Movin' around... movin' around...

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

I had been camped off Ogilby Road, near Yuma when I decided to make a quick reappearance at RTR to say howdy to some friends who'd arrived late.

That accomplished, I headed out the next day to Slab City. With the exception of a few places with brand new fences made from pallets, the Slabs seemed way more run down and trashy than the last time I was there. Perhaps anxiety over California possibly kicking everyone out has some people digging in, establishing clearer possession of their plot of toxic desert, and others just throwing in the towel—and throwing all their crap wherever. Or maybe I'm just perceiving the place differently.

I wasn't in the right mood for the Slabs, I guess. So I took off this morning for the Anza-Borrego Desert, between the Salton Sea the coastal range.

This included an encounter with what must be local humor. Highway S22 runs west from Highway 86 at Salton City. After about a block and a half is a sign declaring it's the end of the 35MPH zone. I've seen several like it in various places. It usually means you can return to highway speed. And so, people like me, who aren't totally familiar with the place, start to accelerate. But right after that, the road has a stretch of extreme dips, lumps and whoop-de-doos that launch vehicles in the air and wag them back and forth. The only way to survive is to slow to about 15MPH. And the locals are entertained.

A couldn't park the Rolling Steel Tent in quite the same place as last year. The state has restricted a lot of the Clark Dry Lake and Rockhouse Canyon Road area to foot traffic only. But there was still enough space and privacy in the remaining boondocking area.

One of the neighbors

The weather was perfect. Like spring in most parts of the country.

Although the cell signal is a very strong four bars, the bandwidth is crowded, making the web very slow. Everyone must have been streaming football.

This is just another one day stop, though. In the morning I'll take the scenic route to the coast, through the mountains and past Mount Palomar. No need for speed.