Babs’ travels -The Peking to Paris Rally and other driving adventures.

Such a rich seam to choose from today, but it could only be Joni Mitchell who wrote 'Blue' just for me. I could have used 'Hotel California' because (whisper) we are staying in a hotel for two days. After the heat that we have just endured I don't feel too much guilt. Also, if we weren't, we would have missed out on another astonishing coincidence. Andreas, one of our P2P companeros, was standing in the hotel lobby as we walked through the door! He's staying with his children for a few days and we have just enjoyed dinner together. I only booked the hotel this morning. What are the chances? The world is small indeed. Desert behind us. Equilibrium restored. A cool L. A. only 72F and yes, it does feel a bit like coming home. I always like visiting L. A. Tomorrow we will visit the Farmer's Market and then wander through The Grove, (shopping!) among other things. We left our campsite very early (3.00am) this morning as sleep eluded us with a ...

An outstanding day on one if the longest, most remote parts of 66. We soon left the high plateau and Ponderosa pines for the low, arid desert and searing heat (45C). We passed through Seligman and met the wonderful Angel, barber, cafe owner and protector of Route 66 heritage. We had the road practically to ourselves for about 60 miles of twisting mountain roads with views that left us breathless. We called in at a wildlife rescue centre in remote Valentine and saw tigers, wolves and bobcats, among other things. Then we dropped south for a little to Lake Havasu to see London Bridge. Rumour has it that Mr McC thought that he was buying Tower Bridge, where Adrian and I were married. It looks surprisingly gorgeous anyway. It's just too damn hot to think or write so instead a few photos. Tomorrow we will be bursting into song. Join in if you like. 'California Here We Come!'

We didn't make the trail, it being 6 hours down and twice as long back up, but we did board the Grand Canyon Train and set off for the south rim. It hasn't changed in 26 years, or even the last several million. Still fabulous. Fred Harvey was responsible for creation of tourism at the Grand Canyon. He was born in 1835, in humble circumstances, but his vision led to him being dubbed 'the civiliser of the west'. He started his career on the railroads as a dishwasher and busboy. A fastidious man, he was revolted by the unappetising food, filthy lodging and fleecing of travellers 'who wouldn't be back anyways'. He became determined to bring the best to the west through the railroads. It was said, at the time, that there were 'no ladies east of Dodge City and no women east of Albuquerque'. Starting small it soon became a massive operation. When he died there were 47 restaurants, 15 hotels and 30 dining cars on the Santa Fe Railroad. in his empi...

Not much else to do, quite frankly. Sometimes, on a road trip, serendipity happens. It was so today. We called in at a little gas station and general store in Cubero, NM. Most of the village is a typical 66 scene of abandonment, decay and lost dreams but this little place keeps going. There was a small group inside, eating cake, of the loveliest, friendliest people that you could ever meet. We dallied a while and chatted. There was a lady in the office counting the cash - no computers here- just mounds of paper, Indian style. The little shop was reasonably stocked and you certainly wouldn't starve if you relied in it , as many do, for your comestibles. What it would do to your health though I'm not too sure. While we were getting acquainted Jose, a Mexican guy came in; he did not speak English. Everyone in there spoke fluent Spanish to him. Apparently, he calls in every morning selling breakfast burritos that his wife cooks in a big pot. It is his only way of makin...

Bon Jovi - incase you didn't know. Santa Fe is just gorgeous. Fabulous architecture, heavenly atmosphere and is what they call here 'upscale'. Go. We moved on towards Los Alamos with breathtaking far reaching views of mesas and strange, beautifully eroded rocks. We were in a gas station in Los Alamos when a couple ran up to me and asked me if I knew Lori Carlson. They had seen our PLF stickers. They have just returned from 18 months in Cambodia working for another NGO and we knew many of the same people. Just incredible! We once met someone we knew next to a waterhole in Bandavgarh Tiger Reserve in central India. Another astonishing coincidence. The home of The Manhattan Project is wonderful to visit. There is a top class museum detailing not just the history but also the current work of the Laboratory. Roosevelt commissioned it in 1942 and thousands of people went to worked there. There was nothing on the Mesa then except a school for 'delicate boys' whi...

Well, we sure are. The mother road was a little tricky to navigate today as parts are now on private land and other bits are directly under the freeway. Stuck on I 40 we could often, tantalisingly, see the old road, fenced off and with weeds growing through it. We tried our best though. We stopped by the Cadillac Range a collection of half buried old caddies placed as art. Sadly, we forgot to buy spray paint as the convention is to place your own graffiti on them. Just east of Amarillo we smelt Wildorado. It exists as a holding pen for cattle going to the livestock auctions - nearly 30,000 of them. Readers; the stench! We really wanted to go to see the auctions but they don't run at the weekend. The flat, windy Texan panhandle rolled past. Big farming country with almost no signs of habitation. The only 'towns' on route 66 a series of 'used to be' places. We saw wheeled irrigation sprinklers that looked about half a mile long. We stopped at the mid point ...