Another Ride in California.

 

Three Jeeps.

There were only three jeeps going on this ride.
Frank was leading us today.
Patti is sick with a cold so I am by myself today.
Sue and Denis are also with us.

We met at the Carl’s Jr. on the west end of town.

On Our Way.

Once we were all there we headed west on I-10 to Blythe, CA.

We took Intake Blvd exit and headed north on US 95.

The Intaglio.

When we got to the trail to the Blythe Intaglio,we turned left and drove to the parking area for the Intaglio to air down the tires.

 

We were here last year so I didn’t take any pictures of the Intaglio this time.

After airing up we continued along this trail for a mile or so then turned left onto a small two track trail that went up onto a ridge.

The ridge overlooks a large wash on both sides.

On the right side you get a nice view of some rugged mountains to the west.

We crossed the deep wash on the left side.

After crossing the wash we continued to head west.

Wilderness Areas.

These trails skirt the Big Mary Wilderness.

There are a lot of signs but they can be a bit confusing as to which side of the sign the wilderness is on.
The above sign is a little less ambiguous than most.

We continued along the trail heading for the mountains.

The trail eventually drops us into a wash which we follow for a mile or so.

A Play Spot.

As we wandered along we came to a place with some large stones in the way.

There is an easy way around the rocks but we  subscribe to the mantra… ”Its only a rock. Get over it”; so we did.

Lunch.

We continued up the wash and eventually climbed out of it and ended up at a large Quarry where we found a place that was kind of out of the wind to have lunch.

After lunch.

After lunch we drove back into the wash…

where we continued in a more or less westerly direction trying to find our way through the mountains.

Patton’s Army.

Back during the second world war Gen. George Patton had a immense training facility here in the desert both on the California side and the Arizona side of the Colorado River.

We came across an old camp area for the army. The only thing left is a rusty pile of concertina wire. The tin cans are tied to the wire to make noise if some on tries to get through it.

A little further along I saw some old bed frames which I didn’t get pictures of.

Eventually we climbed out of the wash toward the Mountains.

After a while the trail smoothed out so we could move right along.

A Calcium Carbonate Mine.

We wandered along for a while and eventually climbed into the hills where we came to a place where they were quarrying Calcium Carbonate.

There is quite a wall of the stuff here.

Heading For Home.

We hung around here for a little while checking out the rocks and the view. Then headed down the mountain.

In less than a half an hour we were back to the pavement. We came out onto Lovekin Blvd. on the north side of Blythe. We stopped to air up the tires and then headed for home.

By the time I got home it was starting to rain.

It was another fun ride but I did miss having Patti with me. Hopefully she will be feeling better soon.