Didn't get to see the Slabs, but drove nearby. I was in heaven in all my borax mining towns and processing areas: Daggett, Mojave, Boron, Calico, Red Mountain... Death Valley was mainly closed because of major flooding, but we hadn't been planning to go there anyway. There was so much to see around there - so many mining huts and ruins. I swear I was a swamper in a previous life.
The military town where we went by the Sierra Nevada had the best chiropractor I've ever been to. I had the best dentist ever near there too... for five years. My back was killing me from that last day of work plus the drive... so we had to find a chiro. Wish there were some OTC pain pills... argh. Anyway, he gave me some herbs and good treatment.
I managed to offend (not really) his assistants when I said I couldn't believe that small town now has two Starbucks. They have a Wal-Mart and K-Mart and a brand new Home Depot, but in this case I think those are good things and we even went to the K-Mart for Christmas stuff :) The town had zip, zero, nothing before. The nurses are natives there and said "hey, let us have our Starbucks!". They were laughing though and so was I.