Continuing across the Southwest.......
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| Beautiful Lake Mead |
Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam
After five incredible days of awesome views, invigorating hikes, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones, we left the Grand Canyon. Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the Hoover Dam were our next destinations. Lake Mead is on the Colorado River, located about 24 miles from the strip of Las Vegas and is by the Hoover Dam in Boulder, NV. In terms of water capacity, it is the largest reservoir in the United States. According to the Visit Arizona website, thanks to the opening of the Hoover Dam in 1936, part of the flowing Colorado River, which is now Lake Mead, was transformed into America's first national recreation area. Prior to the building of the dam, this area of the Mojave Desert was known for its wide expanses of flat land interspersed with rocky canyons. Today, there are multiple opportunities to enjoy the lake. Sunbathing, swimming, boating, skiing, and fishing are all popular activities. Renting houseboats is also a common thing to do. There are also many opportunities for camping, hiking, wildlife viewing, and photography.
We settled into our campsite at the Boulder Beach Campground in the Recreation Area and then drove to the Hoover Dam. The Dam, located in the Black Canyon between the states of Nevada and Arizona, was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression. It was dedicated by Franklin D. Roosevelt in September of 1935. It is a concrete arch-gravity dam and is the second-tallest dam in the United States. We spent two days in this area relaxing and enjoying the incredible views.
Beautiful Lake Mead
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| Lake Mead Marina |
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| Sailing on the Lake |
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| Bridge over the Colorado River to the Hoover Dam |
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| Railroad Tunnel |
Sunset at Lake Mead
March 11 & 12, 2019
Death Valley
We left the Lake Mead Recreation Area on Monday, the 11th and made our way to Death Valley. Neither of us had been there before and we really did not know what to expect. On our way into the Park, we stopped at Zabriskie Point, known for its colored badlands and as a spectacular spot for sunrise. Dave shot some photos and then we continued to the the Visitors' Center.
From the material we received there, we learned that Death Valley, the largest National Park outside of Alaska, is the hottest, driest, and lowest National Park. In this below-sea-level basin, steady drought and record summer heat make Death Valley a land of extremes and a land of striking contrast. Towering peaks are frosted with winter snow and rare rainstorms bring vast fields of wild flowers. Despite its morbid name, a great diversity of life survives in Death Valley.
After waiting for the Park Ranger to return from lunch, we secured a campsite in the Furnace Creek Campground for two nights and then we set off to explore. Badwater Basin was an interesting place. It is the lowest point in North America with an elevation of 282 ft. below sea level. From the parking area, you can see the sea level sign located 280 feet above you on an adjacent mountain. It really puts into perspective how low you are when you see it in comparison to the mountain. A boardwalk leads to the salt flats.
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| Sea Level Sign in the Mountain (White speck in the middle) |
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| White Speck Enlarged |
Dave & Gail 282 Ft. Below Sea Level
The Salt Flats
We were truly surprised at the contrasting landscapes we saw.....mountains, flat lands, sand, snow....it was quite amazing.
On Tuesday, we set off early to do two hikes. The first was in Golden Canyon. The colors on the rocks and cliffs were awesome.
The second trail we hiked was the Natural Bridge. This was a hike up a canyon to a natural bridge formation.
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| The Bridge |
After hiking, we returned to the campsite. While sitting outside, we noticed a coyote right in front of our site. Dave quickly caught him or her on camera. We had been told that coyote were very common, but I always thought that they would be seen at dawn or dusk, not in bright daylight. We had also been warned about invasive burros in Death Valley, but we did not see any.
At about 9:00 pm Tuesday night a strong windstorm blew through the campground. Things were shaking and rolling, but luckily, the wind was hitting the RV on its backside, which seemed to keep us more steady. The storm lasted on and off for several hours. In the morning, everything outside was covered in a layer of dust.
March 13-16, 2019
Joshua Tree National Park
We left Death Valley behind us on the 13th and made our way to Joshua Tree National Park in Joshua Tree, CA. On our way to the Park, we stopped for lunch at Peggy Sue's Diner in Baker, CA. The diner is like taking a step back in time to the 50s. A real nostalgic experience.
We arrived at the Visitor's Center around 3:00 pm. Again we spoke with a park ranger and gathered information. According to the Park's website, Joshua Tree National Park is a vast protected area (bigger than the state of RI) in southern California. It is characterized by rugged rock formations and stark desert landscapes. It is named for the region's twisted, bristled Joshua trees. The park straddles the cactus-dotted Colorado Desert and the Mojave Desert. The park is filled with Joshua Trees and giant rock formations which look like huge boulders piled on top of one another, making for excellent rock climbing. Camping and hiking are also popular in the Park.
While talking with a couple at the Visitors' Center, we learned of a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) site nearby where we could park our RV for free. We spent the next four days re-provisioning, doing errands and visiting the Park. Most importantly, we had excellent cell-phone coverage and were able to update our blog.
Joshua Tree National Park
Boulders, Boulders, Boulders
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| Rock Climber |
Trees, Trees, Trees!
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| Joshua Tree Bloom |
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| Joshua Trees and Boulders |
Jojoba Hills SKP-SanDiego-Tijuana-Coronado Beach-Lake Elsinore-Old Town Temecula
We left the BLM site on Sunday at 9:00 am. Happy St. Patrick's Day. Our destination was an SKP park in Aguanga, CA. We thought it would be a great place from which to visit San Diego, cross into Tijuana, Mexico, see Coronado Beach and visit the other nearby towns. We arrived at noon. I didn't realize the office was closed on Sundays and this was a gated park. Lucky for us, another SKP member activated the gate for us and we took a spot in the Boondocking area. We planned to stay for four nights. Once again the price was right! $7.50 per night.
Monday morning we checked in at the office and then it was off to San Diego and Tijuana. We arrived at the parking lot just outside the Mexican border and walked to the port of entry, cleared Mexican customs and walked into downtown Tijuana. It was almost impossible to walk by any shop without the owner trying to convince us to by his wares. Our favorite line was "Signora, finally, we've been waiting for you!" We did make one purchase. Dave bought me a sterling silver bracelet for $10. We're sure the merchant still made money. We had lunch at a restaurant where the servers have to hail their own customers. Our server was Oscar and he was quite the character. We each had a margarita and shared a taco plate. We then headed back to the border to re-enter the USA. Three hours in Tijuana, Mexico was enough for us. It is a poor city, trying to survive on a dwindling tourist trade. It was a cultural experience. We're glad we saw it, but there is no burning desire to return soon.
After leaving we drove through Coronado Beach. Unfortunately, the beach area was totally engulfed in fog. We took a few pictures and drove through the downtown area which reminded me a lot of Newport on steroids. We also drove through historic San Diego.
Tijuana, Mexico
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| Dave, with his feet in two countries (It was a BIG step!) |
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| Which way to go? |
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| Bienvenidos! Welcome! |
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| Dave & Oscar (our waiter) |
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| Waiting to go through customs |
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| THE WALL! |
Coronado Beach in the Fog!
On Tuesday, we were up bright and early to drive to Lake Elsinore, CA to see the poppy bloom. The poppy is the state flower of California. This was a super bloom due to the abundant rainfall this area had experienced. Tens of thousands of people had flocked here over the weekend and the exits to Walker Canyon were closed in both directions. Dave and I arrived at about 9:00 am. We found a parking spot and hiked up the first canyon. The bloom was beyond words. Dave went higher than I did and his photos were awesome. He also hiked to the second canyon and that series of photos was even more amazing. We were lucky, by 11:00 am, they had closed the exits once again!
Lake Elsinore Super Poppy Bloom
So many cars wanting to see the bloom!
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| Closing the exit! |
On our way back to Jojoba Hills SKP we drove through Old Town Temecula. A quaint little southwestern town with lots of shops and restaurants.
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| Old Town Temecula Sign Sorry, the sun was in the wrong spot! |
On the way back to Jojoba Hills, we stopped at Desert Sculpture Garden which was about a 1/2 mile from the SKP. There was an amazing collection of metalwork sculptures here. As we were looking around, we saw a piece that we thought would be great on the wall behind our couch. We've only been looking for something for about five years. Here is a sample of the types of metal sculptures they had.
Desert Sculpture Garden
We bought a sculpture that looks like the sunburst!
On Wednesday, we went to UPS to arranged to have our sculpture sent home to Okeechobee, did laundry, had lunch and then went back to the SKP to update the blog. Tomorrow we leave for Chino Hills where we will visit Dave's "sister Linda" and her family. Stay tuned. There's more to come!
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