Beyer s Byways: Vidal should have more to say, but it does have Wyatt Earp
By John R. Beyer
For the Victorville Daily Press
As I have written in past columns, there are places to which we are destined to travel without ever intending to go there.
One of my more memorable quotes, if I say so myself.
When we travel, there are times we are moving toward our destination when, on the way, another place shows up in front of us that is so intriguing, we must take a brief detour.
These places are often where true adventure awaits.
As a travel writer, I find myself in that realm quite often, and I find it reassuring. Just because I want to end up at one place, doesn’t mean I don’t want to find myself in a totally different place for a spell. That is what makes life exciting.
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One of the best road trips I’ve ever taken was a sightseeing tour of the Colorado River, where it straddles the California-Arizona state line. I stood at the edge of Imperial Dam near the Mexican border, which diverts water to the farm fields of the Imperial Valley, then drove north to Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, home to lots of birds. I walked along the river in Laughlin, Nev., where there’s a hotel called the Colorado Belle that looks like a boat, and in Needles, Calif., where Snoopy’s brother Spike lives.