Homeward once again - March 21

Kelly left San Carlos very early Saturday, March 21st.  He arrived in Santa Ana by 9:30 am for a fuel stop and to call home; leaving about 06:00 am made for a quicker drive through Hermosilla.  At the border crossing in Nogales, it was a 25 minute wait with no problems.  Rojo Grande headed on towards Blythe, just into California across the Arizona border.  The hotel room was waiting and comfortable, dinner was a favorite:  Popeye's Fried Chicken!  Later, another planning session, checking weather and sight-seeing options; Joshua Tree National Park looked interesting. Kelly booked a hotel at the north end of the Park at Twentynine Palms and turned in for some well earned sleep.

This morning (Sunday) after a filling breakfast provided by the hotel, it was a short drive from Blythe westward on I-10 to the south entrance to the Joshua Tree National Park, arriving about 8:30 am.  The National Parks Service site describes the park as encompassing two distinct desert ecosystems, the Mohave and the Colorado and covers 794,000 acres.  There is considerable elevation climb from the highway, through the Cottonwood Spring campground area in the south and along the Park Boulevard which then turns northwest as it gains in altitude.  The pictures shown here are courtesy of the National Park Service Flickr site, primarily taken by NPS staff, and are in the public domain.

http://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm

Cottonwood Spring (National Parks Service photo)

Joshua Tree and boulders (NPS)

Rock formations near Skull Rock (NPS)

Great Basin Collard Lizard (NPS)

Acton's Brittlebrush (NPS)

The Hi-View nature trail apparently lived up to its name as it rose quite steeply at times before it offered an excellent view of the surrounding area.  Kelly found it to be a windy summit however; hang on to your hats! As with visits to all of these stunning national parks, there is never adequate time when one is travelling home.  It often seems a toss-up between seeing something new and spending more on accommodations,  or just eating up the highway miles.

An add-on to keep the travels in the right order:

Kelly said he was up bright and early for breakfast and left Twenty Nine Palms, California heading west and then northward; the mountain parks are calling.  Passing by Bakersfield and on to Three Rivers by noon, he mad a fuel stop as there is nowhere to top up once you enter Sequoia National Park and adjacent Kings Canyon.   Quoting from the National Parks Service site:

General Sherman - Sequoia (NPS photo)

 "this landscape testifies to nature's size, beauty and diversity - huge mountains, rugged foothills, deep canyons, vast caverns and the world's largest trees.....(the parks) lie side by side in the southern Sierra Nevada.....elevation ranges from 1370 to 14494 feet."

The wonders of nature demand alertness on the roads; apparently "the 16 steep, narrow road miles from Ash Mountain (south entrance) to the Giant Forest area include 130 curves and 12 switchbacks...."   One goal of this visit was to stand before General Sherman...by volume, the largest tree in the world!  In 1975 a calculation determined it to be slightly over 52,5000 cubic feet.  And that he did.

Accommodations in the Lodge were cozy and the hikes were at times challenging.  The opportunity to view these ancient 'sentinels' of the forest was not to be missed.  Each National Park has its treasures and there are many more to explore.

Here are a few of Kelly's photos:

INTREPID II - "What do you mean you are putting me back on the hard already?"

Sad but true.   The past month was a busy one for Captain Kelly.  He had planned to stay at least one week longer before hauling out then heading homeward.

INTREPID II once again settled into dry storage

However, "time and tides wait for no boat or captain".  While checking for a suitable depth in the shallow marina, during working hours, Kelly determined that the entire last week of March was no-go!  The next best option was this current week and in order to have a 'Plan B' (apologies to Ken S.) to allow for any unforeseen 'oops', INTREPID II was lifted out of the water yesterday (March 19th) at 10;)) a.m.  The works yard at Marina Seca was the first stop to finalize, organize, stow and take off any extraneous items.  Kelly managed to book a cozy room down the way at the R.V. park for two nights.  It's at the very back of the property, so hopefully quieter than the 5th wheel which was home base at the beginning of this sojourn.

A link for anyone who might want to check out the accommodations:
http://www.totonakarv.com/home.html

Today (Friday) was part two of moving INTREPID II back into the dry storage yard. Kelly ensured she was settled in and secured for the Sonoran spring, summer, fall.  There will be blazing sun (it is already hot), gritty winds, thunderstorms; hopefully no hurricanes track this far north!  

Although the sailing opportunities did not arise, there was time to make new friends, connect with a few from previous years, battle the "bo-bos" and wish for the air conditioning unit that was sold for a song last season.  He pondered the whys and wherefores of what kept causing the Internet to go down at the marina.  Thank goodness for the cell phone data plan!  Kelly took on the task of 'weather reader' on the morning net when most people could not get wifi.

Happily, after many attempts, the stars aligned to actually do the hike in the Nacapule Canyon with intrepid fellow hiker Ken H.  Pictures to be downloaded; in the meantime here's a link:
http://www.whatsupsancarlos.com/nacapule-canyon-hike-canon-de-nacapule/
Looking forward to hearing about the hike details...stay tuned.

This event comes "Highly Recommended":  the annual 'melodrama' to raise funds for the Rescate services of San Carlos area.  Lots of fun, laughter and for a good cause.  Keep it in mind for next year if you are in San Carlos at this time.

Tomorrow (Saturday) is Departure Day.  The Captain is still sorting out his itinerary it seems.