We lived in Phoenix, Arzona for less than a year and now we are moving again.
I remember asking my mom where we were moving to and she just turned her head and looked out through the car’s front windshield with a blank stare. Why was this a secret? Why couldn’t I know where they were taking me? But I was smart enough to look for clues as we moved down the road.
After my mom learned about me being interviewed at school by strangers, I could tell she was not happy. She was actually very upset. She had told me that when this school year was over, we were going to move to a new place. But I don’t remember the school year being over.
We were now getting onto the highway. There were not that many cars on the highway. We left Phoenix quickly and it was in the morning. The sun was on my side of the car. I always sat behind my mom. And if I remember my science correctly, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The sun was beaming brightly onto my right arm. North. South. East. West. I thought to myself and then suddenly I figured out that we were going north. But to where?
After several hours I saw a road sign that said Flagstaff. And as we were driving I had also noticed that the desert was changing. There were trees outside the car window, and the air was cooler. I noticed that we were in the mountains. And this place was really nice and pretty. I thought about our old Western North Carolina home. There was a similarity. Is this going to be our new home I wondered.
We pulled into a gas station, and a man came to the car and asked about the question “how much.” My mom’s boyfriend said to fill it up. While the gas was being put into the car, the man raised the front hood and looked around. He then closed the hood, put the gas filler back on the pump and my mom’s boyfriend gave him some money. We then headed back to the road and continued to go north. The sun was higher in the sky, but I could still feel the direction on my right arm.
I asked my mom if this town would be our new home. She just looked at me and then turned back to the front. The car was quiet, and I just didn’t understand why. I felt like something was bothering her. The sun then shifted to the back of the car. North. South. East. West. We were now going west. Again, where were we going was my thought.
In the sixties there were no digital devices with games to play or videos to watch. All I really had was some coloring books to color and picture books to look at. A road trip meant it could be hours of just looking out the window or talking with my mom. So far, on this road trip it was mostly quite so all I could do was to take in the scenery as the car traveled along the highway.
The trees gave way to the desert again and the air was warming.
Several more hours passed and then I saw a road sign that said Kingman. We are still in Arizona. As we arrived in Kingman, I noticed it was mostly a small town in the desert surrounded by hills and small mountains. It wasn’t a pretty place.
We pulled off the road at a small diner to have some lunch. My mom finally started to talk with me. She said that we needed to move to a new place and that I would like it there. She didn’t say where we were moving to, she only said we were getting closer. I was happy that we were not moving to this place.
After lunch we got back into the car and continued our road trip to a new home. As we were getting into the car, I noticed the sun was directly over us. As we drove away from the diner heading back to the highway, I could not tell what direction we were going.
While we were on the highway my mom began to talk to me. She seemed happier. She told me that we were going to a place where there would be many new people and experiences. The place we were moving to is a very popular place for tourists and I would like it. I didn’t know what a tourist was and I didn’t ask thinking that that question may upset her. She still didn’t tell me exactly where, but at least she talked to me.
After about an hour into the drive I saw a sign that said, “Hoover Dam Overlook” I wondered what this could be. It had its own sign, must be important. The car climbed into the mountains and then I saw the Hoover Dam Overlook parking sign. We pulled off the highway and parked. I didn’t pay much attention to why we stopped. And then I saw Hoover Dam and was awestruck. I had never seen a dam before, and this one was big and a bit surprising.
After spending a few minutes looking at the dam from the overlook we went back to the car and began the slow drive down the mountainside. And then we were driving onto the top of the dam. We parked the car and got out. I looked over the side of the dam where the water was and became scared. We were way above the water. I didn’t look for too long. We then went to the other side of the dam, and I looked over the side where there was no water. I became petrified. This side of the dam was frightfully high. I got dizzy just looking down at the side of the dam. My body quivered. I stepped back from the wall and vowed to never do that again.
Being on Hoover Dam was an experience that I have never forgotten.
We went back the car and then headed to the other side of the dam and there was a sign that said, if I remember correctly, “Nevada State Line”. Then my mom turned and looked at me and told me where we were moving to.
Las Vegas…
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