Wild Turkeys and Big Rocks

Next step: road trip.

As we drive our scenic route to New Mexico, visiting family and national parks along the way, Jameson and I realize how much easier it may have been to plan an 8 month journey through North America, still seeing gorgeous country, different cultures, and learning. But, our budget would have to be at least triple, and it would not be nearly as exotic. Though, shedding exoticism would also mean avoiding uncomfortable encounters with parasites and such. I suppose each venture further into the unknown opens into both disquieting situations, and ideally, greater rewards.

We were fortunate to drive the Avenue of the Giants (weaving through groves of luscious old growth redwoods), visit one of my fave breweries (Lagunitas... yum!), and friends in the Bay Area en route to my mom and stepdad's house nestled in the western Sierra Nevadas. We got to check out a couple of wineries (Butterfly Creek was pretty super! - the owner even invited us to come help bottle the next day), hike in Yosemite National Park, and just hang out. It was a perfect visit in a beautiful place, with the oaks changing colors and the invigorating crisp fall air. Oh yeah, and she has wild turkeys that frequent her backyard.

... when turkeys knock at your back door...!

... us at a viewpoint on 4 mile trail, with El Capitan in the background.

Instead of doing the crappy Central Vally drive south yet again, we elected to take Tioga Pass east through the Sierra Nevada, as I have been itching to go to Mono Lake ever since I read Cadillac Desert a couple years ago. It was amazing. We reached the lake in the late afternoon, in time to catch the sunset illuminating the tufa formations.


Tufa is made when calcium laden springs flow up from the lake bottom. It bonds to carbonates in the water, and forms calcium carbonate (a type of limestone). Over time, this builds up into a 'tufa tower'. Because the lake level was reduced (when Los Angeles bought the water rights to all streams flowing into the lake), these towers are revealed here.


We completed the route over the pass (the highest drivable pass in California, at 9,945 feet) just in time, as the very next day the region was carpeted in snow, and the pass was closed.

Our route from here took us to more and more remote territory. I don't think we saw a town with a population that topped 30,000 until we reached Phoenix metro. Instead we saw the dry Owens Lake (also a relic of Los Angeles' overconsumption of water), BLM land, and open high desert areas embraced by mountains in the Owens Valley. This transformed into the warmer desert further south, and desolate territory traveling on 2 lane roads leading as far as the eye can see, uninterrupted by trees or cities. I didn't really let myself think about what would happen if the car had a problem. I wondered about who lives in these little old run down places, hours and hours from any large city, and likened them, at least in some ways, to the tiny Peruvian villages I encountered last year tucked away in forgotten corners of the Andes.

We navigated ourselves towards Phoenix via the north end of Joshua Tree National Park, and were fortunate to get advice at the visitor center about a fee-free place within the park that gave us respite from the long car ride... this was not just a little wheelchair-accessible .2 mile stroll, but huge granite boulders to climb! Jameson turned into a mountain goat and we played for a couple of hours in the warm sun. Oh, did I mention warm? We escaped the incoming storm to enjoy the first real sun I've felt since August. How completely revitalizing.

Boulder fun

Phoenix is a huge (5th largest city in the US) sprawling conglomeration of pavement and vehicles, dotted with peaks and buttes. We had a great time with my brother and sister in law - hitting up a dueling piano bar, a couple other hot spots, and Camelback Mountain. Camelback was a superfun and fairly challenging hike and in some places scramble up, but chock full of Phoenecians getting in their Saturday morning exercise. The most crowded northwest hike is tranquil in comparison.

We've now made it to our final US destination: Albuquerque, New Mexico! Time to spend time with Jameson's family, and finish our preparations.