t even buy the color green here.
Johnson Valley and Lucerne Valley echo my friend’s words of, “I don’t want to travel out west. It’s too lonely looking.” Can’t argue with that. Other than those riding in the few cars we passed heading in the other direction, we saw no people. None. No one goes outside here in the hundred-degree-plus heat. Not on foot. Not for long.
Now for the two things. Well, maybe three. There are no public restrooms in this part of the country. Zero. Nada. Guardrails are non-existent, and if you don’t like the view, keep driving and wait a minute.
You may think I’m kidding about the restrooms. I am not. By the time we got to Lucerne, coffee, water and tea wanted desperately to make their way out of our systems. We stopped at a gas station and were told, “We don’t have bathrooms.” You know that’s a lie, but we weren't up to challenging that statement with a two-hundred-pound guy bearing Hell's Angel's tattoos, so we moved on.
A liquor store looked promising, so we stopped there to ask and were told the same thing by a larger guy with more tattoos. They seem to grow them big out here. Guess he knew we weren’t buying alcohol at eleven a.m. On the other hand, he was open.
We moved on to the next gas station where we were told they only had pit toilets outside. Is this town for real? Oh, you’ve never used a pit toilet? This may not be the trip for you. But we passed on that option too.
Lucerne consists of a crossroads with a business on each corner, and the crossroads go nowhere. Literally. They just disappear into the mountains. There is only one more business in town and we need ice for the coolers. I went inside and asked if we bought ice could we use their restrooms and was granted permission. The restrooms were at least indoors, but that is all I will say about that.
We got our ice, topped off our gas, and sat for a minute talking about the sign we had seen to Big Bear Lake. Since we had been passing through places that looked straight out of The Terminator movies, it occurred to me to wonder if this might be the Big Bear Lake where Sara Connor sent her mom to hide from the Terminator. If you don’t know what I’m referring to, I’m not sure we can remain friends. Sure enough, I found out that this is the same Big Bear Lake. I could hardly contain my excitement. If Sara hadn’t told her mom she was at The Tiki Motel (who was really the Terminator faking her mom’s voice) he wouldn’t have found her and Kyle quite so quickly. Dumb chick. Thank goodness she got smarter in the next movie.
Not wanting to arrive in Bakersfield with an entire afternoon to fill, we decided to take the detour to Big Bear Lake. The road was mountainous and curvy (no guardrails). See the photo. But Big Bear Lake was amazing and well worth the trip. We picnicked by the lake and dipped our feet in the water. Temps went from over one-hundred degrees down into the low eighties just by leaving the valley.
Reluctantly taking our leave, we drove back down the mountain and took a left turn to exit Lucerne. Exiting Lucerne took all of an entire thirty seconds. Getting to Bakersfield took a bit longer.
Thanks to handmade road signs, we stumbled upon Murray Family Farms and Orchards. We were tired, and they had indoor bathrooms! Imagine our excitement. There was nothing to pick this time of year, but we had a good homemade dinner here and picked up some fruit for later. The grounds are beautiful so take time to stroll.
Made Bakersfield about six pm. Uneventful evening, but tomorrow morning gets really interesting. At least for us.
Until tomorrow.