February 22 to February 28, 2003

Saturday February 22:

It was COOL last night, 42 in the bush, 46 under the RV, 50 inside at 6 AM when I awoke. But that is what happens when the elevation is over 1735 ft.  Our direction will be SOUTH when we leave this valley for higher elevations.  :-)  We find the phone works well, but of course no Internet.  Also, since it is analog, the battery goes dead in 12 hours of "on" time even if there is no use; therefore, for incoming calls it is unreliable.  But it is the best we have here, it'll have to do.  We are going to Ubehebe Crater today; it is about 8 miles away.  It formed 3000 years ago when hot volcanic magma hit underground water, forming superheated high pressure steam that blew the ground away overhead in a shower of cinders.  The 500 ft deep crater remains, surrounded by a high cone of cinders.  

We hiked the STEEP trail down to the bottom; from the looks on the faces of the kids coming up, this would be the most fun we'd have all day...  :-)  I had the urge to try it on shorty skis....each step in boots took us 6 feet or more after the slide on the loose cinders; just keep your weight well back and GOOOOOOO.....  All good things eventually end, and we soon found ourselves on the bottom looking up.  

The rock structures are beautifully colored and contrast with the dark gray cinders; the most prominent feeling is hard to show on pictures though....this thing is IMMENSE!  

We heard that there was an earthquake east of Los Angeles this morning.... we trust it will not stir THIS pot....  :-)   After a short exploration time it is DECISION time; bust our humps to climb back up, or stay until our water runs out.  This crater is about as deep as the Washington Monument is high, only here there are no steps and the easy way (down) comes FIRST.  :-(  We start back, and 1/3 way up I choose the short steep trail we had come down while Claire chooses the longer less sloped path.  As I approach the top, a bus driver comes 50 feet down the trail to encourage his tourists to make the trek...I believe he was joking, as the round trip took us about 1.5 hours.  Of course the tourists had all sorts of questions I could not answer, but the GPS could, as I had put a waypoint in at the bottom.  It turns out the distance (horizontal) was 0.25 miles, and the elevation difference was 478 ft.  That computes to a 36% grade; considering how the RV acts on the few 8% grades we've driven on, walking was the only way to go...  :-)  We returned to The RV for a short rest and refreshment, but headed out again to circle the crater cone; this hike is over 2 miles. It takes us along narrow ridges but views of smaller craters are almost other worldly....

You can see the trail we've hiked entering from the upper right, circling the crater rim, and continuing on the lower right.  I forgot to reset the GPS to record the distance, but the highest elevation reached was 2882 ft; that is 765 ft above the crater bottom.  This is amazing terrain, with the trail running right along the edge of  the craters.

 From the high spot we look down on the RV in the parking area and the steep trail that runs down the cinders to the bottom of Uberhebe crater.  

Uhhhhh....did we really climb down there...and BACK UP?  :-)  By the time we returned to the RV we knew we'd done a days work;  we take a few minutes to recover and replace lost body liquid, then I slowly drive the rough paved road back to the campground.  A young man had said racetrack was an interesting place, but that the roads were rough enough to be hard on a car.  We had not planned to take that 27 mile additional trip, as RVs are prohibited on the road.   After experiencing this road and the 1 mile gravel road to Salt Creek where we had bumped along DEAD SLOW with speed not even visible on the speedometer, we are much happier with not being PERMITTED (or tempted) to do it.  :-)  The campground host reports a strong storm is moving in off the Pacific, and high wind warnings will likely be posted on the Southern California interstate highways. He says he spent weeks rebuilding his trailer after driving in high winds caused the aluminum outer shell to act like an airfoil and pull out it's fastening staples, and that an RV had just pulled in here with it's awning gone, lost to winds on the highway.  :-((   I show him our tie down rope. I wish my rope was stronger though;  but there is no place to buy one here!   Dinner is Claire's "Route  66 diner soup"; combined left overs from many meals, and really quite good!  :-)   Both kitties now decide they LIKE this campground since the youthful activity of last night is history, and they stay out until nearly dark.  Dishes are combined Tupperwares from many meals, but they somehow get done.  It is time to SLEEP!

Sunday February 23:

Temperature in the bush is 42 again this morning.  We run the furnace, as it is 50 inside.  The host reported the snow line is forecast to come from 6000 feet down to 4000 feet with the approaching storm; I imagine that means cooler weather here on the valley floor too.  He says he will bring a detailed forecast from the ranger station in the morning. We get no NOAA weather radio, no TV, and very little other radio (NPR excepted;  it is strong, but has little useful weather info). Since we must wait a few days to go to San Diego, we must decide if we would rather be here and cooler, or in Furnace creek and maybe dustier......  Today we will look over the grounds of Scotty's Castle and decide if it is worth the $14 they want for us to tour inside the house.  The genial campground hosts volunteer that this site, though 4 degrees cooler than Furnace Creek or Stovepipe Wells, will have no dust when the wind blows as is common in those places.  Flooding is less likely here too, as the drainage area is smaller.  We decide to wait out the storm here.  Wednesday is soon enough to leave.  The hosts also indicate that a group of bikers is coming in for the night; they were impressed with the politeness of the young man charge with setting up their tents, but still hoped for no trouble.  Scotty's Castle is only 4 miles away, but over 1000 feet above the campground.  It is a pretty drive, the road is well paved but narrow, and some of the curves are twisty enough that the RV needs both lanes to make the turn comfortably.  Fortunately there is little traffic.  :-)  The castle has many tourists, but plenty of parking.  The first feature that struck me as we approached was the ornate Spanish architecture clock tower.

It is quite beautiful, but how utterly out of place it seems to be here in remote Death Valley, where the only time that matters is kept by the sun....  The cross on the hill marks Death Valley Scotty's grave on the castle overlook.  A coyote is busily working the crowd on the road, parking lot and in the yard.  At times he would chew on a stick like a puppy.  He wanted some space, but here he passed too close to me, as I was hidden by a tree; not the look of the family dog, fer sure!  

It sorta reminded me of the look we got from the Mexicans who were waiting to border hop into the US, just across the border from isolated Gringo Pass.  There is no love here; he's just sizing me up to see if I am a threat or a meal.   :-)  Claire is feeling the effects of the crater hike, and does not feel like climbing to the hilltop overlook.  I looked over the history displays, and pretty much concluded that Scotty was a self promoting rascal and fraud artist who found a wealthy sponsor in Albert Johnson and lived off the relationship until his death in 1954 at age 82; a character, yes, a hero, NO!    I decided that in lieu of the gift shop, I would engage my tired muscles and make the climb to Scotty's grave.  It was interesting, giving a good overall view of the castle.  

I especially enjoyed the view of the adjoining valley which was a storage depot, with stores of railroad ties, old rusting vehicles from the 20's and 30's, machinery, numbered slots so materials could be located.....possibly still left as it was when construction stopped in the 30's.

 Concrete fence poles in perfect condition hold rusting and broken barbed wire securing the depot perimeter... from what??.?    The wreckage of the solar hot water system remains a decaying eyesore, still in place after it was abandoned when an infrequent Death Valley freeze ruined it years ago when the castle was in use.  

An accidental fire destroyed the cookhouse in 1991; it awaits restoration.  This is an amazing project for this remote desert; even more amazing for a desert is the hydroelectric power generator that produced 7.5 KW of DC power from the water provided by a spring.  

Later, diesel generators were installed in this power house under the clock tower as power needs increased, and finally commercial power lines reached the castle, but restoration efforts are underway to restore this hydro powered turbine to operation.  Scotty still overlooks the castle from his grave on the hill; rascal I do not doubt he was, but somehow he managed to become a much beloved, yes, even a "sponsored by the National Park Service" rascal in Death Valley.  :-)  I returned to the main area and toured the clock tower, then observed "beggar" coyote still haunting visitors in the parking lot and yard.  He was not shy, but did try to maintain his "minimum distance".    Claire was resting in the RV, and ready to return to the campground. When we arrived, we saw the "bikers" were already there; they rode BICYCLES, not motorcycles, and were part of a www.backroads.com tour.  The tour service came complete two large vans with rooftop bike racks, one pulling a large cook trailer with space to haul spare bicycles on top of it, a chef complete with white hat and recipe book, multiple LARGE burner propane stoves setup on the outside of the trailer and commercial kitchen sized pots to cook for the 16 hungry young bikers they had to feed.  This is a professional operation set up to do the job.  Dinner in the RV is left over spaghetti, with beans and stuffed peppers thrown in if needed.  As usual, it is delicious and more food storage containers are recovered for use.  :-)  The kitties get long walks in the twilight, but both are ready to come in when the opportunity comes.  I walk the campground perimeter in the dusk.  When dishes are finished, we both agree it is bedtime again.

Monday February 24:

The temperature this AM seemed warmer than yesterday, 51.6 under the RV. I did not want to put the remote sensor out in the open bush in case it rained.  The furnace was still welcome, but I turned it off as soon as the interior warmed up.  The battery is better used for the computer….  :-)  The bikers are looking cool as they breakfast and prepare for their day.  The bikes are all loaded, and it appears they will leave here by van.  I'm sure it is cool to be sitting outside THIS morning!  Steaming hot something is in the pots on their stove.  Claire decides to do Pilates exercises this morning, so we run the generator to make coffee and charge the battery at the same time.  This turns into a computer day by default, as I work last weeks webpage.  It was mostly overcast and uninspiring, so that is a good use of the down time that we can both use anyway.  The backroads tour group left their cook trailer here and vanned the bikers to a different place ( higher ground maybe?) to start their day's ride, again ending here.  They seem to keep their crew constantly busy, apparently preparing lunch and driving it by car to a prearranged place; the cook trailer was deserted between 11AM and 2PM, when the crew returned in the car and started preparing dinner.  A short time later their two large vans arrived back, with bikers drifting in individually from 3PM on.  The kitties had a lot of out time, as Claire is becoming a bit bored waiting here with nothing specific to do.  Dinner is stir fried veggies and tofu, delicious despite the veggies being in the fridge a long time.  There is an edge to the weather we have not noticed before, and clouds drift lower over the mountains toward dusk, but so far no rain.  The host reports to Claire that the weather forecast has changed; 100% chance of rain overnight, with high wind Tuesday. Oh well, we needed some down time anyway.  We go to bed shortly after the dishes are done, about 7:30PM.  Claire practices some Taekwon-do moves after dark in the clear area on the campsite behind the RV before retiring.

Tuesday February 25:

It is warmer this morning; 53 under the RV at 7AM. A little rain fell last night, but not enough to notice by morning. The backroads.com folks seem to be getting ready to break camp. The bikers left from here on their bikes, so I expect the camp will meet them at their destination tonight.

They have four workers for 16 people, so I imagine that is a first class type trip in all categories.  :-) This is forecast to be a high wind day, so we will probably sit it out here, moving tomorrow to Furnace Creek stopping to see a mine on the way, then outta here for Barstow and fuel on Thursday. There is snow cap visible between the clouds covering the mountain to the east which had been bare before, so I guess the storm is actually here and having an effect... I'm glad we're on the valley floor.  :-)

Wednesday February 26:

It was COOL inside this morning, and 44 under the RV.  The furnace ran a long time to bring the inside up from 50, and by the time I reemerged from the covers at 7AM the sun was shining brightly and it was time to open the blinds and let the warming rays in.  We drove to Barstow without incident after dumping and water fill on the way out of Mesquite campground. There was evidence of new snow much lower on the mountains than we had seen coming up this way. 

There is no trace of wet ground on the low desert floor however.....    We forgot to load the GPS with Pacific coastal map data though, so had to find the Barstow Walmart the old way, with only paper maps and books. We did remember how to do that.... :-)   We liked Death Valley, would come again as there is lots more to see in this huge park, but isolation gets old after 8 days.  Time for some NOAA weather radio, always on cellphone, TV, and radio other than NPR.  We find we get a Chicago TV station in the Barstow Walmart lot...Huh?  Must be a leaky cable system is my best guess.....good signal though! :-)  Fuel is surely a sticker shocker;  $1.889/g at Walmart WITH the gift card discount...YIKES!  We are down to below 1/4 full, no choice but to fill, and we inconvenience ourselves to fill tonight to beat any morning price increase.  Only consolation is it beat the $2.449 we passed up at Furnace Creek on the way out of the Valley....  We saw lots of gas over $2/g on the way.  How high can this spiral go?  The price for diesel is now lower than gas; that points to some opportunism on the oil industry's part I think.  They cannot blame these increases all on crude price increases methinks.....  :-)

Thursday February 27:

It was cool with rain overnight.  Temperature under RV is 45.6 at 6AM.  We take our time, shop for a few more things, and plan a laundry day.  I need to change the generator oil too.  We are recommended to a shopping center a few miles away with both a grocery store and a laundromat.  I hope to change the oil there too, but after making coffee to warm the generator and getting prepared, it just seems too congested.  There is an unfriendly looking police officer guarding a bank looking right at us too...  it's gotta be another time, another PLACE!  :-)  The laundry gets done, we shop,(we are going to MISS the super Walmart grocery stores in CA, but they are not allowed here; prices are higher too) and we get a restaurant recommendation too.  We decide to go to the California Welcome Center in town for more coastal CA info, and I recall the wide open parking lot that should be ideal for an oil change.  This works out well, nobody is offended, and the 18" improvised aluminum foil drain tube keeps every drop in the drain pan despite brisk winds; we're learning!  :-)  The foil tube gets disposed of, and no mess remains at all.  We drive through the old part of Barstow on the way to the Idle Spurs restaurant; the way is complex, the roads have lots of turns necessary to get to the single bridge crossing over the rail yards and now dry Mojave River.  The town is small, so we eventually did find it, but I now understand why three different references were inconsistent with their directions; actually NONE were right, but combining the info from them all got us there.....  :-(  Claire had a nice aged steak she was hungering for and I had grilled shrimp; this was a class place with class prices, but we've been in isolation for 8 days...  :-)  On the return trip we see the Historic Route 66 signs in town;  Main Street must have been a part of Rt 66 before the Interstate highways came through.  Barstow is nothing if not a transport hub; a major rail switching yard is here, Amtrak station, LOADS of crowded truck stops, a bus station.  The mountains force all these facilities close together here, so the town benefits.  It is too dry to be a vegetable  growing center, although we looked over the corrals and fences of ranches, and perhaps beef production is a contributor here.  We drove to the Flying J an found we could have saved a penny on fuel here; such is life!  We top off, squeezing 4 gallons into the "full" tank.  Well, I guess we have driven 24 miles since we filled last night, and ran the generator quite a bit making coffee and warming it up for oil change too!  :-)

Friday February 28:

43.6 Under the RV at 6AM.  Furnace set at 50 all night, and it ran some. Turned it up to normal at 5:45AM.  This was a late starting day, we ha nothing to do but shower, dump, and fill water & propane before departing for an estimated 2 hour 90 mile drive.  We enjoyed the luxury, ran the heat a lot (as we are filling propane anyway), and bought Flying J donuts to celebrate. We can do this as a reward for skipping dessert at the Idle Spurs last night!  :-))  The drive south is uneventful, other than the accident tieing up traffic in San Bernardino.  We saw a California Highway patrol motorcycle pass with lights flashing, darting along the white line between lanes of traffic moving at 65 mph; YIKES!  Soon traffic came to a halt.  My question on the CB was answered crisply as to  the cause of the jam, and we were fortunate to be near its leading edge, and got through quickly.  The San Bernardino mountains have SERIOUS snow cover, and numerous ski areas are shown on the map.

Still, the sun is warm where we drive in the valley.....  There is a pass to climb, and of course a long 6% lower gear descent looking down into the valley below.

This is a time for guard rail appreciation;  NICE guard rail;  PRETTY guard rail!  It's nice even though it could do little to keep our big vehicle on the road.... :-)  We pass March Air Reserve Base with the museum of old planes sitting along the road.  Soon we reach our computer chosen exit, and drive through Perris CA.  It is not busy in mid afternoon, as we come to a stop at a traffic light next to the National RV factory, headquarters for the company that made our Seabreeze.  I THOUGHT Perris was familiar; it is on the label near the door on the outside of the RV.  :-)  If we had not pretty well solved the fender rubbing problem, we would have sure stopped here, but now there is no reason!  Oh well, we manage to keep the RV from turning into it's birthplace, and continue another half mile to the Walmart we had targeted for the night.  There is an Albertson's grocery store on the other side of the mall, so we shop for food. It is not as convenient to shop for food here in California where Walmart is not permitted to build super stores.  True to it's California image, the mall is high on flashy advertising; this one makes me question the local attitudes though..... :-)

Perris is a relaxed town, seemingly not very busy.  The Walmart security guard patrols all night long in his cart, and the lot is well lighted.  In other states the stores often turn the parking lot lights off when they close, but we have not seen that in CA. California so far seems very RV friendly compared to other warm weather high population density areas we've been in; we've not seen ANY "No overnight parking" signs in a Walmart in CA.  The kitties walk the quiet lot, and Purry gobbles LOTS of green grass; this is the first really GREEN grass he's seen for a long time!  He does what cats do after eating grass, but helpfully does it outside under the RV before coming in......  :-))  Just to make sure we do not get spoiled, he does it again mostly on a map under the table in the RV...we throw the map out and clean up.  :-(((   Dinner is kidney bean chile with some of the BIIIIG chunk of beef that called out to Claire in Barstow, and now resides in meal size chunks in our freezer.  Tough it might have been before pressure cooking to tender, but it sure does make a good chile...  :-))  It's bedtime after dishes are done....

PLANS:    We are in San Diego, now enjoying Balboa Park, and plan one day at the San Diego zoo despite the price tag, then expect to cross into Tijuana Mexico on foot before heading north along the coast until we run out of good weather (rain is predicted next Tuesday through Thursday), time (yes, we have only seven weeks remaining until Easter, so that is becoming a factor to consider), or the energy needed to deal with densely populated areas .  We'd like to see San Francisco, but we also want to head east in time for a more leisurely trip than the westbound one was in the fall.  That took us two weeks, so this time we will probably plan at least three. We do want another chance at Albuquerque, NM on the way through too.   There is a major difference though; going east we have cold weather to avoid on the END of the trip, while coming west we had to do it fast to avoid oncoming winter where we wanted to go.  Based on the reports we've been getting,  it does appear that sloth might pay off on our trip east...  :-)

Until next time....That's All Folks!  Do ENJOY; we sure are!