Yesterday I had a craving for water, so I had a very brief and very cold swim on the Arizona side of Lake Havasu. I brought the wetsuit and stuff down to the water but wanted to rinse off first, and by the time I had done that I was pretty much all set with the freezing water. I stayed in the overflow parking of a state park, so I had access to a shower, dump station and fresh water in the morning. I was nowhere near needing either, but it’s good to take advantage when I can.
In the morning I worked as an extra weird Time Lord, my phone showing California time while I was in Mountain time, and the work was in Eastern. I headed to Joshua Tree national Park, and stopped to top off with cheaper diesel before the border. In California I stopped at an agricultural checkpoint and discussed fruit with the agent. I won’t say exactly what transpired in case it might get them in trouble.
I’m currently sitting on a mountain again, this one a pile of loose and less loose boulders. It looks surprisingly like Hampi, only with a valley full of Joshua trees. The rock is a bit softer and more crumbly though, and while it looks like sand from a distance it’s all quartzy gravely snowballs made by a giant fond of tapioca pudding. I did quite a bit of bouldering to get up here, and would be challenged to find my return path. I’m hoping instead to be challenged by a different route, toward the petroglyphs I can see people admiring across the valley. As in Sedona I can hear people talking clearly, when I sit still and avoid crunching across the rocks.
I definitely had to backtrack a few times, repeatedly deciding if a human could climb that way, and then whether or not I’m such a human. The gritty rock provided good grip, with none of the dust of Sedona. Still there were spots where it could flake off in sheets, or where the lentil sized gravel could be slippery. I got down safely though and checked out the cool petroglyphs.
I’m going to post this now since I think I have a tiny bit of service.
H