Slab City
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One of the problems with only posting when we have WiFi is that sometimes quite a few days can pass which means a lot has happened for us in the meantime.
We had a very relaxing couple of days staying with wonderful Warmshowers hosts David and Yvonne. They are both vegan so we were treated to lots of delicious food.
We spent a day looking round Joshua Tree town which had lots of quirky shops and things.
We had a great visit to Noah Purifoy's outdoor art museum
We had a late start riding into the National Park as we were waiting for a tyre delivery (we thought it prudent to have an extra given how quickly we had worn through our first one)
We got a bit of a shock when we arrived at the pay booth to be told there were no camp spaces available. Decided that we would set off anyway as we could ride through the park by the light of the full moon if needed. As it happened, we managed to squeeze into one of the campgrounds.
Riding through the park the next day was a delight. So many amazing desert plants - with a change there the Mojave desert meets the Colorado desert.
We left the park about lunchtime.
However when we got to the southern exit of the park we found our road was closed.
Like true cycle tourists we ignored the sign and went to see if there was a way though. This was a bit of a risk as the road was downhill and if it were closed then we would have had a difficult backtrack.
Thankfully, the road was passable. It had been washed out by a flood going down Box Canyon and seemed only a day or so away from being reopened. This meant we had a 15 mile downhill through a scenic canyon all to ourselves.
We could not resist the tranquility of having the road to ourselves so decided to camp. We stayed awake long enough to see the moon rise then snuggled up. Sadly a wind picked up in the night meaning a fitful sleep and lots of sand in the tent in the morning. We were covered in a fine layer of dust.
Down into Mecca in the morning. This was a bit of a low point - literally. It is 70m below sea level. We were delighted to a variety of crops growing including date palms (we scrumped a few - delicious)
We then rode along the Salton Sea. Quite a crazy thing. It was formed when farmers tried to divert part of the Colorado River but accidentally diverted it all. The entire river flooded a huge area creating the lake. As the water evaporates it gets increasingly salty and concentrates all the agricultural chemicals. Although swimming is not safe it was lovely to see.
Another effect of the diminishing water levels is that the shore is getting further away and resort towns are like ghost towns. Bombay beach is a classic example.
Next stop: Slab City thankfully the wind that had filled our tent with sand was blowing from the north so we had a really fast ride down the lake and had time to head out to the slabs to find somewhere to camp. What a place. Totally off grid and populated by folk who want to get away from it all. It is like a cross between Mad Max, Glastonbury and an art installation.
Next stop: El Centro. We have booked an apartment for a few days over my birthday for some luxury, to take stock of our journey so far and to ready ourselves for entering Mexico.
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