Monday, June 1st, Day 40

Woke up at five thirty to a gorgeous sunrise, which I tried to capture in digital form on my semi-functional camera. Won't see how it turned out until Onyx, unfortuntely.

A cool morning hike took us down out of the mountains, through a wind farm and ultimately to the Tehachapi/Willow Springs road, where we began the ten-mile walk to Mojave. Our thumbs were out at every car that passed our way, but traffic was light, and comprised mostly of semi trucks and cars too small for three men and their packs. After we'd walked about three miles, a bright blue Toyota whatever pulled over, and a man named Gabriel picked us up. We listened to AC/DC and asked the important questions about town, namely about fast food places, which we walked to after he kindly dropped us off at the post office. I have finally eaten at a Jack-In-The-Box. I can go home now. Aha.

After food (so much!) we walked (laboriously) across town in the afternoon sun. Mojave is wide open and spread out, and the twenty-minute walk to the Stater Bros. grocery store took us past a handful of gas stations and restaurants on one side and a scenic vista of the distant mountains on the other, with lots and lots of nothing between us and them.

While we were shopping, a man approached me and asked if the packs outside belonged to us. I said yes, and when I told him where we're going, he seemed genuinely impressed. He intorduced himself (Mark), and after meeting Tom and Jerry, offered to let us stay the night at the house he and his friend are building. We agreed, and soon found ourselves ten miles away in California City, eating junk food in the yard of a building site. Mark and Tony (his friend) entertained us for hours with truly hilarious and exciting stories. These two have lived.

After a delicious dinner of flame-grilled chicken and hot dogs, we set out our sleepin pads in the framework of the house and prepared for bed.

This house is a wooden skeleton. I love being in buildings before the drywall goes up, and stepping between the slats, breaking the rules. There is no roof on this building, and when I lie on my back, I'm looking straight up at the stars. The breeze is cool, and I could not be happier to be out here right now. 'Night.