\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Those who have driven\u00a0Interstate 10 through this unpainted desert\u00a0know that there is a lot of sand out there and not much else, but I discovered that if\u00a0you’re really observant, you will see things that you won’t see anywhere else in the world.\u00a0\u00a0For example, I noticed a sign\u00a0along the\u00a0freeway that\u00a0read:\u00a0 \u2018Prison Near By \u2013 Do Not Pick Up Hitch Hikers\u2019.\u00a0 To me it really said: \u2018Hey, we can\u2019t be expected to keep our eyes on these crooks every second, so if one or two happen to escape and are looking for a ride out of here, don\u2019t pick them up\u2019.\u00a0 Another amusing sign along the freeway asked me to turn off my air conditioning for the next ten miles to keep my car from overheating.\u00a0 Are they kidding?!\u00a0 It\u2019s 108 degrees out there, what\u2019s going to keep me<\/em>\u00a0from overheating?\u00a0 Why don\u2019t they just\u00a0ask me to\u00a0take off my dark glasses and stare into the sun?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Or maybe\u00a0suggest that I\u00a0stand out in the sun on the shoulder and\u00a0help direct\u00a0Armadillo across the freeway?<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The sights along the way, while they may be\u00a0few and far between, are usually interesting\u00a0and sometimes bazaar.\u00a0 Pictured above, for example,\u00a0is\u00a0something you don’t see every day – a trunk hauling a ’54 Merc and . . . an airplane without any wings.\u00a0\u00a0Where could they possibly be going?<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As I approached the ‘Agricultural Check Point’ coming into California – it’s where they check to make sure no fruits or nuts get into the state . . . Oops, I\u00a0realized that I\u00a0was eating grapes that I had purchased in Arizona and was now about to transport them\u00a0illegally\u00a0over state lines – a federal offense!\u00a0 I couldn’t throw them out the window, that’s\u00a0also illegal.\u00a0 I approached to check point nervously.\u00a0 When asked if I was carrying any agricultural items, I shifted the grapes to the side of my mouth and lied,”No sir”.\u00a0\u00a0He waved me through.\u00a0 I felt guilty, but I blame it on that hot desert sun – they say it makes you do crazy things, I believe them now.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As I quickly drove away, constantly checking my rearview mirror, I saw a sign for the city of Desert Center, and thought I’d stop there, get gas, have something cold to drink, and get rid of the evidence.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I pulled into the gas station (pictured at right), but found it a little short on gas,\u00a0\u00a0and everything else for that \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It soon became abundantly clear to me that\u00a0the best place to be in Desert Center was the center, because no matter which way you dove, you were leaving.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Back on the freeway I did find one\u00a0more\u00a0interesting\u00a0item on Interstate 10 before I finally got to the museum,\u00a0it was a\u00a0truckload of BIMBOS –\u00a0headed\u00a0for California.\u00a0\u00a0 Thursday: The General Patton Museum –\u00a0Tanks, But No Tanks (Part II)\u00a0 I finally get there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow Interstate 10 \u00a0\u00a0 I was recently just leaving Arizona, where I had just learned that it is\u00a0legal to carry a concealed or unconcealed weapon into a bar in that state \u2013 an experiment, I suppose, to see … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/photo-55.jpg\" "\\"photo")
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 I was recently just leaving Arizona, where I had just learned that it is\u00a0legal<\/em> to carry a concealed or unconcealed weapon into a bar in that state \u2013 an experiment, I suppose, to see what happens when you mix fire arms and fire water.\u00a0 That can\u2019t have a good ending, but I digress.\u00a0 Like many who have traveled Interstate 10 from Arizona to California, I have seen signs posted along the freeway for the General George S. Patton Museum, but never stopped.\u00a0 Everyone I talked with who had driven that route said the same thing, saw the signs, never stopped.\u00a0 So this time I decided to stop, but not before discovering some of the ‘treasures’ of the Mojave Desert along the way.<\/p>\n<\/a> matter.\u00a0 I started to go next door to\u00a0the ‘Desert Center Cafe’ to get\u00a0something to eat or drink, but found\u00a0it closed\u00a0– since 1987!\u00a0 I drove over to one of the only other building ‘in town’ – it was an old school\u00a0with an old\u00a0tractor parked in the ‘Principal’s Parking Place’ (Below).<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n