Scary Road

After Las Vegas we set out destined for California. Upon reaching the State line we ran into a road block on I-15. Rather than taking our chances on waiting it out we turned around began searching for a way around the closed section of the highway. Looking at the GPS, it seemed clear that if we simply went back to the last exit, hopped on route 161 and headed west that we would eventually arrive at I-15 ahead of the road block. So we made our way down this desolate stretch of road hoping it would not take too long. The road did not have many labels on it so we quickly became confused as to where we were. We were at least headed in the right direction - west. Then we happened upon an intersection, again with no labels. A woman in a white car was also at the intersection coming from the other direction and she stopped to roll down her window. We rolled down ours as well. We explained we were looking to get back to I-15. She said all we had to do was go straight ahead; the road would turn to dirt for a bit and it would pop us right put to I-15. She seemed trustworthy enough so we went straight, toward the mountainous incline in the short distance. As we drove on we went through a little town with very few homes, one church and not a human in sight. We began to think that our surroundings were very similar to that of the horror movie "The Hills Have Eyes". As the incline became a bit steeper it forced us to slow down to about 15mph. Dust was engulfing the car as we chugged along the dirt and rock, praying we didn't get a flat. As if we needed any added suspense, we suddenly approached a house on the right with a human sized dummy hanging on a tree limb by a noose tied to its' neck. (It was a white doll, so I don't think it was a racial thing, which was my first nauseating thought). I was thinking "oh God, our killers are gonna pull up on ATVs and hold us at gunpoint and....." you get the idea. Active imagination. With no cell phone reception I truly felt like we were helpless to even call for help. Nonetheless, we were confident that the road was going in the right direction. After about a half hour of this off road expedition we FINALLY came to pavement on the other side of the mountains and saw signs pointing to I-15. Unfortunately we did not capture any footage of what we learned later is called 'Kingston Road' in Sandy Valley, NV. All Internet accounts describe this drive as very scenic and enjoyable, assuming of course that one has a proper vehicle for such terrain. But no stories of anything bad happening or anything like that. Just another normal desolate dirt road to the locals I'm sure but to two native New Englanders something much more nerve racking.

California happenings to come soon....

Julie