To Nevada

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I left Bass Lake on a beautifully clear Sunday morning heading towards Pahrump, Nevada where I would rendezvous with some of my SOLO friends. (The SOLOs Group is a chapter of the Escapees Camping Club, we all travels alone due to one reason or another.)

The first 50 of the 450 mile trip, was still up and down and amongst lots of trees. By now I was really ready for some wide open spaces and the sight of Interstate 5 was more than welcome. At Bakersfield I left the Interstate and took the road almost due east towards Barstow and the Mojave Desert. One of these days I am going to stop in all these cities, the names are so familiar.

The landscape changed dramatically within a few miles. No more big pine trees lining the road, sand and scrub brush were all I could see for miles; then suddenly an oasis, and orange, pistachio and olive groves were beside the road for a couple of miles. Then into the Mojave proper - which turned out to be far more beautiful than I was expecting although nothing grows there; I had expected to see flat land with maybe some sand dunes, it’s actually quite mountainous. I had been told that the desert is really boring but I don’t find it so, and hope my pictures convey all the colours and contours of the mountains. I broke the trip and stayed overnight at a nice park in California City and was able to watch a beautiful sunset.

The next morning the resumed trip didn’t disappoint either. My Granddad Andrews was still alive in 1969 when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon—he never believed it figuring that it was all just “simulation.” He would have been pleased to see this landscape it would have cemented his belief because it just looks like a moonscape.

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Photos

Quite Lush Here
Compared to what I would see a few miles on. This is the main road from southern California to Las Vegas so is a great four lane road all the way.

Caliornia City
The view from my campground.

Moonscape
Nothing growing but they do harvest the wind!

Pahrump
This beautiful valley was occupied by the Southern Paiutes centuries ago. They named it Pahrump meaning sping or flowing water emerging from rocks

Casino
Of course this is Nevada and as a result casinos are everywhere. This one is in the center of Pahrump. There are even "one arm bandits" in the smallest of convenience stores.

Into Death Valley
Pahrump is about 2500' above sea level. My SOLOs group is heading into Death Valley which is well below sea level