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Category: National Parks and Monuments

Winter travel wrap up: a love affair with the land

If somebody would pay me to travel and explore I’d just keep on going  because no matter what natural area visited I enjoy a love affair with the land.

Since mid-January the wind blew me to numerous fascinating places in the Southwest.  The truck and camper survived the 2200 mile journey.  I worked on improving the making of photographs.  And I can add at least a couple serious new love affairs with the land from this winter’s journeys including the lush Sonoran Desert, the dramatic Eastern Sierras, and the pastoral Owens Valley.  Plus they all deserve return visits for further explorations.

Sunset from KOFA National Wildlife Refuge camp ArizonaKofa National Wildlife Refuge Arizona

Making a plan versus not making a plan

I didn’t plan to fall in love, but I love making a plan.  Research and reading about places I want to experience, making a list longer than life even though I accept not seeing them all is really part of the fun.  Yet this winter I went from one place to another as the feeling struck, or someone made a suggestion like being set up on a blind date.  This type of courtship took me a while to adjust to, yet over time, and I mean weeks, won me over.  I felt so relaxed and at ease even with the turmoil of our current political state which I kept up with to a point before high blood pressure.  Back to nature for the calm and centering needed.  Where I feel love the most.

Sunset rays Pozo Redondo Mountains Darby Well Road BLM Ajo ArizonaDarby Well Road Sonoran Desert near Ajo Arizona

I did have a plan to visit with friends and attend Blogger-Fest in Quartzsite in January and that instigated a visit to nearby the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.  Then because a high school friend was wintering in Mesa I spent a few days way too close to the city of Phoenix but at least we got out for a hike on Silly Mountain along with many good laughs.  From there an invitation to visit a friend working in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument had me headed south towards the border.  I so fell in love with this Sonoran Desert landscape that I spent most of February there.  Then I heard some friends planning an early March visit to Valley of Fire in Nevada and I figured why not as I’d only been there once before.  The winds of chance next blew me to Death Valley National Park, a place I can never visit too often.  But with a weekend coming and map in hand I remembered reading several blog posts about the Alabama Hills, a place I’d never been.  In fact it had been 40+ years since I’d traveled US395 and the Owens Valley.  And dang if I wasn’t hooked again.  Love at first sight with the Eastern Sierras and before I knew it another two weeks had passed by.  As the end of March approached I began to feel a draw back home to Arizona yet made a couple more stops along the way.

Ajo Mountain Drive Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument ArizonaOrgan Pipe Cactus National Monument Arizona

Camper comforts and room for improvement

By far the best investment for the camper was a new 100W solar panel that solved my electric needs which is mostly just lights and the fridge ignition.  I use an inverter plugged into the truck for charging the phone and running the laptop.  I have thought about getting a small generator but they are noisy and not particularly cheap.  Sort of like buying an overpriced diamond to get engaged instead of saving the money for experiences.

Crested organ pipe cactus Darby Well Road BLM Ajo ArizonaI don’t use the fresh water system in this old beast, especially after the first winter when water froze and broke the kitchen faucet.  My bad.  But I have concerns about the rest of the plumbing and am not a plumber.  Just one of the many things that need to be looked at and repaired.  Water in jugs works just fine and a dishpan in the sink saves space in the gray water tank.  The occasional plant that gets watered is happy and so am I.  I am careful not to put food scraps down the sink or outside for critters.  I am picky about drinking water, either buying by the gallons or running through the Britta.  But with conservation I can get by on one gallon a day plus at least that much to drink.

Luckily I have a handy neighbor who rebuilt the two “wings” of rotten wood that overhang the truck bumper on each side by about two feet.  Had to be done in order to remount the protective plastic that half fell off somewhere between Fossil Falls and Barstow on the way to Mojave Trails.  Once the camper comes off the truck he’s going to reinforce a few other areas of old wood.

I’d like to replace the foam on the dinette cushions that are flattened and old.  It’s really the only place to sit inside.  And I need to finish the curtains so I can be rid of those awful metal blinds.

creek sunset crepuscular rays High Sierras Independence campground Independence CaliforniaEastern Sierras Independence California

Experimenting with photography

I definitely have a love affair with photography and am constantly reading and learning how to improve the relationship with my camera.  I honestly tried to carry the tripod around more and use it but it’s a bit heavy to use as a walking stick on longer hikes.  I’ve been using manual (M) for a long time and tried moving back and forth with aperture (A) and shutter (S) priority.  Had fun with sun bursts.  I took more time composing a shot and observing edges to avoid a silly tree branch or such.  Looked at different perspectives and even got down on the ground once in a while. Ugh, not my best position.  Really tried not to overdue the post-processing like I did when first introduced to Lightroom.  Now that I’ve opened a new photography website I actually look at my photos on the screen with a more discriminant eye.  Out of 10s of 1000s of photos only a few make the cut.  All this is sort of like looking at old love affairs and learning from mistakes.

Last light Amargosa Range Badwater Basin Death Valley National Park CaliforniaDeath Valley National Park California

Reflections

The getting there, being there, rinse wash repeat, I love it.  The driving part, I’m getting a little tired of that.  I just don’t ever feel like putting down many miles in a day.  Having said that…

I’ve been traveling alone so long it’s now difficult to relax enough to travel with anyone.  Call it independence, stubborn, unable to make compromises, or maybe all of these.  It’s also a chance to learn about myself and spend time living in the now.  I can barely describe how I feel when traveling solo, in my element, no matter the surrounding natural environment.  I love them all for what they are.  I love them NOW because I’m there.  Yet I’m friendly so have no problem meeting and chatting with people wherever I am.  I’m an ambivert, finding balance with my extrovert and introvert characteristics.

High Sierras Alabama Hills BLM Lone Pine CaliforniaEastern Sierras & Alabama Hills California

I love being able to share the moments on social media.  I’ve seen cell towers everywhere I’ve gone.  They are not obnoxious, intrusive or ugly.  They are just there like we used to have electrical and telephone lines.  I got a signal almost everywhere except the Alabama Hills.  Sure wish I could say that for the North Rim Grand Canyon.

morning light temples San Fransisco peaks North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaNorth Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

What’s next

Yet another landscape I love, and sleep with, calls me to return.  Yup the North Rim Grand Canyon, the 10th summer I call this place home.  So it’s time to take the camper off the truck for some repairs and to haul the 5th-wheel back to the canyon.  I report for work May 1 but the North Rim doesn’t open to the public until May 15.  And this year begins with limited services due to a major waterline break.

Maybe next winter I’ll put the 5th-wheel in storage and live in the camper while traveling.  I’d love to take a fall journey to the Pacific Northwest where I’ve been trying to return for several years.  Yet I’m sure whatever journey I make there will be a love affair with the land.

 

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Arizona, California, National Parks and Monuments, Places I've been, United States , , , , , , , , , 25 Comments

Lava and flowers at Mojave Trails National Monument Amboy Crater

March 28-29, 2017

sunflowers Amboy Crater Mojave Trails National Monument BLM CaliforniaThe Southwest spring wind blew me from one lava flow at Fossil Falls to another at Amboy Crater in Mojave Trails National Monument.  Although I’d driven in the area before this was my first actual visit to one of our newest national monuments thanks to President Obama.  But there was no way I had time to visit the entire 2,500 square miles so I chose the easy to access Amboy Crater and hoped for flowers.

Started with a nice tail wind south on US395 but then the darn road turned eastward and the camper really caught it on the side.  Carpets of pepper-grass blanketing the ground between scrub reminded me of the 70s when I decorated my bedroom in harvest gold and avocado green.  BLM signs for places called Spangler Hills and Trona Pinnnacles beckoned for future explorations.

Towns—if you can call the crumbling remains of buildings that time forgot—barely slowed down for.  Red Canyon, Johannesburg, and Randsburg made me wonder if I’d switched countries to South Africa.  At one time mining occurred in these parts and this was a major route.  Now it is littered with living ghost towns and only a few hold outs.

yellow flowers radar US395 South Boron CaliforniaAs I drove along a huge golf ball-shape stood out on a hillside and I whizzed past a stone entrance sign covered with wood.  Strange things occur in the remote desert so I did some homework later.  Not far from Kramer Junction (US395 & SR58) the ball-shape turns out to be a radar antennae operated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) but originally built by the US Military as part of an air defense network that provided detection and early warning of non-friendly (enemy) aircraft.  The original Boron Air Force Station was converted to the Boron Federal Prison in 1978 as a minimum security prison meant for white collar non-violent offenders.  Closed in 2000, the facility sits abandoned and falling apart with the assistance of vandals.

Stopped in Barstow for supplies and when coming out of the store noticed something hanging down from under the back end of the camper.  Thank goodness it wasn’t a holding tank but a protective plastic cover with about half the 100 screws in it pulled out.  Now what did I bump?  Crawled underneath to assess the situation and decided to bungee it up rather than take it off and not have a place to put it.  I’m talking a slightly flexible, 4×8, molded chunk of plastic.  All I could do to hold it up with my head while stretching the bungees.  No photos.

Route 66 parallel to I40 East CaliforniaFinally headed east on I40 and looked longingly at the Mother Road, Route 66, running parallel to the go-fast freeway.  I like to lollygag along the old “blue line” highways and saw several tempting exits yet continued to Ludlow before cruising the crumbling, deteriorating, and mega-patched pavement from the past called the National Trails Highway.

I could have pulled off on a dirt two-track anywhere on the BLM but I really didn’t want to do a whole lot of bouncing with this bungee thing going on.

sunset Amboy Crater Mojave Trails National Monument BLM CaliforniaAnd finally, late afternoon, I drove to the end of the newly paved .5 mile road at Amboy Crater then turned back half way to an empty paved lot for the night.  There were a couple RVs in the end lot and I was joined by two others.  Sore and tired I watched the sunset.

sunset Mojave Trails National Monument BLM CaliforniaExcept for the incessant wind and many trains, it was a quiet night.  Fridge wouldn’t light and I don’t get that because it was downside from the wind and plenty of propane.  The stove worked.  This has happened a few times before.  I ate the last of the ice cream.  A sure sign to head home soon.

Amboy Crater trail Mojave Trails National Monument BLM CaliforniaWith barely any wind the fridge lit in the morning and I went back down to the trail head parking.  A 1.5 mile trail leads to the west and open side of the cinder cone, then an 80 foot incline and additional .5 mile rim walk.  Which I guess is not really at the top rim of the 250-foot high cinder cone.

Desert iguana & chuckwalla Amboy Crater trail Mojave Trails National Monument BLM CaliforniaBeing I still had a long drive ahead of me to get back to Arizona that day I just wandered around the lava a bit looking at the pretty flowers and being startled by the skittering lizards.  These two measured over a foot long.

Sunflowers Amboy Crater Mojave Trails National Monument BLM CaliforniaAmboy Crater stands alone in the desert and is a dominant landmark seen for many miles.  A rather young cinder cone last erupting about 10,000 years ago.  It breached on one side and lava flowed for 24 square miles.

wildflower collage Amboy Crater trail National Monument BLM CaliforniaDue to the cone’s youth and lack of mature soil, plant life is limited.  Yet I still found flowers in some pockets of sand captured within the lava flow.

Mojave Trails National Monument at 1.6 million acres is the second largest desert preserve in the world—Namib-Naukluft National Park in Namibia is larger—and creates wildlife corridor link with Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave National Preserve and several wilderness areas.  The monument’s diverse features include lava fields and cinder cones at Amboy Crater, primitive 4×4 camping at a desert wetland at the Bonanza Spring Watchable Wildlife Area, rock-hounding at the Chambless and Trilobite Mountain sites, and sand dunes in the Cadiz Wilderness.

Route 66 on road Amboy CaliforniaPlus there’s a long stretch of Route 66 which I’d hoped to drive more of to the east when I left but knew the road was closed (and will be until mid-September) just beyond Amboy at the Kelbaker Road north back to I40.  So there I was standing on the side of the road along Route 66 just before the road block and two different vehicles stopped to ask me directions like I would know.  One how to get to Cadiz the other to I40.  And I did know, because I read a map and do my homework.

Colorado River I40 CA-AZ borderYet even planning isn’t often enough.  Google told me four hours to home.  What does Google know about my slow rate of pace.  Even though once I crossed the Colorado River into Arizona it felt like home I had miles yet to go.

wildflowers US93 South ArizonaUS93 South

Dazzos Chicago Style Eatery US93 Wikeup ArizonaFour hours turned into seven because of all the stops I just had to make for flowers, fuel, and to pick up dinner for Berta and I at Dazzos Chicago Style Eatery in Wikeup, Arizona US93 for their world famous Italian Beef sandwich. (BTW there’s an RV Park there too.)

wildflowers SR89 North ArizonaSR89 North Yarnell Hill

Then because it was late I parked in Berta’s drive for the night after we enjoyed a couple hours of catching up.  Much easier than getting home late and wanting to unpack at least the necessities.  So I returned home four weeks and a day after leaving for Valley of Fire.  Been living with wind for almost two weeks and it seems to have followed me home.  Hello Spring in the Southwest.    Ah….chooooooo!

Know before you Go

Carry a paper map in case you have no signal.  Check the monument’s website and road conditions/closures.  Be aware of weather conditions as summer temperatures exceed 110°F and winter nights drop to 36°F.  Heavy rain during summer monsoon can make roads impassible.  Carry, and drink plenty of water.  Fuel up your vehicle because it’s a long ways between services.  Watch for snakes, spiders, and scorpions.  This is a leave no trace landscape so pack it in, pack it out.  Because the US Armed Forces has and still does use the desert for bombing ranges there may be unexploded devices.  Need I say leave them alone.  People have also reported feeling the ground vibrate during “war games” within the nearby military base.

Mojave Trails National Monument map g-2

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California, Mojave Trails National Monument, National Parks and Monuments, Places I've been, United States , , , , , 14 Comments

How to celebrate National Park Week

Make a plan for National Park Week while saving money, getting healthier, and celebrating Earth Day.  What more could you ask for?  Once again the National Park Service is partnering with the National Park Foundation to present National Park Week from April 15 to 23, 2017.  You have 417 national park sites to choose from and each one has a story to tell.    From diverse wildlife and iconic landscapes, to vibrant culture and rich history, our National Park System has something for everyone.

inversion Brahma & Zoroaster temples North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaAs a Park Ranger I frequently help people plan their visit to the Grand Canyon.  That’s part of my job, but, I highly recommend doing some research before ever leaving home.

National Park Service park sites mapPlan your visit

Every good journey starts with a plan whether it’s life or travel.  Time to pull out a map and figure out how long you want to drive. Either near or far there is most likely a national park site to visit for free.  The National Park Service offers an interactive map to help you discover park sites across the country.  Visit park’s websites to discover what to do and see.  Need a place to overnight?  Lodging in national parks often require reservations months in advance.  But sometimes people cancel so be persistent.  Keep an eye on the weather which can change suddenly in nature and pack accordingly.  High elevation areas may still be closed for the winter.  Arrive early in the day because you won’t be alone with others wanting a similar experience.  Know before you go.

Gaelyn Senior pass water fill station Point Supreme Cedar Breaks National Monument UtahI bought my Senior Pass at Cedar Breaks National Monument Utah

Save money

The 118 National Park Service sites that normally charge entrance fees will offer free admission on the weekends of April 15, 16, 22, and 23 during National Park Week.  2017 also has 10 fee free days to visit your national parks.  And if you’re over 62, buy your Senior Park Pass before the price goes up Oct 1st from $10 to $80 for the rest of your life.  If you’re younger than that think about buying the annual America the Beautiful Park Pass for $80.  Entrance visiting three to four large parks in one year can cost more than that.  There is also a free Access pass for disabilities, a free annual US military pass, and a free annual 4th grade pass through the Every Kid in a Park program.

visitor center North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaStop at the Visitor Center

Have questions even after your research?  Park Rangers in the visitor center are happy to help.  Let them know how long you’ll visit and what activities you seek.  The visitor center displays often answer questions too.  Plus they provide valuable information to make your visit more pleasant and informed.  Check the posted Ranger programs.  Maybe take a phone photo for later reference.  Pick up a Junior Ranger book.

Junior Ranger badges in RVBecome a Junior Ranger

National Junior Ranger Day on April 15th kicks off National Park Week.  Become a Junior Ranger and learn while you earn a park-specific Junior Ranger badge.  Ask about a “Not so Junior Ranger” program that some parks offer.  Besides, you’re never too old to learn.  I currently have 30 Junior Ranger badges that I earned completing all the activities in the books and I always learn something while having fun.  As a summer Park Ranger I see kids and adults learning and earning badges all the time.

trailsGet healthy

Taking a walk in nature is known to be good for both your physical and mental health.  Supported by increasing scientific evidence, many medical doctors now write prescriptions for the outdoors as an antidote for ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression.  On April 23, the second annual Park Prescription Day, will be filled with activities that showcase the physical, mental, and psychological health benefits of time in nature.  Ask about “healthy hiker”.  I earned a pin for hiking at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

Cartoon Ranger telling animals not to feed the peopleEarth Day

Saturday April 22, Earth Day aims to inspire awareness of and appreciation for earth’s environment.  Since 1970 people in the US have celebrated Earth Day and 20 years later the idea went global.  Many national park sites offer special activities.  I prefer to think of every day as Earth Day.  If you can’t get to a national park site April 22nd and value science, take a public stand and find a March for Science event.

activitiesTry something or someplace new

Sometimes it’s the places in our own backyard we visit last.  Vacations often take us to far way places.  So maybe it’s time to explore that nearby national park site or return and see it with different eyes.  Hike a new trail.  Challenge yourself but be prepared and know your limits.  Attend a Ranger program or guided walk to learn more about the site.  Learn a new skill like birding, tracking, or identifying plants.  Sit somewhere quietly and absorb the view or gaze at the night sky.  Slow down and stop to smell the roses flowers along the way.

Three Gossips Arches National Park UtahThree Gossips Arches National Park Utah

Connect to a place

Because so many people are used to being connected by phone and internet don’t be surprised if a remote park location has no to little signal.  It’s OK.  You’ll survive.  Connect to the place instead and share later.

Dear park ranGer note from secret campers at campground amphitheater North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaSupport parks

Budget cuts over many years have affected hiring and maintenance backlog for the National Park Service.  Let Congress know how you feel about that.  (Note links on sidebar to find your representatives.)  There are other options to support America’s legacy.  While shopping at park sites look for partners like natural history associations who put profits back into the parks.  Donate your time and become a Volunteer in Parks (VIP) by sharing your knowledge and skills.  Donate to the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks.

Last light Amargosa Range Badwater Basin Death Valley National Park CaliforniaBadwater Basin Death Valley National Park California

You have to know how much I love visiting, exploring, and sharing our public lands.  I believe many of you join me in appreciation of “America’s Best Idea” creating national park sites to protect and preserve our significant history and landscapes.  If you support this idea, please get out there and visit these special places.  No excuses, it’s free admission on the weekends of April 15, 16, 22, and 23 during National Park Week.

Which park site will you be visiting over National Park Week?

I am a seasonal federal employee yet this article is not representing the National Park Service and is my own opinion.

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National Park Service, National Parks and Monuments , , , , , 15 Comments

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