This year the desert was a complete bust for wildflowers. Much of the Southwest is in a severe drought.  San Diego’s rainfall is below average for the season.  However, we still received enough rain for a pretty decent wildflower display…if you know where to look!

All these pictures were taken on a 1.4 mile hike in the San Dieguito River Park by Lake Hodges in Rancho Bernardo. And of course, with my trusty iPhone 7.

Enjoy the beauty of nature!

Bushmallow

 

 

Bush Sunflower

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friends have been asking us, “Where’s Amboy Crater?” My smart-ass answer is always Amboy! It’s actually south of the I-40 between Mojave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park. You get to drive on Route 66 for a little bit! It’s a nice free one night stop.  It’s also a really good for stargazing.  All the clouds cleared out and at 10pm it was a spectacular celestial display.

On our way home we drove through a little community called Wonder Valley. That was a real eye opener….

Pro tip: If you are visiting Death Valley be prepared to drive a lot!

We boondocked twenty miles east of Furnace Creek at a spot known as “The Pads.”  It used to be a company mining town until 1995 when Death Valley became a National Park and mining operations ceased. There are over forty concrete pads, where I’m assuming singlewide trailers used to sit. There’s also a huge pad where the clubhouse must’ve been because it’s next to a swimming pool filled with dirt. At times it felt haunting knowing that people used to live their life there. I would rate “The Pads” as a great boondocking spot. The only negative is zero cell phone reception.

At this stop we experienced a real wind event. On Monday evening while waiting for the moon to rise, Amelia’s phone blasted a weather alert noise. It startled both of us, especially since there’s no cell reception. Amelia grabbed her phone, and on her screen was: Tormenta de Polvo (dust storm).  When she tapped it thinking she could read the rest it disappeared.  We had no idea why it was in Spanish.

Thirty minutes later the wind became strong and the mountains to the east were shrouded by a huge dust cloud. We collapsed our chairs and table, brought in all our shoes, and hunkered down inside the Airstream. It was noisy. Anything that could rattle did. We ended up closing all the vents. The wind continued until sunrise.

We went outside to assess the aftermath. Our large patio mat was still staked down but covered in dirt and small pebbles. The chairs only moved a few feet. However our recycling bin was two hundred yards away stuck under someone else’s trailer!

Once we saw a person emerge from the trailer, Amelia went over to get the recycling bin and pick up as many scattered cans as she could find. That’s when she met Thelma. There were two gals traveling together and they referred to themselves as Thelma and Louise.

Thelma was probably in her late fifties, super chatty and proud of her 2001 Suburban.  After they exchanged pleasantries Thelma says, “I hope this doesn’t offend you but I’m a deplorable.” God bless my non-political wife, she had no idea what a deplorable was.  Then Thelma launched into a diatribe about stolen votes.  “Millions of votes were sent to China, Germany, and Iran.  Can you believe that?  I Ran!!” She quickly calmed down and said, “I don’t blame people for not knowing. The problem is everyone gets their news from the same major networks. You have to dig deep to get the truth.”

Finally, Amelia was able to escape. An hour later Thelma and Louise hitched up, drove by our spot, honked and waved.

You meet the most interesting people while traveling!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The swimming pool

 

Our favorite hike was our last one; Sidewinder Canyon. Amazing would be an understatement. It’s a wide canyon with six side slot canyons. Some of the slots just keep going and going. Here’s some pics.

 

 

 

 

Oops! We had a casualty from the dust storm. The little Playmate cooler was stuck under the Airstream. I didn’t see it and completely forgot about it. As we were leaving there was a loud noise. Amelia put on the brakes. I looked under the Airstream. Shit! I felt horrible. Amelia has had the cooler since she was a teenager and had the nickname AMP for Amy Marie Perkins.

Wind! Wind! Wind! I swear there’s more wind nowadays and it’s stronger. It’s got to be climate change, right?

On our drive Thursday we had high wind warnings from the Inland Empire all the way to Lone Pine. The Airstream does pretty well in the wind, but it’s still very stressful towing. The wind howled the entire time we were in Lone Pine. On Friday morning the iPhone said the wind should be a little less on Saturday. So, we juggled our itinerary and did Alabama Hills on Friday and the Eureka Sand Dunes on Saturday. Who wants to be in a sandstorm exfoliating all your exposed skin and depositing sand in every orifice? No thanks!

If you haven’t been to the Alabama Hills, it’s this bitchin rockscape between Lone Pine and the base of the Sierras.  It’s just a few miles west of Lone Pine and easily accessible. We were flabbergasted at the amount of people camping.  Apparently the cat is out of the bag.  It was quite shocking.  In years past there were only a handful of campers. Unfortunately, most of the masses we saw were not in self-contained rigs. Which means there was a lot of visible toilet paper on the ground, in the bushes, and flapping in the wind. Amelia is not a fan of people leaving behind toilet paper; nothing gets her on a bigger rant than that.  “Dig a hole people!  If you aren’t going to bury it, then pack it out!  Come on ladies, try air drying and stop leaving toilet paper where people go hiking!” Amelia on her rant, “All true backpackers and tent campers have shit shovels.”

To the best of our recollection, Saturday was our fourth visit to the Eureka Sand Dunes. It is in what I like to call the new part of Death Valley.  I thought Death Valley had been a National Park forever. I was wrong. In 1933 it was declared a National Monument. It wasn’t until 1995 that it became a National Park, and expanded by 1,200,000 acres, which included Eureka Sand Dunes. Back when the dunes were just BLM land, my brother was out there paragliding, at least once.  That’s how I first heard about the dunes.

Rising 680 feet above the dry lake bed at their western base, the dunes are the highest in California and second tallest in North America. The Great Sand Dunes in Colorado are the tallest.

Anyhoo, we lucked out. The weather was perfect with only a whisper of wind on the dunes. We were surprised at how many people were there, especially considering how remote it is. Being surprised by crowds is becoming a theme. Then again, it is Spring Break and folks have been pent up dealing with the pandemic. But I’m blaming it all on the internets and social media!

Next stop, Furnace Creek area of Death Valley.