I'm off to my yearly Death Valley trip to join the encampment of the Death Valley 49ers, this year with side trips to the north rim of the Grand Canyon (never been there), and Zion. The north rim closes Nov 1, while the Death Valley 49ers event is the week before Veterans day, so I'm filling in the gap with a short stay in Zion.
When I got to my first stop in Barstow, I could not drive to my motel because all the streets around it were blocked off for the Mardi Gras parade even though it's not even on a Tuesday! I parked a few blocks away until the festivities ended. I saw military trucks, police and fire with their lights, some marching bands, along with a few flat bed trucks with people dancing.