It rained on me in the friggin' desert

The book Subpar Parks is a fun compilation of one star reviews of US National Parks. For Big Bend National Park, the title was "It Rained on me in the friggin' desert". Although we aren’t in Big Bend, that statement was the sentiment of our day.

Last night was rainy and windy in Bakersfield, and neither of us slept well. Greg wasn’t able to get out for a run this morning. Amy found a quick break in the rain to pick some oranges, but otherwise we stayed inside. We left earlier than planned with the expectation that we would take a break later when it wasn’t raining. That didn’t happen.

The one side quest that we managed to do without rain or wind was at the Tehachapi Loop Viewpoint. We found out about this thanks to Phillipa! The Tehachapi Loop is a section of train tracks that goes over the Tehachapi pass. It has a 77 foot grade, and is so steep that they designed the rail track so that it makes a complete 360 degree turn, goes through a tunnel and crosses over itself. There is a viewpoint where you can see the track loop around.

The road up to the loop was windy with signs warning that trucks were not allowed. Luckily there was a parking lot where we could unhitch and leave the trailer behind. It was near the Cesar Chavez National Monument. The national monument wasn’t open because we were too early, but apparently it is his former home, and final resting place.

Luckily it wasn’t raining in Tehachapi. We couldn’t say that for the rest of the day. We planned to use our charging stops to stretch our legs, but the rain was too much. At the first stop, we just waited in the car. Our second stop was at the Morongo Supercharger. We are calling this a cursed charger. This is the second time we have been there, and the second time we had trouble getting one of the two pull-through chargers. To be fair, this location is super busy and the chargers are older and slower so it takes longer. But the people using them didn’t need the pull through and were unwilling to help us.

We are spending tonight in Ehrenberg, AZ, just across the border from California. Our plan is to be in the Phoenix area for the weekend.