Joshua Tree National Park

Thursday, Feb 28

Bill starts working on getting his slide repaired early today.  It ends up that they have to go to an RV repair center near Barstow.

After they leave, Clara and I take a ride through Joshua Tree National Park.

As with all National Parks, this one is special.  It seems that no matter what the geography around the parks, there is always something spectacular and different in the parks.  This one doesn't disappoint.

While getting ready for this picture, Clara got pricked by a cactus and it was very painful.

Huge mountains of boulders are scattered everywhere.

Joshua trees with snow capped mountains in the distance

Evan, can you find the two men on this rock?

For Evan and Anna:  Joshua Tree National Park is a transition zone between two great deserts, the Mojave and Colorado.  Deserts don't have firm boundaries, and much of this park is in the overlap between these two.

The Colorado Desert covers the eastern half of the park, below 3,000 feet.  This habitat of the lower Colorado River valley is part of the much larger Sonoran Desert, which spans southern Arizona and northwestern Mexico.

The western half of the park at elevations above 3,000 feet, is Mojave Desert habitat.  Amid the boulder stacks are pinyon pines, junipers, scrub oaks, Mojave yuccas, and Mojave prickly pear cacti.

What tells you that you are truly in the Mojave Desert is the wild-armed Joshua Tree.  It isn't really a tree but a species of yucca.  Like other desert plants, its waxy, spiny leaf exposes little surface area, efficiently conserving moisture.  Joshua trees can grow over 40 feet tall - at the leisurely rate of an inch a year.

There are huge mountains of rocks in the western half of the park.  The rock piles began underground eons ago as a result of volcanic activity.

Magna - in this case a molten form of the rock called monzogranite - rose from deep within the Earth.  As it rose, it intruded the overlying rock, the Pinto gneiss formation.  As the granite cooled and crystallized underground, cracks (joints) formed horizontally and vertically.

The granite continued to uplift, where it came in contact with groundwater.  Chemical weathering caused by groundwater worked on the angular granite blocks, widening cracks and rounding edges.  Eventually the surface soil eroded leaving heaps of monzogranite scattered across the lands like careless piles of toy blocks.

This afternoon I had the opportunity to swim in the base pool, which is Olympic size.  Only 16 laps to a mile, versus our pool at home (and most pools) are 36 laps (or 32 laps in some) per mile.  It was a new, nice experience not having to make turns so often, but the laps were certainly long.

Lake Havasu, Az

Sunday, Feb 24

As much as I liked staying out in the desert isolated from the world, I was outvoted and we "up-anchored" and headed North.

We eventually ended up on Interstate 8 headed toward San Diego (not where we are headed).  We soon get off.

We have a pretty strong crosswind (winds out of the North and we're headed West).  According to the weather service, it's up to 30 mph.  This makes for a bit of a challenge driving 30,000 pounds, standing 12 feet high like a billboard.

We stop for lunch at Painted Rock Petroglyph Site

The "Big House" and "Little House"

Painted Rock Petroglyph Site.  These drawings are hundreds of years old. 

 

For Evan and Anna:  We stop for lunch at a neat place just a little ways off the Interstate, the Painted Rock Petroglyph site.  The O'odham people have called this area home for thousands of years.  The petroglyph designs that are here are evidence of a vibrant and interesting culture of the past.

The petroglyphs are in a rock knoll that consist of a granite outcrop overlain by highly weathered basalt boulders.  The dark basalt have experienced a long period of weathering.  Over thousands of years desert winds, rain, and alkalies have gradually covered these rocks with a dark shiny coating known as desert varnish.  The dark varnish provided an excellent medium for petroglyph artists.  When the dark coating was pecked away, it revealed a lighter color basalt below, making the images stand out.

Tonight we stopped at Sundance RV Resort, whose motto is "Enjoy the active lifestyle".  It has quickly become one of less favorite stops.  It is pretty obvious that a lot of people from Northern climes choose to get out of the miserable Northern weather in the winter and come to this area.  Who can blame them!

This RV resort is one of many in this area and they appear to be much the same.  Some amenities, like pools, shuffleboard, etc, and all types of "homes" crammed in one on top of the other.  I believe if there was a loud snorer in the next site, we could hear them.  A vast difference from last night when we were quite alone.  Oh well, we'll move on tomorrow.  This isn't even worth a picture.

Monday, Feb 25

We gladly leave the “RV Resort”. Ain't our style, but obviously lots of people like it because there are lots of RV Resorts here and they all seem to be full.

We are headed North on Hwy 65. There are stretches of highway that are 20 miles that don't have a curve.

Jan takes the helm

We pass through Quartzsite. This is a place that I have often read about in RV magazines. It's in the middle of the flattest desert I can imagine and it obviously is a place of many RVs. We pass quickly on the way to Lake Havasu.

Wow! What a nice surprise. This area is beautiful. We are still in the desert, but there is actually some green and some flowers. Must be the recent rains.

The "Big House"

Tonight we are camped in an Arizona State Park, the River Island State Park which adjoins the Colorado River. It is absolutely beautiful.

River Island State Park from the top of the cliff

For Anna and Evan: Try to find the origins of the Colorado River and follow it to the Pacific Ocean. Your Dad will be able to help you find the origins because it is near where he was a camp counselor in Colorado. It also goes through the Grand Canyon.

Right across the river by the campsite is California. We plan to stay here at least a couple of days then go into California.

Tuesday, Feb 26

After a slow start we drove the 25 miles to Lake Havasu City. I don't know what we expected, but what we got was not very impressive. The town was founded in 1974 and doesn't appear to have a city center. It's just miles of franchise food, houses, condos, and commercial development. However, it is located in a beautiful location.

I remember hearing something about the London Bridge having been torn down, relocated and rebuilt somewhere out west, but didn't realize it was Lake Havasu City. Of course we had to see it. Quite disappointing – it looks like an ordinary bridge built out of rocks, much like the bridges along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Anyway, we had lunch at a restaurant looking at the bridge. It reminds me of something I think was said by P T Barnum of Barnum of Barnum and Bailey Circus. I think he said “there's a fool born every minute”. In this case the first fool was the guy who paid to have the bridge relocated. The second fool is people like us who actually go to see it thinking they'll see something. Oh well.

Lunch at London Bridge

Bill and I took another hike from the RV park to the top of a cliff that literally goes straight up next to the park. It's one of the more beautiful hikes we've taken. The scenery around the park is truly impressive. And tomorrow we're on the way to California. We've made reservations at Twenty-Nine Palms Marine Base. This is the first time I've felt compelled to make reservations on this trip. It seems the closer we get to California, the more crowded it gets. We'll be near Joshua Tree National Park, one of the places I'm interested to see.

The big cliff on one side of the RV park. Jan and Clara actually got up early to hike to the top this rock.

working on a jigsaw puzzle

The Colorado River at the RV Park

Wednesday, Feb 27

After a short hike to the top of the cliff overlooking the RV Park, we departed for California, which in reality is just across the river from the campground.

We thought we had seen long straight road and isolation, but this part of California takes the lead.  We went for 75 miles and never saw any sign of life. 

We have reservations at 29 Palms Marine Base RV Park.  After quite a bit of hassle, we are settled into this desert RV Park on base.  This is quite different from any place we've ever parked.  Each site has a covered car port and nothing else but sand.  It supposedly gets up to 120 degrees in the summer.  Right now it's in the 30's at night and around 70 in the afternoon.

Bill has some problems with the rear slide on his RV.  Curiously, it won't go out all the way.

Tucson Phase III

Monday, Feb 18

Bill is getting to see another side of motorhome ownership - equipping it.  Wal Mart and Camping World are starting to see more of the B's as they prepare to take possession of "The Big House", the affectionate name that has been hung on their new motorhome because it's a little bigger than ours.  It appears that they will take possession this Thursday (maybe Wednesday) after all the cleaning and mechanical checks have been completed.

After checking on some dimensions on their motorhome and a visit to Camping World today, we headed to the Titan Missile Museum Historic Site.

We  visited the Titan Missile Museum last year and came away with memories of a time in our lives when we all lived under the threat of "Mutually Assured Destruction".  Many of the signs and procedures that were apart of the missile crew's
 life were very similar to those we used when we were on alert with nuclear weapons on the B-52.

The two man policy was standard policy whenever anyone was in the area of nuclear weapons . This was to insure that no single individual could ever tamper with or launch a nuclear weapon

This key, along with another one similar to it had to be turned at the same time in order to launch a nuclear missile. There was no physical way that one person could turn both keys.

This year was the same - a time for deep reflection on a part of our history that we hopefully never see again.

For Evan and Anna:  Anna, you and I have had some discussions about what Papa did when he flew airplanes.  It has been very difficult to explain to you what I did and why I was doing it.  Visiting this museum today and seeing many of the symbols of the times when I was involved in the military reminded me of the difficulty I have in explaining what it was like in the 1960's and 1970's - a time that is vastly different from today.  Hopefully, the following will help you understand.

For over forty years the world's International relations were defined by the ideological conflict between the United States and Soviet Union (Russia).  Most nations were pushed into choosing between Capitalist and Communist economic theories creating a bi-polar world in which the two superpowers held sway over the destiny of virtually the entire planet.  Conflicts that had raged for centuries were redefined in terms of the worldwide conflict as the United States and the Soviet Unions provided support to one side or the other.  This low-level war in which the proxies of the major powers fought each other while the larger nations remained in the background quickly came to be called the Cold War.

In an earlier age two nations as bitterly opposed to each other as the United States and the Soviet Union would have inevitably gone to war.  The new element that prevented a full-blown conflict was the development at the end of World War II of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

Once both sides had the ability to exterminate not only each other, but the entire human race as we know it, a direct conflict between the two became virtually unthinkable.

Each side soon sought other means of confronting the other.  This resulted in the innumerable civil wars that wracked Africa, Asia , and Latin America through the middle part of the Twentieth Century.  Supported by floods of weapons from from both sides, old grievances flared up into small regional wars that allowed the superpowers to try to extend their influence without fighting each other directly (the Vietnam Conflict, in which I participated in 94 combat missions in the B-52 is an example of regional conflicts that supported by the two superpowers, the United States and Soviet Union).

The Titan II is the largest ballistic missile developed by the the United States.  It can carry a warhead of over nine megatons, or the equivalent of nine million tons of TNT and deliver it anywhere within 5,500 miles in less than a half hour.

The Titan II and the other missiles that sat waiting in their silos, along with B-52's and other bombers and Nuclear Submarines, represented humanity's ability to destroy itself.

The Soviet Union had the same capability with its missiles, bombers and submarines.

This resulted in a "Mutually Assured Destruction" (MAD), and "Peace through Deterrence".  No one was willing to start a war which would result in the end of the world as we know it.

The Cold War as we defined it ended in the 1980's.

The Titan II Missile in its silo.  

Tuesday, Feb 19

We didn't have any specific plans for today.  After Bill checked on progress of the preparation of the "Big House", we decided to go to a Copper Mine that we had visited last year, or at least we had visited their Visitor Center.  They offered tours, but the day we were there last year we couldn't get on one of the tours.  This time we called ahead and made reservations.

The Asarco open pit mine is just South of Tucson.  It is over 2 miles across and 1/4 mile deep. It produces 132 million pounds of copper each year, along with over 1 million ounces of silver.

Evan, can you find the big trucks in the picture?  The trucks have tires that are 11 feet tall and the trucks weigh nearly 500,000 pounds (for comparison, our motorhome only weighs 30,000 pounds).

On the way, we had some time to kill, so we stopped by San Xavier del Bac Mission.  We had been last year and wanted to share it with Bill and Jan.

San Xavier del Bac Mission

The mission was completed in 1797 is the oldest intact structure in Arizona.

Wed, Feb 20

A very unusual day for Tucson - it snowed.

It snowed hard off and on all day.  From conversations with locals, this hasn't happened in over 10 years.  Occasionally, it would snow hard enough for some accumulation, but as soon as it stopped it started melting.  The mountains received several inches.

I had new tires installed on the motorhome today.  The tires we had installed in Albuquerque had some problems, so we got 6 new ones.  That should be good for 6-7 years.

Tonight we went to a small restaurant, Poco and Moms, that Clara had found on the Internet.  It was definitely local.  Some great Mexican food, and another hit with the sopapillas.  Poco and Moms joins Sadie's and Wisdom's at the top of list.

Thursday, Feb 21

Bill and Jan take delivery of their "Big House" today.  It's exciting for Clara and I to see the excitement of our friends taking possession of their first motorhome.

Orientation to the "Big House"

Bill brings the "Big House" home (or at least to the Agave Gulch Campground at Davis Monthan AFB) for their first night aboard.

The B's move from the Little House to the Big House

Friday, Feb 22

Bill needed a couple of things checked on the "Big House" which we quickly got done this morning.  Then we were off to the Arizona-Sonara Natural Museum.

Clara had wanted to come back here since we visited last year.  There is a hummingbird aviary which is fascinating.  She got to spend as much time as she wanted there.

Saturday, Feb 23

We're off on the B's first real trip on their new motorhome.

The B's in the rearview mirror

Why Senior Citizens?  'Cause I am one!

We head toward the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  After about 4 hours we arrive at Why, Az.  We had initially thought we'd stay in the Monument campground, but found an interesting campground in Why.

Cayote Howling Campground.  We didn't hear any Cayote howl.

It advertised 600 spaces.  It turns out to be a "park where you want to" open space, with a mixture of winter residents, monthly, weekly and daily campers.  It was quite interesting riding around on bikes looking at all the set ups.  Probably about 1/5 of the area is filled.  There is lots of open space.

Why, Arizona is a real small place and it's claim to fame is its name.  It was originally called "the Y" because of the Y intersection in the middle of the settlement.  Somehow, the Arizona Department of Transportation got involved and required that all towns in Arizona had to have at least 3 letters in their name.  So, the inhabitants got together and decided they would change their name to "Why".   Local supplies come from "Why-Not Travel Store".

After settling in (with no hookups - we're in a desert), we take off to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  It is located adjacent to the Mexican border and it's about a 20 mile drive through it to the border.

For Evan and Anna:  Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a showcase for the Sonoran Desert and its many plants and animals.  Desert dwellers here must live in extreme temperatures, intense sun, and little rainfall.  Cacti are the most recognizable plants; 28 cactus species live here, including saguaro and organ pipe.

Organ Pipe Cactus

The organ pipe is a large cactus rarely found in the United States, although it is common in Mexico.  The monument protects the bulk of its U S range.  Like its fellow cacti and other desert inhabitants, the organ pipe it attuned to rhythms of the sun and infrequent rains.  A glutton for heat and light, it grows on warmer slopes where it can absorb the most sun.  This is critical in winter months when severe frosts can kill the cactus.  It blooms in the heat of May, June, and July, opening lavender-white flowers after the sun sets.  Other cacti bloom at night, too, but many also bloom during the day, exposing their flowers to the sun.

Saguaro Cactus

Day or night, the summer display of cactus blooms is one of the desert's flashiest spectacles, as yellow, red, white, and pink flowers color the landscape.

As a protected area, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument allows the Sonaran Desert life to flourish under nearly ideals wilderness conditions.  In this outstanding natural preserve one of the Earth's major ecosystems survives almost unspoiled.  Recognizing its significance, in 1976 the United Nations designated the monument as an International Biosphere Reserve.

 We found that the saguaro cactus come in some rather interesting shapes here in the monument.

The "Big House" and the "Little House" at sunset

Tonight is very dark and very quiet.  We parked close to each other and it is quite a distance before another camper.