On the Road Again

Sunday. It's our move to Joshua Tree for our reserved campsite. The forecast is for temperatures in the fifties for highs and thirties for lows. I sure hope it's sunny!
The last few days...

Hiking the Hell Hole Canyon near Borrego Springs

A different kind of cactus on this hike.

The ochotillo were leafing and blooming. They only do this when they get rain.

Beaver tail cactus were here too.

The mountains to the east of Salton Sea.

A view to the north west. 

This place was a playground for tourists in the 1950's and 60's but now is not used as much since the water has gotten so salty. Runoff from the mountains brings minerals and when the water evaporates the minerals remain. The sea has no outlet.

Camped at Salton Sea Rec Area. The trains go by every hour and aren't far behind the campground.

Today we go back up to Joshua Tree N. P.

Camping by the sea (Salton Sea that is).

We enjoyed the area around Barrego Springs and did quite a bit of hiking in the hills. The views from the trails were awesome with palm groves in the higher canyons and desert views to the horizon. We were constantly on the lookout for Bighorn sheep but the encounter with the ten on Wednesday was the only one we had. The small town was neat too and we did a little exploring there too. We both agreed we could come back here to camp again if we are ever out this way.

Yesterday we packed up camp from Barrego Springs and drove up the mountain to Joshua Tree N.P. We didn't have reservations for two nights, then we have an eight night stay at Black Rock Campground at Joshua Tree starting on Sunday night (already reserved). When we were planning our trip Cottonwood campground was on a first come, first served basis and we thought it wouldn't be a problem getting in early on a Friday. It turns out that starting in 2018 Cottonwood is on a reservation system and it is now all booked up! We asked about alternate campsites and were told the entire park was full and that camping was available on private camps out of the park or on BLM land outside the park. We're now camping at Salton Sea State Recreation area for two nights as an alternative to staying up in the mountain near Joshua Tree National Park. Since the high temperature up in the mountains was only in the forties at four thousand feet and highs near the sea were in the sixties we decided to go back to the lower elevations and camp here at Salton Sea, after all it was only thirty miles back off the mountain! After feeling the forty eight degree temperatures yesterday afternoon we are hoping for a warm up next week when we go back up!

We're enjoying just hanging out here and are doing some cleaning and re-stocking before going back off the grid for eight days.

East of the Mountain

We survived our two cold nights at Mission Trails Regional park with no electricity or heat. It got down to 31 degrees Friday night! 

We're now camping in the desert just east of the mountains, west of the Salton Sea. This is another unique area in California, a couple of hours away from both San Diego and Los Angeles. Needless to say the weekends here are very busy! We came in on Sunday of the Presidents day weekend and the desert was full of campers everywhere. Most were here with dune buggies and quad runners or dirt bikes. This is a playground for off road vehicles.

We are camped at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and are surrounded by mountains. The campground is nice with full hook-ups. All we are missing is Wi-Fi. On Monday we woke up to big winds blowing and we had to gather up everything that we had outside because it was blowing away! Looking across the campground we could see everyone struggling with the wind. Tents were rippling and blowing and people were hunkering down. We decided it would be a good day for a ride and not for hiking.

We took a drive to explore Salton City and the Salton Sea. On the way back to the highway we could see that most of the campers that were here on Sunday were now gone. The wind was starting to blow a lot of sand around and drove most folks out of the desert. When we got to the highway the gas stations were full of RV's and campers and all were gassing up to make the drive home. We drove toward the sea and were seeing houses scattered around on a grid of streets, but no Salton City. We continued to the shore and saw Johnson's Landing and signs for resorts and camping, but there was still no Salton City. We made our way back to the highway and headed for Salton Sea State Recreation Area on the northeast side of the sea. The body of water here is 33 miles long and about fifteen miles wide. It is a relic of the Bay of California and later a flooding of the Colorado River. The water is fifty percent saltier than the ocean and only Tilapia and Pup fish can survive in the salt.

When we got to the recreation area we had lunch then watched a filmstrip about the history of the Sea.

Later we walked the shoreline and enjoyed the odor of dying fish. The beach was littered with dead tilapia and barnacles and the sand is barnacle shells in different stages of de-composure. This all makes for fertile soil and the farmland next to the sea is producing grapes, lettuce, dates and citrus.

We also learned that this is a major migration route for hundreds of thousands of waterfowl and shorebirds on their way north and south in the spring and fall.

Sonny Bono, yes the Sonny Bono of Sonny and Cher fame, the avid skier and congressman from California, spent much time lobbying for the preservation of the Salton Sea and the surrounding wetlands in order to ensure that the area remains viable as a recreation and natural area.

On Tuesday the winds were gone and we hiked up to Palm Canyon in the park. It was a mile and a half up the canyon to an oasis of native palm trees. We were hoping to see some of the big horn sheep in the mountains. The park holds the biggest population of these sheep in California and they are often seen here near the springs. On the way down we took an alternate trail that gave us huge views of the desert and surrounding mountains. Beautiful! Later, a drive into the mountains to a town called Ranchita. Not so much of a town as an area with ranches and homes spread across a high mountain flat. When we were at the top of the mountain here we saw areas of snow in the shade from a storm the night before. The temperature at the top was only 43 and the snow did not melt in the areas that were shaded.

Looking around at the scenery here reminds one of the old westerns and it may well have been the backdrop for a lot of cowboy movies.

Today while hiking in Coyote canyon we found the bighorn sheep. We came upon seven rams at the head of a wash and there were three ewes up on the hi;ll. Magnificent!!

The crusty shoreline of the Salton Sea

Palms at the head of Palm Canyon at Anzi-Borrego

We finally found the bighorn sheep

The seven rams were amazing

Three ewes watched from the ridge

Our week in Chulla Vista is coming to an end

We are moving again. Today we move into the foothills east of San Diego to Mission Trails Regional Park. We will still be near San Diego, but at a slightly higher elevation.
We've seen a lot of the sights around town and it's been a great week. Lots of sunshine, but just a bit cooler than the weather we were getting in the desert. Our days here have been topping out at about 70 degrees.
On Tuesday we took a drive into the foothills where our next camp will be. We wanted to be sure we could get the camper up the mountain and into the camp we have reserved. Then Wednesday we explored the coast north of downtown.
Point Loma is the north side of San Diego bay. This is where the first Europeans set foot into what is now the United States. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was a Spanish explorer who led three ships north from Mexico to explore the North coast. He came ashore here and proclaimed the land under the ownership of the King of Spain. (Pretty gutsy since there were already thousands of native people living in the bay area!). There is a National Monument here at the point with spectacular views of  San Diego and the entire bay area. You can see Tijuana, Mexico in the hills to the south.
On the north end of the point is a lighthouse and to the west is the great Pacific Ocean. We explored the top of the point, then drove down to the coast and scrambled around on the cliffs to the water.
Later we drove to La Jolla a resort area on the coast a little further north. There we saw lots of sea lions on the shore barking and waddling around on the rocks. It was like being at the zoo, but Oh, that smell!!
Today we pack up camp and move on. Hope all is well with everyone.

The lighthouse at Point Loma was put into service in 1855.

On the coast of Point Loma

A view down to San Diego Bay

Another view with the Cabrillo Monument at the National Park

They sculpted the statue, but they had no records of what Cabrillo looked like.

The military presence is everywhere here with military being the number one industry around the San Diego area.

The cliffs on the west side of Point Loma

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. There are over one hundred thousand graves along both sides of the road.

A look at La Jolla coastline.

Looking east

Sea gulls and sea lions everywhere.

This guy was a beach bully pushing all the other males around. We were eating lunch at the park and could hear the sea lions barking from a quarter mile away.

It was quite a sight seeing so many sea lions. The smell from the fish they had digested and expelled was overpowering. 

There were at least a hundred of them laying around on the beach and rocks.

Another chapter in our winter journey. Peace to all.

Exploring Downtown San Diego

Yesterday we drove into the downtown area and boarded a "Hop-on-hop-off" shuttle to get a tour of the city. We started by parking on the pier next to where the USS Midway air craft carrier is docked. The tour bus took us to eight different locations and we got off at several to walk around and explore. The downtown San Diego area is not as big or as busy as I would have suspected. We had an easy time walking around and traffic was light. We had lunch in the little Italy section and did some shopping and later went to Old Town which is the original city area from the 1800's away from the bay.

The air craft carrier USS Midway. It was commissioned a week after the end of WWII, but later saw action in Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm. Shd was the largest ship in the world for many years.

A view in downtown San Diego. The city was an interesting mix of old and new buildings and architecture.

The gas light district looking at the old buildings.

And in ther other direction toward the bay at the modern new convention center.

San Diego skyline from the bridge to Coronado Island.

Lots of shops and restaurants in the Little Italy section of town.

We had a small lunch at Fillipe's Pizza Grotto. Wine bottles decorated by customers hang from the ceiling. 

Our "small lunch" would have fed a family of six!!

Old town had a Mexican flair and many of the original buildings were restored by the state.

 

The Spanish built a series of missions up the west coast placing one every thirty miles so that travelers would have a p;lace to stay at the end of each day's journey.

One of the stage coaches at the stable.

Botanical gardens and museums were the theme in the area near the San Diego Zoo.

Back at the waterfront we checked out the old ships that were in port. This is the Star of India which is the oldest operating ship in the US. She sails every November. Originally built in 1863!!

One of two large submarines in port.

This is the Stad Amsterdam. This is not an old ship, she was built in 1996 and launched in 2000!

Chula Vista RV Resort

We've been exploring the park and waterfront here. We are on San Diego Bay in a very nice RV park with a huge marina next door. The waterfront is all public park land and there is a small wildlife refuge next door to the marina that hosts a lot of waterfowl.
Sunday we drove over to Silver Strand which is a barrier island at the outside of the bay. It has Imperial Beach, a small town on the south end, then a state park in the center and Coronado Island on the north end and across from downtown San Diego. Coronado has numerous luxury beachfront hotels including the Coronado Inn which is the largest and most spectacular.
We rode our bikes from the state park to Coronado Island and around the island along the coast. They had a bike path along the water that went in front of all of the hotels and all the way around the Isalnd. We rode through some beautiful neighborhoods with nice houses and some that were really incredible. The real estate prices here must be out of sight! Afterwards it was back to the state park and the beach where we had parked earlier in the morning. We sat on the beach and enjoyed the sun even though the breeze was quite cool.

Chula Vista Marina next to the campground.

Some of the duck we saw at the wildlife refuge. Green wing teal.

Cinnamon Teal

A beautiful pintail duck in the preserve.

Tight quarters in the campground, but quiet and nice facilities.