Good Bye to Route 66.

 


Tuesday this week we said good bye to Route 66.  It has been almost two months of scouring maps and our collection of books and apps as we worked to drive every bit of 66 that had not been obliterated by Interstate.  We decided not to follow 66 into California but rather visit some friends in Earp, California. 



We crossed the Colorado river after following down it through Lake Havasu, didn’t stop to see a London Bridge to Earp, where Wyatt Earp did some mining and we had some friends.  This picture is of the many ducks that are either passing through or spending the winter on the Colorado River.


From Earp, we headed to Joshua Tree National Park.  This is one of the newer National Parks and one that  neither of us had visited in our many years of National Parks visiting as kids ourselves and with our own children. We have not gotten reserving campsites down to a science even with all the apps that are supposed to make this a snap but we have gotten more comfortable with spending nights in odd places.  South of Joshua Tree we dispersed camped on Bureau of Land Management land.  This means that you pull off the road at least 300 feet and set up camp. With our solar panels we can do this and keep the cooler cooling all night.  It may mean using the shovel in the morning....



In our continuing effort to avoid Interstates we headed south from Joshua Tree through this wonderful canyon. The canyon seemed to place the road in the river bed, not to be driven in the rainy season.  It went on like this for miles and in the end we came out in Mecca.  Mecca, California is a valley full of watered gardens and fields of everything from cotton to what we suspected were date palms. It also had a lake from which we assumed the water that turned the valley green, came. 

You know how they place dots next to a route that is considered scenic?  The drive along the lake was so designated, but not the drive through the canyon.  I guess if one regularly sees the dryness of the canyon represented, a lake is more dot worthy.  We did not agree.



On our way to Phoenix we passed an area of open sand desert.  What you see in this picture is an expansive area in which human beings are allowed to race their machines across the desert sand.  On the other side of the road was the protected area and guess what, there were plenty of small and large plants growing.  The size of the RVs that had garages to carry the toys was beyond amazing.  In the next few days we hope to enjoy The White Sands area of New Mexico and I am in hopes they will not be taking this abuse.



We are staying with a Tai Chi friend here in Phoenix and this morning we joined together in our regular Saturday chatting.  This afternoon we are having lunch with a friend from Birmingham School Board days before we continue our journey eastward.  We hope all are staying well as we mask our way back towards Florida.  It will be a few weeks before we get there as we have lots more to explore.



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