Overlanding
Driving Texas to California
Some memories from driving from Texas to California. We took a southern route past El Paso because of snow concerns, stayed in Los Alamos, and continued the next day. Caught a very Arizona-flag-looking sunset, and a crazy detour because a cop was shot and a Good Samaritan took out the shooter late at night on the highway. I was ignorant and mistaken — I thought Los Angeles was all beach, but when I kept seeing mountains, and then the ocean showed up on my map, I was in shock. Also passed the time taking defensive driving because of the speed trap in Itasca between DFW and Austin. Iykyk.
The drive
The southern cross-country route is I-10 for most of it — El Paso, the long empty run through southern New Mexico and Arizona, and into the California desert before the mountains finally hand off to the LA basin. In winter it’s the line you take specifically to dodge the snow that closes I-40 and the more northern routes. It’s long, mostly flat, and you’ll remember the sunsets more than the miles.