This morning we met in the Resort dining room for a
wonderful breakfast. All in all, the stay here was outstanding in spite of the
well-worn room. We pulled out of the parking lot at 8:00am with the assurance
that the road to El Centro was “all down hill.”
The first 6 miles were on Old
US Highway 80. We had been on the road for practically the entire route
yesterday. The road did go up and we wondered what we missed in the assurances
at breakfast. The scenery was unique. The boulders strewn throughout made the
land look like the top of a loaf of Panera bread. At the end of the 6 miles we
entered I-8 heading east toward El Centro. The downhill began. For 11 miles we
went from an elevation of 3000 feet down to sea level. The signs on the road
reminded us: 3000’; 2000’; 1000’. Even though the berm was wide and newly paved
we traveled downhill at about 16 mph.
Finally we reached Exit 89 – Ocotillo. It was good to return to regular roads, except
that the Evans-Hewes Highway was paved like the back of an alligator. We weaved
back and forth across the road trying to find the smoothest path as we moved
east toward El Centro looming 30 miles away. The road pavement was not the only
enemy today. The thermometer was moving up as though someone put a match under
the mercury bulb. We left I-8 with a temperature of 95 and by the time we
reached the city park in Seeley, CA, the temperature had reached 102. We sat in
the van under the cool air blowing out of the vents. It was welcome relief. When
we finally arrived in El Centro, it was 107. The temperature had sapped much of
my energy.
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