Dec 20
And then there were two; finally we are reunited with our deal pals Brian and Leigh.
Today we arrived to the southern California dessert; our plan being to spend a few weeks with follow nomads over the Christmas and New Year holidays. It’s hard to know for certain what the coming weeks will bring, but the rumor is upwards of 30-35 RV’s will be arriving. It should be a lot of fun.
Jan 2
Sadly, today is our last day in the desert – tomorrow we are departing this lovely place we’ve come to like a lot. We have an appointment early Saturday morning in Los Banos, some 430 miles to the north. In order to break the drive into more manageable chunks, we’ve decided to begin the trek in the morning. My guess is we’ll drive at least half way, perhaps a bit more … there is no rush, so the day will end whenever it feels right doing so.
In an attempt to squeeze one last gasp of fun into our time here today, we wandered into the eastern portion of the park to checkout the Vista del Malpais area.
Access road
The road in from the highway follows the desert floor along a series of short washouts before approaching serious steep descents into a wash section. We drove into the modest wash sections, but decided not to push our luck with the more serious off-road sections. Unlike the recreational off-roading commonplace to the area, we need the truck to pull our home … getting stuck or risking damage is simply out of the question.
End of the drive, we hike from here.
No matter, we hiked into the canyon floor with Lilly.
Lilly loves to climb
As you make your way into the more pronounced sections of the wash floor, the sand is quite thick and the walls become more and more vertical around you. From what I could tell, it would be quite accessible hiking in the bad-land off-shoots anywhere along the way.
Washouts eroding the valley walls
Desert flora eventually succumb to erosion as well
The place is very cool and I definitely would have loved to have a more capable 4×4 vehicle to use for deeper exploration. Maybe some day.
The view from above the washouts
Kelly and me enjoying the views and warm weather
Once we returned back to camp, a few departure preparations were completed before Kelly and I had dinner with Tim & Amanda one final time.
Making time for my weekly haircut
We drank some champagne (which was originally intended for New Year’s Eve but never consumed) and a potluck style array of eats. It’s been great spending some extended time with and getting to know more about the Watsons – they are both good eggs for sure. A super casual evening in the company of really nice people.
Jan 2
Keen to catch at least one full sunrise during our trip, Kelly and I awoke early and emerged from the Airstream in time to watch the sun rise in the Eastern sky. Like the many sunsets we have watched these past 10 days, the sunrise was equally wonderful to observe.
I snapped a few pictures, all of them taken within a few steps of Mabel – our roaming home.
Our Airstream
Class-A in the distance
Reflection off front bedroom window
Foothills in the distance
Morning moon
Reflection off the dinette window
Large group of Class-A rigs
The Watson’s rig – love the polish in the morning light
Class-A rig catching the first shimmers of direct morning light
Our neighbors super polish rig
Jan 1
California’s largest desert park
Yesterday Kelly and I arrived to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, our destination for a few days until we continue the crawl back towards Half Moon Bay. We continue to dry camp, this time alongside fellow Airstreamers – Tim, Amanda, and Phineas … aka WatsonsWander. They arrived a few days before us and scouted out a very nice spot – spacious, with only a few other RV’s scattered across a vast landscape. The site is California’s larger desert park – exceeding 900 acres. Generous with the rules, there is no time limit to stay, and at free, the price is definitely right.
Basically, it is perfect.
Our mobile homes, just down the path
A closer look at the picture above
Tim and Amanda joined Kelly and me last night for dinner and great conversation. This afternoon, the four us (plus Lilly & Phineas) ventured to the Calcite Mine Trail, a remote area about 10 east of our campsite. The trail is pretty cool – a diverse network of slot canyons easily traveled, less some spots requiring a bit of bouldering/scrambling. There is also an abandoned access road which, as evidenced by the number of Jeeps we saw, is now a popular 4×4 off-roading destination.
Approaching the trails – Lilly and Phineas leading the way
This area is prone to flash flooding, our trail today included. Over what I can only assume to be hundreds, if not thousands of years, the rushing water flows have carved an Alice in Wonderland like maze through these slots, which are significantly taller than they are wide. I’ve never seen anything like them before.
Slots
More slots
After a while we ascended the canyon in search of the mining remnants, but never did find the site. However, the views from high above were fabulous.
The climb starts with some scrambling
Up, up, up
Cactus perched near the top
Eventually, we completed the loop satisfied with the hike, but a bit bummed we missed out on the mining remains.
On the way home, Lilly enjoyed a post-hike treat in the car.
Enjoying a post hike treat
Wandering With Purpose 