To my surprise - so incongruous to be on a lunar-like lava flow in the dawn quiet with few traces of humanity - it flashes at me.

Your Speed: 5

I chuckle a little. Yep, that’s about right. I’ve never been very fast, as this sign has so accurately assessed. But there’s a little something deeper that crops up as I go by.

But in the desert, even a sandy depression that holds water now and then warrants a name and a sign big enough to be read moving seventy five miles an hour. “Holy Moses Wash,” this one says. I imagine the storm that prompted someone to say that as they passed by. Or moved down it.

There are two cars parked on opposite sides of the road. it catches my attention because one car pulled off is likely an important phone call. A matched set is something else.

Nevermind that fear froggy would need, at least, a scarf in this weather. Fear is adept at ignoring wind chills.