Monday, March 28, 2016

Desert View Tower to Lakeside, CA



Okay. This morning I threatened to blog about my 120-mile round trip drive from the Desert View Tower to Lakeside, CA and back. I needed a haircut, and the woman who has cut my hair for many years now lives there. Besides, it’s been so windy up here today I wanted an excuse to get away for a bit. So, here goes – pictures and all.


I got on Interstate 8 and headed west, passing the turnoff to the town of Jacumba. I’ll take you through there on the way back. This first picture shows the view on a cloudy, windy morning of an almost empty freeway and the mountains in the distance. 
 

 Since the Border Patrol in their white and green trucks is a huge presence here, I usually avoid the uphill inspection stop on the freeway by turning off onto Old Highway 80. There’s still a stop on that road but it takes no time at all. And I don’t have to wait in a long line and then shift gears to make it up the hill. 


 Old Highway 80 served as the main road between San Diego and the back country for many years until the freeway was built. And it goes through some beautiful scenery, shown on the next four pictures.



 

After a quick drive past the Border Patrol guard, I got back on the freeway and finished the drive into El Cajon. This morning I was in a hurry to make my appointment so didn’t stop along the freeway to take pictures. And I also needed to get some gas. However, I made up for it on the way back, as you’ll see by the number of pictures and descriptions in the second part of this blog, “Lakeside to Desert View Tower.” 

The next two pictures show part of the city of El Cajon, where I stopped for gas. Are you getting excited yet?

Well, after filling the tank with $2.45/gallon gas, the cheapest I've found in the area right now, I headed into Lakeside for my haircut and to visit and talk Bernie Sanders politics with my good friend, Cindy. She now sells manufactured homes, but also still cuts friends' hair at her home. I got to play with her little granddaughter as well. 

This is the end of part 1, the trip down. Now I need to spend some time reducing the size of the rest of the pictures, so will write the rest of the story tomorrow. Stay tuned. Hope you're not too excited yet. LOL!








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