Monday Jan 28 Amboy Crater, Lake Havasu

January 28

We take a side road this morning called the Old National Trail, to visit Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark.  This is the old Route 66 through the desert.

We walk some of the trail to the crater - desert and a few wild flowers, lots of volcanic rock.

The crater is formed of ash and cinders and is about 250 feet high.  This is one of the youngest volcanic fields in the US. They estimate that volcanic activity in this part of the world began about 6,000 years ago and ended just about 500 years ago.

Again we see a lot of trains paralleling the highway.

About 11:15 we cross back into Arizona and head south on 5S to Lake Havasu City.  This is a young city which formed after the damming of the Colorado River in the 1930's.  The lake water is then pumped into two major aqueducts - the Central Arizona Project Aqueduct and the Colorado River Aqueduct which feed the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts. Like most water in this area, it attracts people as well as animal and bird life.

We stop at the local library for a few hours, where Greg catches up on what's been happening in the world while Beth does some computer and blog work.  Nice folks - good wifi!  Then we decided to do some laundry at the Modern Laundromat, which was pretty painless!

With lots of fishing and boating activity, much of the Lake is pretty well edged with homes and resorts. The former home of the Mohave Indians, the lake is named with their word for "blue".

 In 1967, the London Bridge which spanned the Thames since the 1830's was purchased, disassembled, and rebuilt in Lake Havasu. It has become quite a tourist attraction (which was the idea) with lots of shops and restaurants, many with a British theme.

 We parked and walked by it for a bit before continuing south.

Stopped at Cattail Cove State Park near the southern end of the lake but their campground was full.  They wanted $20 to park in an overflow parking lot, so we decided to find a spot on BLM (Bureau of Land Management)property instead, just off highway 95. The ranger at the park tells us where to look. There is a lot of BLM property in this part of the world and we stopped at a nice flat area where we saw a few other campers. Since this land technically belongs to the American people,  much of it is available for anyone to use.  Occasionally there  are low cost established campgrounds, but much is just wide open spaces.

Amazing sunset highlights the mountains in vibrant orange. Pretty purple flowers and some pretty cool rocks for our collection too.  Peaceful night.

Jan 27 Green Hills, Almonds, Vineyards, Oil

January 27 California towards Tucson

We tried again to get to the Channel Islands National Park, but this time they just didn't have any boats running till Wednesday, so I guess we will have to do that another time. Their schedule is "irregular" in winter.   So, instead of heading toward the coast again, we opt to go south and then east and see some new roads and scenery.

We head south on I25, surrounded by green-carpeted rolling hills.  Don't know if it always looks like this or the greenery is due to recent rains, but it is beautiful under a blue sky with feathery white clouds.

Lots of vineyards as we continue east.

On 46E we begin to see miles and miles of almond and pistachio orchards, citrus trees, and occasional sheep and cattle ranches.

Lots of the big wind turbines in some areas.  And we came across this hillside filled with small wind turbine, about 1/4 the size of most.  

 At Blackwell Corner in the Lost Hills area, we stop at a store that sells local foods including all kinds of almonds and other nuts, jams, jellies, fudge and other goodies.   They have many pictures of James Dean and bill themselves as "James Dean's last stop", since they are on the highway where his auto accident ended his short life.  The almonds are sooo good - what a difference from the grocery store variety!

 A few displays and information about the Dust Bowl travelers who came this way.

After the nut trees, we reach a more arid area and begin to see acres of oil jack pumps and get a whiff of petroleum.

We stop at a grocery store  called Vallarta, in a small town named Arvin.  The first thing that greets us is fresh tamales and lots of Mexican/hispanic foods.  Quite a few things I wouldn't have a clue how to cook!  We manage to find some basics, though, and continue on.  After Arvin, we see more mountains and cattle ranges.

We decide to stop at the Barstow Harvey House in Barstow.  Harvey Houses were popular hotels/restaurants that were built along the Sante Fe railroads throughout the west.  We enjoyed ones in Winslow, AZ and in Sante Fe, NM.  This one however, called the Casa Del Deserto, is undergoing a huge renovation, so is not in operation.  Looks like it will be lovely when completed.

 Lots of old trains on the grounds.

We stop at the Barstow Walmart with several RV'ers and truckers.  They had a nice separate lot for us.  Lovely sunset over Walmart :).

Jan 26, 2019 Pinnacles National Park

January 26

Temperature this morning at 8:00 was 29 degrees - glad we had the heater last night!

The turkeys and deer made themselves at home in the campground this morning.  It is mating season and the toms were showing off quite a bit!

 There are a lot of quail along the streambed behind our campsite too.  Lots of ground squirrels too - they look just like our squirrels, but live under ground.

We decided to hike this morning on the Balconies Trail which is about 5 miles long.

 Unfortunately the cave which is a popular destination is closed due to cave-ins with all the recent rains, but it was still a nice walk through interesting rocks, streams, trees and other fauna.

 Part of the trail was in shade and quite moist, with ferns and various moss and fungi.

 Here are some of the rock formations that have given the park its name.

Someone added the eyes to this huge rock - reminded us of the Grinch.

  One tree dropped these "fruits" about the size of small apples, many of which were beginning to sprout.

 No rangers, so no one to ask about them. (I find out later that they are horse chestnuts.)

  We had to cross a lot of small streams, but fortunately it is rocky and we usually found a way across.  Greg got me trekking poles for Christmas and this one came in handy multiple times!

 These huge pinecones were about the size of a pineapple.

 We only saw one other person the whole hike.  They expect the park to officially open again on Monday - glad we could take advantage of "unofficially" being here!

Back at the campsite we relax, write and read.  This big hawk perched by us, which sent all the small birds away.

 We watched for condors, but no luck today.

We drove a total of 10 miles today - a nice change!

January 25, Point Lobos, Monterey, Pinnacles CA

January 25, 2019

43 degrees at 7 AM this morning.   Greg went for an early walk and saw only 1 other person.
Maybe, like Beth, others were reluctant to leave their warm beds.

We continue north on Route 1, along the coast till we see a sign for Point Lobos State Reserve, a gorgeous area!   We stop first at Cypress Grove Trail and walk to the grove and nice views of the rocky coast.

We then drive further into the park and walk the Bird Island Trail.  Beautiful views, fresh air and sunshine...some seals and various birds.

Onward to Monterey Bay and the Aquarium which opened there in 1984.  We arrive just in time for the penguin feeding.

These are African penguins which are endangered. These birds have more feathers than any other bird - about 70 per square inch!  We watch the feeding which is partially on land and partially in the water.  They are speedy swimmers!

Next is the Open Sea Feeding at a huge tank that replicates the open seas.

 The  13" thick window holds back a huge tank which could hold 40 school buses inside. Sharks, tuna, grouper and other fish swim.  A large container of small fish is released into the Open Sea Tank.  They swim, scuttle and swirl in large schools but eventually will all be eaten.

Next we watch a film called Mysteries of the Deep.  There is a huge canyon - deeper than the Grand Canyon - just off the coast of Monterey and much of their research work takes place there.  According to the film, we know more about the surface of the moon than the deep sea. MBARI is a research company which was founded by the founder of the aquarium.

This guy is feeding fish as well.

Lots of gorgeous tanks with jelly fish, sea urchins, and various fish.

At the tank pictured below you could hear a chorus of children's voices commenting on the "Nemo's" - oh, and a Dori too!

This guy was sunning himself near the aquarium grounds.

After the aquarium, we found a Jiffy Lube for a quick oil change.  Nice folks.  Then we opt to head for Pinnacles National Park.   There has been a government shutdown and the status of National Parks is mixed - some open, some partially opened, some closed.  Websites aren't being updated and no one answers the phone number we try, so it it hard to say what we will find....

We are inland now and agriculture is the name of the game here.  Vineyards and other fields everywhere, cattle & sheep too, and all using irrigation.  You can see why water is such a vital commodity here!

Pinnacles has two parts, east and west, each with its own entrance.  We are at the eastern entrance because that is where their campground is located.  When we finally get there, there is a "Park Closed" sign blocking our side of the road!  As we come to a stop and ponder the next step, a car pulls up beside us and a lady asks if we have reservations to camp....we explain that the website was confusing and the person we called for reservations was not sure of the status.  She tells us to follow her into the park and she will "see what she can do."

A few hours earlier we heard that Trump had signed something to get the government working again, so she tells us she will give us a campsite!  There are about a dozen other campers all told.  The campsites are half price ($18) with our pass and they have electrical hookups!  A win-win all around for us!  The campground is run by a 3rd party concessionaire, but we see no park rangers and that part of the visitor's center is closed.

We are at a higher altitude here, so we expect temps near freezing tonight, but with electric we can use our little space heater.

We walk to the Ben Bacon Ranch, an old homestead built in the 1890's.  Lots of turkey in the fields there, as well as several groups of deer.

We are hoping to see a condor here - huge birds with 9' wingspan.

 They were nearly extinct and Pinnacles is one of a few places where they are being released in hopes of re-population.  Lots of turkey vultures, but no condors.  Lots of red-headed woodpeckers, too.  They bury acorns in the bark of huge oak trees.

Our supplies are a bit low, so we have soup and snacks for dinner. But the campground store has some items and we have ice cream bars for a great desert!