TRAVELS with  the SOUTHWEST DUDE
  • Welcome to the West
  • Blog and Trip Reviews
  • Travel Archives
  • Contact Me
  • Music & Literature
  • Defense of the West

Blog and Trip Reviews

Caverns, Rain,  and Fellowship in the Desert

12/19/2018

8 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
DESERT TIME!

​I loaded up the Casita and headed for the Mojave Preserve on Monday, December 7. A few months back I heard that the Mitchell Caverns had re-opened for visitors after being off limits for seven years. The Mitchell Caverns are part of the Providence Mountains California State Park which lies in the Mojave National Preserve in the Mojave Desert.  I made reservations to visit the Caverns on Friday, December 7. My camping buddy and soul brother Marty joined me on Wednesday but we didn't anticipate how cold and rainy and windy it would be.  The first day I arrived it was cold and pretty but a change was in the air. I have a favorite boondocking spot (or 3) out there but, since the forecast was for heavy rain, I opted to stay at good old Hole in the Wall campground.  It is, without question, one of my favorite spots in the West. 
On Tuesday, I drove down to old Route 66 and Amboy Crater. 
Picture
Every year, in the summer, a few people seem to die near Amboy. It boggles the mind as the crater is close to the parking area and it seems impossible to get lost.  While wandering around the volcanic piles I found a makeshift memorial to an Orange County couple who were found dead there in 2017.  It's heartbreaking - even more so when you see how close they were to getting back to their car.  
Picture
Here are some black and whites from the first couple of days. 
Picture
I woke up on Wednesday morning to flash flood warnings on my telephone. I did as much as I could to prepare for the coming storm. I went for a walk and enjoyed the pre-storm calm. 
Picture
Marty arrived and we enjoyed a fun evening hanging out, having great conversation, listening to music  and watching a biography of the great Jack London on my iPad. The next day we went for a short hike and the rain started.  We went back to the trailer and hunkered down. At one point, we looked outside and realized that we were the only people left in the campground. It was slightly unnerving as we both kept getting iPhone warnings about impending weather doom.  Turns out that it did rain - steadily for several hours.  However, it was never a truly "hard rain" and there was no flash flooding.  
The day after it rains anywhere is usually wonderful but, in the desert, it is extraordinary.  The smell of the creosote bushes permeates the air and the sun feels brand new.  Marty and I got up early and went to the Mitchell Caverns which were terrific and highly recommended. For me, however, the landscape views that day were unforgettable. 
Picture
Picture
Here are some photos from the Mitchell Caverns. The first photo is actually a mine - not a cave - on the walk to the Caverns. The second photo is the entrance to the Caverns...(on the right- the entrance on the left suffered a cave-in many years ago). 
The short drive back to the campground after our cavern tour was spectacular.  
Picture
Picture
A private ranch, Blair Ranch, still operates out there in the high Mojave. This is a view of the ranch from the Providence Mountains Visitor Center. 
Picture
The next day Marty left around noon and I spent the afternoon lazing in the sun and reading. Sometimes, it's not the hikes or the sights or the drives - it's these moments I enjoy the most from my life on the road. Book in hand, cold cup of water, and sun in my face in the expansive and quiet desert. Yes. 

The next day, my last in the Preserve, I decided I'd try and see Goffs Schoolhouse. I've tried a few times before and it was always closed. I drove until I got reception on my cell phone, called, and they said, "come on by!". I ended up spending much more time than I anticipated. The day was warm and the managers, Gus and Stella, were hospitable and helpful and kind. After seeing their work I ended up joining the MDCHA (Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association). Goffs is an even more fascinating place than I'd anticipated.  Not only the schoolhouse but the dozens of exhibits outside encouraged me to stay and wander for as few hours. Here are some photos I made of the place. 
Lastly, you probably know I have "a thing" for two lane highways, trains and telephone poles. To, me, they visually represent the hopes and dreams of the West that I have romanticized since my youth.  I did get a nice photo that gets two out of the three.  
Picture
The Preserve is about a 4 hour drive for me and I'm already planning my next trip.  Thank you for coming along! 
8 Comments

    Subscribe to our mailing list

    * indicates required

    The Point?

    This will mostly be a journal of my travels. I may include other items that interest me. Feel free to join in.

    Categories

    All
    Adobe
    Aguirre Spring CG
    Ajo
    Ajo Mountain Drive
    Alamogordo
    Aldo Leopold
    Alejandro Escovedo
    Alturas
    Amboy Crater
    Ancestral Puebloans
    Ansel Adams
    Anza Borrego State Park
    Arches NP
    Arizona
    Arkansas River
    Atascadero
    Awe
    Backyard
    Badwater Basin
    Bandelier National Monument
    Barry Goldwater Range
    Baseball
    Bassam Guard Station
    Bates Ranch
    Beartooth Highway
    Beck
    Bernie Sanders
    Big Bend NP
    Big Sur
    Bill Dickson
    Birthday Party
    Bisbee
    Black Canyon Of The Gunnison NP
    BLM
    Bob Dylan
    Bog Springs CG
    Bonita Well
    Borax
    Boulder Basin
    Bruce Springsteen
    Burro Creek CG
    CA
    Cabeza Prieta
    Cacti
    Calexico
    California
    California League
    Canyon De Chelly
    Canyonlands NP
    Capitol Reef NP
    Carl Sagan
    Carrizo Plain
    Cascades-mountains
    Casita
    Caspers-wilderness-park
    Cayucos
    Cedar-breaks
    Central-coast
    Central-coast
    Cerro-alto-campground
    Cesar-chavez
    Charles-bowden
    Chicago
    Chihuahua-desert
    Chihuly Garden
    China Alley
    Chiriaco Summit
    Chiricahua National Monument
    Chisos Basin CG
    Chisos Mountains
    Chris LaTray
    Christiane Wolf
    Clark Dry Lake
    Clayton Kershaw
    Coast Starlight
    Cochise Stronghold
    Colonel Allensworth State Park
    Colorado
    Colorado Desert
    Colorado Plateau
    Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
    Coronavirus
    COVID-19
    Cubs
    Dad
    Dave Alvin
    Death Valley
    Desert Training Center
    Devil's Golf Course
    Devil's Tower
    Dodgers
    Dome Rock
    Dorothea Lange
    Dragoon Mountains
    Drive-By Truckers
    Durango
    Eastern Sierra
    Education
    Edward Abbey
    Election 2016
    Elfin Forest
    Elton John
    Elvis Costello
    Environmentalism
    Eric Flaherty
    Eric Temple
    Everett Ruess
    Fauna
    Favorite Photos
    Finley
    Fishing
    Flathead-lake
    Flora
    Fog
    Four-corners
    Four-corners
    Fremont-peak
    Furnace-creek
    Gasworks-park
    Gaviota
    Gaviota State Beach
    George-patton
    Giant-sequoia-national-monument
    Glacier-np
    Glaucoma
    Goblin-valley-state-park
    Goffs-schoolhouse
    Grand-canyon
    Grandchildren
    Grandkids
    Grand-teton-national-park
    Great-basin-national-park
    Guadalupe-mountains-np
    Guitar
    Gunnison-river
    Gunnison-river
    Half-dome
    Half-moon-bay
    Happy-isles
    Harris-beach
    High-sierra
    Highway-1
    Highway-101
    Highway-190
    Highway-395
    Highway-41
    Highway-99
    Highways
    Holbrook
    Hole-in-the-wall-campground
    Holidays
    Home
    Homolovi
    Hovenweep-national-monument
    Idaho
    Immigration
    Inland-empire-66ers
    Insight LA
    Interstate 15
    Interstate 5
    Jack
    Jack Kerouac
    Jack Loeffler
    Jackson Hole
    Jacob Lake
    Jalama Beach
    Jedediah Smith Redwoods
    Joaquin
    Johnny Cash
    John Prine
    John Steinbeck
    Jon Dee Graham
    Jon Kabat-Zinn
    Jordan
    Joseph Wood Krutch
    Joshua Tree NP
    Journal
    Kara
    Kartchner Caverns
    Kennedy
    Kern National Wildlife Refuge
    Kevin
    Kirk Creek
    Kodachrome State Park
    La Junta
    Lake Arrowhead
    Lake Elsinore Storm
    Lake Pleasant
    Lancaster JetHawks
    Las Cruces
    Lassen Volcanic National Park
    Las Vegas
    La Veta Pass
    Lilly
    Limekiln State Park
    Lisa Law
    Little Blair Valley
    Little House Customs
    Little Painted Desert
    Lizard
    Lizard Head Pass
    Liz Kylin
    Lori Carey
    Los Angeles Dodgers
    Los Osos
    Luis Urrea
    Lupe
    Madera
    Madera Canyon
    Malheur Wildlife Refuge
    Manzanar
    Margo Dodd Park
    Marty
    Mary Austin
    Massachusetts
    Maynard Dixon
    McGee Creek
    Meditation
    Merced River
    Meredith
    Mesa Verde
    Mesquite Springs
    Mexico
    Michael A. Singer
    Michael Gish
    Mindfulness
    Mitchell Caverns
    Moab
    Modesto Nuts
    Mogollon Rim
    Mojave Desert
    Mojave National Preserve
    Mojave Trails National Monument
    Mom
    Monarch Butterflies
    Montana
    Monterey Bay
    Montrose
    Monument Valley
    Mormons
    Morro Bay
    Museum Of Flight
    Music
    National Monuments
    National Parks
    National Park Service
    Nature
    Navajo Nation
    Navajo NM
    Neil Young
    Nevada
    New Hampshire
    New Mexico
    North Beach Campground
    North Rim
    NPS
    Oak Creek Canyon
    Ocotillo
    October
    Old Faithful
    Oliver Lee Memorial State Park
    Olympic National Park
    Oregon
    Organ Mountains
    Organ Pipe NM
    Ortega Highway
    Pacific Ocean
    Pagosa Springs
    Painted Rock Petroglyph
    Palo Duro Canyon
    Pch
    Peg-leg-smith
    Petroglyphs
    Photography
    Pier
    Pinnacles NP
    Pismo Beach
    Pixley National Wildlife Refuge
    PJ Finn
    Placentia
    Plaskett Creek
    Point Mugu
    Politics
    Pozo Nuevo
    Prescott
    Puerto Blanco Road
    Quaking Aspen Campground
    Quitobaquito Springs
    Railroad-tracks
    Rancho-cucamonga-quakes
    Rancho-guadalupe-dunes-preserve
    Rattlesnake
    Ray Wylie Hubbard
    Red-rock-canyon
    Redwoods-np
    Refugio-state-beach
    Retirement
    Rim-of-the-world
    Rio-grande
    Rio-grande-del-norte
    Route-66
    R. Scott Jones
    Running-springs
    Ry-cooder
    SABR
    Saguaro National Park
    Salida
    Sam-harris
    San-bernardino-mountains
    San-clemente
    Sand-county-almanac
    San-jacinto
    San-jose-giants
    San-juan-mountains
    San-onofre
    Santa-barbara
    Santa-fe
    Santa Ynez Mountains
    Santiam-creek
    Scott-hays
    Seattle
    September
    Sequoia-np
    Shower
    Sierra Nevada
    Silver-jack-reservoir
    Skyscrapers
    Solo-traveling
    Sonoran Desert
    Southern-california
    Southern-sierra
    Spider-rock
    Spirituality
    Spring-training
    Steve
    Stockton-ports
    Sunset
    Sunsets
    Superstition Mountains
    Sycamore-canyon
    Taos
    Tarantula
    Terry-tempest-williams
    Texas
    The-band
    The-beatles
    The Central Valley
    The Clash
    The Gourds
    Thornhill Broome Beach
    Ticks
    Tim
    Tit Rock
    Todd Miller
    Tom Thrash
    Top Albums
    Topics
    Top Photos
    Tracy Schultze
    Trail Of 100 Giants
    Trains
    Travel Trailer
    Trudy Goodman
    Tule Creek
    Twitter
    Ubehebe Crater
    UFW
    United States Border Patrol
    Upper Pines Campground
    Utah
    Valley Of Fire
    Vernal
    Victoria Mine
    Vin Scully
    Virginia City
    Visalia Rawhide
    Washington
    White Sands
    Wildflowers
    Wildlife
    William Eastlake
    Winslow
    Woody Guthrie
    Wrigley Field
    Wyoming
    Year End Review
    Yellowstone National Park
    Yosemite National Park
    Zabriskie Point
    Zion
    Zion National Park

    Archives

    April 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014

    RSS Feed

All content (C) Jeff Hubbard. No re-use without express written permission
  • Welcome to the West
  • Blog and Trip Reviews
  • Travel Archives
  • Contact Me
  • Music & Literature
  • Defense of the West