April 17th

I left Albuquerque around 2:00 since my stop for the night, City of Rocks State Park, is only a 4-hour drive away.  However, I picked a terrible day to travel as high winds and blowing dust made driving difficult, especially between Albuquerque and Socorro.  There were times when I had trouble seeing the car in front of me.  Since the wind and dust had not let up by the time I reached Hatch, I decided that a hotel would be much better than a tent for the night.  Good decision as I-10 Westbound was closed due to the dust storm so I wouldn't have been able to get to the park anyway.


  • A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.  Proverbs 16:9  NKJV

April 18th

Woke up early, took a shower and hit the road.  No wind today, so far!  Since I have plenty of time, I went to City of Rocks State Park and got my cameras out.  That was the plan to begin with, be here for early morning shots before heading to my next stop, Picacho Peak State Park, AZ.  City of Rocks is a very cool spot, it is a small area of the Chihuahuan desert.  The city is made up of large rocks formed about 34.9 million years ago and sculptured by erosion.  The campsites are each contained within a rock grouping so you sleep and eat surrounded by the giant rocks, which also provide some privacy.

Once I had my shots, I headed west to Picacho Peak State Park  south of Casa Grande, AZ.  That's when I remembered that I had intended to purchase some real tent stakes for my new tent...  Sure enough, hard, rocky ground means bent cheap stakes that come with every tent.  And, then the wind began to blow.  I had to tether one corner to a low growing bush to keep the tent from blowing over.  Goodness you would have thought I'd never gone tent camping in my life!  Rookie mistake. I ended up sleeping in the Jeep, intermittently, and mostly watching the traffic on I-10.

I was able to get some nice shots of the saguaro in the park.

  • In peace, I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.  Psalm 4:8  NIV

April 19th

Salton Sea is about 5 hours away so, after a quick trip to Walmart for tent stakes, I head west.  Got stuck for a while in a weird vehicle situation.  Person driving an AZ red Rogue could not decide how fast to go.  Came up to pass me and then just slowed down a car length in front of me, and kept going slower and slower and slower.  So, I passed them and about 10 minutes later we  had a repeat.  After the third time, I looked for an excuse to get off the highway and give this person plenty of time to get to their destination, or at least get far enough ahead of me so as not to tangle up my day any further.  

I never knew that America had it own version of the Dead Sea.  Salton Sea is a landlocked lake that lies 227 feet below sea level.  It was formed in 1905 when high spring flooding on the Colorado River broke through the irrigation canal gates and flowed into the Salton Trough.  When engineers were finally able to stop the flooding in 1907, the Salton Sea had been born.  Because it was the site of an ancient lake dating back to 700 AD, the water did not soak into the ground.  There is no outflow, but there is enough inflow to keep the water level somewhat stable and it has become a big stop for California migratory birds.  This despite a salinity of approximately 60 PPT where the oceans are approximately 35 PPT.

A few campsites from me there is a huge family gathering, it is Easter weekend after all.  Looks like probably 4 generations, they have bike riders, scooters, even a group of teens wearing rabbit ears!  Horseshoes, an Easter egg hunt, and the sound of laughter all day long and into the night. Adding to my enjoyment was some pretty cool flora. I ended up sleeping in the Jeep once again as there is a railroad track right across the highway with freight trains going by about every hour or so...

I finally learned why there are so many tires lying on the beach of the Salton Sea.  Seems that during its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, it was a popular destination for boating and the tires were used as docks and mooring points.  The sea has shrunk some so now the tires are exposed on the beach several yards from the water.

  • For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.  1 Peter 1:18-19  NLT
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