R2R Travelogue 6: Reaching the Ocean

in #travelfeed5 years ago (edited)

Day Six: Setting out this morning, my objective was simple - reach the ocean! I have really enjoyed seeing Arizona again, but frankly I was a bit "cactus'd out" and ready for some new scenery!

Photo: Imperial Sand Dunes

Whoa @roleerob! That's not the ocean!? 😧 In fact, that looks about the opposite of the ocean ...

Exactly right. Before reaching the ocean, I had to pass through another desert. The Mohave Desert. So ... I was leaving Arizona and the Sonora Desert and entering California and the Mohave Desert.

Specifically, I was heading north through the Imperial Valley and alongside the Salton Sea.

So, how did this day turn out?

Imperial Valley and the Salton Sea



I barely had left Yuma and crossed over the California state line, when I ran into the Imperial Sand Dunes. These are about 40 miles long and are in the southwest corner of the Imperial Valley.

Photo: Looking East on I-8 to Arizona

Hard to make out, but on the left of this picture is a group of people enjoying these sand dunes. Doing what? This is OHV (off-highway vehicle) paradise!

But, that is not all you see in the pictures above. You also see a massive canal. Carrying water where? To the Imperial Valley, one of the biggest agricultural regions in the United States.

This aerial view gives you the general idea of what I drove through today.

Image Source: Wikipedia on Imperial Valley

One of the most remarkable aspects of this area is that crops are being grown year around. It is never cold enough to stop. A crop gets harvested. It is either plowed under or burned off. Then, the next crop is planted and this is repeated cycle after cycle.

Photo: Green, Thriving Crops in January!

Here you see some examples of year around production of crops. I passed field after field of very green plants with a lot of watering going on. Winter doesn't mean anything down here!

Photo: Salton Sea and Salton City

The Salton Sea has a fascinating history. Effectively a man-made accident, you may enjoy reading about it, with this link. The Colorado River flooded into this basin, which is below sea level, in the early 1900s. Today, there is growing alarm that it is shrinking and some people are anxiously waiting to see what the State of California is going to do about it. Good luck with that ...

Note in the foreground what the general countryside looks like. This is a part of the Mohave Desert. Today brought back memories long ago of driving through this area and making the contrast with the Sonora Desert, which has by comparison, a much richer and more diverse ecosystem.

Much of the area frankly, like Salton City and the surrounding countryside, at least to me, is borderline depressing. I cannot imagine living in this area. My hat is off to those who chose to do so and keep the tremendous agricultural output going.

Photo: Huge Date Orchards on the Salton Sea

I did not take the time to write in this post about all of the different crops grown in this region. One of them, though, is dates. A lot of them! I wonder how much of the total U.S. consumption of this fruit is supplied by this area. I wouldn't be surprised if it was over 90%.

Photo: Stopped for a Date Shake!

While driving, signs for this place caught my eye. Hard to miss, right? They advertised shakes made from dates, which are grown on a huge scale in this area. Sweetened with honey and with some locally grown olive oil put in. Sounded tasty, as well as fairly healthy. It was a real treat!

Photo: Hwy 247 East of Yucca Valley

Once getting past the Imperial Valley and the Salton Sea, it had been my intention to go up to the north around the vast population center of Los Angeles. As you can see, I was successful! 😉 Only a few cars on the road and much more desolate than I had anticipated. All a relatively short distance from the second largest city in America!

On from here, there was really nothing much to see that was any different. Before getting dark ...

Postscript to Day Six


For the second night in a row, I did not reach my destination until well after dark. Far from ideal. It is more than missing the opportunity to see the countryside. I am just not as well rested.

The issue? Writing these posts!? I really enjoy writing them, but they take time. A lot of it. So ... I am going to sleep much later than I typically would, trying to get the day's activities into a post written that evening. Before turning in ...

Well, we'll see about the "second leg" of my adventure. The first one is over and I had a lot of ground to cover. This second section should allow for me to go at a slower pace.

I hope so!

Closing



So, a "transition day" in "@roleerob's excellent adventure!" Leaving the "first leg" behind and getting into position for the "second leg." Specifically, taking several days to go up through the state of California, most of the time along the coast.

Thanks for going along with me, dear reader. I’d love to hear any feedback you may be inspired to provide.

Until "next time," all the best to you for a better tomorrow, as we all work together to build our Steem Community! 👍 😊

Respectfully,
Steemian @roleerob

Posted using SteemPeak and “immutably enshrined in the blockchain” on Saturday, 26 January 2019!


  • "R2R" Note: My "shorthand" way of referring to what I first wrote about in my Reflections: My "Road to Recovery" Trip post. "Road to Recovery" <=> "R2R" ... 😉

  • Image sources, unless otherwise noted: My trusty smartphone!

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If you liked this post, you might enjoy others in my "Road to Recovery" Travelogue series:


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ǝɹǝɥ sɐʍ ɹoʇɐɹnƆ pɐW ǝɥ┴

Thank you very much @themadcurator! Day Seven coming up, from Morro Bay, California ...👍

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˙ƃuᴉʇɐǝɹɔ sᴉ ʇᴉ ʇsnp ɥɔnɯ ʍoɥ puɐ puɐl ʇɐɥʇ oʇ ǝuop uǝǝq sɐɥ ʇɐɥʍ ǝʇɐunʇɹoɟu∩ ˙ǝuo ʎzɐɹɔ ɐ sᴉ ɐǝS uoʇlɐS ǝɥʇ ɟo ʎɹoʇs ǝɥ┴

Okay, I stood on my head, so I could read your comment @themadcurator. 😉 I like your style! It's entertaining ...

Yes, there's just something about that whole area that is depressing to me. For this whole trip, water has been a big focus of mine. I frankly have no idea where they are getting the water to do all that they are doing, i.e. is it sustainable?

Likely much of it is from the Colorado River, one of the most thoroughly used river systems on the planet. I've had the privilege to see it at it headwaters, just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. And the little bit that makes it over the border into Mexico yesterday ... 😧

Thank you for investing some of your time to engage with me. I appreciate it! 👍 Until we "meet" again ... 👋

Congratulations! Your high-quality travel content was selected by @travelfeed curator @mrprofessor and earned you a reward, in form of a 100% upvote and a resteem. Your work really stands out! Your article now has a chance to get featured under the appropriate daily topic on our TravelFeed blog.
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Thank you so much @travelfeed / @mrprofessor for your encouraging support!

I really appreciate all you do!!

This trip has already been very rewarding and I am only at the end of the first week! 👍

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What a great adventure and beautiful landscape... I've never heard of 'date shakes' before but they sound surprisingly delicious.

Nice to "see" @alphaccino.art. Yes, it has been a great adventure so far. I am very thankful to have this opportunity and want to make the most of it.

Once I saw the ingredients, I knew I would likely have to stop and try it out. Glad I did!

Thank you for stopping by!


P.S. I am still interested in paying you for some graphics work, but don't recall ever hearing back from you.

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Yes, I'm glad you stopped too @roleerob, I'm going to make some myself, or maybe I'll add some dates to my fruit smoothies cause I do like dates.

In regards to the graphics work, I did look into steem-chat although thinking back now, I can't remember why I didn't follow up and open an account. Of course, my offer still stands and I'll take another look at steem-chat in the meantime.

The best way I have found to have direct communications @alphaccino.art is via Discord. Are you familiar with it? If not, that would be recommendation, as many, many Steem related communities are on there, as well as other crypto groups.

If not familiar, I can send you a link about it.

Yes, I'm on Discord and have found many wonderful communities there, I will send you a DM now so that you have a link to my profile. Look forward to speaking with you

Look forward to the sights of California you can bring as my experience has only been to the large cities traveled to for business so I guess your perspective will be a better one to enjoy. Loving the experience!

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I can assure you @newageinv ...

"... as my experience has only been to the large cities traveled to for business ..."

... my posts, over the next few days, will be as far removed from the big cities as I can reasonably manage. Just have zero (in the "red" actually ... 😉) interest / enthusiasm for them.

I've already gone to considerable lengths to avoid "SoCal." Still debating on the Bay area ...

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Howdy sir roleerob! This is so interesting to see..the dunes, the canal, those fig groves, growing crops year round out there, incredible! Wonderful photos too.

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Thank you so much for participating the Partiko Delegation Plan Round 1! We really appreciate your support! As part of the delegation benefits, we just gave you a 3.00% upvote! Together, let’s change the world!

Hi @roleerob!

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