3 March 2023: Joshua Tree National Park, California

 

So spent the work week in Quartzsite - got the one blind fixed that I tried to fix and )#$%*@ up even further - $60 later - works like a charm and cheap at the price.

Figuring out that where a boat cost $50, $500 or $5000, an RV costs $50, $200 or $1000... so definitely cheaper (touch wood).

Without much of a plan except to go see the Salton sea, I set off on Friday for Joshua Tree National Park.  Really amazing.  Booked in the Cottonwood RV site ($30/night) and stayed for 2 nights sans any cell reception - which was just great.

Did a walk that I thought was going to be 1 mile and turned out to be 4.  Got back to the bike just before total darkness.  Saw one of the many abandoned mines in the area - must have been really hard work. The walk starts at a natural spring - that is basically just a crack in the earth's crust where water comes up  from deep down somewhere. There are multiple springs in the area marked by small clumps of palm trees and a few 'bloekom bome' - eucalyptus trees which I thought was native to Australia (but some of them migrated to South Africa).

See the whale right at the top

 

 

 

The start of the walk - note the pics are not edited.  These are the colors

A warm water spring in the middle of nowhere
 

Big palm trees

 

Sunset on my walk

 

An old woman sitting among the rocks

 

First the mist settled in - quite eerie

Evening Bosveld TV

Sunset

 

Woke up Sunday morning with a good dusting of snow - crazy thing to see in the desert - cactus + palm trees + snow...

Chilled glass for a morning margarita?

The thorns do not look that bad when covered in snow

Another oasis

Very very big palms

Headed out the western entrance and went from the Sonora desert (at 1000ft) to the Mojave desert (at 4000ft).  Amazing trip.  Huge heaps of boulders everywhere.  Stopped at some spot and took the bicycle on an 8 mile uphill road to a lookout point over the Salton sea.   The trip down back to the RV... did between 25 and 35mph in 35F, but I was wrapped up, so very exhilarating, except for the fact that I could not see much because my eyes were teary.

A Joshua Tree

Huge boulders everywhere

and the amazing part was there were campsites between the boulders on a first-come-first serve basis.

Jagged mountains

and vast plains

 

Up at the lookout... it was cold

Some areas had more snow than others

The Salton sea in the background - next weeks stop

Hanging rock

Will definitely go back to visit Joshua Tree.  Beautiful place.

Descended from 4000 ft down to about sea level in 50 miles and hit the big wind tunnel that is called Palm Springs.  Constant 30-40mph winds and wind generators everywhere - the first wind farm in the USA was built here - unfortunately they are all decommissioned, but still an amazing sight. Spent the week at the KOA in Desert Edge - nothing spectacular and relatively remote.

The local KOA road-runner.  The comic strip really does a good job of imitating the real thing (or is it the other way round?)

Must be in California...

View for the week.

A Joshua Tree does not really have large branches.

Could not beat the view from the campground

19 Feb 2023: Gene's visit to Q

And then the love of my life arrived for a visit – flew into Phoenix on Superbowl weekend… the planning was maybe not the best, and we paid for it...

First night we stayed at the RV park and went to Crazy Al’s pizza for dinner.  The band that I had seen the ‘Adult Daycare center’ was playing, and Gene got her first look at how the old mense in Quartzsite jol'ed (partied)…  Also saw some line dancing - which is a whole education in itself.  The band (and lead singer) were really great.

Dis nou n sandroos

Truth in advertising

Campsite with some great iron works - and see the doves?

Well, had to get a photo of the local whale - see the sign...

My hangout

Next morning we packed up and headed for La Posa South – the boondockers area I had spent the previous 2 weekends doing reconnaissance.  Cycled around and visited the sites.  We actually found the Magic Circle – which I had been looking for the previous visits and could not find.  I mentioned it in the previous blog, clothing optional, etc. etc. but the best part was there was a caravan parked next to the circle (the caretaker?) who had 5 large ‘wolf derivatives’.  In any case, Gene is walking around taking photos and out pops this Jopie Adam - white hair and long beard - out of the caravan... sans clothes.  I have rarely seen Gene speechless, but she was bowled.  We moved on.  Gene did get a photo of a naked man on a bicycle who was under 60 years old.  Not sure I can quite comprehend the naked and cycling thing…

At the petroglyphs on our bicycles

Jagged mountains

Roughing it while boondocking

Campsite

Awful restaurant, but great pic

Everyone drives around in an ATV

BLM art

The great magic circle.  Note me watching it all unfold...

People with too much time...

On Sunday we took the rental car (for which we paid a pretty penny – see above re superbowl, etc.) and went off-roading a bit.  Went to the Kofa natural reserve and in there to Palm Canyon.  Long dirt road and then a 30 minute walk up this canyon and voila – there are these palm trees in a steep gully up the one side of the canyon.  How they got there is anyone's guess….

Why the slot on the right?

The walk up to the palms

The sonoran desert in the background

Gene the tourist

Gene the photographer

Gene the boondocker

Also tried to get to some old abandoned mine – but the road got so bad I started feeling sorry for the rental and we turned around.

On the way back we stopped at a place were we were ‘allowed’ to pick up quartz.  Gene had this idea that the park rangers put quartz pieces out there for us to ‘find’.  Not so much, but quite a few rock hounds looking at the ground, so there had to be something.

We did this walk up the mountain, and it was actually funny… suddenly there were pieces of quartz everywhere.  Seems what happens is that the mountain is basically quartz embedded into the rock, and as the rock weathers and breaks up, the quartz gets loose and rolls down the mountain – but there was a distinct elevation below which there was very little quartz.  Any case, we have some samples now.

Unfortunately not what we picked up - but Quartzsite is a rock-hounds dream

Got back to the campsite with a suspect tire – not flat, but… woke up the next morning with a flat rear tire.  Low profile tires on a Maxima is not really made for the dirt roads around here.  Luckily the spare was good so after changing it we packed up and headed back to the Holiday RV resort for a last night for Gene (and to get the tire fixed).

Pre-Valentines dinner was at the Quartzsite Yacht club.  I am now the proud member of the club – which should give me access to all those snooty yacht clubs around the world – including the Royal Cape YC…

Place in town with amazing iron works

Holiday Palms RV park.  We never got to the pool and jacuzzi

And the next thing Gene was heading back to Boston and very cold weather.  I decided to head up north to Parker – just over 50 miles from Quartzsite.   However, stopped off Friday night to go hang out at the Lit Cactus in La Posa south.

The furries were out in force...

I did miss Bob, Tim and Tom

The lit cactus

Tough existence out in the desert

Fishing the Quartzsite wash (not called rivers here for obvious reasons)

Buckskin National Park is on a bend in the Colorado river and a few people told me it was a great spot.  I managed to get Saturday night booked.  Was really fun to go.  Saw some geoglyphs – it definitely needed some imagination, but got me off on a side road that was great to ride.

Need to look closely to the white bit in the middle.

Buckskin National Park was really different.  California on the other side of the river... Mobile homes, rv parks and Caribbean style tiki bars on the banks and a very vacation feel.  And then the odd sds speedboat roaring up and down the river.

Becky - the rv park local desert turtle

Sunday morning hike

Sharing is caring

serene

The Colorado river must have broken through this part some time in the past with lots of force.

The obligatory golf course in the desert

Note the salt on the side of the road.  The water is extremely brackish/salty and not sure if this is due to the fertilizer runoff or natural.

The local beach bar

The whale directly below

Edumucational

Was a great campsite

Fun part was on a hike on Sunday morning, 2 airplanes came buzzing in and passed out of sight lower than where I was.  I walked back to the rv park and as I got there, here comes the 2 planes on the water going up the river.  They were evidently looking for a long stretch to take off on again, but it was somewhat surreal.

On the way back to Quartzsite, drove down the Arizona side of the Colorado River through the Colorado River Indian Tribe land.  Beautiful, but poor.

The next week was back at Holiday Palms – best wifi in Quartzsite and a decision to leave on Friday for Joshua Tree NP and the Salton Sea.

Holiday Palms RV park in Quartzsite

with a pool.  American Dirt - great book.  Highly recommended.

Got myself a weber smokey joe and promptly bought a steak that cost more than the braai... but it was great