Hi guys! I see you nixed Hwy 395, alas. The haul out of B'town is not very scenic once you get over Tehachapi. Summit there is only about 4006 feet and I've only hit snow there once in late winter. I drove over it almost twice a week for three and a half years. Boring! (to me)! Lot's of straight driving with a few exceptions. As you approach the little town of Boron there is a wild "S" turn that take you over the RR tracks. Just be alert. Foot note if it isn't dark when you go through there , you will see a low ridge of hills a mile or two to the south (to your right). That's the East end of Edwards AFB and it is called "Rocket Ridge". This is the place they used to test all of our spacecraft engines up to the Saturn V Moon (Apollo Program)engines. I guess it got too populated and the folks complained about the noise and sometimes pollution and it's been shut down for a number of years. I got to see one of the tests at night. It lit the area up for many miles around like daytime. Impressive.

Just past Barstow a couple of miles is the Calico Ghost Town. It's the real deal, sort of! Walter knotts got a hold of it and turned it into an extention of Knott's Berry Farm, a bit of a tourist attraction but it is a nice way to break up the trip and quite interesting.