Travelling West- an Illusionary Experience

Some things just aren't what they seem in life. When a very large jet takes off, it looks like its going to fall out of the sky. Obviously it is up to flight speed, but because of its size, it looks like comin back down at any moment.

When a lifelong resident of the US EAST of the Mississippi River goes very far west of the river, they see things that really don't make visual sense. We go up and down the highways, and pass trees and hills in a minute or less, no big deal. We've got trees all around us, usually. There are some places that are thinned out for trees, but not very many.

If you are on I-40 going west into Oklahoma, the trees r-e-a-l-l-y thin out, and the open plain stretches out all around. That western state border of Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri is a dividing line; east of it the vegetation is thick, west of it is thinned out greatly. Changes the perspective, because it takes longer to pass a tree or hill than it does back east. Perception of distance gets really stretched out.

Going from Memphis TN to Oklahoma City raises the elevation by 900 feet. At OKC you're officially on the Great Plains, the Dust Belt. Distances will fool you because from here on out to LA, the visibility is also greater. Common visibility back east may be 30-50 miles on a clear day. Out here, its 100 miles and then some.

Going to Amarillo Texas will also give you some colossal fuel mileage, as the ride is flat in that stretch. You've also gotten on the memorable stretch of road called "Route 66". Don't have any markers or locations to talk about for gettin your kicks on Route 66, so you'll have to Google that one.

At Amarillo, you begin to do some serious climbing. Just like Denver, Albequerque New Mexico is at around a mile above sea level. So you will wonder what elevation you're at when you start going downhill into the valley its in. After lunch, or a night's stay, its climb back up to high ground westbound. Not far down the road is the Continental Divide. East of this point streams flow into either the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean. West of it, they all flow to the Pacific Ocean.

What you really won't be ready for is the mountain in the distance. Its going to take you an hour to get past it. Of course, the hills by the road won't. They'll be just like they were in East Tennessee. But off to the left or right, a really BIG hill won't be behind for awhile-because its 70-100 miles away, something you're not used to seeing, so you don't think its that far off. And the time it takes to pass will mess with your mind-it's the change in perspective. In Tennessee or Arkansas if its that far away, you won't see it. Probably won't be that big a mountain either.

Another thing that's changing is the altitude. Flagstaff Arizona is at 7000 feet. You've climbed up the shallow side in a few days. You'll be at Needles California-at 484 feet- in one day! While you're "in the neighborhood" go a "few miles" north and take in the Grand Canyon. A good intro for that experience is the Imax screen, as you approach the park from the south. Teddy Roosevelt, the president at the previous turn of the century, said its something every American should see. Once you get to the south rim, being that it is so far away, you won't realize you are looking 1400' up to see the north rim. Nothing will change the way you look at spaces and sizes as to see the Grand Canyon. Makes Texans jealous. They think they've got all the "BIG" stuff.

Get through with the Canyon, go south to I-40. You'll get on it at Williams, Arizona. From this point on, you'll see something you won't see on any other part of I-40-altitude markers in thousands of feet every so often. What it took days to gain, you'll be losing in hours. Now if the roulette wheels and blackjack tables are calling, take a right at Kingman Arizona and go see the city in the sand called Las Vegas. You'll drive over the top of Hoover Dam doin it, so make sure the young uns' are up. They won't want to miss it.

If you're a baby boomer like me, a gravel-voiced cowboy was part of your cartoon or movie fare as a kid. He was a big guy and he's from Kingman. They remind you that Andy Devine is from there with streets and such named after him. If you are REALLY old, you'll remember him as a 20-something props manager who got Janet Gaynor a very nice dress for an important occasion. This is in the first version of "A Star is Born", circa 1937. Barbra Streisand's version in 1977 with Kris Kristofferson was the third.

Keep droppin atltitude southwest-ward, cross the Colorado River, and you're at the east end of the Mojave Desert at Needles CA-altitude 484' above sea level. From Flagstaff you were so high, and now you're way lower. You're still higher than Memphis, at 300'.

Fuel up good, 'cause there's almost none to be found crossing the desert. You'll end up at Barstow California, meeting I-15 coming down from Las Vegas, and I-40 will end. And after all these years you thought I-40 went all the way to the West Coast, and you find out it fizzes out in the desert. What a letdown! If you are doing this trip in the summer, do the desert overnight. Daytime temps are over 100 all the way across. And its dry heat, not the humugity we're used to.

Once on I-15, you'll be doing what a traveler from Vegas has been doing since they left there. 20 minutes downhill, 20 minutes uphill- for 250 miles. The last pass before going down into the 60-suburbs-in-search-of-a-city called Los Angeles area is El Cajon. This is El Cajon Pass. El Cajon, Ca is down near San Diego.

There, you've made it to La la Land. And the experience has been mind stretching, to say the least. One last thing, the Pacific Ocean is going to be COLD!- even in June. "Hey, its due west of Sardis MS. So what's it doin so cold? " The water is coming from Alaska. Things just ain't the way you'd imagined. I know!