I found myself feeling the need to do some major traveling around Southern California. I was feeling a bit blue lately, and the mood didn't seem to shake off easily. I knew that some long drives would relax me, blow off some of the stress and put life back into perspective.
I began my travels by visiting Death Valley. I'd wanted to see the place for some time, but it was a little too far out of the way. The trip to Death Valley, one way, was over 300 miles, and the route I took, to the Nevada site of the valley, then back to the California site, to the Trona Pinnacles, over to Tehachapi, down to Red Rock and home, was over 700 miles all told. It was a long trip indeed, and most of it was out of communication range of anyone.
Death Valley was, well, dead. Did I mention the heat? The temperature was 112 degrees. Wow, that's hot. Not much to say about the place - it's just barren wasteland. The flowers which bloomed earlier in the year were totally gone. Pictures
On the way back, I attempted to visit a place called Trona Pinnacles. These are gypsum spires, over 500 of them, which are supposed to be pretty spectacular. Unfortunately, the road was dirt and required a 4-wheel drive. So I didn't make it.
Chris, a friend at work, suggested stopping at the Tehachapi loop, a part of the rail system where the track actually loops around itself. It's possible for a long train to have the back part over the front part. I stopped, looked and was appropriately awed. Pictures
As I was heading home, I saw some beautiful rock formations. I stopped and spent am hour or so exploring the Red Rock Canyon State Park. Pictures
The next day, I decided to take a little different trip. I drove down and through Temecula, to the Anza-Borrego desert, to the Salton Sea, up to Joshua Tree and home.
Anza-Borrego is beautiful at all times, and this was no exception. It's a different kind of desert than Joshua Tree, but has it's own charm. I like the mountains, the strange rock formations and the plants. Pictures
This picture shows a wasp in, believe it or not, pretty close to actual size. I ran into this gal and some of her friends in a tree, along with lots of hornets, bees, snakes and lizards. This gal is a Tarantula wasp. She was two inches long.
I've learned to avoid the freeways when I travel, except when I want to cover some distance fast. This means I spend a lot of time on older roads, state highways and such. This time I took Box Canyon Road from the Salton Sea to Joshua Tree. It was worth the trip. Box Canyon is gorgeous and definitely a nicer drive than the freeway past the Trump Casino. Pictures
Finally, I wound up in Joshua Tree. Nothing all that special, except that Joshua Tree is one of my favorite places. Pictures
The next day, I changed the pace a bit and drove down the coast to Torrey Pines. It was as beautiful as Vera indicated. Absolutely stunning place. Pictures
I followed that up with a trip to the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum. This is the actual USS Midway, one of the most famous aircraft carriers in the fleet. It's worth seeing, if you like that kind of thing. Pictures
On Saturday, I was going to visit The Valley Of Fire in Nevada, and return home via the Hoover Dam. Unfortunately, that is a 12 hour trip, and a crash of the computer at work required my staying up too late into the night. Sigh. I guess I'll go to those places next month...
Instead, I decided to have a calm day and visited the butterfly exhibit in Los Angeles. Pictures
Followed by a long tour through the Natural History Museum. Pictures
And finally, on Sunday, I drove through the desert again. Just a drive this time.
By the time I got home on Sunday, I was feeling much better. The sadness has passed for now.
Sites to check out:
Unless otherwise noted, all photos and text is Copyright © Richard G Lowe, Jr.