Travels of Bob & Sharon: March 2013

We decided to take a look at Grand Canyon West after leaving Sedona. This is where you can walk on a glass floored arc called Skywalk, 4000 feet above the canyon floor. We figured that the experience would give us a bit of a build up to the main event, the great heights of between 5000 and 6000 feet that the south canyon at the end of March will present to us. We'll trek down into the canyon on narrow ledges (we hear) for six hours on the backs of mules and I somehow feel that neither my CN Tower Edgewalk last spring, nor standing on a glass floor 4000 feet above the canyon floor can prepare me for what we'll experience then . The 21 mile road to Grand Canyon West from the highway was "interesting" (my favourite substitute word for "unfathomable"). We had approximately 10 miles of lovely pavement, then about 8 of dusty and rough road that we still haven't figured out, then the last few miles were on perfect pavement into the park.

Grand Canyon West is owned and operated by the Hualapai Tribe and is independent of the National Park. The Hualapai live 55 miles from Grand Canyon West in Peach Springs. Team Members commute 2 hours each way every day, over unpaved roads to provide a cultural experience for thousands of visitors. It is an incredibly well-run operation that covers everything. Security is tight entering the main gate (checks for alcohol and/or firearms) and everyone must park in a large parking lot, then be taken by bus to each of the three viewpoints, a hop-on-hop-off arrangement. There are helicopter trips over the canyon and down to the Colorado River for boat rides, lots of great food to eat and the staff is not just friendly, but also considerate and interested in their visitors, who they are and where they come from...there is tremendous pride here. Grand Canyon West is not connected to the electrical grid and relies solely on generators for power. The water supply is limited and it often freezes in the winter, which requires Grand Canyon West to haul in water. Food must be transported a minimum of 75 miles and then prepared. It was a terrific experience.

Towns built into the sides of mountains along the road to Grand Canyon West

Couldn't see the rest of the body parts anywhere but the
heads seemed to be enjoying the view

Arriving at our first viewpoint at Grand Canyon West:

No railings here right on the edge of the world and that
makes the experience all the more dramatic.

It's ok - he was tethered to a big rock

Special booties must be worn and no
cameras ,purses or other items are allowed
on the Skywalk. They actually scanned our bodies,
just like at the airport. All photo's must be
taken by a resident photographer. The photo's here
of us and the Skywalk, were done by professional
photographers....as you can clearly see!

When Skywalk first opened, some of the more
clever visitors were deliberately attempting to crack the glass
by dropping heavy objects and trying to chip away at it. This silliness resulted in
a set of unfortunate rules.

The rest of the photo's were "extras" on the USB we bought. Gorgeous!

Back to our photo's....

There were structures showing us how the tribes who lived in
and around the canyon, built their homes. Dwellings
included those of the Hualapai, Havasupai, Navajo, Plains and Hopi
Tribes. They are shown and built exactly as they have been constructed
for hundreds of years.

Another tribal home

The Colorado River 4000 feet below

After 4 hours at the Canyon, we drove to Willow Beach Marina, just off the highway that would take us to the Hoover Dam, Boulder City and Las Vegas. We just happened to find this marina in a google search for campgrounds, and it was new and spectacular. The campground was high above the marina and the Colorado River and we were surrounded by beautiful mountains, outcrops, the sites were immaculately groomed and the facilities got a 10 out of 10. We stayed one night, then hung a left before reaching Boulder and Las Vegas, knowing that we would be returning to these places another time.

Colorado River down by the marina

Our next destination was Joshua Tree National Monument and along the highway, we saw two of these very unique homes about 20 miles apart. We hadn't seen anything quite like them since Inuvik last summer.

Igloo type homes that must be built this way to keep the inside cool
in the intense heat.

There were hundreds of acres of solar panel farms throughout
Arizona and California. Sadly, Arizona blows their environmental
record when it comes to recycling, which is really difficult to find. It's a thorn in the sides of
snowbirds fromthe northern U.S. and Canada and many have made changes through
protests to campground owners and politicians.

It was incredibly hot and we thought it best to find a campground
with electrical hookup in case we needed air conditioning to
sleep at night. We found this wonderful little oasis in the desert
near Joshua Tree. The owners created this little lake, planted native
bushes and trees and it all resulted in spectacular wildlife visitors. As it turned
out, we didn't (and haven't) need air conditioning because everywhere
we've travelled it's cooled off nicely at night.

Another fun sign in the office window

The next morning, we began our drive through the park.
Did you know that Joshua Trees aren't actually trees but
are relatives of the Yucca plant? Some of these plants
grow to over 40 feet.

Old blooms, which look similar to the Yucca bloom

Many trees were budding and about to burst into bloom

As we drove toward this enormous outcrop, we could see
two specks on the side and when we got our binocs
out and had a look, this is what we saw

Fun but not for me!

Nearing the summit

This is called Teddy Bear Cactus Garden. This is the only place in the
park that you will find them.

Exiting the park, we had to make a decision about where we would stay for the night before heading to Desert Hot Springs and Palm Springs. We studied the California map and saw "Salton Sea", did a quick google search and discovered that there were a few campgrounds on the edge of the Sea so thought we'd check it out. We'd never heard of the place prior to this and we read online, that the Sea had been created as a result of a very bad engineering error back in the early 1900's. The story can be found on the link below if interested. Short story is that this basin was called Valley of The Dead by the Spanish a long time before developers tapped the Colorado River, turning it into an agricultural Eden. 100 years ago, spring floods blew out an intake canal south of Yuma, Arizona and the Colorado River began flooding down from a 400 foot elevation, dropping into Salton Sink. It took 2 years to close the breach after a 500 square mile freshwater lake covered the basin. Instead of evaporating in 115F temperatures, as previous incarnations had, the new sea stayed because of runoff of salty, fertilizer and pesticide laden irrigation water from the booming farms. A half a million acres of fields beside the sea grow much of the produce in the U.S. and is nicknamed "winter salad bowl of the nation". Salton City is still populated, however many of the communities and businesses that used to exist around the sea are now ghost towns. We drove empty streets past vacant houses to the beaches which aren't really sand beaches (although they look like sand) but tiny pieces of skeletons of fish and barnacles. Foam lines the shore and stringy mats of algae float on the surface. Tilapia by the millions, live in the saline sea and every few years millions of them die and pile up on the shores. The stench is unbelievable according to locals and as we can well imagine, and the cleanup virtually impossible. No one really knows why they die but the theory is overcrowding. Birds flock in droves to dine on the fish. From a distance the sea looks blue and is only the reflection of the sky, however up close it is quite red. Children who do live in the area have the highest levels of asthma in the USA, due to the particulate in the air.

A prediction?

You can see the red colouring and what appears to be a lovely
sandy beach

Sonny Bono as a government representative, tried to
clean up the Sea and was unsuccessful. The valley still remains the largest growing
area for vegetables in the US, causing us to wonder exactly what might be found
if lab tests were done on the items.

We stayed that night, not at a quite depressing Salton Sea campground, but at a
quaint little campground with hot mineral pools in the mountains, about 20 miles
from the sea. It was here thatwe discovered pretty much all the inhabitants of British Columbia. Never seen
anything like it! A friendly bunch, they engaged us in conversation immediately, telling us that they come back every year. Some of them told us they feel earthquakes quite regularly here on "the fault".

The military had a base here beside the Salton Sea and when disaster struck, they tore everything down, leaving the cement pads that the buildings stood on. Enterprising and desperately poor people brought their campers and other rigs from all over the U.S. and now live there at no cost. No modern conveniences of course, but they survive, even in the heat of the desert summer. We found a clip on youtube of an interview with several of the people who live in "Slab City" and it was very, very interesting. One resident reported that in the intense heat of summer one year, he killed 14 black widow spiders in one hour. If we hadn't already passed it when we discovered the clip, we would have had a look. Our campground host told us that it wasn't a place she would want us to visit and felt it best that we left it behind.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0502/feature5/fulltext.html

The next day and by contrast, we arrive in lush and beautiful Palm Springs.

After our time in the desert, we couldn't believe the green lawns,

flowers and abundance of trees.

I was happy enough to catch this pic of the plane, then realized later

that I'd also caught the airport sign.

Lots and lots of wealthy homes in the city of Palm Springs, however it

is the truly special who live high on the hill overlooking downtown.

We believe we know who lives here but we can't tell.

Sprinklers going full force at mid-day

We found Marilyn and she's not dead....a lot

taller than I remember her, but not dead. Still

can't control her dress in high winds.

We saw this kind of post and message in Brazil
a few years ago! Perhaps we could find them
in countries all over the planet.

Almost every ridge, valley and mountain has wind turbines on

them and they were spinning like crazy, right there on the outskirts of Palm Springs.

That's snow on that there peak! Constant reminders of home

it seems.

We hiked the hills behind our campground at Desert Hot Springs

and the views were spectacular

On one hill, we found this strategically placed chair.

On two other hills, a couple of graves

Desert flowers and here and there, shotgun shell casings.

When we exited through a gate in the fence and we were returning

to the campground, it was then that we saw a sign posted high

in a tree "POSTED: ABSOLUTELY NO TRESPASSING". Wonder if

the shell casings and graves were for unwitting trespassers like us but they got caught
and buried. Yikes!

Yup, we found more date shakes, 3 so far this trip
and 1000 calories each!

Our last morning in Palm Springs, we were told by other visitors that
there had been an earthquake that shook everyone up at 10 a.m. We didn't
feel a thing....driving at the time.

We discover our first big patch of smog as we enter San Bernardino

I never imagined Death Valley to look as it does, imagining (probably from old movies) that it would be a shallow, dry and desolate valley. What a surprise! One we entered the park, we drove 80 miles to Panamint Springs Campground, approximately half way up the valley. The heat was intense as we arrived and we were dry camping once again....and once again, as every day on this trip, the air cooled in the evening promising another peaceful sleep.

Great extremes are found in this hottest, driest and lowest national park; extremes in temperature and elevation create scenic vistas and ecological niches that host a startling biological diversity. It supports nearly 1000 native plant species and harbours fish, snails and other aquatic animals found nowhere else. I truly is a beautiful place. Throughout time and into the future, the Timbisha Shoshone people live sustained by their valley of life. In 1994 Congress changed Death Valley from a national monument to a national park, enlarged the park to it's present size and designated most of it as wilderness. The National Park Service and Timbisha Shoshone people are working together to preserve the area for future generations. Death Valley is the hottest spot in North America and the battle rages to prove that it is the hottest place in the world. Summer daytime highs often reach 120F and lows may not drop below 100F. We experienced 37C temperatures 3 days in a row.

Views from our campsite at Panamint Spring

The young people camping here are working in the park with and for
the US government. They are paid $9 a day and the reward at the
end of their stint in the park will be to receive a large chunk of tuition
money for university/college. Sounded good to us!

We saw this van and trailer camped next to us and as we were eating a light dinner at our picnic table, the owner came over, introduced himself by saying "I've come to make fun of the Canadians", made himself comfortable at our table, picked at our food (our favourite kind of new friend) when we invited him to, and spent the rest of the evening entertaining us. Tom is a plumber from Delaware who travels all over the world cycling in "difficult" places. He had cycled for hours that day on 8% grades and in the heat the day . Even he was reflecting on his stupidity (his word not ours). He always carries 2 bikes in the VW with a Mercedes diesel engine - in case one breaks down on him. He bought the trailer a couple of years ago, then designed and built everything inside it. It is spacious, beautiful, sleeps 5 and provides him with everything he could possibly need for his travels and winter competitive cycling.....yeah, that's what we asked. Apparently it's big in Belgium, France (where he has competed) and states in the US that experience winter snow and cold temperatures. The competition involves riding in the worst weather and conditions, jumping off the bike and running beside it whenever required by the rules of the game, switching bikes while doing ones best not to have a heart attack. He said that it's the most entertaining bike race in the world to watch however we haven't been able to find any clips yet. He also teaches youth at risk in various cities, how to compete in this sport we've never heard of before.

Tom brought his breakfast over the next morning and joined

us for more chat and many, many laughs. He was a hoot! As

we stood there chatting, we were startled to hear and see

two fighter jets flying close together and low through the valley. It all just seemed

wrong somehow.

We could hear coyotes yipping in the late evening and
just before dawn. We were rewarded just after leaving
the camp by the sight of two of the pretty ones, right beside the road.

We suddenly spotted sand dunes in the ever-changing
topography....such incredible change in short distances.

We headed to Scotty's Castle near the north end of the park. Death Valley Scotty was a nationwide celebrity through the first half of the 20th century. As a young man, Scotty (Walter Scott) was an entertainer, performing with other cowboys in Buffalo Bill's Wild West, racing on a train from Los Angeles to Chicago in record-breaking time, and telling exaggerated stories about how he made his fortune. His biggest tale was about gold and he told everyone that he had riches thanks to a gold mine he had found in Death Valley. All he needed were investors and so he travelled to New York and found investors who gave him money and promises of a rich return on their investment.

One of Scotty's investors was a Chicago businessman named Albert Johnson, who wanted to inspect Scotty's mining operation in person. He arranged a tour and Scotty hatched a scheme involving a staged gunfight to scare Albert away while keeping the investment money coming. His plan backfired and Albert realized there never was a gold mine. Instead of being angry, the wealthy Johnson became friends with Scotty and remained Scotty's source of money for the rest of his life. Johnson had chronic health problems and he loved the dry warm climate in Death Valley and the cowboy style adventures as he travelled the desert with his friend. Albert's wife Bessie was equally impressed with the peacefulness and beauty of the valley and after years of camping expeditions, the Johnsons began to build a grand vacation home in 1922. They built their Castle in one of the harshest deserts in the world. Death Valley averages 2 inches of rain per year and yet in Grapevine Canyon, a natural spring pours out more than 200 gallons of water per minute - a true oasis. Generations of people have relied on this water for their survival because besides providing essential drinking water to the Castle, Albert piped the water into man-made streams and planted trees and shrubs to create beautiful landscaping. Ingenious use of hydropower allowed the Castle to have electricity and refrigeration. Scotty's Castle is a beautiful "treasure" that Scotty, Albert and Bessie found in the desert. Scotty's gold mine was eventually exposed as a fraud, Albert and Bessie discovered other riches during their many years visiting Death Valley and their friendship with the con-man endured until the end. Today the Castle is maintained and protected by the National Park Service to preserve not only the house, but also the stories and experiences of Death Valley Scotty and Albert and Bessie Johnson.

Look closely and you will see the tour guide dressed in clothing
of the era. Ignore the leg sticking out of the wall.

There are even tunnels under the castle

We stayed at the most popular campground in the park with almost
600 sites - FurnaceCreek. It was stinking hot and we sat under the awning, read and drank
our required gallon of water for the rest of the afternoon.
We were still dry camping and grateful for the cool air at night.
Bob wanted hot weather on the trip... and he got hot weather!

The sunset sky was wonderful

This is Artists Palette Loop - a one-way traffic drive that
took us past magnificent coloured rocks; magenta, green,
turquoise, red, chocolate brown and yellow. Photo's do not
do it justice at all.