Sob, goodbye California

Port Hueneme

Ventura harbor is kind of a mix of very expensive boats,

shops and eateries.  Then there is a free beach with lots of sand and surfers.

No one really goes into the water here without a wet suit.  

Did I say the water was cold?  It is a great place to people watch.

The Reagan Library is about 25 miles from here in Simi Valley.  A lot of money went into it.  It sits high on a hill overlooking the entire valley.  

They actually managed to get Air Force One into a building built especially for it.  That must have been something to see.  Ray said they removed the wings and the fuselage then trucked the whole mess to the top of the hill and put it all back together.  

As is the case with presidential libraries, it was very well done and we managed to spend quite a few hours touring the place.  The library was NOT funded with your tax dollars in case you were worried about that.  They used all private donations.

Mission Santa Barbara and San Buena Ventura are just two of the missions that dot this area of California.  They are not (at least to our old eyes) as interesting or as unique as those found in San Antonio and New Mexico but they are beautiful.

Oxnard is a clone of Ventura with sand, surfers, boats and a nice little harbor.  People actually talk to you here which is very nice.

Our reason for coming here was to see the Channel Islands NP.  Well, we did see the movie and listened to a ranger-led discussion and we even booked a trip but, guess what, it was cancelled due to weather.  We did see the closest island from shore and you can see the weather.  

It is frustrating when you have temperatures of 65, lots of sunshine and there is a storm in the harbor that keeps you on shore.  We are definitely jinxed on these special trips.

Oh, well, we are off to Joshua Tree. 

Joshua Tree NP

How many of you remember that I had to beg and plead and promise Ray our first born son to take me to this park?   He finally agreed but he kicked and screamed the whole way.  Well, hope the old boy enjoys his dish of crow.

We were delayed getting to the park for quite a while.  There was a truck towing a fifth wheel and, for some reason, the man driving lost control and the whole thing turned over.  A good Samaritan managed to get the man out and disconnect the batteries but he couldn’t get the wife out.  Another guy drove back to the nearest town for the sheriff.  After an hour an emergency helicopter came and took the man away and it was another hour before the wife was freed and also taken by helicopter to Vegas, we think.  It was sad to see the truck and trailer strewn all over the road.  Ray has driven a little more carefully since. 

After a whole lot of “Oh wows” just looking at the scenery on the way into Joshua Tree, it just kept getting better.  The park itself has so many eco systems that you just go from one view to the next with your mouth hanging open.   

The park campground left something to be desired but, luckily, there was a marine base nearby and more centrally located so we headed there giving up our last night in the national park but we did end up staying an extra day just so we wouldn’t miss anything.  Did you know that there is snow on some of the mountains in this park?

The Mohave Desert has the Joshua Trees while the Colorado Desert has Chollas.   

They meet in a kind of no-man’s land where a little bit of both come together.

The fall colors are really beautiful but you just have to like deserts and this kind of place makes it easy.  

Of course, the desert has some of the most spectacular sunsets EVER.

Death Valley NP

Our next stop was Death Valley.  Ray griped the whole time about the trouble he had to go to just to get to the place.  As soon as we drove in, he asked for and managed to get us an extra night.   

 

I guess you just have to see this place to believe it.  It is surrounded by mountains.

and the valley has everything from salt flats

to briny streams.

It is definitely desolate at first glance but teeming with life if you look hard enough.  It may be called Death Valley but there is lots of critters and plants that call this place home.  Survival is hard with temperatures reaching upwards of 120 during the summer and lows hovering at the 100 mark.  There are marvelous sand dunes,

salt flats,

the colorful display of the Artist's Pallet,

and let's don't forget those wonderful sunsets at Zabriskie's Point.

We were lucky and enjoyed temps in the mid-seventies with lows in the forties and fifties.  The campground was over a hundred feet below sea level and one lady commented that, after the mountains, it was like having another lung.

For those of you old enough to remember borax, this is the home of Twenty Mule Team Borax and remnants of the mining operation and the wagons are still around today.

Danged if we know what the heck it was used for but seems to have been an ingredient in lots of stuff.  Ray keeps forgetting to google it.

All of this desert living has caused a huge thirst and we are beginning to think there isn’t enough water in the world to quench it.  I can’t believe that some people actually come here in the summer but the ranger assures us that they do.  My lips are chapped, my hands are dried up and I think I found a couple of more wrinkles that weren’t there earlier.  I am starting to look like an iguana!  Help me!  I need another drink of water (never thought I would take water over wine.)

Most everything here is named after the devil.  There is the devil’s golf course,

the devil’s cornfield and Dante’s Peak just to name a few.  To tell you the truth, I think hell might look a little more appealing in the summer months.

Well, after all this talk of the devil, it is off to sin city – Vegas baby!