Needles, CA (3/8 through 3/10/2018)

In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck wrote about the Joad family that fled the "Dust Bowl" of the Southern Plains and migrated to California.  In fact, at least half a million people did that very thing, having lost their farms and homes to the weather, the banks, the Great Depression.  Most of them traveled on Route 66 and entered California at Needles.  I can only imagine the despair and disappointment they felt when seeing this part of the "promised land", for it is as desolate as any you would care to see.  Only the hardiest plants and animals survive here.

This desert is good for a couple things, at least: the weather and ATV riding.  Most of the people in my RV park, and probably the others nearby, come from a colder climate to get away from cold  winter weather, and they bring their ATVs.  Even those vehicles not licensed for highway use can simply drive from the park into the desert.  Trails can be seen pretty much anywhere you look.  I explored a few of them during my time here.

Needles is named for a large formation of rocky pinnacles only a few miles away.  I tried to find it, but never could locate it.  Later, I read that it can only be seen from the Colorado River.  However, I think it must be close to these formations that I could see from I-40.

While exploring back roads, I came across a large plant that compresses natural gas for distribution through pipelines that radiate in all directions.  The pipes are large, about three feet in diameter.  Some cross the river, while others spread out through the desert.

One road led to a county park with RV spaces, condo-type units, a restaurant/bar, an extensive zip line course and a marina.  This is a very nice place, but there was almost no one there.  Later, I checked and found the RV sites are $70 per day, twice the cost of other parks in the area.  And lots of people park their RVs in the desert for free.

West of town, there is the Mojave National Preserve, a 1.6 million acre park managed by BLM.  The park contains several mountain ranges, some of which are volcanic.  The park has Joshua trees, caverns, abandoned mines, lava tubes, sand dunes and a dome that some believe is a developing volcano.  To see all those features would require multiple days of driving very rough roads, so I settled for what I could see in one afternoon.  There is also a real possibility of running out of gas as there are no services within reasonable distance.  And back in Needles, gas sells for $4.19 per gallon.  (Over in AZ, gas can be found at $2.24 per gallon.)

I went to the "Hole In The Wall" area, named because of all the holes in the rock walls.  The Ranger there told me how much he loved being out there, and recommended some of the features that were 50-60 miles away, but he failed to tell me about the petroglyphs only a short hike from his station.  I should have asked.

My week in Needles ends tomorrow and I'll move a little north to visit Henderson, NV, just outside Las Vegas.  Hopefully, there may be a little more to do there.  I'll wrap up this edition with more sunset/sunrise photos.