Wanted: 4-Wheel Drive Vehicle

We left the Dark Canyon Campground at 6:15, and went to Black Mountain Road for access to the trail, but needed 4-wheel drive to get through (I have a 2001 Oldsmobile Silhouette with, now, over 250,000 miles on it--didn't do the trick).  Seeing no better alternative, we decide to drive into the town of Banning and go to IHOP for breakfast.  Banning is the center of the Morongo Indian Reservation and has an outlet mall, cheap(er) gas (that is, under $3.50 a gallon) and a car wash.  So, we took advantage of all three.

We then went up to Big Bear Lake to check out the next place where John could get on the trail, and found that the Amgen Bicycle Race, including Lance Armstrong, was to take place there this Friday.  Having never been to a bicycle race, this seemed like something we should do, so we adjusted our schedules accordingly.  Left Big Bear Lake in search of a campground.  Went back to Banning to the KOA, which was so expensive we ended up at the Motel 6 (Just call us extravagant!  A real class act~~Motel 6 in Palm Springs!) for about $10 more than camping.