Rio Del Sol... still.

Clouds are finally bringing humidity to Needles for our Sunday evening hike.  Shortly before this, we agreed that we would never eat Taco Bell again.  Our stomachs were burdened with over-processed, heavily seasoned, wishful-thinking Mexican food.

Looking down on Needles

Come morning the next day, there is only one choice to make in Needles:

Juicy's or Wagon Wheel?

Today, it was breakfast at Juicy's during a monsoonal downpour. 

We've become connoisseurs of the Needles' only two diners this side of the interstate.  While Wagon Wheel has all the class of bygone Route 66 and the cancer-fighting wonder food broccoli, Juicy's has superior coffee, crispy potatoes, and a full bar. A promotional truck parked in front had the line, "Live a Little, Save a Lot."  The cost of living here is low, with river activities and the Laughlin casino a short drive away. Historic Needles is outside of walking distance for us, so we appreciate what we see from this side of town.

The mural is nice.  Thankfully, this is not our hotel.

Chevron sign original to this station since the 40s. Taken shortly after cops cited a motorbiker without a helmet.

Googie-style lonely Panda Garden

Rather than going to the Grand Canyon, we may stay on the Route 66 as far as Albuquerque to save time.

We check in on our auto - Not much going on here.

The transmission (right) is out while our leak is addressed.

Bob the mechanic jokingly recommends we enroll in the community college at Needles.  His car broke down here 20 years ago and he's been a mechanic here ever since.  Looks like we'll be here for another day at least.

We grab some Dairy Queen, then find that we have the Rio del Sol all to ourselves.  The rest of the day is for Olympic synchronized diving and women's beach volleyball, video games, graduate study, and a rainy day desert swim.

Despite Shell's optimistic advertising, the same things were broken today as were yesterday in the "touch free restrooms."

Hot fudge and mallow creme sundae.

Dairy Queen doesn't make it far in this heat.

Six nights and seven days at the fabulous Rio del not-a-Soul make for a quiet and comfortable stay.

Needles for awhile

Day two in Needles and we discover a mysterious leaking under our car.  We lost half a quart of oil and put more in this morning but we don't know where its leaking to.  The choice mechanic won't open til noon, so we stop next door at the Wagon Wheel for a taste of the 50s.

The Wagon Wheel has 50s charm with a cowboy twist (under new ownership since the 70s).  Wagon wheels are the way to Amy's heart.

Shingles, wagon wheel chandeliers, and a pie shelf sagging with age add to the old-time charm of this stop.

Its after noon and mechanics Dave and Bob and Bailey the English Pitbull have the Camry on the rack for inspection.

Bailey looks like a bruiser, but she's sweet and intelligent.  She has a kiddie pool by a palm tree outside of the mechanic's shop where dad hoses her down to keep her cool.

Looks like we'll be sitting amongst the auto parts for awhile. Its 100 degrees inside, but it is still 10 degrees cooler than it is outside.

We decide to reserve a few more nights at the hotel.  At sunset we take a hike up the hill and find a ledge to sit and watch the passing trains with a bottle of Big Kahuna.  We listen to the rumble of the locomotives and the singing of the rails.  The bats take flight at twilight for their evening meal.  We don't mind hobo style, we like the slow life. 

An oil tanker carries tons of fuel through town, pulled by four humming locomotives and followed by one in the rear.

With the moon out, its time to go back for an evening swim, a couple of Bloody Marys, and some Olympics.

Here's the song of choice for today.  We hope you enjoy- this pair of hobos sure did!

Needles at last

David booked a comfortable room at the Rio Del Sol off Route 66.

At 110 degrees, it is a cool day in Needles.  Locals say that it reached 134 degrees last year, but you can't really feel the difference once you pass 110.

We have a lovely pool-side view, with passing trains crossing the landscape behind.

Our friendly desk clerk Barb recommended that we try breakfast at Juicy's River Cafe within walking distance.  It is just one of two diners off the interstate.  Her walking directions are: "Gas station, gas station, empty lot, Juicy's."  At a bleary-eyed breakfast in Juicys' contemporary charm, we decide that a day's rest is in order before we get back to the road.  Perhaps we'll be on route tomorrow. 

Juicy's offers "free coffee forever!!" with the purchase of a mug for $7.50.  They also boast the best Bloody Mary this side of the river.

Not much in Needles but trucks, rocks, and trains.

Our adventure begins

Since getting married, David moved in while we moved out, we quit our jobs, and we've spent the past few days balancing last minute visits with friends with cleaning, packing, Goodwill runs, and shipping for our move.

It is 9am Thursday at Cafe Massilia for a farewell breakfast at Cafe Massilia in Monrovia.  Shopkeepers are trickling into work and patrons of all generations are stopping by the old fashioned barber shop across the street for shaves and haircuts.

We are about to become officially homeless as of 1am.  Everything is packed up and we are writing letters of gratitude in Monrovia to Amy's landlord of six years.  They stopped in not long ago with homemade rice krispies and ice cold drinks.  We have spent more time with them over the last few weeks, which has made it more difficult to leave such good people behind.  Amy's landlady promised to take care of her college desk lamp, vintage electric fan, and fuzzy little succulent.

Our estimated arrival was 4am in Needles, CA, but a long day of cleaning was catching up to us.  We made it as far as Barstow before taking a nap in this Big Boy parking lot.

It has been a long time since we've seen dawn, but we are a happy pair of hobos.

A couple of signs from ampm, one selling unwashed, yet "ready to eat fruit", while the other simultaneously admonishes you to not smoke while providing the prices for you to buy more.

An extreme water display features strobe lights and a dirt bike with nestle logos taped to every spoke.  Water is taken very seriously here.

There was also live fish and a miniature monster truck rally scene.  We appreciated the architectural enthusiasm of the clerk who built it, and boy did we feel thirsty!