Okay so the flight was delayed 2hrs but, and this is a big but, I met my first ever friendly US immigration officer in Vegas! The trip has started well.
We managed to beat down the price of the expected upgrade on our rental SUV and when the promised one turned out not to be available, wangled a Dodge Charger instead. In high spirits we left Vegas on the I-15 with ACDC turned up loud. The interstate seemed virtually empty on the 4 hr drive to Yucca Valley apart from the big rigs lit up like Xmas trees. Even with that you could still see more stars from the car window than from my garden on a clear night. Despite my best efforts, involving a lot of loud singing, my head nodded and I fell asleep with a view of a neon sign saying "Check out our waterfall urinal!"