Seems Just Like Yesterday..California, Here I Come!!

Well after the LONG day I had the day before, I was in no great hurry to leave early that next morning. I am usually not one to sleep in very late but I did allow myself to sleep in a little. I was surprised how sore my legs were, guess it was from all the sitting I had done the day before.
It was a beautiful that day. A clear cloudless sky and a much warmer breeze than I had experienced the day before!! It was a perfect day to drive to Texas!! Before I left vegas I called my friend, Lola to let her know where I was and she told me about how long it would take me to get to where she lived in Desert Hot Springs. For those of you who do know know, Desert Hot Springs is across the Coachella Valley from Palm Springs, about 17 miles or so. So I took out.

I was a little antsy that day and I was really wanting to get this trip over with. I was getting close and the closer I got the more excited I got. I stopped for gas somewhere and was looking at my map and was thinking maybe I could come up with a short way if I got off the freeway and cut cross country instead. To be honest, to this day I have no idea where I went and I was very thankful I had a four wheel drive truck!! I remember cutting across the desert following these small roads, some of which were dirt! But they were the lines on my map! I left Hwy 15 and was cutting across the desert and then a few hours late, I came off this dirt road and was on the Highway in Joshua Tree, California, just about 40 miles from Palm Springs!!
It was a real miracle that I found my way over the desert from Hwy 15 to where I was.
Don't know how I did it, and I know I could never retrace my route!!!

So about 2pm on January 7, 1987 I drove into Desert Hot Springs, California and into the Coachella Valley which would be my home for the next 15 1/2 years!

Sitting here now remembering all this, it is so hard to believe so many years have passed since I made this adventurous trip. It was a trip of a life time for me.
One that surely changed my entire life forever. One that started me on the path of an adventure I could not even imagine back then. And it was this trip that eventually brought me to where I am today, sharing my life with my wonderful Patrick.
The guy who left Casper, Wyoming on that early Monday morning back in 1987, could never ever begin to imagine where that trip would lead him. Following your heart is something we all forget to do today. But at that point in my life, I am very thankful that I did.

later!

ps. I have never shared the whole story of my trip to California before. Most of the details I have shared I have never told anyone, I have just always kept it in my heart. This trip is a very special thing to me, but I felt it was time I shared the details with my friends and family. Hope you enjoyed, it you have a question about something in the story, just ask me! All the details are true as best as I can remember them.