Attempted Break-in in Mojave National Preserve

Fellow camper in the Alabama Hills

After about a week in the Alabama Hills above Lone Pine, Ca, it was time to move on.

But first, a bit more exploration was in order.  There was an old road leading down to Lone Pine creek at the base of the road leading up to Whitney portal.  So we got airborne for a few looks around.

Looking back towards Lone Pine and the Owens valley

It took a long time to decide where to head next, but south was the only given.  We continued down to join highway 58 at the Kramer Jct.  I always hated the section of road from there to Barstow as the road was largely two lane, very rough, and busy with trucks all trying to make a mile.  But now, most of the road has been upgraded, 4-laned, and even fairly smooth with some concrete sections.  More decisions to make in Barstow after another fill up.  We needed some propane as well, and soon found Silver Valley Propane near the new Walmart.  Only problem with Silver Valley Propane, is that they don't fill propane bottles!
After back tracking to U-haul we got one filled, but they wouldn't fill the second one as it has expired!   Most places south of the line don't even check, o well.  Back on the road we headed eastward for an hour on I-15 towards Vegas.  As usual, we exited at Baker and entered the Mojave National Preserve.  The spot I was aiming for was occupied, but it was late in the day, so we just parked nearby and went in search of a more private spot in the morning.  After looking at a couple of previously used spots, we chose a quiet spot a mile away.

Like many areas of the south west, it's previous uses seeemed to include garbage dump, party spot or shooting gallery.  I easily managed to fill a pail with broken glass that was everywhere.  I took it to the transfer station just outside Baker, and also asked about recycling.  Got a pretty much blank look from the attendant there who told me I was welcome to drop off my recycling there - but it would just go into the trash!  Thanks for that, very helpful.  Being a bit of a rebel, I called the 1-800 number on the bottom of the big sign, but the number was 'not available from that area'!  I guess I could give Brad a call?  I always thought that California was a leader in environmental initiatives (letting me know that almost everything I touch is known in Californa to cause cancer), but from the amount of trash I see blowing around, and the fact that not one driver seems to turn off their engine when stuck in an extended line-up during construction, I'm not so sure?

 

Last spring my 'activism' did get me a letter of apology from the head of CalTrans, after I pointedly explained how their road closure signs were blatantly misleading and deceitful. ;-)

We had an attempted break-in of my truck one afternoon as I was out hiking.  The perpetrator was still there as I returned from a nearby hike, but promptly departed upon my approach!  My high-tech security system did capture photos of the attempt.  Beware, if you see him (her?) in your area!

I think he was seeing his reflection in the window, and was doing his best to drive off what he thought was a trespasser in his territory!  There was lots of bird poop on the truck mirror, attesting to the time spent in the attack!

We had a nice little thunderstorm the next night, resulting in many of the small washes running full, but it was all at night, so didn't get to see much of the action, just the aftermath.

 

Weather forecasts were all saying that a huge storm was coming across the SW, with large accumulations of snow in the high country, with wind, rain, and plunging temperature almost everywhere.  I looked all around, even as far as Texas for a warm area, but there was nothing inviting.  Nevertheless, I knew that getting to an area with as low an elevation as possible would help with the cold temperatures.  Hailey and I debated our next destination, with her curled up on the bed, pretending to sleep and ignore me!  Lake Mohave won the lottery of preferred locations, so after another hour eastward on I-15, we cut across to Searchlight, Nv, and down to the lake.  Having endured bone-jarring washboard on the road down to Six Mile cove last year, I left Hailey and the rig roadside and went on a scouting mission.  We hit Mid-Basin cove, Tamarisk cove, 9 Mile cove, and Nellis cove. 

Mid-Basin cove

Mid-Basin Cove

Mid-Basin cove

Tamarisk cove

9 Mile cove

Nellis Cove

Although all the locations were somewhat appealing, most of the access roads followed washes or were crossed by multiple washes, all of which could leave you marooned or worse after the predicted rains and flash flood watch.  Plus, the main access along the Powerline road had it's share of rough spots and a few sharp hill-tops that I'm pretty sure would be impossible to navigate with the 5th wheel, even if you were willing to endure miles of washboard, sand, and sharp rocks.

Reluctantly, we hooked up again and headed for Fort Mohave.  Although we had spent over a month camped there last December, basically going to the vet every second or third day, neither Hailey nor I wanted to visit them this time.  So, after an overnight view spot overlooking Laughlin, we continued on southward, skipping through Lake Havasu, Parker, and Quartzsite.  A ways south of Quartzsite, we pulled off into one of our usual locations, and found a nice spot near a wash, with no one within a mile or so.  It is about as low elevation as one can get in these parts, so it is here we chose to hunker down and sit out any challenges the weather has to throw at us.  Something tells me, nothing here can compare to the -20C temps around home about now.

 Hailey made friends with this cute little tarantula, but I hope she wasn't responsible for him (or her!) being a 7 legged arachnid!

Not too crowded here, just to my liking!

Happy Thanksgiving to all the American readers!