We woke to shimmering cacti. And cold. It took hours for warmth to come. In the meantime we scarfed some food and hung out practicing tent yoga.

We left for what turned out to be a much longer drive than guessed to the Needles DMV. The huge Joshua trees gradually diminished and then were gone. We were left with desert brush and, in the distance, towering, selenium toned mountains.

On the way, we stopped at the Kelso Dune visitor center to clean up a bit. After washing, I turned and asked the gentleman next to me wearing a tee shirt which said “Old Guys Rule” if I look gorgeous. He told me my sailor’s shower was all anyone needs.

Giant rocks we passed.

Joshua trees give each other plenty of room and allow for differences. What nice neighbors! The small ones look a lot like a person when biking, especially when going fast. It is taking time for me to adapt to the new locals.

Wow, there goes a real live running road runner in the road!! They really do get into that parallel position and take off.

We ate lunch at a genuine Route 66 attraction. There were flamingo water fountains and plenty of tees shirts. We just ate our own food and took off though.

Our picnic spot.

Finally in Needles, we found another line at the DMV and yes this means we gave up so many moons ago at the Oakland DMV. We took our numbers and waited.

Needles is one of the places where I wonder, had I come from here, what I’d have become. No difference? Could be. Who knows, really, what combination of luck, smarts, timing and whatever other stuff turns us into us. I don’t anyway.

Happily we passed our eye test and successfully filled out the forms and were able to pay. Sadly we were unable to take the test due to a computer issue. Ok we’ll have to come back it seems.

We are tired of the wind and considering getting the bus earlier than planned. What to do with the truck then? Perhaps the best be to park it in the garage in Oakland, get a bus from the Bay Area and modify it in the driveway?

Or maybe the wind dies down at some point? How to tell! Weather claims the wind dies down late tonight. And then what to do when it comes back at a later date?