End of the Road

Wednesday, 31 March – Death Valley National Park, CA to San Rafael, CA

1.View from Father Crowley Point at the west entrance to
Death Valley National Park on Hwy 190.

2. VIDEO: panorama from Father Crowley Point.

3. If it were not snowing, we should see Mt. Whitney from
Hwy 190 as we descend into the Owens valley east of Death Valley.

4. We experience winds in excess of 50 MPH.
A tractor-trailer was blown over by the winds.
The tow truck is pulling the tractor-trailer upright here.

I woke up today alone in the truck. We did not put up the tent because of the high winds. The truck rocked all night. Rays night on the cot outside was not restful. We packed up without ceremony. The sense that the trip was over really settled in.

We drove west on Hwy 190 past Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells Village. There was not much activity as the high winds had emptied about half the campground. We bought gasoline at Panamint Springs. We did not stop for breakfast.

The drive out toward the west entrance gave us a nice view a Father Crowley Point. There peaks of the Sierras, including Mt. Whitney, were hidden by snow fall at the high altitudes.

When we joined US Hwy 395, we drove south then followed Hwy 14 to Mojave. We took the freeway through Tehachapi pass. The wind was blowing a wet snow. The windmills were working overtime. We drove west on Hwy 233 south of Bakersfield until we joined I-5. The drive to the bay area was quick. We arrived before 5:00 p.m. to have dinner with Hedley and Ilona.

There were many great places and moments during the trip. Here are ten that I would like to experience again:

1. Walk the Malecon at La Paz after dinner at Ranch Viejo, relax, have an ice cream, and people watch.

2. Drive from El Arco to Bahia de los Angeles through San Francisquito and San Rafeal. The never ending scenery and solitude touched my soul. I would bring Francesco at San Rafael another Papaya.

3. Watch the whales breach endlessly off the beach north of Todos Santos while we drink tea on the beach.

4. Hike the canyon with Stephen Scalapino above the falls all the way into the Sierra Giganta. I wouldn't mind seeing the fig tree as well.

5. Have another conversation with Adolfo Villarino in Punta Banda.

6. Walk the beach and headland of San Basilio. I would like to snorkel with the fish next time.

7. Walk the beaches at Balandra and Tecolote north of La Paz on Hwy 19 and contemplate paradise.

8. Sit at Dantes View in Death Valley National Park and see if the surprise wears off.

9. Sing to the whales of Laguna San Ignacio and see if they really do listen.

10. Attend mass at San Javier and San Ignacio Missions.

Death Valley

Tuesday, 30 March – Death Valley National Park, CA

1. House site at Rhyolite, NV. A ghost town east of Death Valley.

2. Another ruin at the Rhyolite ghost town east of Death Valley.

3. Hiking in Mosaic Canyon in Death Valley.

4. Marble rock formations in Mosaic Canyon, Death Valley.

5. Another look at the marble rock formations in Mosaic Canyon, Death Valley.

6. Mosaic Canyon.

7. Ray makes a friend in Mosaic Canyon.

8. Ray goes through a tight squeeze in Mosaic Canyon.

9. Marble strata in Mosaic Canyon.

10. Marble strata in Mosaic Canyon.

11. The road through Titus Canyon, Death Valley.

12. Rock formations in Titus Canyon.

We woke up this morning and it was considerably more windy. There is a lot of dust in the valley. We eat our oatmeal and drive out to Rhyolite off Hwy 374 to visit the ghost town. We take the opportunity of being close to Beatty, Nevada and drive into town for brunch at a casino. After eating, we drive back to 374 and consider the 30 mile Titus canyon drive. We conclude that this will take most of the day and will not allow us enough time to do the our planned hike in Mosaic Canyon.

We drive back to Stovepipe Wells village and take the dirt road south immediately after clearing the village. Mosaic Canyon was an interesting hike through marble canyons that were very narrow. The hike became increasing difficult as we ascended the canyon. This would not be a good place to be during the rains. The photographs speak for themselves.

After hiking, we took in a snack at Stovepipe Wells and then drove north through the valley to the terminus of the Titus Canyon road. We hike a mile of so up this canyon. Another interesting canyon. We consider driving the entire canyon in the morning before returning to the bay area.

When we return exit the canyon, the winds are still severe. The wind gusts are reported to be up to 50 MPH in the valley. The dust in the air obscures the views of the surrounding mountains. Ray and I stop along the road and take out the chairs and split our last beer. The wind blows the beer out of our cups. We hope the dust might make the sunset spectacular but clouds gather on the mountains and block the low light. We go to twilight immediately.

We arrive at Furnace Creek after dark. The wind is still blowing hard which influences our decision to have a steak dinner in the restaurant. After dinner, we return to the Texas Springs campground. We decide not to put up the tent and to sleep with the lid down. Ray builds a wind break with the food lockers and sleeps outside on the cot next the truck. The wind shakes the truck all night but I sleep pretty well. I don’t know about Ray.


Monday, 29 March – Pahrump, NV, to Death Valley National Park, CA

1. We arrive at Death Valley National Park via Hwy 190.

2. Looking into Death Valley from Dantes View (5475ft). The valley floor is below
sea level over 1 mile below. This view rivals that from the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

3. A look a Badwater, the lowest point in the US from Dantes View.

4. Joel takes in the view.

5. Ray celebrates life ....

6. ... from Dantes view.

7. Looking north up the valley from Dantes view.

8. The happy campers at Dantes view.

9. The west side road on the valley floor. This 40 mile dirt
road runs parallel to the Badwater Road.

10. The Coyote brings us a message ...

11. Flowers are in bloom on the Hanaupah Canyon road.

12. More flowers in bloom on the Hanaupah Canyon road.

13. A look at the Panamint Range looking west
from the Hanaupah Canyon road.

14. Another look.

15. The road to the Queen of Sheba Mine in southern Death Valley.

16. Looking out from the Queen of Sheba mine.

17. Mine production went down this shoot.

18. Another mine shoot at the Queen of Sheeba.

19. The road to the valley floor from the Queen of Sheeba Mine.

20. Joel goes to the light at Badwater, the lowest point in the US.

21. Ray is the light at Badwater.

22. The salt flat at bad water.

23. Rock cairns at a view on Artist Drive.

24. My rock cairn at sunset.

25. Sunset lights up the rocks looking east on Artist Drive.

Let me start by saying that I was not expecting the awesome grandeur of Death Valley. I have often gushed about the Grand Canyon. The views from Dantes View (5475 ft) looking into Badwater at almost 300 ft below sea level rival the views from the south rim of the Grand Canyon. So it was quite unexpected when Ray and I turned off Hwy 190 and drove the 13 miles out/up to Dantes View that we would encounter such a dramatic vista. I highly encourage one and all to add this to the “must see” places on their list. We toiled about walking out to different crags drinking in the scenery.

We continued on to the Furnace Creek area. We found camping sites available and checked ourselves into the Texas Springs campground for two nights. We unloaded much of the truck at the campground to get it as light as possible then set out to explore.

We had lunch at the Furnace Creek Village, filled up with gasoline, and went to the visitor center where we were given a guide to “backcountry roads”. We decided to drive down the West Side Road which parallels the paved Badwater Road and try some of the canyon roads heading up into the Panamint Range. We started up the Hanaupah Canyon Road. The road was rough with 10 MPH progress. We decided that this would eat up too much of our day and turned around sticking to our previous plan to get a good overview of Death Valley. The West Side Road was well graded and offered nice views of the mountains to the east and west.

Toward the southern end of the West Side Road, we decided to drive up to the Queen of Sheeba Mine. This mine operated in the first half of the 20th century. We walked around the old building, looked at the remaining mining equipment, and looked at the shafts. It also gave good views of the valley floor (lat: 35 59.983, long: 116 53.112, elev: 902 ft).

Returning to the West Side Road, we continued south until we found the pavement of the Badwater Road and then headed north. We stopped at Badwater and walked out onto the salt flat and the lowest point in the US. We continued north and drove artist drive just before sunset. We did not know that sunset at artist palette is the tourist draw and we stopped at some rock formation prior to this cutoff. We climbed the path to the vista point and found many rock cairns built in the overlook area. So as we waited for sunset, I built a cairn. The colors at sunset were vivid.

After sunset we continued on artist drive and found artist palette which was impressive even without the sun light. We arrived back at Furnace Creek at night. We bought deli sandwiches at the general store and cooked soup in the dark. The moonrise over the mountains was impressive.

Finding the Mojave Desert

Sunday, 28 March – Joshua Tree National Park, CA to Pahrump, NV (lat: 36 12.216, long: 115 58.730)

1. Cottonwood Spring,
Joshua Tree National Park

2. Teddy Bear Cholla in the
Cholla Cactus Garden,
Joshua Tree National Park

3. Teddy Bear Cholla getting ready to flower.

4. Teddy Bear Cholla

5. At the transition zone between the Sonora and
Mojave desserts are some really big rocks.

6. The Joshua tree is to the Mojave as the Saguaro is to the Sonora.
This is a typical view of the Mojave side of Jashua Tree National Park.

7. More Joshua trees in the Mojave.

8. Looking down from Key's View (5,185 ft) toward Coachella, CA.
The ridge at the bottom of the valley is the San Andreas fault.

9. Ray takes in the view over lunch at Key's View,
Joshua Tree National Park

10. The happy campers at Key's View.

11, Joshua trees in bloom at Joshua Tree National Park.

12. A Joshua tree bloom.

13. Dry lake bed near Amboy, CA.

14. Salt flats and super-saturated lake water near Amboy, CA.

15. Kelso sand dunes in the Mojave National Preserve.
These are the 3rd largest dunes in the United States.

16. The train station in Kelso, CA dates back before the 1940.
The train station now serves as the headquarters for the
Mojave National Preserve.

17. We ate lunch at the counter in the train station in Kelso.

18. Sunset leaving the Sandy Valley in Nevada.

19. A full moon added to the fantastic sunset.

20. The taco and Ray at sunset in the Sandy Valley, Nevada.

21. One more look at that fabulous sunset.

22. We did 25 miles of dirt road going through the Sandy Valley.
We were lucky tio get directions from a local resident.

23. Full moon in the Sandy Valley, Nevada.

There are couple interesting things to know about Joshua Tree National Park. First, the park straddles the boundary between the Sonora and Mojave deserts. The second is that the Joshua tree is the signature plant in the Mojave ecosystem – similar to the Saguaro being the signature plant of the Sonora. Therefore, the Joshua trees are only in the Mojave sections of the park, which are in the northern sections of the park.

We explored Cottonwood Springs, a little oasis near the campground, and hiked a short way down the arroyo. Then we head north through the park. We stopped often for the views and to read the “exhibit” signs. We stopped in did the short hike through the Cholla Cactus Garden to see the Teddy Bear Cholla. Then we started climbing out of the Sonoran zone into the Mojave zone where we finally saw some Joshua trees.

Since the Mojave is at a higher altitude, there are many big boulders (compared to the Sonora which is at lower altitudes and has the products of the eons of erosion – sand and small rocks). The views that have been popularized at the park are these boulders interspersed with Joshua trees. I tried to include several of these trademark views above.

We drove up to Key’s View which is well worth the effort. The road takes you to 5185 ft overlooking the Coachella Valley to the southwest. There is a remarkable view of the mountains, Coachella, and the Salton Sea to the south. Most noteworthy, however, is the view of the San Andreas fault which is clearly visible across the valley floor. At the point, the fault line is rifting at over 1 inch per year (according to the exhibit sign at Key’s View).

We exited the park through the west entrance arriving in the town of Joshua Tree. We turned east on state Hwy 62 and drove to Twentynine Palms where we zig-zagged through town until we found the Amboy road. We followed this secondary road over the mountains and then down into a wide valley with another dry lake bed. There appeared to be some mining of the salt deposits.

At Amboy, we turned east on what was the historic Route 66 and followed this a short distance before turning north on yet another unnumbered secondary road. We crossed I-40 and encountered our first real traffic of the day.

North of I-40 we entered the Mojave National Preserve which was an unexpected gem. We followed the Kelbaker Road past the Kelso dunes (3rd largest in the US) and into Kelso. The old train station in Kelso is worth seeing. We drove to Cima on the recommendation of one of the rangers and drove through the densest stands of Joshua trees in the Mojave. This stand began before Cima and continued north until after we had left the preserve on the Cima Road. It made us wonder how Joshua Tree National Park got its name. There are many more Joshua trees in the Mojave National Preserve.

We left the Mojave National Preserve with the idea of reaching Pahrump, Nevada on the east entrance to Death Valley. We continued driving north on the secondary roads until the pavement ended. Another 20 miles of dirt road put us in the Sandy Valley somewhere on the California / Nevada border and which was not noted on our maps. We discussed our situation with a local resident who gave us directions to state Hwy 160. This involved navigating the road grid in the valley and another 20 miles of dirt road. We were rewarded with one of the best sunsets of the trip. The full moon over the desert at sunset added to the panorama. We stopped for some time to take in the sunset then continued on.

We eventually found Hwy 160 and made the easy drive on the 4-lane into Pahrump. Ray and I had decided that we would try and get a hotel room since we had been in the camper since San Ignacio. We tried the local Best Western, which was full. Both the casinos only had smoking rooms and where more expensive than what we expected from a gambling establishment. When Ray asked if there was any place else to stay in Pahrump, the gentlemen working the front desk at the Saddle West Casino, with a straight face, directed us to a local brothel. When we both declined, he insisted the hotel was kept separate from the brothel.

We eventually discovered that the Saddle West also had an RV Park (which was really just the end of their parking lot). We decided to give up on the hotel room and went back to the front desk and checked in – to the parking lot. We set up the camper and went to bed.


Saturday, 27 March – Cuyamaca State Park, CA to Joshua Tree National Park, CA

1. Leaving Cuyamaca Rancho State Park.

2. There is this really great view looking east
just south of Julian, CA on state Hwy 79.

3. The Salton Sea at Salton Beach 1 mile east of state Hwy 86.

4. Another look at the Salton Sea.

We woke today to a beautiful sky. We took hot showers which ran on a quarter meter. After our traditional breakfast of oatmeal and raisins, we set out. We made a couple stops in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park first at the ranger station to ask some questions, then at an abandoned mining town. We continued north on state Hwy 79. We found a turn-off just south of Julian that had a very good view of the dessert to the east.

We turned onto state Hwy 78 as we entered Julian and descended into the dessert to the east. We crossed Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and then the ATV recreational area where the desert was pretty torn up. When we reached Hwy 86, we truned north and paralleled the Salton Sea. We stopped at Salton Beach to look to look at the beach.

According the some locals we talked to at the marina. The salinity of the sea is increasing because less water is allowed to enter the sea. We were told the sea is another 60% more saline than the ocean, that the long time sport fish (??corvina??) has not been seen for six years, and that only tilapia are surviving in the sea. Salton Beach was vaguely reminiscent of the campos we saw south of the border. Many houses and trailers with no occupants with a few full-time retirees.

We Continued north on Hwy 86 to Coachella. As we entered Coachella, we remarked to each other how this could have still been Mexico. The yard sale signs were only in Spanish. At Carl Jrs., where we stopped for a burger, we were the only customers of the 50+ in the dining hall that were speaking English. We then went to Cardenas grocery store. All the signage was in Spanish. All the customers were Spanish speaking. The bakery had the same sweet rolls we had seen in Ciudad Constitucion, BCS. When we went through the check-out line, we had to use our travel-book Spanish since the woman working the cash register spoke no English. I would have liked to stay longer and talk with someone who knows Coachella to learn more. This is a piece of Mexico that is north of the border.

Leaving Coachella, we took I-10 east then entered Joshua Tree National Park from the southern entrance. When we arrived at Cottonwood, we were greeted with a sign that told us all campgrounds north were full. We found one of the few remaining spaces in the Cottonwood campground and settled in for the night. Our neighbors gave us some wood and we had a nice fire.