Leaving Indio at sunrise, I was just a few miles north of the Salton Sea, and headed toward the less traveled Hwy 111 on the east side of this below sea level lake that was mostly created by an engineering disaster in 1905. The ride down the east shore was one that I've done several times, but it had been a few years. I was looking forward to following the Union Pacific RR along this less developed side of the lake, where the first 15 miles of shoreline is part of the State Park system. Back in the 50's & 60's, the Salton Sea was the focus of grand schemes of development, with unlimited water related recreational opportunities. Folks mostly from the LA area were scooping up land, and everything from marinas to resorts were on the drawing board. Some of that development actually took place, but then when the salinity of the lake increased enough to start killing the fish, and a few other negative environmental factors took place, development came to a screeching halt. Today, on the east side of the lake, there are abandoned buildings, and lots of failed residential & commercial developments.
South of the Salton Sea, the ride through the below sea level Imperial Valley is almost exclusively agricultural, which means lots of bugs. Thank goodness for a windshield. Leaving the bugs and lettuce behind, it was a short ride across the desert to Yuma where, I stopped for breakfast. Rather than take Interstate 8 and 10 all the way home, at Gila Bend, I detoured south on Hwy 85 through the mining town of Ajo.
The huge copper mine hole in the ground is next to the small town of Ajo. Not sure when the mine closed down, but at one time, the mine was big enough to support the building of an approx. 45 mile long railroad spur, that branched off the main line at Gila Bend. The tracks follow Hwy 85 for most of the way, and are still in place, but it's been a lot of years since a train traveled on this branch line.
I was back at the ranch by mid afternoon, and had covered over 1,300 miles in 3 days. Another great ride in the desert, but it was good to be home.
Dan,
ReplyDeleteMy wife Laurie and I have been following your blog for a few years and we really love it. We retired last June, I was a Detective for the PD for 25 years in Minnesota. We have a 5th wheel and spent last summer in CO and this winter in Casa Grande AZ....we loved it.
The only low point was when we had to put our beloved Basset Hound Lucy down due to a spinal injury. They become part of our lives and it's so hard to let them go. Glad you had a good ride and hope you found some peace.
Stay safe...Bob & Laurie