Three Parks and I’m Out!!!

Ah, this little post-quarantine adventure is coming to an end. Leaving California and deciding on how to get back is on my mind now. But before I start the cannonball run home, I have three more parks that we’re part of the original itinerary: Zion, Bryce, and Dead Horse (all in Utah).

Driving up from Joshua Tree to Cannonville was reasonably uneventful, resulting in opportunities to hop out and get artsy.

So this middle of nowhere photo opp was brought to you by the ”National Trails Hwy” on North Amboy Rd. in the Mojave Desert. Why did I take all these pictures on this mystery road? I think the better question is, why in the world did Tesla think this was a great route? What did the alternative look like??

Turning off the road from nowhere, I see this vast solar array. It is crazy bright and apparently deadly to the local birds, getting fried by the intense light/heat. I’ve seen so many alternative forms of energy farms out west – massive wind farms everywhere; they are so ubiquitous, I haven’t bothered taking pictures of them (but they are everywhere!).

The other thing I didn’t realize is that there are many mini-vegas towns scattered throughout the Nevada desert. There was that odd town West Wendover and then Carson City; it has its casinos. I even found this strange Buffalo Bills with a roller coaster – who rides a roller coaster in the middle of the desert? Well, you do, of course, if you are ever in Primm Nevada.

Then there are these ”out of the blue statues” on Kelso Cima Road. There is literally nothing around except these seven figure sculptures. Wrote down the name of the road to try and figure it out some time.

Getting into Cannonville means passing through these little towns, many seem to be struggling with these economic or COVID times. But in the end, you see these beautiful Red Canyon formations.

The sky is super dark up here, got to practice trying to take night shots of a constellation. My first attempt is below, I may not have the equipment to do this right, but I am reading up on the technique. The pictures won’t do the view justice – it really is like looking at the universe from the moon.

Next up: Hiking in Zion