Salton Sea & Slab City

We had planned on stopping over in Palm Springs on the way home on Friday and left early enough to spend some time there.  It was raining very hard when we left in the morning and it didn't stop all the way to Palm Springs. 

Rt 60 in California

We were hydroplaning at times on the highway.

Different columns for the wind turbines.

 When we arrived in Palm Springs it was still raining and very misty out.  We decided we didn't want to walk around town in the rain, so we kept on driving.

We had also planned on taking a different route back to Tucson and that included driving by the Salton Sea.  We caught Rt 111 South out of Indio and pointed the car south.  I was surprised at the number of vehicles on the road, but most of them continued on a different route and we were in the clear for a while.  It wasn't the most scenic drive we've been on out west, but it was interesting seeing the irrigated fields next to the scrub brush and brown where the fields weren't irrigated.

I had read about Bombay Beach on the Salton Sea and the flood they had there a number of years ago that wiped out most of the town.  It looked worse than the aftermath of Katrina, but didn't draw as much attention since it was a small town.  They have removed most of the destroyed homes and trailers, but there are still a few left.  

Earthen works protecting the town

 The algae in the sea causes oxygen to be depleted and it kills thousands of fish at a time.  They wash ashore, decompose and the stench is terrible.  There was a smell when we were there, but not as bad as others have reported.

We continued on down the road and saw the sign below.  They had a camping sign earlier and we decided to check out the campground.  They had 15 sites with full hookups and others with less.  We only saw the full hookup sites, but they didn't appeal to us and the Salton Sea wasn't enough to want us to camp there.

228 ft below sea level.

Seaside at Salton Sea.

Small settlement on the lake

 We chatted with a couple in the campground and they were to begin camp hosting duties on Monday.  I think they were having some second thoughts about the task ahead, but were going to tough it out there.  Good luck guys.

I had downloaded some geocaches in the Niland, CA area and also Slab City which is outside of Niland.  We picked up an easy cache at an area that had the 14 Stations of the Cross in a square.  Gerry actually came out and found this one while I was trying to get a better GPS fix on it.  Sometimes common sense is better than being 100% accurate.

Slab City is a very unique place a few miles outside of Niland.  It is on the site of an old military base that was torn down many years ago.  The only things left were a few buildings and the concrete slabs where other buildings stood.  Many years ago people started moving into the area in tents, RVs and all kinds of places to live.  One such person who moved there was Leonard Knight.  He recently passed away in San Diego after a two year illness.

Salvation Mountain 

What can I say about this?

The Tree of Souls (Sole)

There is a fairly large community out there and they have their own website.  Most places are powered by solar and many don't have any power at all.  We chatted with one woman who was walking from "town" with jugs of water.  Some bring tanks of water, while others have to go to town for their supply.  It looks like a hard existence for many of those in the area.  They bathe in a hot spring near the entrance to the area.  To each his own.

We did find a couple geocaches out there to add to our list of found caches.  One cache must have been removed since it wasn't anywhere to be found where it should have been.  It was supposed to be a very easy find.

We saw what we came for and left with Yuma as our next destination.  It was closer than we thought and decided to have dinner and continue on back to Tucson.  By this time I was tired of hauling suitcases, computers, camera bags, ice chest and all the other baggage up and down stairs.  I put the cruise control on 77 mph and sat back and pointed the car down I-8.  I did have one unsettling moment when I was going 67 in a 55 mph zone and a local sheriff passed me.  I guess he had bigger fish to fry than us, so it worked out fine.

We arrived in Tucson around 11:30pm and quickly brought in what we had to and then went to bed.  It was pure heaven to be back in our own bed and we slept very well.

That was our week long trip and we had a great time.  I hope you all had a great week also.

Geocaching & Goodbyes

The Spanish have a saying that "visitors and fish begin to smell after 3 days" and we try to follow that advice.  With that being the case, we had a nice breakfast with Pamela & John and then left early enough for them to take care of their chores.

I wanted to pick up a geocache or two along the Pacific Coast Highway and headed to one near the Huntington Beach Pier; however, there was a group of surfer dudes hanging around the cache location.  I tried to pick it up, but they started watching me more closely and I decided to not let them know about the cache.

When I went back to the car in the parking lot a man parked next to us asked if I would mind giving him a jump start since his battery had gone down.  No problem and we quickly had his car running.  He asked if we lived in the area and then said he was a photographer for the LA Times and had been taking pictures at the Pier and beach for the last couple hours.

 Allen J Schaben - LA Times Photographer

We chatted for a while and I filled him in on what geocaching was all about.  We also talked photography for a long time.  He said the photos would be in the LA Times blog, but we weren't able to find them the next day.  

We picked up a couple caches on the way back to Erin & Herb's home and then it started to rain.  Lots of rain.  It rained so hard that I felt sorry for the ducks on the lake behind their home.  Also, the wind picked up and it turned very cool so we spent the rest of the day in the house.  They were getting clothes ready for their trip to Phoenix and a Karate tournament.  We chatted with them as they worked and then visited with the children.  It turned out to be an early get to bed kind of night since we had a long drive ahead of us on Friday.

We finished up a few chores and headed for bed, also.  It rained during the night and woke us up a few times, but it was nice hearing the rain on the rooftop of their house.  After all the activity the past 4-5 days it was nice to slow down and get some rest.

Huntington & Newport Beach Drive

Our friends Pamela & John live a mile or so from the Huntington Beach Pier and we drove down there today, along with side trips to Long Beach & Newport Beach.  This section of Pacific Coast Highway is right down near the ocean vs being up on cliffs as around Dana Point.  It was less scenic but nicer to visit since you were so close to the ocean.

Main St & Pacific Coast Highway

 It was a cool and blustery day so we bundled up a bit and went out on the pier.  The pier had a wooden deck until a storm took it out a number of years ago.  They rebuilt the pier and now it is concrete, but still nice to walk on and get a nice view of the area.

Huntington Beach Pier

Checking the surfers on a cool day

 This sea lion was swimming around the pilings of the pier and stayed in the area for a long time.  A couple fishermen were catching anchovies with snag hooks in the same area so I guess the sea lion was feasting on some anchovies, also.  There was another one in the area but I couldn't capture it with the camera.

Friendly sea lion

 There were a number of oil platforms a few hundred yards offshore and from the looks of them, they were in use.  I always thought the environmentalists had stopped them so the beaches would not be spoiled. 

Offshore oil derrick

 Pamela and Gerry were following along behind John and me and chatting up a storm.  It looks like Pamela is camera shy, but that is just how I caught her at the moment. 

Strolling on the boardwalk (concrete)

The island shown below, in Long Beach, is man made just for the large structure to the right which is an oil derrick.  They planted palm trees and the island looks like it will be someone's private retreat in a few years with a multi million dollar estate there.  There were numerous oil derricks along the Pacific Coast Highway between Huntington Beach and Long Beach.  

Long Beach has a huge harbor and many gantry cranes along the docks.  There were many ships in the harbor and a few waiting for their turn at the docks.  The downtown area of Long Beach was very nice with a number of shops and businesses.   Not quite what you would expect from a harbor town.

Man made island for an oil well (Long Beach)

If you like to see what is going on a-round you, then this would be a perfect home for you.  Also, it is for sale and has a nice ocean view. 

House for sale in Newport Beach

Gerry at The Crab Cooker in Newport Beach

One big crab pot

 Gerry and I both love seafood and always enjoy a good seafood lunch or dinner.  One of John & Pamela's favorite places for seafood is the Crab Cooker on Balboa Island.  (I think - the places run together and I wasn't sure where I was all the time.)  We had excellent dinners there and managed to fill our tummies up with the great meals.

The restaurant is quite old and sort of ramshackle with the tables and chairs being of many different makes.  Unmatched would be a good description of the furniture.  Just the sort of place we love to find and enjoy a meal.  Relaxed is the best word to describe the place.

Me, Gerry, Pamela & John

Huge King crab

Tiki restaurant near Balboa Ferry landing

Newport Beach Harbor

John & Pamela gave us a long tour of the area and we enjoyed seeing all the places we've heard of over the years.  It's nice to put a face with people or scenery with an area.

Balboa Beach homes ranged from $1 mil to over $20 mil, so I don't think we will be relocating there in the near future.  There were numerous State Parks in the area with camping for a steep price, but they were right on the ocean.  For the most part they were full hookups on an asphalt parking lot, but the views were great.  It is an area where we would consider camping for a week or so.

We went back to our friends' house and settled in for a while.  It was a tiring day, but we had a great time.  That was our day, how was yours?

Dinner with Old Friends

We were posted to Costa Rica as a Foreign Service Officer in 1986 and met two couples right away.  Carlos was the Marine Security Guard commander attached to the U.S. Embassy there and Maria was his wife.  John & Pamela were an USAID couple and John & I worked together.  We hit it off with both couples and became good friends.

They both live out here in Southern California and we stayed with John & Pamela in their beautiful house.  Pamela set up a dinner party and invited Carlos & Maria over to join us.  It had been years since we last saw them, but conversation flowed freely among us.  The girls went into the kitchen and talked there and we guys sat in the living room and caught up on what we've been doing these many years.

We talked so much that we neglected to take many photos, but we at least took a few of them.

Maria & Pamela

Carlos & John

John & Pamela prepared a great meal and we all managed to stuff ourselves.  It wasn't a buffet, but there was so much food on the table that it seemed that way.

Shortly after our settling into our homes in Costa Rica, we watched Carlos & Maria's son Andy for a weekend while they went on a TDY to Panama.  It was just our luck that was the weekend that an earthquake struck.  Gerry ran for Andy & I checked Larry Jr.  They both slept through the 'quake.  We didn't since it was rocking and rolling.  All's well that ends well.

Carlos & Maria had a long drive back home, so we exchanged emails with them and hope we can stay in touch in the future.  It was great seeing you two.

By this time the 4 of us were worn out and called it an early evening.  That was our day, how was yours?  

Pacific Coast Highway

Everyone in the house went to work or school today and we decided to take a drive down the Pacific Coast Highway with no particular destination in mind.  First we had to mail a letter and then fill up the car with gas.  The local Costco was a bargain at $3.73 and it was near the post office, so we headed over that way.  This is what we found when we got to Costco.  The 8 lanes of gas pumps were 10-12 cars deep at each one.  Have you ever timed how long it takes people to fill up their gas tank?

Costco gas station

After our delay we headed for Laguna Beach and points south.  It was a nice drive along the coastal highway and there were several spots where the ocean was viewable from the road.  In many places out here housing development, businesses, motels, etc block your view.  Not so much along this section of the highway.

Surfing dudes waiting for the big one.

Skipping the small wave

A little close to the edge for us

Love those Palm trees.

We stopped for a late lunch at the Dana Point Marina and chose Harpoon Henry's.  We didn't know anything about the area or what was available but entered with anticipation of a tasty meal.  We were seated in a location that overlooked the harbor.  It turned out to be a perfect spot of lunch.

I had Maui Maui and Gerry picked her favorite Coconut Shrimp and we both enjoyed our meals.  We had been looking forward to some fresh seafood so the meal hit the spot for us.

We made it down to San Juan Capistrano and found the drive interesting and scenic.  It was less crowded and we avoided the Interstates so we could enjoy the scenery.  Finally we had to turn around and head back north toward Irvine.  It was a great day and quite a change of scenery from what we are used to in Tucson.

One of my favorite flowers is the Bird of Paradise and Erin & Herbert have a number of plants of them.  What do you think, is
this beautiful or not?  We had these flowers in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and also San Jose, Costa Rica when we lived in each place. We enjoyed placing some in the house and appreciated their beauty.

We got back to Erin and Herbert's house and visited a while, had a late dinner and finally went to bed early for us.  We had to get up early the next morning and start it all over.

That was our day, how was yours?

Crystal Cove State Park, CA

We all lazied around the house today and finally headed down to the beach just before sunset.  Crystal Cove SP is along side of the Highway 1, Pacific Coast highway.  Just across the entrance to one part of the park are some beautiful homes on the hillside.   A quick check for prices stated that the homes range from $2mil to over $24mil.  They sure do look nice from the outside, but I think most of the value of the homes comes from the location.

Gerry and Erin posed for a nice shot at the beach with the $$$ homes behind them.  Pretty as a picture.

The whole family went down to the beach. The 6 yr old twins ran around up and down the hills and never tired out.  I walked to a nice viewing area and got some late shots just before sundown.  That was enough walking for me.

Pretty sunset over the Pacific

Gerry, Erin and the 3 kids walked down to this beach.

 While we were waiting for the walkers to come back up the hill, Herbert noticed a hummingbird flying around at our feet.  I had to take 5-6 photos to get one nice photo to include in the blog.  They sure do fly around fast and don't spend a lot of time in one place.

See the hummingbird in upper right of photo?

 Erin and family live in the city of Irvine and we rode around a little today and it is a beautiful city with flowers, manicured lawns and beautiful homes.  Their home is on a small lake and has a beautiful view from their patio.  We spent a lot of time on the patio enjoying the great weather and were honored to watch a talent show from the twins.

That was our nice day, how was yours?