Friday, December 4, 2020

No. Yes. No.

 As I’ve written before, part of me is ready to settle into my usual wintering area and part of me doesn’t want to do that yet. 

So I thought about making another visit to Joshua Tree, the Mojave Preserve and Death Valley. Yeah, that sounded good. I checked the forecast. Nights in the upper 30s, days only in the low 60s. Eh, no. I wouldn’t be a happy camper.

But I couldn’t shake the idea. Today I checked the forecast again. Oh, highs in the 70s, lows in the 40s. That’s actually nice. I could head out after the weekend.

This evening I looked at the LA Times. There’s a new stay-at-home order and travel restrictions in California. Rats.

Stop traveling, the governor says.

With the “regional stay-at-home” order issued Thursday and likely to be triggered in coming days, Gov. Gavin Newsom is imploring Californians to stay home for at least the next three weeks and cinching already tight restrictions in areas where the COVID-19 pandemic has hospitals under the heaviest pressure.

Outlining the new restrictions, which include new capacity limits for retailers and other changes, state officials said hotels and other lodgings will be allowed “to open for critical infrastructure support only.” But in the immediate aftermath of the governor’s announcement Thursday afternoon, details of the new travel restrictions remained unclear.

…Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s secretary of Health and Human Services, said the state is, in effect, telling, not asking, Californians to stop all nonessential travel. That includes canceling holiday travel plans, he added.

However, he and Newsom also said that parks and beaches would remain open and that Californians could boost their mental health by hiking, running, fishing, practicing yoga, skiing, snowboarding and otherwise savoring outdoor activities.

…In a widely circulated letter to industry professionals, Visit California President and Chief Executive Caroline Beteta wrote that in regions where the order takes effect, “hotels can remain open, although the order announced today bans non-essential travel statewide.”

…California State Parks did not respond to questions about how the governor’s order would affect its campgrounds.

…Other details of the state’s plan for enforcing the tighter limits remained unclear Thursday afternoon.

…Officials have said the status of the state’s nine national parks depends on consultation with county health officials and could take several days to sort out.

On Nov. 13, the state Public Health Department issued an advisory urging that anyone entering California on a nonessential trip — whether they are outsiders arriving or Californians returning from elsewhere — “should practice self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival.” During quarantine, that advisory said, “these persons should limit their interactions to their immediate household.”

I don’t know if this means I’ll have to leave my preferred boondocking area in far southeast California and stick to Arizona until who knows when.

7 comments:

  1. Mainly it means is the "authorities" don't really know what to do and neither do I.

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  2. I think Barney's got it right. You go, guy!

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  3. I'm on the algodones prescription drug plan. Maybe I should visit American girl sooner rather than later...

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  4. I read that last part that you can go but you need to self-isolate for 14 days. Can you persuade yourself to stay in one place that long?

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  5. Kristen is up by June Lake and says she's "having a ball!" Doesn't sound like anyone is giving grief. But hey, Surmisal ist Alles, Yah?

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  6. RST,you could enter the MNP from Nevada Hwy 164 @Searchlight and continue to Nipton or turn off 164 at Walking Box Ranch Road which runs into the middle of the preserve. WBRR is the best access btw to the Castle Peaks as well. Note also the Weethump Wilderness is accessed via 164 very near to WBRR.

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