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| Sunrise on Telescope Peak |
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| Morning |
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| Badwater Basin Salt Flats |
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| "Sea Level" |
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| Mojave National Preserve |
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| Full Moon Over the Mojave |
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| Mojave Morning |
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| Joshua Tree NP: Wonderland Ranch |
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| Ocotillo Cactus |
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| Fantastic trees just before the Salton Sea. These trees appeared to be very old, although I don't know for certain. |
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| Salton Sea |
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| Anza Borrego State Park |
About a month ago, Moosie, Camo, and I finished the final leg of our "Southern California Desert Excellence Tour." Our last couple days took us out of Death Valley National Park. We spent a night in the Mojave National Preserve, continued on through Joshua Tree National Park, stopped by the Salton Sea, entered Anza Borrego State Park, did some trail magic on the Pacific Crest Trail at Barrel Springs, and then continued on towards San Diego where our trip ended.
We woke up on April 29th to our moonscape campsite overlooking the Badwater Basin, just below Telescope Peak. We had a steady warm breeze the night before. On this particular morning, the breeze stopped just after the sun came up over the mountains. Suddenly we were swarmed with noceum type gnats that bombarded our heads and faces. We quickly packed up the car and drove down towards the valley. 30 minutes later, we parked the car along the salt flats, and enjoyed a peaceful, warm, sunny breakfast in the shade of the car. Our goal for the day was to check out the Badwater Basin, and then head towards Mojave National Preserve and spend the night there.
After breakfast, we drove to the Badwater Basin parking area. It's a popular spot, and the lot was already filled with other tourists walking out on the flats. It was also getting hot quickly. Moosie, Camo and I spent about an hour walking out onto the flats and then back to the car. We then began driving towards the Mojave. First, we stopped in the small desert town of Tecopa for a refreshing lunch.
We arrived in the Mojave Desert Preserve in the late afternoon. This was a place I would love to spend more time some day. Gone were the hordes of people, and at this time of year, the desert was greener and appeared more diverse than Death Valley. We found another campsite off a rugged jeep road and were able to enjoy the peace and solitude of the area. After spending the late afternoon and evening exploring the granite mountains nearby, Moosie, Camo, and I enjoyed a fine dinner and campfire. The full moon rose over the mountains. I cowboy camped another night on the desert floor. This was also our last night camping.
The following morning, I went for a short hike up the granite boulders while the sun came up. I could see Moosie and Camo down below beginning to wake up, so I returned to our car. Our goal for the day was to drive through Joshua Tree NP, the Salton Sea, Anza Borrego on our way home.
It was a full day of driving but scenic. We stopped briefly in Joshua Tree NP and did a hike near the abandoned Wonderland Ranch. It was Easter Saturday and the park was filled with tourists. After leaving Joshua Tree we stopped by the Salton Sea, first stopping to eat lunch in a raggedy canyon area filled with free public campsites. In the canyon were these fantastic trees that appeared to be very old, judging by their twisting gnarly trunks and branches. Eventually we reached the Salton Sea, my first time seeing this odd lake. The surrounding area was much greener than I imagined, all types of successful agriculture taking place. The water of the sea looked heavy and unhealthy, the body of water much larger than I imagined. The apocalyptic neighborhood we stopped by added to the strange effect, a local resident blasting industrial rock music out of his run down shack.
Finally, after leaving the Salton Sea, Moosie, Camo, and I drove through Anza Borrego State Park on our way back to San Diego. We had one more thing to do, and that was to stop by the Pacific Crest Trail at Barrel Springs and give some beer and snacks to any possible thru hikers that may be there spending the night. The area near the PCT is beautiful, giant old oak trees dotting the landscape. We reached the PCT just before sunset. Sure enough there were a couple of German women spending the night there heading north on the PCT and one man heading south on a section hike. After gifting the beer and sharing in some trail talk, Moosie, Camo, and I finished the final leg of our journey in the car in the dark. We stopped by a small market that sold pies from Julien. Camo bought one and feasted in the back seat of the car. Another great trip had come to an end...
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