100-Day Trip! Start: Nevada and Utah

July 24th I left Jojoba Hills for a ~100-day trip in the RV. I planned to be back in SoCal early November, in time for the NHRA drag race finals at Pomona.  Intending to skip Interstate highways as much as possible, I started over the San Jacinto / Santa Rosa mountain pass to Palm Desert.  The temperature in the Coachella valley was 117, so I continued north to Barstow for an In-'n'-Out burger for supper.  Next a short stretch of I-15 past Zzyzx to Baker CA and the Alien Fresh Jerky outlet.

They were closed for the night so I was unable to determine if Aliens were the proprietors or the ingredients. I boondocked overnight at the Escapee's Pahrump NV park, then headed out toward Tonopah to start trying to understand the Nevada "basin and range" geology. But a few miles out of town I saw a sign for Death Valley.  Why not?  I'm not on a schedule, after all.

Death Valley was hot, though not as hot as Palm Desert

And it is low, as my GPS attested.

And Zabriskie Point is spectacular; better than the 1970 Antonioni movie:

I was glad to have a 55-gallon gas tank, which lets one drive farther for cheaper gas.  Even at 10 MPG.

San Andreas Chase

In June, Karin and I drove along the San Andreas fault starting in Redlands, then west along the south edge of the Mojave Desert and into the Carrizo Plain National Monument to see Wallace Creek. It crosses the fault and has been displaced 400+ feet over the last 4000 years: a little more than one inch per year.

While we might have expected a huge gaping rift in the earth, spouting sulfurous fumes, the fault instead looks rather benign. And one inch a year adds up over a few millennia.

On the way, we found ourselves on "Petroleum Highway": Route 33 around Taft and Fellows:

In 1914, California produced 38% of the nation's petroleum. It's down to 8% now.

California Rt 25 is a beautiful drive, though we had to reach it via a one-lane dirt road from Parkfield, known as the most instrumented (for earthquakes) town in the world.  These monuments model movement along the fault since 1931.

The highway has some beautiful views:

The rustic dirt road yielded interesting geology:  ribbon chert

We stopped in Hollister and parked practically on top of the Calaveras fault, part of the San Andreas system. This is a "creep" fault, which gradually distorts features in its path like this curb rather than jolting them periodically:

We were glad that the San Juan Bautista mission didn't collapse while we were in it:

After a quick stop in Davis to drop off some stuff for Dylan, we drove into the Sierra to follow Route 49 south through gold-rush mining towns: Angels Camp, for example, home of the frog-jumping contest. Winners have plaques installed on the sidewalks:

Right on main street there's also a wonderful museum and rock-shop run by self-taught geologists Pam and Russ Shoemaker.

Life at the SKP Jojoba Hills Resort

It would be really easy to settle into life at Jojoba Hills.  There's a great library:

...and a pool with view of the Palomar Mountains:

Karin and I transplanted some cactus and succulent plants from Redlands; they're thriving!

For wildlife, it's mostly rabbits and quail:

Here's a brood of quail going through my lot at breakfast. 
The adults are about the size of a pigeon.

Getting Caught Up

Quick review of activities since early Spring.  Lots of deaccessional activity.  For example, 45+ years of conference badges.  No room for them in the wheel-people life!

Giant RV delivered my Milan trailer to my site at Jojoba Hills.  My house sold for more than the asking price within a week of listing!  And I made three U-Haul runs to move various things to my lot: patio furniture, pet cactuses, garden tools, barbeque and many more boxes than I had hoped.  My 8X12 storage shed filled up fast! 

Karin drove my Elantra ("the Opel", she calls it) while I shuttled the Phoenix Cruiser down to Jojoba.  But I still had the Porsche to move.  I called on Lisa Berry, an Esri friend, to drive the Porsche from Redlands to Aguanga. The last ten miles are nice hilly and curvy roads.  Did Lisa have trouble handling the 911 Carrera?  No way. She was the Ladies SCCA Autocross champion in 2009:

The Milan trailer is right behind Lisa and the Cruiser is on the left.  This was a rather small and barren lot; a nicer one came available just a few days later, so another U-Haul rental was in order for all my belongings and SKP friends Randy and Claude moved the Milan up to the new site

....and some news....

A week ago Jojoba Hills offered me a lot, which I accepted.  It's pretty bare, which will give me a chance to try out my landscaping and gardening chops.

Also, Giant RV called and I got a briefing on my Eclipse Milan travel trailer -- which will stay on my site in Aguanga -- and went through the paperwork ceremonies.  Though it's also 25 feet, it looks huge compared to the motorhome.  No engine and cab makes the difference

Tomorrow (March 30) I'll go through more paperwork at Jojoba, then arrange for Giant to deliver the trailer.

Solo NorCal Trip

I've been photographing car races since 1958, so as a retirement present I signed up for a two-day photo course at Laguna Seca by http://www.f8photoworkshops.com

Charity begins at home, after all. It was great to see signs of Spring on the way up:

I picked the Wine Country RV park in Paso Robles for an overnight stop, and discovered to my delight that they had arranged to have the Estrella warbird and racecar museum just 2 miles away for my entertainment.  Recommended!  If you like such things.

F-104

I had my first "dry camping" or "boondocking" experience parked in the paddock at the raceway. I'm thankful that the vintage #75 Nascar didn't snore at night.

Here are the three pictures I chose to submit for the Sunday lunch critique:

Last one for Denis Demers:

After the course, I drove up to Davis to take my son Dylan and granddaughter Julia on an overnight RV adventure in the Sierra.  We inspected '49er miner diggings in Dutch Flat but spent more time checking out a recent (2011) hydroelectric installation, dormant because of the California drought:

Upper Lake, Dutch Flat

Julia inspects some olivine

Dylan explains hydro infrastructure to Julia -- a good listener

Julia works on her PlayMobile RV

I stayed at the Park Sierra in Coarsegold (near Fresno), the "other" Escapee's RV park in California. Very nice; not the desert.  I may move my pneu-a-terre there some day.

And Edwards Air Force Base provided entertainment along route 58 north of the base:

B-52 at ~1000' AGL

New Coach Part II: back to Redlands

Picking up the drive from Elkhart to Redlands, we stayed with my sister Charlotte in Santa Fe for a couple of days. But first, the Route 66 car museum:

Karin and Charlotte at La Fonda on the Plaza (hotel):

Beautiful petroglyphs on private land:

Surprise snow the morning we left. Santa Fe is at 7000 feet, after all:

Excellent science museum in Los Alamos:

And a spectacular view of one of the two supervolcano calderas in the USA:

We stayed overnight at "Mom & Pop's" RV Park in Farmington NM.
Pop still makes tiny dioramas at age 84, painting without a magnifier:

Next, a quick stop at Monument Valley. The drive from Kayenta to the Valley is a treat for amateur geologists:

We drove to Sedona via the Grand Canyon and a quick stop at the "other" Planes of Fame museum. Not sure I've ever seen a P38 without it's wings and engines:

We went on Kim Carlsberg's UFO tour in Sedona, recommended!  http://www.sedonaufoskytours.com/ After the tour she pointed us to the Red Planet Diner; good food and fun decor:

Overnight in Las Vegas, then home through the Mojave National Preserve. More great geology and interesting WWII boom-town history:

Home again to lawn mowing and pool chemistry.

P.S:  We lucked out on timing. For example, it was 55 and sunny when we were at Mammoth Caves. 10 days later there was a foot of snow on the ground.