Summer 2010 Westward Journey Part VI: Finally to California

The last day of my odyssey to the West Coast began with a tasty and cheap breakfast at the somewhat ominously named “Roadkill Café”. Located right next door to my overnight accommodations in Seligman this café was well decked out with Route 66 memorabilia. A number of other guests seemed to be at various stages of their 2,000 mile journey following what remains of this famous highway linking Los Angeles and Chicago. As the Wikitravel website notes: Route 66 is one of the essential icons of America, both for Americans and for people abroad. It represents a multitude of ideas: freedom, migration West, and the loneliness of the American heartland. Given this I felt slightly odd eating the breakfast special of egg on a English muffin – it seemed way too British for a Route 66 roadside restaurant.

I now headed west on Interstate 40 which for large portions was laid on top of the old Route 66.

I was making good time with a 70 mph speed limit as I dashed through the dry desert landscape before reaching the city of Kingman. I noted a disproportionately large number of aircraft parked at the airport. I later learned that the dry desert environment is perfect for storing aircraft passenger and freight that are surplus to needs.

It appears as though Kingman airport has served this role for more than 60 years. At the end of World War II some 10,000 aircraft were flown here for scraping and salvage.

Surplus World War II planes stored at Kingman Airlfied - 1946.

Onward passing the massive Arizona Proving Ground – this vehicle test facility was built by the Ford Motor Company in 1955 on the grounds of an old Army Airfield. In 2007 the facility was bought for $35 million by Chrysler. All sorts of testing is done on new cars here, including on a 5 mile banked racetrack that was visible as I drove on westwards.  Then I saw a most curious sign on the outskirts of Lake Havasu City.

This part of Arizona close to the border with California was essentially a deserted desert until the 1938 construction of the Parker Dam on the Colorado River. This dam is known as the deepest dam in the world. Seventy-three percent of the dam's structural height of 320 feet is below the original river bed; only about 85 feet of the dam's structural height is visible. Lake Havasu City was established in 1964 by Robert P. McCulloch (of McCulloch chainsaws) as a planned community. McCulloch had purchased 3,500 acres (14 km²) of property on the east side of Lake Havasu. In 1968, McCulloch was searching for a unique attraction to help promote and drawn attention for his city and saw that London Bridge in England was for sale. By the early 1960s it was apparent that the 1831 built London Bridge was gradually sinking into the River Thames and the City of London decided that a new bridge would need to be built. Rather than demolish the existing bridge, they decided to auction the historic landmark. When casting his bid for the bridge, McCulloch doubled the estimated cost of dismantling the structure, which was US$1.2 million, bringing the price to US$2.4 million. He then added on US$60,000, a thousand dollars for each year of his age at the time he estimated the bridge would be raised in Arizona. His gesture earned him the winning bid, although there was very little competition. It took three years to complete the project. The structure was dismantled block by block, with each section marked and numbered. The more than 10,000 granite pieces were shipped through the Panama Canal, to Long Beach, California. From Long Beach, they were trucked inland 300 miles (500 km). The bridge was reassembled by matching the numbered stones and filling in the area under the bridge with mounds of desert sand to support each arch as it was reconstructed. The $7 million reconstruction project was officially opened on October 10, 1971, with a gala celebration and dignitaries such as the Lord Mayor of London. With the purchase of the bridge, McCulloch accelerated his development campaign, increasing the number of free flights into the city. The free flights to Lake Havasu lasted until 1978, and reportedly they totaled 2,702 flights, bringing in 37,000 prospective buyers. Today the population is almost 60,000. And reportedly, the London Bridge is the second most visited attraction in Arizona behind the Grand Canyon (although honestly I find this a little hard to believe).



I now bid farewell to Arizona and hello to California as I crossed the Colorado River and then immediately began crossing the Mojave Desert.




The Mojave occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States. It was named after the Mohave tribe of Native Americans.

The Mojave Desert receives less than 10 inches (254 mm) of rain a year and is generally between 3,000 and 6,000 feet (1,000 and 2,000 m) in elevation. The Mojave is a desert of temperature extremes with winter months bring temperatures dipping to below 20F (-7C) on valley floors, and below 0F (-18C) at higher elevations. Storms moving from the Pacific Northwest can bring rain and snow across the region - more often, the rain shadow created by the Sierra Nevada mountain range bring only clouds and wind. In longer periods between storm systems, winter temperatures in valleys can approach 80F (27C). Summer weather is dominated by heat — temperatures on valley floors can soar above 120F (49C) and above 130F (54C) at the lowest elevations. The Mojave Desert's boundaries are generally defined by the presence of Yucca brevifolia (Joshua trees); considered an indicator species for this desert. The sight of these curious looking plants provided a form of entertainment on the long, hot two hour drive from the town of Needles and the eastern edge of the desert to Barstow on the western edge.

Joshua Trees in the Mojave Desert.

Some interesting sites around Barston including a huge solar power plant with acres of solar panels arranged on the desert.  Also a huge military base that turned out to be a Logistic Supply Base for the Marine Corps. Leaving the Interstate at Barstow I now followed California Highway 58 heading due west passing through the town of Boron which is home to a massive (the worlds largest) open bit mine for the mineral boron.  

 The massive processing boron plant at Boron.

Shortly thereafter it was onwards to pass Edwards Air Force Base where I saw the runways which because of there over three mile length are used for landings of the Space Shuttle.  The base is also home to a rocket engine test facility for the US Air Force and I was amazed to see the launch towers strung out along a ridge.

The Air Force Research Laboratory Propulsion Directorate a rocket engine test facility on and around Leuhman Ridge on Edwards Air Force Base

The highway skirted the town of Mojave where again the airport was home to a massive mothballed fleet of planes. It is incredible to see mile after mile of planes parked wing-tip to wing-tip just in storage. Then I was surprised to see the road begin to climb quite steeply up and over Techachapi Pass (3,793 feet / 1,156 meters) at the southwest end of the Tehachapi Mountains which link Southern to Central California.  Across the top of this pass was an enormous wind farm with rows of windmills across the ridges - an impressive site.  The 5,000 wind turbines of Tehachapi are owned by a dozen separate power companies.

Wind farm on Tehachapi Mountains.

As the road carried on over the Tehachapi Mountains I saw a train climbing up over the hills using the famous Tehachapi Loop.  I carried on and entered a completely different environment with the heavily irrigated fields of the San Joaquin Valley.  If it were not for massive irrigation this would be a relatively dry valley.

Historian Kevin Starr has referred to the San Joaquin Valley as "the most productive unnatural environment on Earth." By some estimates, 12.8% of the United States' agricultural production (as measured by dollar value) comes from California, and the majority of that is in the San Joaquin Valley. The major crops are table grapes, wine grapes, raisins, cotton, nuts (especially almonds and pistachios), citrus, and vegetables.

Into  Bakersfield on a very hot afternoon where I bought one last final tank of gas to take me towards the conclusion of my journey.  North for a few miles up Highway 99 before turning west again through the towns of Wasco and Lost Hills.  A huge oilfield near Lost Hills which is part of the Kern River Oilfield (the fifth largest in the US). 

The Lost Hills oilfield.

My zigzag route continued as I followed Highway 33 passing a couple of massive prisons.  The isolation and vastness of the San Joaquin Valley, as well the need for local jobs, have led the state to build numerous prisons in the area.  At Coalinga I turned to follow CA Highway 198 which was a wonderful highway.  By the way, the name Coaling comes form the days of steam trains when the Southern Pacific Railroad kept a large store of coal fuel here and referred to the place as Coaling Station A.  The small town developed with the word 'station' dropped to form the name Coalinga.

Following Highway 198 into the hills from Coalinga.

Over the crest of the pass and into Monterey County and into Priest Valley and onwards through dry but very scenic farming country.

 Priest Valley.

I reached the US 101 Highway just south of King City and turned north for one final hour of driving.  I could sense the imminent arrival of the ocean long before I could actually see it.  I skirted Monterey and then into the beautiful little town of Pacific Grove which will be my home for the summer.   I met Jane and we headed for dinner at a restuarant overlooking the ocean.

Sunset at journeys end - Pacific Grove.

It was a fantastic journey.  A total of 2,552 miles over six days to travel from Minneapolis to Pacific Grove.  The more I see of this incredibly diverse nation the more I realize there is to see.   Each and every National Park is truly a national treasure.  The iconic landscapes are just that - iconic.  The mile-after-mile of driving across the vastness is as interesting as the uniqueness of each village, town, and city.  And the people met bring each place to life.  I feel privileged to call America home and to have the opportunity to explore and experience this amazing country.

Summer 2010 Westward Journey Part V: Utah and Arizona Rock.

Excuse the pun, but today rocked – with the theme for the day being ancient arches, radical rocks, and legendary landscapes. After an adequate but not great sleep (especially the sprinkler dousing) under my picnic shelter in the roadside rest area south of Moab I was awoken by the bright sun shortly after sunrise. I didn't really know where I was when I arrived late the night before. I opened my eyes to see I was sleeping at the base of great tower of red rock – a neat thing to see first thing in the morning. 

Sunrise – photo taken while still in my bivy bag at the overnight camp in the rest area.

Sunrise – on the rock walls just south of Moab.

I elected to head the 20 minutes back into Moab for coffee and breakfast. It was a beautifully sunny morning so I then decided to make a quick trip to Arches National Park. I was soon to learn that the landscapes here are so incredibly spectacular that a quick trip is impossible.

Arches National Park is known for preserving over 2,000 natural sandstone arches, including the world-famous Delicate Arch, in addition to a variety of unique geological formations. The park, located just outside of Moab, Utah, is 119 square miles (310 km2) in size.  A little on the history from Wikipedia:
Humans have occupied the region since the last ice age 10,000 years ago. Ancient Pueblo People lived in the area up until about 700 years ago. Spanish missionaries encountered Ute and Paiute tribes when they first came through in 1775. Mormons attempted to establish a settlement in 1855 but soon abandoned the area. Ranchers, farmers, and prospectors later settled around Moab in the 1880s. Word of the beauty in the surrounding rock formations spread beyond the settlement as a possible tourist destination. The Arches area was first brought to the attention of the National Park Service by Frank A. Wadleigh, manager of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad who suggested to Park Service director Stephen T. Mather that the area be made a national monument. The following year additional support for the monument idea came from Laurence Gould, a University of Michigan graduate student (and future polar explorer) studying the geology of the nearby La Sal Mountains, who was shown the scenic area. A succession of government investigators examined the area and designation of the area as a national monument was supported President Herbert Hoover in 1929. In 1971 it status was changed to a National Park.


I had a quick look around the visitor's center (always taking time to check the postcards in the gift shop as they show the must see highlights) before heading off to follow the road that leads to the various formations and hiking trails.

A formation known as the 'Three Gossips"

This one was called "Balance Rock"

The story of the geology, and especially the rather complex explanation for the amazing arch formations, can be found here (link to geology of Arches National Park).

 
It being a beautiful morning, not yet too hot, and being slightly sore after my skiing the day before I wanted to go for a run to shake out the tightness in my legs. I selected the trail to Delicate Arch (a 3 mile / 5 km round trip).  I'll provide a little detail of the trail and some of the many photos I took on this incredible run. Right at the trailhead I stopped to look at the remains of Wolfe Ranch and read the interesting interpretative panels describing the history.

John Wesley Wolfe, a veteran of the US Civil War, built the homestead known as Wolfe Ranch around 1898, seeking to make a new life in the newly established State of Utah. The ranch was on a small creek known as Salt Wash, at the beginning of the Delicate Arch Trail. Wolfe and his family lived there a decade or more, then moved back to Ohio. The cabin still remains, an echo of what must have been a very hard life but none the same, a remarkable experience.

Remains of the Wolfe Ranch. 

The first third of the hike was through rugged, brushy terrain but following a good trail that gained elevation slightly as incredible views of formations appeared off in the distance.

  Early on my run - note the arch on the horizon.

The middle third of the hike was along the face of an exposed slickrock outcrop.  This was a lot more strenuous due to the gain in elevation.  Given I had run a marathon a month ago I was fairly fit and quickly overtook many of the day hikers who had set off before me.

 Almost at the top of the slickrock looking back towards the start of the trail and Salt Valley.

At times the only way I knew I was on the right path was by following the cairns (piles of rocks) placed to roughly suggest the otherwise unmarked trail to the top.

The final section of the trail followed along an amazing natural narrow rock shelf - you wouldn’t want to fall here with a nearly 150 ft (46 m) drop to the desert below.

 

The arch comes into view suddenly around a corner in the trail and frames the La Sal Mountains to the southeast.  

 

I would rank this up there with Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, and the Eiffel, Tower in terms of it doesn’t matter how many photos you have seen of this – nothing prepares you for the grander of suddenly standing in front of it. You really get a sense of how big it with the photo of me standing underneath.  This perhaps the most famous of all the arches as evidenced by its placement of the registration plate for Utah.

A wonderful downhill run back to the car before following the road to the far end of the park and then heading off on a second hike to see more of incredible arches.

Sand Dune Arch

Pine Tree Arch

Tunnel Arch

At the end of a 1.5 mile hike I arrived at Landscape Arch - the longest of the many arches in the national park, and by some accounts, the longest natural arch in the world. Across its span it measures 290 feet (88.4 meters).

Landscape Arch 

The sign at the base certainly had some incredible information.

Now I understood why the Park Service closed the trail that once passed beneath it.





It was now turning into a very hot day so I viewed several other arches, pillars, and incredible rock formations from the air conditioned comfort of my vehicle.

 The Devils Garden

Note the hikers in the foreground for scale.  The formation is called the Parade of Elephants.

Double Arch

   
I now somewhat relucantly left Arches National Park as I could easily have spent several more hours (if not days) exploring these incredible landscapes.  Shortly after leaving the national park I passed by a huge construction site located right beside the Colorado River that I thought had unusually high secuirty.  I took a photo and made a note to investiage further.

Moab UMTRA Project.

In 1952 the largest uranium deposit in the United States was discovered here just three miles outside of Moab. With an escalating Cold War the demand for uranium for nuclear weapons and power was at an all time high. The mined uranium was processed with the waste slurry stored in an unlined pond adjacent to the river. After the mill was closed in 1984 the pond was capped. Studies found that waste is leaching into the river, so in August 2005 the Department of Energy announced that 16 million tons of radioactive tailings would be dug up, placed in secure containers, transported 30 miles away along a specially built railway, and buried in a concrete lined hole. The cost of the relocation was originally estimated to be $300 million dollars, but it now stands in excess of $720 million dollars with completion not expected until 2025. It is known as the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. I couldn't help thinking that the legacy of the Cold War will last a very long time. More on the history and current status of the UMTRA Project can be found here.

I now headed south passing by a beautiful arch some 20 miles south of Moab located right next to the highway - it is called Wilson's Arch named after a pioneer farmer.

Wilson Arch with a span of 91 feet and a height of 46 feet.

I carried on across southern Utah on an increasingly warm day.  My destination was another National Park site with incredible rock formations.

Natural bridges may look similar to arches but they are formed by very different processes. Where the arches are formed mostly by ice, water, and wind the natural bridges are formed by stream erosion.

Sipapu Natural Bridge - the name comes from the Hopi word for the mythological portal from which the first human ancestors emerged.

The three bridges in the park are named Kachina, Owachomo, and Sipapu, which are all Hopi names. A natural bridge is formed through erosion by water flowing in the stream bed of the canyon. During periods of flash floods, particularly, the stream undercuts the walls of rock that separate the meanders (or "goosenecks") of the stream, until the rock wall within the meander is undercut and the meander is cut off; the new stream bed then flows underneath the bridge. Eventually, as erosion and gravity enlarge the bridge's opening, the bridge collapses under its own weight. There is evidence of at least two collapsed natural bridges within the Monument.

Owachomo Natural Bridge.

I now turned south across a flat featureless plain until I reached the edge of the world.  At least that it what it felt like.  I saw a procession of road warning signs before I fully grasped what they were all about.

The Mokee Dugway is a short three miles section of road that was constructed in 1958 by a now-ceased mining operation to transport uranium ore from their mine on top of the mesa to the processing mill on the flat valley below. The three miles of unpaved switchbacks descend 1,100 feet from the top of Cedar Mesa.

 

 Note the road at the top left then on the valley below.

The Moki Dugway is part of Utah Highway 261 about 24 miles south of Natural Bridges National Monument. The Moki Dugway gets its name from the Spanish word ‘moqui’ which was a general term used by the 18th century Spanish explorers and settlers in this region to describe the Pueblo Indians they encountered and the vanished culture which had left behind the numerous ruins they discovered during their travels. This term continued to be used (but spelled mokee or moki) by the Anglo pioneers, who moved into southern Utah during the 1800's to specifically refer to step-like paths they found leading up cliffs to the dwellings of the ancient American Indians.  It then became applied to any road or track dug into a cliff face.

Even though I took the decent very slow my brakes were smelling and glowing red hot as I reached the bottom.  An incredible piece of engineering and I was thankful I did not have to negotiate the Moki Dugway in a truck fully loaded with uranium ore.

Just five miles further on was yet another geologic wonder. I still remember sitting in a geology class as an undergraduate student in New Zealand seeing pictures of this place. Goosenecks State Park is world famous for being a classic location for observing incised river meanders.

Goosenecks on the San Juan River - if you click on the image (and have sharp eyes) you might spot the white water rafters on the far right some 1,000 feet below me.

Millions of years ago, the land here was forced upwards causing the river to carve down through the weakest layers of rock. Over a distance of just 1.5 miles the river travels almost 7 miles with the twists and turns.
You need a panoramic camera to get the full effect - so please do click here to see this great panorama of Goosenecks State Park.

Onwards across southern Utah before reaching the town of Mexican Hat for an ice cream and a tank of gas. You maybe wondering how this little town of just 250 people would get such a curious name.  This will explain.

The name "Mexican Hat" comes from a curiously sombrero-shaped, 60-foot (18 m) wide by 12-foot (3.7 m) thick (18.3 x 3.7 m), rock outcropping on the northeast edge of town. The "Hat" has two rock climbing routes ascending it.

I next entered into Monument Valley which would have to be one of the most iconic images in the American West - if not the entire country.

For movie buffs - you may recognize this as the spot where Forest Gump stops running.

I fear I am overly repeating myself in this blog posting - but nothing can prepare you for the sights of Monument Valley.  A warm sunny afternoon, windows down, favorite songs on my iPod playing through the car radio created an American experience I'll forever treasure.

Monument Valley is geologically part of the Colorado Plateau. The floor is largely formed of siltstone or its sand deposited by the meandering rivers that carved the valley. The valley's vivid red color comes from iron oxide exposed in the weathered siltstone. The darker, blue-gray rocks in the valley get their color from manganese oxide. The buttes are stratified, with three layers; the lowest layer is shale, the middle sandstone and the top layer is shale capped by siltstone. The largest buttes reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor.

Monument Valley is officially part of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, a Navajo Nation equivalent to a national park. Visitors can pay an access fee and drive through the park on a 17-mile dirt road that leads to many of the highest rock towers. But, given the cost and the expected 2-3 hours to do this drive I instead carried on in a southwesterly direction following US 163.  I was traveling through the Navajo Nation.  This is the largest Native American Reservation in the United States (it is the same size as the state of West Virginia, or a quarter of the size of New Zealand) and is home to 175,000 Navajo People.

Traditional hogan and more modern six sided home on the Navajo Nation.

I was interested to see a mix of contemporary and historic housing on the reservation.  The Wikipedia website notes:  Most modern housing in the Navajo Nation is detached single-family homes and mobile homes built in the 1960s, 1970s, or 1980s, although older built homes do exist. Single-family homes are mostly rural-styled homes constructed of wood. Because many homes do not have access to natural gas and electricity, most homes use wood or propane for heat and cooking. Due to the reservation's remote geographic location, many structures do not have telephone or public utility services and lack complete kitchen or plumbing facilities.  The traditional house structure for the Navajo was a hogan.  It is usually round and cone shaped with the door facing the east to welcome the rising sun for good wealth and fortune.  They are constructed with stacked logs with dirt pushed into the spaces. Navajos made their hogans in this fashion until the 1900s, when they started to make them in hexagonal and octagonal shape and today some modern housing follows a six-or eight sided construction design.  Today, while some older hogans are still used as dwellings and others are maintained for ceremonial purposes, new hogans are rarely intended as family dwellings.

I carried on following US 163 to its ending in the town Kayenta passing more castle-like rock formations that seemed to tower above the highway.  Then a right turn onto US 160 through the Navajo towns of Tonalea and Tuba City (named for Hopi Indian Leader Tuba or also known as Tuvi ; c. 1810 – 1887). This was a fascinating intersection of two towns and two Native American peoples.  Tuba City (population 8,200), which is primarily a Navajo settlement was located on the right side of the highway and on the left the Hopi town of Moenkopi (population 900).  Inside and completely surrounded by the massive Navajo Nation is the much smaller Hopi Indian Reservation.  I took a photo of an architecturally stunning new hotel recently opened by the Hopi Tribe (check out more photos of this beautiful building here).

Moenkopi Legacy Inn & Suites Hotel.

Heading on towards the junction of US Highways 160 and 89 then south towards the town of Cameron I could not help but think that the landscapes were beautiful but it must be hard living in this harsh enviroment.

 

 

At Cameron I made a spur of the moment decision that I will forever be very thankful for making.  The early evening sunlight was painting the land in an ever changing display.  I started to think about where I may find a place to spend the night.  But as I took a quick look at the map I decided instead to detour into Grand Canyon to watch the sunset.  I was a little anxious as I was pretty sure my timing was such that I would miss the main event.  Incredibly I reached the first viewpoint on the south rim (a place called Desert View) just in time to see what surely must be one of the most spectacular shows on earth.

 

As I look at these photos once again I am reminded of what an impressive display of nature it was.  I'm not ashamed to say that I shed a tear or two standing right on the rim entranced with the spectacle in front of me.  How could this canyon have been named anything else but Grand?  It is indeed Grand in every sense of the word being 277 miles (446 km) long, ranging in width from 4 to 18 miles (6.4 to 29 km) and attaining a depth of over a mile (1.83 km).   I grappled with the concept that nearly two billion years of the Earth's geological history exposed by the Colorado River were laid before me.  I outlasted all the other tourists as I shivered in the instantly cold desert night air until the very last ray of light has disappeared.  And then as I turned to leave I was treated to equally incredible sight of watching the full moon rise slowly into the heavens.

I followed the South Rim drive reaching Grand Canyon Village just a few minutes before the store closed at 9:00 pm for a late sandwich and Coke dinner.  Then it was south to reach Interstate 40 near the town of Williams and another half hour west before seeing a roadside sign for accommodation in the town of Seligman.  Turning off the Interstate I headed onto a remnant section of old Route 66 getting the last available room at a classic old style motel.

 

Today was a long 18 hour day with a lot of miles covered.  Yet, the last impression will be one of the incredible landscapes, amazing National Parks, and sheer beauty of the American Southwest.