Well the last week was uneventful (hence the lack of blog). Don’t worry, I kept my sister’s cat alive for the entire time period I watched it. I also got some legit cooking in, cleaned all of my gear, and got some much needed rest. I didn’t do shit this week except watch stand up comedy on Netflix, and harass house wrens that sleep on my sister’s patio. I figured out their sleep schedule, so Stewie and I would open the sliding glass door (screen left closed for their protection), and watch them squabble about who got the planter and who was left to sleep on the rafters. Once they noticed us watching, they tried to attack Stewie through the screen. They were not successful. Pretty ballsy little birds for being the size of my thumb. Anyway, this was our routine. It felt nice to have a routine, and to not have to worry where I would sleep at night.
But, Saturday rolled around, and Laura came back from her meeting in Vegas. She was scheduled to work Sunday 7am-11pm today, so I left when she did in the morning. I have no idea how she works those hours… Not only work those hours, but have to interact with strangers for that long. Ugh. At least she got to visit Red Rocks State Park on her way home.
My camping spot for the night is at the Cottonwood campground at Joshua Tree National Park. Basically right inside the southern border. Knowing I have all day, I meander north and make multiple stops at Anza Borrego State Park. This is an awesome place if you have a 4×4, as there are a plethora of cool trails that require 4×4 access. This limits a lot of the normal sight seeing folks, which I approve of. I hit a slot canyon trail, then did an “Elephant Tree Trail” near the southern boundary of the park. The slot canyon is excellent… very slotty… but the elephant tree trail is hilarious. Yes, you want to show off this very unique tree, but maybe don’t make a large circle trail in extremely loose gravel. It was only a mile, but I felt like I was walking through quicksand. And you know what, the trees weren’t that cool. There. I said it.
Such a slot…. 
This was the coolest section
After leaving Anza, I stop a few times in Salton City. This place is a legit ghost town, with one main gas station/fast food restaurant as the town center. Tons of streets and street signs with only a handful of houses. The smell is like that of shitty brine water that’s been sitting out in the sun for just a day too long. I try to find a beach, but realize the “beach” is just fish skeletons and bivalve shells. It’s pretty gross. If you don’t know, the Salton Sea at it’s lowest point is only 5 feet above the lowest point in Death Valley. Like 200 some odd feet below sea level. It used to naturally fill with water every 500 years or so as the Colorado River meandered about. But, now that we have to fucking control all the water, that doesn’t happen. Except in 1905, when the Colorado overflowed a damn in Yuma, AZ, water flowed into the Salton Sea for 2 yrs straight. Now, a beautiful fresh water lake was formed. In the 1960s, developers marketed the area around the Salton Sea as a desert oasis. They built the infrastructure, streets, lights, marinas, but something happened…. No more fresh water was coming in. Now, as the salinity was rising (because of evaporation, duh), there were massive fish kills and the smell was awful. Nothing can live there now except a few salt loving species, and the salinity is still increasing 3% a year. A few people still live there, but it’s basically just the bones of a dead town. As I leave Salton City, I can’t help but wonder what would this place look like if water still flowed through here. Probably would be prime real estate. Now, there are billboards selling residential lots with power and water for just under $5,000.
The next big city I hit is Coachella. Shit, I forgot that stupid concert was this weekend. What are the odds of that? While there was some heavy traffic on the roads, I don’t actually have to drive through the town. Thank god. Joshua Tree NP is the next big stop. Being a well known park, I expect a large visitor center like I saw at Organ Pipe Cactus, or maybe even like El Malpaiz. But this one was very modest. One room, a few things for sale, a bathroom, that’s it. Maybe it’s just this location? I see there is another visitor center on the north end…
I find my campsite, and see that there are lots of trails starting right from camp. I decide to go see the palm tree oasis, a simple 9 mile round trip. It was as I would describe as “meh.” Maybe I see too many palm trees? I don’t know. The best part was seeing my first rattlesnake!!! I didn’t get a pic as he scurried into a bush, but oh man I was pumped. Still am! Hoping to see more cool shit tomorrow!
