Buying Pot in California!

First, a couple of photos from the Alabama Hills that I found on the cutting room floor ...

I know that this one should be saved for Valentines day, however …
And, a couple more or Mt Whitney.
As detailed in the last post, we moved on down from the Lone Pine area on 395 to Sawtooth Canyon BLM campsite south of Barstow.  I’ve taken lots of photos there before, but apparently, hardly any new ones.

But while camped here, it provides a good opportunity to visit Deep Creek hot springs, in the San Bernardino National Forest.  It’s still quite a drive and a hike of some 900’ vertical, but well worth the effort.  Coincidentally, about 20 miles across the canyons as the buzzard flies, things were not going so well in the city of San Bernardino that day .

After that it was a few days of driveway boondocking at a friends house in Desert Hot Springs.  We did the garage sale circuit and I picked up some good bargains.  I got a PVR for $3. two radio scanners for about the same price, and two cheap walkie talkies that work for $1.
From there we continued on south to check out what was going on with all the rumours about Borrego Springs and changes to the old boondocking areas.  But first it was a dump and fill at the Arco station at the junction of 86 and S22 out by Salton City.  Last time I was here the dump station was posted at $8., but this time there were no such signs!  But when we got down to the entrance to one of the boondocking areas near Clark dry lake, there were signs.  Lots of them.

At the entrance I have preferred for the last few years, east of Rockhouse rd, there was the sign above, and signs banning vehicles just about 100 yds in.  There were a couple rigs camped there along the highway.  So I continued along the highway and turned up Rockhouse.  For the first 4/5 of a mile, there appeared to be no change from the past.  Rigs all over on both sides of the road in the usual haphazard fashion.  Dogs were loose, and happy hour was under way.  After about the 4/5 mile mark however, there were signs on both sides of the road saying that only ‘Foot Access’ was permitted – meaning no vehicles and no camping.  These signs continued for the next half mile or so, but then it appears to me that the road leaves the new state park controlled area, and is once again the same as it has always been.  I pulled off down a side road and found a huge, flat, spacious spot all to myself, with only one other camper in view about a mile away.  Perfect.  Traffic on Rockhouse has been almost nil, the weather is perfect, and the coyotes provide vocal entertainment each evening!  Of course it appears that the majority of campers are constrained near the road by the available cell coverage, but not so with me on satellite!

Out came my big magnet and I soon had collected about 5 lbs of rusty nails, screws, and other metal from years of burning pallets in the past, as well as some broken glass and some shell casings.

A drive into town found the Christmas circle and it’s green grass was just waiting for a visit from Al and the Bayfield Bunch!
Out in the desert by my camp, one of my furry neighbours came visiting …

Now it was time for a big Pot purchase!  For the first part of my trip, I was on the road a lot, thus a lot of fast food places, and other things to throw in the oven.  But after a while it became clear to me that I must have moved my cooking pots (what were you thinking!) into the truck camper for my tour of Vancouver Island back in the fall.  Finally, I had to venture into a Fred Meyers and buy a deluxe new cooking pot.  Shortly after, I was looking for a convenient spot to store it, as there was not really room in the kitchen cupboards.  How about under the sink?  Of course, when I went to put it in there, I discovered all the pots I thought I had left behind!!