Westward through the deserts

On Saturday, May 23rd we packed up camp and hit the road heading out on a long travel day. We began with Route 89A heading up and over Jerome twisting and climbing the mountain. The houses were perched precariously on the steep hillsides on both sides of the road. Going down the backside towards Prescott was even longer and windier. Bob wished he was riding the motorcycle, I reckoned it to be much like "Tail of the Dragon" but the hairpin turns were curved just a bit wider, thankfully for the weighed down RV. The route is not advised if your rig is over 40 feet in length. It was very scenic, on the backside we spotted several large saguaro cacti. Several of these cacti had large white blooms on the tips of their very high tops and I could not get a photo of a blossoms from the road. We descended through Merrit Pass at 3400 feet. In Aguila we reached route 60-West and just before Quartzite picked up Route 10 West. Another 20 miles and we crossed over the Colorado River (which carved the Grand Canyon further north) and entered California. Gas prices jumped as expected to $4.00 and even over $5.00 a gal. We gassed up at our last chance at the Chiraco Summit exit. There will be no more opportunities until we reach the other side of the Joshua Tree NP.

Upon reaching the visitor's center we learned that there were no campsites available (first come first serve and Memorial Day weekend). We were told we could drive back south to just beyond the entrance (it's BLM land) and camp there as others were doing. It being 4 pm we did that and would be able to drive through the park early in the morning. It was a very nice quiet night below the Cottonwood area and at sunrise we were up and ready to begin the journey through the Colorado and Mojave Deserts. They come together in 2 distinct environments each with diverse desert ecosystems. A changing landscape greets you at every turn. Reminders of ancestral peoples combine with the remains of mining infrastructure and pioneer homes. You can feel the struggle for survival in an unforgiving place and see the subtle beauty of the desert.

We spent 5 hours driving through stopping here and there, and to hike the short one mile loop to Barker Dam. It was built around 1900 to hold water for cattle and mining use. Today it forms a small rain-fed reservoir used by park wildlife. Birds abound and I was able to spot a few! And we were able to view some more pictographs too. We exited the park and turned east on Route 62. In the town of Twenty-nine Palms we were able to find gas at $3.71/gal near the large Marine Corp Air Ground Combat Center. Otherwise it would have been $4.99! We headed into the Mojave National Reserve and headed straight up to Kelso. I had read about the Providence Mountains State Rec Area and Mitchell Caverns National Preserve being still closed for repairs and renovations. Also there is a large section of repaving going on in the NE section of this preserve and I wanted to avoid that as well. As it was there were quite a few large and deep potholes so Bob had to keep a vigilant eye on the road surface. We stopped at Kelso Depot's Ranger Station and I spotted 2 Rangers helping someone repair their flat tire. It was early in the afternoon so we pushed on in a northerly direction towards Death Valley NP. Avoiding tire trouble and a hot desert tire change.

Route 15 cuts through Baker but we stayed on Route 127 and headed North to the Death Valley Wilderness. On 127 through Shoshone to Death Valley Junction, then we took 190 west and reached Zabriskie Point. A paved walkway uphill to a lovely overlook. After taking photos we were getting tired and it was about 96 degrees was certainly zapping our energy. We went the 10 miles or so further to Furnace Creek Campground at a -196 foot elevation. The campers next to us said there had been a brief episode of high winds around 9pm the night before and sure enough just after the sun began to set the wind picked up. It didn't really cool anything down but they took down their dining canopy and shored up their tent stakes. We were glad to be inside the truck camper.

"Going places with smiling faces!"