Past the Mojave
April 22, 2005
Greetings Everyone from Flagstaff, Arizona!
Yep, my horses had wings and I averaged 65 mph :) Let me back up...
I arrived in Borrego Springs , CA as planned. I landed with a terrific host Sandra Thorpe of Smoke Tree Arabian Ranch, who literally came down her drive way to pull me into the ranch. Apparently I had been causing quite a stir. The night before, to my surprise and horror, Rocky and Val had broken loose and had disappeared leaving me stranded. They ultimately headed up to a ranch where we had received water from the night before. An older local/loco lady corralled them and called the sheriff saying that my horses were abused and that I had shackled their feet, and was not going to release them. Eventually I was able to walk off the property with my companions and headed up to my campsite to pack and load up. The sheriff pulled up and said that he received the call about my abused horses. FRUSTRATING. But he perused them over and said she was a little bit loco and that my horses were in fine shape and not to pay her any mind. I finally pulled out at noon and was looking for the California Riding and Hiking Trail to go down the steep grade into the desert and the town of Borrego Springs. The trailhead marker was no where to be found, so I had to go down what is known as Montezuma Grade. Ugh. It was a paved state road that twisted it's way down the mountain to the desert. No shoulders and lots of traffic with trucks. For us, this was nothing compared to what we had already descended, so we just kept on going. Val and Rocky ponied beautifully and handled the traffic like true champs. But the locals thought we had lost our minds. I guess we were the first horses and rider to champion Montezuma Grade. Ignorance is bliss. Numerous cars passed us with jaws to the floor and cameras flashing. The park ranger and sheriff had received calls, as did the California Highway Patrol all of whom stopped when we had pulled off to view the amazing scene that unfolded before us. The view from the mountain was deathly looking down to the expansive desert floor. The CHIPS officer was going to write us up, but I assured the officers that I had attempted to find the trail but that the marker was missing, which the park ranger sheepishly admitted to pulling down. I was let go and proceeded into Borrego Springs where Sandra Thorpe had met me in the driveway. As it turned out, hers is the first ranch and the paper had called asking her to be on the lookout for us. My contacts in Julian had already contacted her as well, asking if she could provide food and water. She did more than that. She put us up for three days, and for those of you who know me personally, I was in heaven when she offered me her art gallery to sleep in. Sandra is head of the local trails and on the City Council; she has been accosted by all three law enforcement agencies as well and absolutely related to the earlier events. As a paid desert guide, Sandra offered to escort me through the desert if I could leave on Saturday, which wasn't a problem for me. We were able to rest and regroup for the desert ride which proved to be quite intense.
The desert is incredible in every sense of the word. It is incredibly dry, barren, colorful, and expansive. It is overwhelmingly beautiful, yet tremendously naked. Our goal that day was to make it to the microwave tower which the rangers said was about 15 miles. There, we were going to meet up with Roger who would bring cold drinks for all, hay, and trailer Sandra back to Smoke Tree Ranch. Sandra and I spent an enjoyable day riding approximately 20 miles, when we emerged on the road, only to find out that we were 6 miles from town. We managed to flag Roger down as he was headed for the tower. As he was preparing to drop us off at the midpoint microwave tower, he made the suggestion to take us through the desert to my next host family at the Sultan Sea . He received no argument from me...I appreciated the desert and all that it had to offer. I lived through the experience and didn't necessarily need to replicate it. I contacted Jim and Debbie Livesay, my hosts in Salton Sea who didn't have a problem with me coming a day early.
Once again, I pulled up to an unknown situation, said my tearful and grateful goodbyes and walked up with a smile on my face to greet my next blessing.
Jim and Debbie proved to be wonderful hosts as well. Debbie was a great cook, made a terrific dinner and morning breakfast. As I began to talk with them about the next leg of my journey, I was still going to be in desert with few places to water up on the ride. After living through the day ride of the desert, I knew approaching the 200 miles of Mojave Desert would prove to be disastrous. I called my now, knight in shining armour-- Wayne from Julian, who made arrangements to come pick us up and trailer us up to Parker, AZ through the Mojave Desert and camp with me through to Monday. As he has been, he was a God send.
Unfortunately I have to go, as my host family just came home....so I'll pick up later where I've left off.
Much love,
Linda :)