Greetings, friends. Here’s the second road trip story from Bajada Bill and Cactus Kate. This leg of the journey takes us into the High Sierra all the way to Abiquiu NM.
We arrived at East Fork campground in Rock Creek Canyon above Tom’s Place off Hwy 395. Shoehorned Marion into site #35 right next to the luxurious flush toilet and running water sink bathrooms. The campground is remote: no wifi or cell service here. Also no electric hookups. We used our solar powered lanterns and a pair of rechargeable lanterns our friend Lady D Corwin once gifted us.
One of the hardest and most satisfying hikes is the trek up to Mono Pass, which starts at 10,300 feet. It starts at Mosquito Flat, which has the designation of the highest paved road in California. While we’ve only made the pass twice–more than 12,000 feet high, we ascended to 10,700 feet with great vistas. Our new walking sticks really helped us ascend and descend the knee high and higher boulders along the trail.
We left our beloved Sierras Sept. 30th heading for Baker, NV. The drive along US Route 6 is a bladder busting journey, considered one of the loneliest roads, along with US Route 50.
Enroute to Tonopah, we passed the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy project, which as described by Wikipedia: “Crescent Dunes is the first commercial concentrated solar power (CSP) plant with a central receiver tower and advanced molten salt energy storage technology at full scale (110 MW), following the experimental Solar Two and Gemasolar in Spain at 50 MW. As of 2023, it is operated by its new owner, Vinci SA, and in a new contract with NV Energy, it now supplies solar energy at night only, drawing on thermal energy stored each day.”
Relief came when stopping in Eli, NV. We were glad to arrive in sweet Baker for its dark night skies and its proximity to Great Basin National Park, a remote and beautiful sky island. Bill drove 370 miles!
Next morning we entered Utah and stopped in Delta, where a billboard depicting a blue hand on the left, and a red hand on the right, clasped. The billboard said: “Nine out 10 Americans oppose the deep divisions in our country.” We stopped in at the excellent library, noticing hundreds of yellow butterflies, which, we drove through, unfortunately, until we stopped. Nearby Topaz also reflected a dark history, hosting a WWII internment camp for Japanese Americans.
On we drove, through red rock canyons, stopping to camp at the very manicured Greenlake State Park in site #28, next to the restroom. A large crowd of fun high school kids camped across the way. A little black dog tried to steal our trash bag, but ran when we approached him. Campers thought it was abandoned. Very sad.
We stopped by Moab, which we hadn’t seen since our big road trip in 1986. Then it was a tiny hole in the wall. Now it’s a tourist town full of brutalism design hotels, every manner of outdoor activity. Thankfully we got off the main drag, stopping in at the wonderful Moab Library, admiring its friendly staff, and library cat Cosmos.
Arrived late in the afternoon Oct. 2 at Mesa Verde National Park, where we camped in our favorite site #381 below Lone Cone Mesa. Here there is no cell service or electricity. Our friend, like a dear brother, Gordy joined us from nearby Mancos.
While Gordy stayed at camp, Bill and I drove to the nearby town of Mancos. It has a similar culture like our Langley. Creatives and farmers mixed together. We love eating at Moondog.
On our return we hiked with Gordy up the steep climb to Park Point mesa with rewarding vistas:
Next day we took a tour with Gordy to Cliff Palace, a Puebloan cliff dwelling from the 1100-s to 1200s. It is the “largest cliff dwelling in North America,” our ranger guide Julia told us. Its walls were once plastered in colors of blue, green, yellow and sparkly mica. What remains now is the under layer of handcut sandstone. We also learned that Notre Dame and Cliff Palace were built around the same time. That night we enjoyed a campfire with firewood supplied by Gordy. We feel so at home in his friendship,
We said our goodbye’s to Gordy on Monday Oct. 5th. We always enjoy his company. We stopped near Shiprock NM to meet and write a story with Sarah Natani, introduced to us by our Coupeville friend Judy Lynn. Wow! An experience not to be forgotten.
After a good lunch in Farmington NM, we arrived at our campsite #5 at Abiquiu Lake. The sunset and Cerro Pedernal reminded us of the days to come and why we love Abiquiu so much!
