Desert Driving

June 29, 2013- To Flagstaff

Wow!  What a freakin day man!  I had every intention to wake up early and finish my last few preparations for the trip so that I would get to Flagstaff in the late afternoon.  That did not happen as planned.  I got up late and dilly-dallied for a while before I actually started to drive. 

What’s strange is that I feel like whatever I did this morning was a few days ago.  I guess that’s how it goes when you’re traveling great distances, right?  Needless to say, it was a long day driving through mostly desert waste land. 

I had this realization though as I was passing through the 125 degree death weather; that I’m actually pretty accustomed to the desert scene more than I thought.  I’m going to miss the giant boulders, the rattlesnake warnings, and the threat of coyotes.  So I soaked up as much Mojave mojo as I could.

That is to say, I got myself out of the comfort of my air conditioned vehicle into the hell-like conditions to take some pictures…. but only some… I cheated a few times and took pictures from said comfort zone.  I doubt any of those behind the window pictures will end up being worth saving…

So, after some good solid driving for 8+ hours I made it to Flagstaff, Arizona.  Granted, I am parked outside of a Walmart for some nappy time.  Hope the kitties will allow me some slumber.  They both had a burst of energy since the car is no longer in motion….

By the way, driving with cats is not an easy task, particularly when you want to record your experiences on film.  Matela, the mama kitty, was more adapted- she ate the food I gave her, drank some water and explored the car a little more.  Darcy, the man cat, was a little more traumatized.  He would not eat unless it was a kitty treat, and I had to put water on his paws and face so he would lick it off.  Since they mostly stayed huddled up together in the carrier, I rubbed ice on their fur to cool them down.

The litter box I have set up in a garbage bag and it's sitting in the very back of the car.  I open up the bag when they go sniffing in the area.  This usually only happens when we stop.  Matela got confused and peed on the bag when we arrived here, though.  Darcy still has not ventured for the box.  I bought a Litter Genie, but after Matela’s first poo I have discovered that no amount of layers of plastic will make it less horrible to have a cat take a shit in your brand new car.  These are very sad moments for me…

Well, I don’t want to stay here any longer than I have to.  Gotta wake up early to head out for New Mexico.