Sunday, February 5, 2017

Joshua Tree and the Salton Sea

Yesterday I FINALLY traded my hiking boots for SANDALS!!!!!!!!!

This morning I am in Blythe, CA. I was exhausted when I got here so went to bed at 7:30. Now of course I've been up since 1 am..... I am tired of being on the road so will head on to Bisbee today, even though my reservation doesn't begin until tomorrow.

Yesterday I drove through Joshua Tree National Park. (Bought my Golden Geezer pass!) Did a few short hikes and saw lots of rock climbers. Perfect weather, high 60's and clear blue sky.

Afterwards I drove down, and I do mean DOWN, to see the Salton Sea, from 5185 feet to 230 feet BELOW sea level. The drive there from Joshua Tree is very nice, through an impressive dry-wash canyon. Quite a few bicyclers on the road, and it does look like a nice ride, especially in the downhill direction.

Once you get out of the 20-mile-long canyon, the terrain totally changes to vast fields of industrial farming. I passed miles and miles of fields with signs proclaiming "Prime Time International", billed as "the largest year-round grower, packer, and shipper of multi-colored peppers in the United States." The little town of Mecca must be basically owned by these guys.

The Salton Sea is, hmmmm... strange? Pretty, I guess. I mean, it's a big body of water, the largest in California. But on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I saw no boats at all. This place has one strange history. It was created, believe it or not, by accident. In 1905, engineers were trying to get more water from the Colorado river into the area for farming, and whoops, they overdid it a little bit. It took them two years to shut off the excess flow and by that time, they had created this huge lake. And since it has no outflow, and very little inflow, it gets a little more salty every year. It's not as salty as the Great Salt Lake yet, but it's on the way.  And as for recreation here? I found this description on an angler's website:

"the scenery is straight out of a post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie. Decomposing algae and surrounding agricultural fields combine to create a pungent potpourri of smells that defies comparison. And summer temperatures can soar to 115 degrees in the shade - if you can find any shade." 

Oh, and did I mention it sits right on top of the San Andreas fault?

I actually thought the lake was pretty (aren't all bodies of water?) and it just smelled like ocean to me, but then again it's not summer. Because it's main sources of water are agricultural run-off and sewage,  it gets a little more polluted every year, too. In summer and fall, they say the smell can travel as far as LA. Would I swim here? Eat fish from here? Would I even boat here? No, I would not. Not sure I even want to eat those peppers anymore.

Image result for salton sea waterfall
During the formation of the Salton Sea

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