03/27/22:
Grateful to have this opportunity to take a respite from life and travel the Great Mojave Wilderness with my bub.
I wanted to take him on the January trip across Nevada, and honestly I was sad that I didn't. In this uncertain time I had no idea whether or not I'd be able to take him with me on an adventure for a while.
We're at the Kelso Dunes. He's sleeping in the passenger seat next to me, snoring ever so lightly. Davis thought the dunes were the beach. Loved 'em. Ran around in the desert sands like there's no tomorrow. I love making new memories in old places.
Now off to Zzyzx to complete our Amboy to Zzyzx tour - and through the Mojave National Preserve.
The desert seems to bring the best of everything out of me - raw emotion, visceral remembrance of great moments, and, most importantly, gratitude always to be alive and here.
03/28/22:
Back from the great desert wildlands this afternoon. Dark, ominous clouds were moving over the peaks framing Amboy. The perfect send-off after a weekend of sizzling Spring heat and blue skies.
Context:
This trip was inspired by Ken Layne's Desert Oracle podcast, the self professed "Voice of the Desert". Specifically, the tag line in the outro: "From Amboy to Zzyzx and across the Great Mojave Wilderness..." Of course I interpreted that last part as meaning the Mojave National Preserve, which lies between the two locations, only an hour and a half drive away from one another. In Amboy we hiked to the now extinct Amboy Crater, took photos with the desert oddities strewn about the area (including a new giant gold Buddha statue), kicked the car into high gear along Route 66, and stopped by Roy's for ice cream and a cold drink in the scintillating 98 degree March heat. In the MNP we took Kelbaker road through lava fields peppered with cinder cones and eastern Joshua trees (pictured above) and had a day at the beach in the 3rd tallest dunes in North America. In Zzyzx we took a stroll along the Boulevard of Dreams and Lake Tuendae abutting the expansive salt flats of Soda dry lake (not to be confused with one of the same name in the Carrizo Plain - people just suck at naming things sometimes). As a former "health and mineral spa" founded by a radio televangelist in the 40's to now existing as a research facility for the California State University system, Zzyzx is a bizarre place chock full of broken dreams and new beginnings. And most people just laugh at the sign and never bother to detour off of Interstate 15.
Here are some favorite photos from the trip:
Roy's famous sign off of Route 66 in Amboy:
Dark clouds hanging over the lava fields of Amboy:
The new gold Buddha statue, among many other uniquely weird installations:
Davis enjoying a treat at the camp site with Amboy Crater in the background:
The palm trees framing the artificial Lake Tuendae in Zzyzx with Soda lake in the background (heard spiders live in the salt flats. Nature finds a way):
Davis and I beside the lake:
Crossroads between the Blvd of Dreams and Chub St. in Zzyzx:
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