California here we come!

    It seems that the girls were a bit tired after two nights of dancing and sightseeing at the Grand Canyon, and it also seems that they were in need of making good time across the desert and into California.  So, on their next leg of the journey, the stopped in Kingman, Arizona for gas, water, and other necessities for a drive across the desert and set out on their journey west towards Los Angeles.  They left Kingman at dark, and drove through the desert all night, with the car thermometer reading 104.  Before leaving, Grandma took a minute to write home for the first time in a day or two (and it would be another four days before she wrote home again!):

Sat. 6:30


Dear Folks:
   
   We left Grand Canyon about 2:30 this afternoon.  We just had supper here in Kingman, Ariz.  We are now going to cross the desert.  It is about 96 here now. Love, Alberta. 




     There's not much excitement in this part of the trip . . . . crossing the desert at night doesn't lend itself to much, I guess.  I myself, have never driven across the desert for any length of time, but can only imagine the stuffy feeling of four people in a car overnight, and I still marvel at four young women making this trip at that time. They describe their arrival at the state line of California, and how they had to stop at the Port of Entry for an inspection.  This is an interesting concept to me, as there's obviously none of that anymore, but they welcomed the chance to get out of the car and get a cold drink.


    Their trip through the desert ended about 4:00 am, with their arrival in San Bernadino, California, where they pulled over to take a nap and find breakfast.  Between San Bernadino and Los Angeles, they describe seeing lime, grapefruit and orange trees for the first time.  They bought dates from a vendor along the way, which none of the girls had ever tried fresh before.  Once in Los Angeles, they settled in at the Rex Auto Court Apartments and got themselves cleaned up and dressed for Sunday.


    As soon as they were cleaned up and ready to go, it was off to explore LA, baby - first stop on that trip was Forest Lawn Memorial Park.  That's right, a cemetary.  We'll save this exciting day and the rest of their time in the LA area for the next installment - don't worry, it gets more exciting from here!