JJDreamweaver: Sweet Desert Country

Well here we are back in the USA again just 3 months after returning to OZ. A quick trip with the boat back to Townsville plonked us right back into the tropical heat again, something we haven’t experienced for a while and boy have we missed it. It was great but not enough to prevent our desire for further travels this time in the deserts of the deep southern states.

This trip we are flying with Fiji Airlines so we had a 3hr stopover in Nadi which was quite pleasant

Wildfires around LA delayed us for hours on our trip to Bakersfield and were devastating to local residents

The motorhome was again fired up without problems and hooked up to power in the overnight section of the RV Park in Bakersfield. The weather is cool but not cold certainly not as cold as we experienced earlier this year. The guys at the park know us quite well now and it has been great catching up, it’s very friendly and like a home away from home.

Checking for cracks in the caulking around the roof edges

After a stock up at Walmart we stayed an extra night as we had booked in at a mechanic to have our engine serviced the following day, something we planned prior to leaving in September. The diagnostic report showed we needed to replace 2 off O2 sensors which monitor the exhaust gases and regulate fuel flow to our V8 motor. With this work done straight, away along with a tire check at Swabby’s, gas and propane we were good to go by the end of the day.

Wind farms are everywhere in the U.S. this farm is a mixture of many varieties and goes for miles

The desert winds create a lot more than just dust, they drive the energy grid

We headed southeast to avoid the raging wildfires which were burning out of control near LA. The same fires which caused us hours of delays when we headed north from LA a couple of days earlier in the hire car. Nearly a thousand homes were burnt to the ground and some 300,000 people evacuated. The sky was full of smoke and breathing was difficult. This is probably why the Avis man was offering a cheap upgrade to a convertible, thankfully we refused his persistent offer.

Smoke from one of the wildfires near LA as we skirted around the eastern side. It looks more like a North Korean missile test

The next day while camped up at Home Depot we discovered that Avis had somehow included a pre purchase fuel package when we picked up the hire car and charged our credit card without authorisation, for more than the internet prepaid hire charge was, and in addition we filled the vehicle with gas prior to returning it in Bakersfield. WE WERE ROPEABLE!! Avis was very apologetic and agreed to refund the money providing we sent copies of our visa statement, the rental agreement, and the gas receipt, all at our expense and time.

Seeing birds like this Phainopepla make up for all the grief we had to endure

And this Western Scrub Jay, the birds in the desert are just as pretty as those in the forest and easier to spot

Finally after Avis was sorted, we headed for the Joshua Tree National Park which is located in the southern Mojave Desert at about 4,000 feet elevation. It is considered the high desert because of the elevation and despite the lack of consistent rain is full of a great variety of vegetation and wildlife.

A mature Joshua Tree, named by early settler Mormons who thought the tree resembled the prophet Joshua with his arms aloft preaching something or rather

A baby Joshua tree about 10 years old

This is a grand old Joshua & is probably thousands of years old

An oasis in the desert, a dam built in 1949 by a rancher who brought cattle to the area only to find that all the native grass died and only introduced species survived creating an extreme fire hazard

A Bighorn Sheep spotted in among the boulders, look at the animal then check out its eyes!!

Joshua Trees grow prolific here in the NP

After a night in a very full campground and a couple of hikes around the rocky outcrops we headed south through the park down into the lower section called the Colorado Desert at about 1000 feet elevation and as such named the lower desert, still lacking water it is home to a completely different variety of vegetation. Cacti predominate but vary depending on elevation and rainfall. The adjacent mountains are so high that they create rain shadows within very small areas thus depriving that area of water, while where it does rain it comes down in torrents creating major washouts and flash floods.

The Ocotillo tree is a thorny scrub and not a cactus, more like a rose bush

The Ocotillo flower is rare for this time of year as it requires rain to sprout

Most of the trees and bushes have incredibly long spikes for self preservation

The Cholla Cacti is only found in a rain shadow area within a narrow range of elevation, the dark under growth is a natural die back not a result of wildfires as we first thought

The Cholla are a mass of thorns and will break off within the skin if touched, their trunks are wooden and very hard. Many of the desert cacti and bushes remind us of coral and sponge species found on the reef back home

Our camp for a couple of days is at one of many free BLM (Bureau of Land Management) campsites scattered throughout the desert states where this time of year masses of “Snowbirders” flock from the frozen northern states and Canada heading south for the winter and free long term camping.

Petroglyphs in a cave within the NP

Skull Rock looks more like an Alien's head

Further south we headed to the Salton Sea which at present covers an area of 890 km2 and lies in the Imperial Valley still within California, the surface of what is really a lake is 240 feet below sea level. The sea was a small shallow lake until 1905 when the Colorado River about 100 miles east and much higher elevation broke an irrigation bank and flowed nonstop for 2 years filling the lake to well above its current level. The sea/lake is located directly above the well know San Andreas Fault and is causing major problems geologically and also environmentally as it has become very toxic spewing up hydrogen sulphide gas along with a concoction of other gases and also increasing its salinity well above levels found in the Pacific Ocean.

Front view of the Salton Sea Yacht Club is very inviting for the newly arrived visitor

The rear view tells a very different story of a dream that didn't come true

Strangely the area around the lake is another of California’s many food bowls which draws water from a multitude of irrigation channels coming from the Colorado River with the overflow containing pesticides and herbicides flowing directly into the Salton Sea. The area around the sea has been described as an extreme danger area due to high levels of pollutants in the dust as the lake continues to dry being lifted by strong winds which prevail in the winter. Many of the residents have to wear face masks when they venture outside. Yes this is the USA!!! It is close to the Mexican Border and the winds do predominately come from the north so perhaps a solution is not such a high priority.

The inland sea was believed to be a vacationers dream come true with campgrounds along the foreshore like this one and waterfront property to die for. Well that part came true.

Having had enough of the doom and gloom location we headed west for the real salty water of the Pacific. The coastal strip was still dry but full of life and yuppies galore. The coast south of LA is a surfer’s paradise with endless beaches similar to the north coast. We hit the coast at Oceanside and travelled south through Encinitas to San Diego stopping where we could without having to fork out ridiculous parking fees. The coast is like our Gold Coast with one town rolling into the next along the Coastal Highway ending at the huge waterway of San Diego.

Looking North along the coast back towards Oceanside

Looking South along the coast towards San Diego

San Diego is the largest port south of LA and home too many marinas, all were full to the brim with yachts of all sizes. The waterways are spacious with a single entry to the ocean, it’s close to the Mexican border and with a fantastic climate, 20 Celsius and light winds virtually all year round a perfect place to stay. Well not if you are in a motorhome!! Despite getting a free complimentary as long as you want reciprocal entry into the San Diego Yacht Club, one of the Americas Cup home bases, we could not find a single place to stay overnight even the 2 commercial campgrounds were full. We tried Walmart and were moved on at 0130 ending up out of the city an hour later at a Home Depot for the remainder of the night.

This club had a dream and it very much came true, regaining the Americas cup from Australia in 1987

We’d gone as far south as we could without crossing into Mexico. Our crossing is still in its research phase at present to determine the logistics and complications of making the trip. It’s an easy process in a car for a short visit but not so for a motorhome if you intend staying for an extended period of time. We continued our travels east along the roads closest to the border surveying a route for the new wall, when we found to our surprise that a wall already exists with a dedicated border patrol both ground and air 24/7. It’s certainly high enough but perhaps not deep enough to stop the tunnels in the sand??

The existing wall would appear to be a sufficient barrier to stop an influx of Mexicans

Perhaps its just the valleys that Trump wants to fill in, Hey Amigo Gringo's are soooo stoopid

Again we found a BLM campground close to the Arizona Border and after talking with another camper were told we could cross the border into Mexico by foot for the day just 5 miles away from the camp at Los Algodones, heaps of snowbirder’s come down every year to get cheap dental and optical services. WOW!! I needed a new pair of glasses and what a way of checking out Mexico, we were warned that the locals there are very pushy flogging tourist stuff so BEWARE!!

If you need concrete for roads in the desert just build a batch plant, no worries for the yanks

And water, same same

For protection from the southern hordes just put the wagons in a circle

We hit the border and parked on the U.S. side and just walked through the gate, no checks, no passports, not even a stamp which we were hoping for, but heaps of spruikers all talking over each other to get you to go with them to their dentist. We headed for the Immigration Office to enquire about entry with a motorhome and were politely told that we would have to cross at another crossing with the van and all could be arranged there Amigo.

Down town Algodones is just a stroll across the border

We found an optometrist close by and were advised that I could have an eye test and a new pair of glasses with transitional prescription lenses within 2 hours. The deal was done when I found a frame and after the test we went bargain hunting with the locals. Just like Asia we could haggle away till both were happy, a long way from the first attempted price. It was a bit of fun and we eventually knew the final price of most items the venders were willing to accept. Food and beer was cheap, we had 2 lovely meals and 4 beers each for a total of US$30 and this was the tourist part of Mexico. The new glasses were US$240.

Lunch in the restaurants reminds us of the 'no frills' joints in Asia with just a bit extra

Mexico was a good day out and a change from the regimented behaviour of the yanks in the states and we had a good laugh with the locals, it’s very difficult to get a laugh from a yank, not so hard from a Canadian but very easy from a Mexican trying to sell you stuff.