The cars of the migrant people came slowly out of the side roads onto the great cross-country highway. In the daylight, they hurried to the west, and as the dark caught them, they grouped near to shelter and water. It might be that one family camped near water, and another camped for the water and some company, and a third because two families found it good. And when the sun came down, maybe twenty families were there. In the evening, a strange thing happened - the twenty families became one family; the children were the children of all.

The Joad family moved slowly up into the mountains of New Mexico. They climbed into the high country of Arizona. There a border guard stopped them. "Where are you going?"

"To California," said Tom.

"How long do you plan to be in Arizona?"

"Long enough to get across."

The guard stuck a sign on the windshield. "OK. Go ahead, but you'd better keep moving."

"Sure. We plan to."

They drove up and down hills, and finally to a great flat area that was all desert. They drove all night and came to the mountains in the night. When the daylight came, they saw the Colorado River below them. They were stopped at the bridge, and a guard washed the sign off their windshield. They crossed the bridge, and finally stopped.

Pa called, "We're here - we're in California!" They looked at the broken rock.

"We've got to the desert," Tom said. "We have to get water and rest."

The Joads and Wilsons drove to the river, and they sat in the cars looking at the beautiful water going by. There was a family camping near the river. Tom leaned his head out of the truck and said, "Can we stop here?"

A heavy woman looked up. "We don't own it, mister. Stop if you want. A cop will be down to have a look at you."

The two cars parked in a clear place on the grass. The tents were passed down, the Wilson tent put up, the Joads' stretched over a rope.

Winfield and Ruthie walked slowly down through the tall grass. Ruthie said, "This is California! And we're right in it." Then the two children walked into the water and stood quietly.

They heard Ma calling, "Ruthie, Winfield! You come back!"

Tom said, "I'm going to go down and take a bath. That's what I'm going to do - before I sleep. How's Grandma since we got her in the tent?"

"Don't know," said Pa. "I couldn't seem to wake her up." A crying sound came from the tent, and Ma went inside quickly.

"She's woken up," Noah said. "She's out of her senses."