3/17 Barstow, CA to Weed, CA – 635 mi
To see the entire road trip visit www.tanstaaflpress.com/tgrt/
Yes it is really named Weed, CA. For those who don’t know, this used to be the illegal capital of marijuana prior to legalization. Its remote local made it difficult to find pot farms back in the day. They are proud of this heritage. I reserve comment.
Ok, I’d planned on only going as far as Redding, CA but lo and behold, there weren’t any truck stops in Redding. It stunned me. I looked for the next available and found them in Weed (more on this later).
CA99 has always been an alternate to I5 through the California produce valley. I’ve driven it so many times (both up from LA and down from Sacramento) that I almost know every pothole. However in an attempt to make it more user friendly, CA99 is undergoing significant construction to add at least another lane to its width. This made for some ‘fun’ driving with my trailer.
In my hurry to get home, I bypassed my parent’s home. If for no other reason than they had already put up with me on the outbound leg. I also had some concern at this time that a travel ban might fall into place. If I have to weather any long term issue, I want to do it in my own home with my loving wife and partner. Onward!
So I got to Weed late in the evening, well after dark. Weed is high up in the mountains and actually still had snow on the ground. Probably the coldest place I stopped at the entire trip. But this isn’t what worried me. In the truck stop parking lot I found a pile of auto glass near where I would be parking. Someone had broken into a vehicle sometime in the past. This didn’t give me a warm, fuzzy feeling. I parked with some trepidation. It was the only time on the entire trip I felt even the slightest bit uncomfortable. Truck stops may be a bit noisy but I never worried about my personal safety or that of my possessions. Too many of the truckers carry guns and everyone knows it. People generally don’t mess with them.
My concern didn’t turn into reality whether it was founded or not. I slept with my heater blasting away all night to keep me warm.