Travels – Page 51 – Paint Your Landscape

Slab City ~ The Last Free Place

April 8, 2012April 8, 2012LuAnn

On our way from Anza-Borrego to Slab City, we traveled through the Imperial Valley, one of the great agricultural centers in California, towns such as Westmorland, Brawley, Calipatria, and finally Niland, just outside of Slab City. The blending of Mexican and US cultures is prominently displayed here.

Ever since seeing the movie “Into the Wild” I have longed to visit Slab City, to feel the pull so many others have felt. Sitting 121 feet below sea level, Slab City was named for the concrete slabs that remained from the abandoned WWII Marine barracks Camp Dunlap. With the Chocolate Mountain range as a backdrop, it is a wide expanse of desert that houses 150 permanent residents and who knows how many RV snowbirders who start arriving in October to warm themselves in the winter sun.

Residents call this the last free place and you can tent camp or boondock at this funky little mecca free of charge. This is truly living “off the grid”as there are no community services, no water, electricity, or dump station that we could see. Where do they dump their tanks, we wondered. Many rigs did not look very mobile any longer, but some things you just don’t want to know. What they lack in community services is made up for in community spirit, I have read. The Slabs may seem a little rough around the edges and at first glance, in the interior as well, but we could sense that many who live here are open and friendly.

You think you have to want more than you need. Until you have it all you won’t be free. ~ Society, Eddie Vedder

The focal point of Slab City is Salvation Mountain, easily identified by the brightly colored mound rising from the desert floor. Like many things seen on TV, movies, or remembered from childhood, this was just not as big as we envisioned. It wasn’t what I would call a mountain, just a 3-story hill covered with paint, concrete, adobe, and a multitude of Bible verses. It is a labor of love that began over two decades ago by Leonard Knight. His admirers have donated paint to his project ever since, and more rooms are continually being added, reinforced with trees, hay bales, and tires found in the desert. I have read that Leonard will not accept tires brought in to him for donation as “there are plenty of tires in the desert”.

Follow the yellow brick road to the top of Salvation Mountain.

While visiting his sister in San Diego back in 1967, Leonard discovered God during a life-altering experience. In 1984 he moved from his home in Vermont, settled in what is now Slab City, and never looked back. Soon after, this psychedelic monument, with its main theme of “God is Love” arose from the desert floor. Now 78, Leonard describes his ongoing work as a love story. “I painted the mountain because I love God and I love people”, he has been known to say. He still lives here, although the vehicle that I read he once called home does not seem to be occupied.

Lest you think that all Slab City residents are a bunch of drug-induced hippies who wandered out into the desert, got lost, and settled in, it couldn’t be further from the truth, although I’m sure there are a few of these thrown in as well to keep life interesting and add some color. Residents have scheduled activities, a library, church, nightclub with weekly jam sessions (The Range) and even a junk yard, where one resident sells useful items to adorn your property.

As we wandered through The Range, great folk music could be heard behind the walls of an ancient-looking RV. Probably practicing for the Saturday night jam session, which I would have loved to attend. A sign at The Range provides a great message for all of us – find your range.

Without running water you might wonder about bathing, but believe it or not, there is a hot shower in this little community. A nearby hot spring and a cistern (a concrete hole in the ground) is all you need! Residents climb down into the cistern; stand below the running water; and ahhh, a nice hot shower.

The Slabs may be an eyesore to some, may cause us to turn our eyes, cause some discomfort, stir something deep inside. But for those residents and many RV snowbirders, it is a brilliant little jewel sparkling in the desert, something so rare as to not be found anywhere else.

Society, have mercy on me. I hope you’re not angry if I disagree. Society, crazy and deep, I hope you’re not lonely without me. ~ Society, Eddie Vedder

Sign departing Slab City — Something to reflect upon as you leave Slab City.

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Anza-Borrego Desert State Park ~ Land of Slot Canyons and Prehistoric Creatures

April 6, 2012April 8, 2012LuAnn

We felt like parolees being given a short release so we decided to make the most of it and head inland for a very quick trip. This is not our preferred way to tour but I think we both feel a sense of urgency to see a few more sights before we leave the San Diego area. Time is flying and we have only three weeks remaining before we make our trek up north to Yellowstone.

We had heard about Anza-Borrego Desert State Park from friends Nina and Paul of Wheeling It. To be honest, our destination was to be The Slabs but the park was on our way so we decided to take a quick tour. Given that this is the largest state park in California and the second largest in the country, there was no way to do it justice as it covers over 600,000 acres, with 500 miles of dirt roads and 100 miles of hiking trails. It will just have to stay on our bucket list to explore in-depth at a later date but it seemed like a crime to bypass it altogether given how close we were.

Anza-Borrego was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Batista de Anza, known for his discovery of an overland trail across California, and the Spanish word borrego, meaning bighorn sheep, which inhabit the park but are rarely seen by visitors . The park sits in a bowl surrounded by the Santa Rosa and Vallecito Mountain ranges.

As is our normal custom when we visit parks, we stopped at the visitor center, which was small but very nice. A lovely volunteer from the state of Washington gave us some literature and the lay of the land. We wanted to see about taking a sunset/moonlight hike with an interpretive guide, given a nearly full-moon was forecast. As you might expect, this hike had been filled some time ago. We settled for a visit to one of the slot canyons instead, with the promise of seeing the moon rise over the desert. However, if you enjoy hiking as we do and have the time, the 6-mile Hellhole Canyon Trail, with some boulder-hopping and bushwhacking, looked interesting.

Hopes for seeing any wildflowers on our drive out were slim due to the lower than average rainfall this season and sadly we saw none. Not a huge disappointment as we had been desert rats for years, living in Arizona, and had seen these beautiful floral displays pushing up through the arid desert floors before. If you haven’t seen spring in the desert, when there is adequate rainfall and the floor is carpeted in vibrant colors among the prickly cacti, you really owe it to yourself to take a hike!

What we did see which was highly unusual and may not be seen anywhere else was a scattering of life-size and oversized metal art sculptures dotting the sandy desert. These works of art were the brainchild of Ricardo Breceda, of which the book Ricardo Breceda, Accidental Artist by Diana Lindsay, has been written. With over 500 plant and animal fossils having been uncovered in the park, Breceda set about to recreate some of these creatures that roamed this desert millions of years ago. Prehistoric mammals, wild horses and a 350′ long serpent (not seen but we had heard) have been deposited over three miles of this arid landscape. We glimpsed a giant scorpion and grasshopper staged for battle as we drove out to the slots.

We arrived at the Palm Slot late afternoon and if you didn’t have even a rudimentary map, as we did, I’m not sure you could find it. It was a short one mile trek to the mouth of the canyon and, as we approached, my heart rate quickened a bit. I must admit to being claustrophobic and I was having flashbacks to the slots in Utah we had traversed some years back. This was not nearly as intimidating, so piece of cake. The only worry at all was that of snakes, as we had been warned that several had been spotted recently.

Here’s Terry, appearing to hold up the archway near the entrance, beckoning me to join him. Hmm, do I really want to do this?

Terry in the slots — Come on Lu, no need to be afraid.

Ok, I can do this. Time to overcome my fear of tight spaces. The deeper into the slot I go the more I enjoy it. See, I’m even smiling.

Terry decides to jump right in and join me, not be to outdone by his wife.

This really was an easy slot canyon to negotiate, even if you are a teensy bit claustrophobic. And on our way out, we were rewarded with the rising moon. Although not the most spectacular we have seen, we were promised a moon and that’s what we got!

For those who like to boondock, there is such a wide expanse of desert, with broad sweeping vistas everywhere you look. No need to feel cramped out here. We are still weighing the whole solar panel issue ourselves and would love to hear from some of you who have elected to install them. Tell us what you think.

By the way, if you find yourself going through Julian to get to Anza-Borrego, we are told it is a must to stop at the Julian Pie Company. We did stop in, eyed the great-looking pies in the display cases, but resisted.

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California Dreamin’

March 28, 2012April 8, 2012LuAnn

Well not California specifically, just the ocean, possibly any ocean. This was the dream of our 12-year old granddaughter. Throw in Sea World and the San Diego Zoo and you’ve got the perfect beach vacation.

There were many firsts for Alyssa on this trip – first time flying (more nerve-wracking for dad and us than her), first time to California, first time to the beach. Visions of strumming her ukulele while looking out over the ocean danced in her head. She had even taught herself a song that she was certain the surfers would know.

Alyssa is passionate about animals so grandpa thought she would enjoy sea kayaking, with a chance to catch a glimpse of dolphins (her true love). This sounded good to her until we got to La Jolla Cove and boogie boards and wetsuits won out over the thought of paddling a kayak. She would take her chance with the dolphins later in the week at Sea World. Didn’t take her long to figure out which registered higher on the “fun” meter without a great deal of effort.

Alyssa boogie boarding at La Jolla Cove — Looks like beach trips in her future based on that smile.

Sea World was next on the agenda and offered a day-long adventure for the three of us. First up was the One Ocean show, starring Shamu. A trip to Sea World is not complete without seeing this one. Grandpa and I won out on the seating arrangement, opting to stay clear of the splash zone. The image of me walking around for the rest of the day having been doused with gallons of seawater didn’t seem too appealing. Good decision as everyone in the splash zone looked like they needed to be wrung out after the show.

We all agreed the Blue Horizons show ranked tops for the day, with acrobats, dolphins, and tropical birds appearing on cue. Trouble is, with a couple of folks in our group forgetting to charge camera batteries, I have no pictures to show for it. I’m not naming names, but you know who you are! And yes, we did get brave and sit in the splash zone but those dolphins just couldn’t put on the show that the orcas did so we walked out dry.

Later that night was our favorite show, Alyssa playing the ukulele (self-taught) and singing for us. She also plays the guitar and is longing to learn the violin. Can you tell we are just a teeny bit proud? Much of what she has learned has been through you-tube videos or just listening to songs.

Next up was the San Diego Zoo, one of the largest in the world. Housing more than 4000 animals, it is almost impossible to cover the entire park in one day. Having not visited in 20+ years, it was like seeing it for the first time.

The stars of the zoo were the giant pandas, namely Gao Gao (Big Big). San Diego is one of the few zoos in the world housing these gentle-looking giant teddies. Notice his smaller left ear, which was believed to be injured in a fight before his captivity.

Seems we all enjoyed our day, given the number of animal photos we accumulated. I think Alyssa took one of everything she saw, she was so enamored by their beauty. Even with all we had seen, seems we just scratched the surface, covering only about 2/3 of the park. There are many ways to take it all in, on foot, by bus, or by aerial tram. Most of our time was spent on foot but Alyssa decided to give the aerial tram a shot, having already heard the story of how her father was not too keen on them. And guess what dad, no fear of heights for this one!

Although Sea World and the zoo were big hits, the beach definitely came out on top. Alyssa would have spent the entire week there we think, swimming with or without a wetsuit, in 58º water. It was a great week for us all.

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San Diego Vacation

March 18, 2012April 8, 2012LuAnn

Many of us have a specific food that, when brought to mind, elicits less than fond memories for us. For me that is an eclair, that fried doughy dessert with a cream filling (yuck). When I was a kid, I became ill when eating one. Honestly, I think I was already working on getting a ‘bug’ before I ate it and to this day I associate the flu with eclairs. By now you must be wondering what my ramblings have to do with San Diego vacations. Bear with me and I will try to connect the dots.

Terry’s sister and niece had never been to San Diego and with spring break looming, a four-day visit to San Diego seemed to be in order. Given that it was to be a short trip and they were looking at a 3-hour time difference, jet lag was bound to be an issue but no one factored in (or at least me) the daylight savings time change the day before their arrival. The weather in SD, which had been darn near perfect, turned cooler than their home state of Indiana. To add insult to injury, sister Denise contracted a virus shortly after her arrival, which landed her in the clinic and on the sofa for the following day. Even with all this, they seemed to be good sports and were able to enjoy a day at the San Diego Safari Park, giving it a two-thumbs up rating.

We had such a good time kayaking in the La Jolla cove that Terry and niece Sara decided to give it a go. The weather was sunny but breezy, which made paddling a little rougher than what we had experienced earlier. They were hopeful for dolphin sightings and with a feeding frenzy occurring just offshore (good sign of dolphins nearby we were told) they took off.

Alas, no dolphins, just a bunch of barking sea lions to entertain them. They were both smiling when they returned, although they looked a little blue around the lips! I must admit to wondering how warm they were, as I sat on the beach reading. Everyone else in kayaks had donned wetsuits, everyone that is except Terry and Sara.

The water was too choppy for photos and for paddleboarding as well (which was also on the to-do list) but we did grab a few great pics of sea lions from the walkway above and got to catch a glimpse of passing dolphins!

California sea lions at La Jolla Cove — Slip-sliding away!

Sara was determined to have a bonfire and s’mores before she left San Diego so Terry stoked the fire that night. Believe it or not, I had never had one before (s’more that is) and had to be guided through the process. Tasty but unfortunately not to be an ongoing part of my diet. Thankfully Denise had recovered enough to join in the fun.

So much to see in San Diego and only one day left so we decided to do a little sightseeing to give them a flavor of the area. Lunch brought us back to Blue Water Seafood Market and Grill for fish tacos and they were just as tasty our second visit.

We all welcomed a stroll along the coastline, providing us a pleasing contrast of colors and shapes.

A playful little grey squirrel caught my attention so I gave him his own photo shoot. He seemed to be enjoying it, posing for the camera. Although these little guys are cute, they have become quite destructive along the coast, adding to bluff erosion.

California burrowing grey squirrel — You have no idea what these hands can do!

A quick stroll through Balboa Park and the grounds of Coronado Island rounded out the last day.

So, to finally connect the dots, given jet lag, time changes, cool weather and illness, I hope San Diego does not become an “eclair” for Denise and Sara. I hope they decide to come back at a later date to enjoy all it has to offer.

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Sea Caves of La Jolla

March 9, 2012April 8, 2012LuAnn

We had been looking forward to seeing the La Jolla sea caves for some time. Unfortunately we learned that this could not be done without a guide present so I started the research to find a company that would allow us to take our Sea Eagle out on the tour. After some phone calls I found one that would allow this and took out small groups only (just what I wanted to hear) but decided we would rent a double instead due to parking restrictions in La Jolla. Didn’t want to be truckin’ the darn thing several blocks after inflating her on the street. Nina and Paul were game to kayak as well as they had not seen the sea caves either.

Let me start by saying that the weather was pretty darn perfect. A sunny, calm 80° day could not be better. You see a ‘but’ coming here, don’t you? We did have a good day, in large part due to the company (Nina and Paul), and that we were wintering in San Diego on a gorgeous day and on the water. BUT I cannot recommend taking a kayak tour to the sea caves. I will not mention any company names because I suspect they are all the same. All four of us agreed that many times tours can be a disappointment, too commercial, too many people.

Kayaking La Jolla Shores — Looks like Paul is slackin' a bit.

We paddled out to the caves in a group, feeling more like we were playing a game of kayak bumper cars, dodging left and right. The small group we were expecting turned out to be more like 15-20 kayaks, what appeared to be the largest of the tour companies out there. The rented kayaks did not have a keel so the steering could be a challenge. Picture 15-20 kayaks, with mostly novice kayakers in them, bobbing out on the Pacific. Now put a paddle in those kayakers’ hands and tell them to paddle a straight line out to the caves. Guess what you get? I don’t even have to tell you, do I?

Kayaking at the sea caves — Traffic jam at the sea caves

We all made it safely to the caves and proceeded to get into a long line behind other tour companies waiting to get in (only two kayaks allowed at a time and only one cave available for viewing). The four of us were among the last of our group to enter, behind our guide. It doesn’t take much to paddle into the cave and as soon as we got into it our guide said “paddle backward once on your left and three times forward on your right”. This positioned us heading back out of the cave. We foolishly thought we were going to go in further backwards to see something spectacular that we could not be seen going in forward. What we heard next was “now paddle out”. That was it! If we had blinked we would have missed it.

Terry and me kayaking — Look ma, no paddles in the water!

When heading back to shore, we had the pleasure of having four common dolphins swim very close to our kayak. Unfortunately we were not able to grab any photos but this, along with the sea lions we saw on the rocks, probably were the highlights of our time on the water.

Sea lions at La Jolla sea caves — Sea lions sunning. Noisy little fellas they are.

We had decided on lunch after but none of us had planned to get wet (go figure) so didn’t have a change of clothes. Not to worry as we sat outdoors at a little Vietnamese restaurant and dried out. Great conversation and great soup rounded out the day. We said our goodbyes with the hopes of a hike in our future.

Back at home, over a glass of wine, Terry and I had a good laugh as we went over our 30 seconds in the sea cave. Not the best part of our day but a very good day overall and we would definitely go back out to La Jolla Shores for more kayaking, BUT in our Sea Eagle AND sans guide.