So Close, Yet So Far

It was almost the perfect trip.  Traffic wasn't terrible, the sun was shining and the first three hours went by without incident.  That's when all the tail lights lit up.  I hit my emergency flashers so no one would play tag with me, and slowed to a stop.

It took 30 minutes just to get to the sign.  The lovely town of Bakersfield was within reach.  

A very LONG reach, since it took over an hour to get even close to my turnoff.  Here it is a Friday afternoon with everyone and their brother on the freeway, and they decide to shut the highway down to do repair work.  

That's Bakersfield.  For the last six years, I've been driving Highway 58 over Tehachapi Pass through a construction zone.  Will they EVER get it finished?  I doubt it.  Just when they get one side of the three lanes fixed, they have to go back and fix the other two again.  It's just crazy!!

Finally, I had a lovely look see at my path through the mountains.  It was so smoggy, I could barely SEE the mountains, but that was okay ..... I've got clear sailing and only 25 miles to go.

Until just out of town, I saw those red tail lights again.  I quickly jumped in the left lane so I'd miss the accident that I was sure would be blocking the right hand side.  The good thing was at less than 5 mph, the engine cooled down nicely in the 99 degree heat.  This was the view in my rear view mirror.

Thirty minutes passed before coming upon this sign.  It says Your Tax Dollars At Work .. Rebuilding California.  Seriously?  Another 30 minutes passed before I finally got to the construction zone where we were squished into one lane.  Again, on a Friday afternoon, they have chosen to shut down a major highway in order to pour tar on the cracks in the road.   No construction, just tar.

I was SO CLOSE, yet so far away.  My four hour tour ended up being six before I pulled in to the RV park.  Not my usual Orange Grove, I'm staying in Tehachapi because it's much cooler.  In fact, it's a chilly 48 degrees.   I'm LOVIN' IT!!